Yep, it snowed...

It's going to be a White Christmas. I do love having snow. But, I don't like it when it ruins an entire weekend of plans. Honestly, it snowed all day on Saturday and then went on to ruin roads for Sunday and Monday. The Wisconsin DOT advised no driving... The roads are still coated in snow. I don't remember what pavement looks like. The sidewalks are all icy. I also realized that I don't have a pair of gloves. Oops. And I am missing my brush and scraper in my car... dang it. Don't you hate it when you realize these things are missing when you need them the most?

Luckily, Ricky shoveled this time. But, the shovel bent and broke. Seriously, that much snow. We received about 8 or 9 inches. My parents only an hour north have about 15 inches. The whole state of Wisconsin is snow covered. But, I am happy that it is now out of the system and maybe travelling for all the Christmases that we need to attend will be good. Some sun and maybe some temperatures above 6 degrees would be nice. Thanks.



The picture doesn't show it real well, but to top it all off - we were without power from about 4 am to 3 pm. And didn't get our internet or cable back til 7:00pm. So, that Charter Commercial about counting on them in storms is a BIG FAT LIE!!!! In the picture, you can sort of see that a utility pole fell down. Gotta love a ton of snow and then 40 mph gusts. And then two days of temperatures below zero. Oh, what a great week.

HDBD: 28 Weeks

Sorry, a day late in my usual fashion. But, that is me in all my glory. And I realized in this photo that our mirror really needs cleaning. It is all I can look at when I see it. I am sure you are all staring at my gorgeous baby bump. But, I don't. Probably cause I stare at the bump every day thinking about my baby girl inside.

Anyway... bending down and getting things from the floor is now a definite chore. And I am having a rather interesting day dropping many things. I broke a plate putting the dishes away. I dropped some butter when making macNcheese. It just keeps going and going... I think I will spend the rest of the day in bed. Good choice before I burn the house down.

I finally got the call from the hospital about the class dates. But, I have already forgotten them. I will ask again - though I am 90% sure it is January 29th. I can't wait! It seems like so far away... but I know it will be here in no time. Just like the holidays creeping up. Crazy!

Craving: Nothing really. Amazing, I know. But, I am just not a big fan of food right now. And it has nothing to do with nausea or being sick... I just stare at the cupboards and fridge and can never find something to eat. It is frustrating.

Best: Feeling the movement all the time! It is so awesome. Sometimes feels really weird like she is trying to escape... but I still love it.

Worst: The heartburn. Still awful. I am combating with Milk, Tums, and Zantac. But, some days it feels like the stomach acid has completely eroded my esophagus and it HURTS LIKE A BITCH.

100% Chance of Snow

As you can see, Wisconsin is going to have a white Christmas. And all the snow seems to be coming on the weekend this year... which frustrates me. I have had to skip going to my parent's one weekend already because of ice and now I might miss more. There is a 100% chance of snow tonight. No shit... cause it is already snowing.

BLIZZARD WARNING; WINTER STORM WARNING

That is what the Weather Channel says at the top when I type in my zip code. Oh goody. Even the radar is fun colors. Right now it keeps switching between winter mix and snow... which is the worst. I am stuck inside and don't know what to do. I guess blogging won out right now.



Kind of wish I would have waited to put together all the gift baskets for Christmas for a day like this. But, they are all done. Actually, besides three people who I have to order for - our Christmas shopping is all done. Gotta love being organized. Which is a must have considering Ricky and I have a Christmas to attend the next three weekends...

By the Numbers and Diet - GD

GD. No, it doesn't stand for God-Damned... but it should. I am a little late with this post and should have done it on Tuesday when I had my doctor's appointment, but as you could probably tell from my other posts I tend to do this a lot. It has nothing to do with not having the time, mostly I sometimes can't find the words. Or the words don't get my fingers. However... here are the numbers from my one week of taking blood sugar.

Tuesday: B - 82, S - 97
Wednesday: F - 71, S - 96
Thursday: F - 79, S - forgot...
Friday: F - 75, S - 94
Saturday: F - 85, S - 86
Sunday: F - 77....then I ran out of test strips.

(F = Fasting, B = 1 hour after Breakfast, S = 1 hour after Supper)
I am using the Bayer Contour and it only came with ten strips. So, I had to wait until my doctor finally called in the prescription (cause those things are super expensive to be buying on their own). But, these were enough numbers to show my doctor that I am doing well with the diet!!! Yay!

New Testing Goals: Must test 2 full days a week. That means F, B, L, and S.

New Diet Goals: None really, I have been sticking to it with minor mistakes. Like the cheesecake I ate last week in two days. Woops. I also am still craving donuts.

Weight Update: 208 lbs. WOOOO!!! That means I only gained 1 lb in two weeks. My goal is gain 1/2 - 1 lb a week during the pregnancy. All is 100% going wonderful.

**Hope all the other ladies on the March 2011 board with GD can manage as well as me, I know there are many levels of GD and I know we can all do it. March is just around the corner!**

Learning Experiences: The Placenta

Okay, so there isn't a picture to go along with this post.. because I made the mistake of googling and well, not too pretty. I was going to find pictures of it encapsulated, but no such luck. Either way, it has come to my attention that I needed to learn a little about the placenta and the benefits of eating it. Yes, I said eating it. Most all mammals... excluding humans, eat the placenta when their babies are born. I won't be doing it. My boyfriend asked if I would and that was an absolute no. I have no need to protect my baby from predators and I don't need the extra hormones to love my baby... so my conclusion is I don't need it.

However, I have come to realize that many women do choose to do this and I went on a Google Adventure to find out why. I am bored. I am curious.

- It can help improve lactation. A study showed that most women improved their milk output by taking in the nutrients of their placenta through capsules.

- Shown in rats... it apparently reduces pain or soreness.

- Has a positive effect on postpartum depression. Women experience less and feel better in general after the birth of their baby.

- Good source of Iron and can replenish a woman's iron supply after birth and prevent a deficiency.

Still not going to do it. But, it is interesting to read about the benefits and extremely interