This may give you some indication...

...of how I'm feeling today...

I couldn't stand the feeling of the waist band cutting into my stomach this morning at work so I used a rubber band to help ease the pain. I emailed Steve to tell him that this is getting ridiculous and that I need to go shopping soon and he had the nicest email back (to me at least). He said, "Aww, but there's a little peanut in there :). We'll go after work today." That is a direct quote. I copied and pasted. He's the best.

So, I will take a 10 week picture today or tomorrow and post it on Monday. Not much is changing except for the amount of flab on my gut. It looks nothing like the cute baby bumps that everyone talks about. I don't have a problem with the overall weight gain because I know I'll lose it. It's just hard day in and day out to just feel FAT. In a few weeks maybe it will be easier when I'm not too fat for my regular clothes but too small for maternity clothes. There has to be a happy medium without just buying bigger sized clothes that I'll never wear again. I'll have to invest in the Belly Band or whatever it's called to see how that helps.

At least it's the weekend in 4 more hours.

You may remember...

...this post.

Well, it has been about two months since Steve and I planted all of those vegetables (or CRAMMED them) into the tiny area in our backyard. They are out of control now! Seriously, I can't even tell which plant is which and when I planted them I made those cute little vegetable signs so I could know.

As a side note, I have to give credit where it's due with Steve. He has watered these vegetable plants ENDLESSLY every morning when he lets Onyx out and sometimes even in the afternoon if it's really hot out. He's the best.

Yesterday, Steve texted me on my way home from work saying "I think you grew a zuchini!" I did not believe him because I had JUST checked the day before and saw nothing.

How in the WORLD could I have missed this???? It was just hanging out through the wire fence we put up. I probably could have tripped over it and broken my neck it's so big. Anyway, I'm going to cook it up tonight!

P.S. In case you are wondering, this is the only vegetable that has grown so far other than cilantro.

My 9 Week Picture (a little late...)

So here's my 9 week picture. It was taken last Friday but as I said before I just couldn't post it. See what I mean? Bloat. It just makes you feel fat. Not pregnant. I guarantee I won't be in another swim suit for the remainder of the summer. It's just not going to happen. I'll take my 10 week picture tomorrow or Saturday and hopefully I'll have it posted in a much more timely manner.

Nothing Exciting Recently

This week has been dull.

I took one new picture of me for my 9 week picture and the battery in our camera was dead so I didn't upload it. Today, I brought the camera and charger to work but forgot the camera cord. Awesome. That's prego brain for you.

Nothing new has been happening. I went to dinner with my friend, Lauren at Carabba's on Monday night and we had a good time. I hadn't seen her in forever so it was good to catch up. Damnit, I should've taken a picture that night!

I am pretty positive that absolutely nothing happened on Tuesday since I can't even remember it now. Wednesday, night I started working on my NEW project that I'll post about sometime later when I'm finished with it.

I don't want to jinx things but I think my 1st trimester symptoms might be starting to subside. I haven't felt too nauseous recently and I even think I have slightly more energy than before. Not that I want to go for a jog, run errang, or even walk around the block yet but I have stayed up until 10pm on at least two occasions this week.

I just looked at our calendar for August and the only exciting events for me so far are two doctor's appointments. And, since I'm getting my hopes so high up for them, they probably won't even be that exciting.

I'll try to think of more exciting things to talk about and do in the next few days.

Backtracking

Before I get too wrapped up in "baby" stuff I should probably backtrack a little to post some pictures that I don't want to forget or lose.

Before Steve and I got married, my office threw me a shower and I received the pictures from one of my co-workers on a thumb drive that I thought I'd post.

It was really sweet of them to throw the shower for me. There were a lot more people there than I thought would come since I work with like 4 people. It was fun and I thought it deserved a post before I forgot. There aren't a lot of pictures but I'm glad there are at least a few so I don't forget it!

This is when I was walking into the conference room and they surprised me. They told me that I was meeting with my boss and co-worker about some stuff before I went on my leave for the wedding and honeymoon...


They put me in my seat and put the veil on me...

From left to right we have Ted (a Recruiter), Lucy (my co-worker), Norma (my "big" boss the HR Director), Karen (in Contracts), Phill (another Recruiter), and Carol (who is an Administrator and also the mom of a girl I graduated from high school with)

My ice bucket from Norma

The two on the left are Mary (also in contracts I think) and Jane (another HR Rep I help support)


My beer mugs from Cathy



The two on the left here are Cathy(my boss' boss...love her!), and Ingrid (works downstairs and is my bosses really good friend)

So we had those people and Elly who was taking all the pictures and not in a single one! And, also my boss, Facia is not in any of the pictures but I'm not sure why cause she was there. It was a fun shower and a great end to the day right before I went on vacation for almost 2 weeks! They did a great job planning it and I got tons of cool stuff and they had a lot of desserts for everyone and none with fruit cause they all know I don't like fruit! It seems SOOOOO long ago and it was really only two and a half months ago. Crazy!

Steve's Pride and Joy!

So, here are the long awaited pictures that I promised I'd post. Steve dragged me off the couch well after my bedtime of 7pm last night to get me to take pictures of him. I would be pretty concerned about the enormous payments that we are making on this monster but I can tell taht Steve really, really, loves the car and it's not an impulse buy. It's something that he's wanted for years literally. So, that's worth it to me.

(REMINDER: You can click on the pictures to make them bigger)


So here's our newest addition...


Front view...


One of the proud owners...



One of my personal favorite parts is how when the doors are closed, everything is all tucked in a clean looking (I love in this picutre how Steve is still sitting in the driver's seat all proud waiting for me to take more pictures of him. It cracks me up!)...


But, then when you open the door, the side running boards pop out so you can get in the car easily...


Still so proud...

So there you have it. It was a pretty penny and it better last us a long, LONG time.

My new favorite thing

It's Jolly Ranchers.

They are SOOOOOOOO good for nausea. I don't have a lot but I am kind of sea sick-like for a big chunk of the day.

Good thing I have a second bag on standby.

I read online that sour candy helps with nasuea. So, I made my wonderful husband go with me to buy Preggie Pop Drops at Babies R Us to see if they helped.

They helped a little but it seemed just like nothing any other hard sour candy couldn't handle. So I bought Jolly Ranchers and Sour Patch Kids just for good measure. And, I am really liking them.

My mouth is kind of raw from all the sugar but whatever it takes, ya know??

Okay, I'm caving...

However, I may not keep this up depending on how enormous I feel.

My 8 week picture that could've been

I was going to post it and record my progress (I even took a picture this morning) but I think it's better not on a website and just on my computer in case I want to look back. I feel ENORMOUS after just looking at the picture. My clothes don't fit the same, i'm bloated and my boobs are enormous. I didn't think I looked very different until I just looked at that picture and now I want to just stop eating.

Nausea has kicked in a little and it's not making me feel great. I guess the best way to describe it is feeling a little bit sea sick. I am not going to barf or anything but I just don't feel RIGHT. So, Steve said we could go to Babies R Us tonight and buy some Preggy Pops. They are supposed to help with the nausea but I'll be the judge of that. I also heard sour candy works well. I'll try that too. I'll try anything.

I'm really glad that it's Friday and getting close to quittin' time! I'm over being here today.

Such an exciting day!

Steve and I went to my first doctor's appointment this morning. Apparently, I'm measuring between 7 weeks 1 day and 7 weeks 5 days. The doctor said it's hard to tell at this early in the game and he said that the baby was kind of hiding so it was difficult to get a good picture at first. He also said that the sonogram has a 5 day margin of error so who knows where in the 7th week that I am in. He went over the basics with us and told us about the different tests I'll have to do to make sure that the baby isn't at risks for things like spina bifida which is the most common disorder in caucasions. He told me I'd need to get a 12week ultrasound (yay!) to test for some disorders and then another ultrasound at 20 weeks I think (which is the big one).

We also go to see the heartbeat. It was so unreal. It just looked like a little flutter of a light that you could barely see but it made it all a little more real to me. He said that once you see the heartbeat, the chance of miscarriage goes down about 90% or something like that so that was really good to hear. Anyway, here's the big picture....

Practicing our golf lessons at Top Golf

Saturday, Tiffany, Steve and I decided to go to Top Golf.

We received a loaner car from Chevrolet of our exact Tahoe that we bought but just not in our color. I'll start this post by saying that this is the first time in months that I woke up LATER than Steve. He was SO excited to drive that thing! Seriously. He was like a kid at Christmas. It was unbelievable...but cute.

So we spent a few hours at Top Golf and it was so fun. I love that we are taking these golf lessons because I really feel like I've improved a million times over.

Top Golf has to be one of the coolest driving ranges in the world. The downside, is that there are THREE in the United States. Seriously. It is different from a normal driving range.

First, it's a little more expensive than your run of the mill driving range. Second, they have servers that serve you food and beer and an full menu! There mozzarella sticks tasted incredible to this pregnant lady.

They also have these microchips that are in the golf balls so that when you get your bucket of balls, YOUR balls are programmed with YOUR name and information. Genius! So, when you are up at the tee, you drop your golf ball from your bucket down the hole in the plastic bin next to the tee and voila! Your score is being recorded.

In this picture below, you'll see Tiffany up at the tee ready to swing. You may be wondering what the little crop circle-looking colored things are in the field. They are targets for us to hit at.

So, when your ball hits any of the targets, it records your information, like how far the ball went and depending on where in the target it hit, you get a score. To keep track of all your scores, each bay (the thing you sit in by your tee) has a computer screen that does the math for you. How cool is that??

So, each game is 20 balls and you can win games by hitting a certain target on your 11th ball or different things like that. this place is so cool I can't believe that there aren't a million more all over the country. Apparently, they only have one in Alexandria, one in Chicago and one in Dallas. Someone needs to work on getting them in more locations. Oh well, I guess I can't complain since I can at least drive 30 minutes to one.

So, anyway, we had a fin day at Top Golf, and then Tiffany and I went to play a 9 hole course by our houses where we were stalked by a fox on hole #1. No lie. It was kinda scary.

I don't have pictures of that since I had left my camera in the car but I'll leave you with a few more from Top Golf. We'll be sure to be back again soon.

This was Steve and I sitting in our bay. It's cool cause you can chill and watch your other player hit their balls and eat or drink and then you are up. It's kind of like the bowling version of golf.

Steve can seriously hit the ball soooo far. His balls just always curve to the right.

He looks like a professional to me!

I, on the other hand, can hit straight but not far at all. I don't know which problem I'd rather have.

And, lastly, I have a video of Tiffany swinging a horrible shot but I have to figure out how to post a video. I'll try to figure that out now.

Goodbye Ole' Bessie!

Friday we got a new car.

Steve has been DYING for a new Tahoe for at least the past 2 years.

But first, I need to pay respects to the OLD car.

He wasn't happy about trading in "Bessie" who had been oh so reliable to him since he bought her in 2002. Bessie was Steve's first car that he had ever bought himself. I remember when he made his last car payment for that car and he was so proud of himself for paying her off.

He asked me to take a final picture of them together. Doesn't he look so proud??

I do have to say that this car is in VERY good condition for being a 2002. Steve took such good care of it.

Coming soon: Pictures of the NEW car! We don't have our actual car yet but should be getting it today...since we already bought it on Friday. But, that's a whole nother story.

Nothing New

Oh, I am so excited for this week to end. This weekend we are probably going to go buy a Tahoe for Steve. It will be nice to have a big SUV so we can haul stuff if we need it. Both of our cars are so small and only have trunk space and not much of it.

I'm hoping that maybe at the end of this year, I can trade in my car for a smaller SUV. I need ROOM! And, if I'm going to be putting diaper bags and strollers and car seat and all that crap in my car then it needs to be bigger. I think Steve is okay with this plan.

However, my first priority is moving out of Northern Virginia finally. We can't afford to be here and me stay at home. So, instead of paying (thousands of dollars) for someone else to watch my child, I feel like I need to stay at home for awhile. Oh darn!

Filled almost all fo the important people in...

So, Steve and I went to my mom's house for the 4th of July. My brother, sister and her family, my mom, and some friends were all there. The first night, when everyone was there and we were making dinner, I told my mom and Chris to come into the house and acted like I was making toast with a glass of wine (non-alcoholic but they didn't know). So, then I said that we had an announcement to make and Kim blurted out "YOU'RE PREGNANT!!!" And, I nodded yes. I think everyone seemed really excited. Chris said taht Kim was doing an old lady dance.

I did have my first emotional rollercoaster moment come to life Friday night. I could not stop crying. I was the ONLY sober person in the house and it wore on me big time. I just wanted Steve to be my one sober person (or at least half sober) that I could talk to and he was too drunk. It was horrible. I learned that I need to try not to put myself into a drunk party situation for the next 9 months where I have no one to talk to. I'm glad it's over now though and I hope I can get a better grasp on my emotions also.

So, after we told everyone there about being pregnant, my dad had called Chris' phone and they put me on and I told him as well. He had a typical Wayne reaction which I expected but seemed excited.

Now, the only people that we need to fill in are Steve's family. And, then it's all out in the open. So, weird.

Overall, it was a pretty good weekend. Not as fun as years in the past when I could drink too but it ended up okay.

I need

...an update picture. I keep forgetting to have Steve take one of me or to just do it myself. Not that anything has really changed but it would be nice to get in the habit of taking pictures so I don't forget all the time.

I'm feeling the same still.

No morning sickness yet...yay!
I do have back pain (mostly lower).
I'm always freezing cold (I don't think that has anything to do with pregnancy but it's been since I found out)
I am getting a pudgy belly so my pants aren't fitting as comfortably as before. It's nothing noticable to the outside world though.
Boobs are still sore adn HUGE!

We're going down to the lake this weekend to tell my family. I'm excited for it to be out in the open to everyone now instead of having this secret. I'm also glad I waited to tell them in person.

So, as promised, below are some pictures from Ocean City. I definitely didn't take as many as I wish I had but at least we have some...

Welcome to Ocean City!!!


I think I mentioned this in the previous post but our hotel room was awesome (in my opinion) because it was at the end of the boardwalk so it wasn't crazy with people since we were so far down, it was still right on the boardwalk and it was right ON the ocean. The view was awesome! This is the view from our balcony...


And this is the view when you looked to the right off of our balcony down the boardwalk.


Another picture down the boardwalk. I LOVED IT!


I feel like we spent quite some time out on the balcony.


It's always hard when you are on a romantic getaway as a couple and you just can't get many "together" shots. It can be kind of frustrating sometimes.


Luckily our neighbors on the balcony next to us were out and we asked them for a little help.


We walked all the way down the boardwalk and back on the first night. It was cool to see the rides all lit up. There were a lot of people at the beginning of the boardwalk. A lot of STRANGE people too. It made for GREAT people -watching!


This was at the beginning of the boardwalk where they have models of sharks that people have caught that were record breaking.


Again....with the non-together pictures. Frustrating.


We had a pretty big fridge in our room that we STOCKED with waters for when we went out on the beach. It came in handy moer than I ever thought it would!


When we got back from the beach on Saturday, I was welcomed with THESE for my 30th birthday! I love Tiffany...


Very pretty...


Steve caught a picture of me getting ready to go to the all you can eat seafood buffet. It was soooo good...


And, after dinner we hit up the putt putt. Steve did pretty good.


Me...not so much.

It was a GREAT weekend and I wish we were there now!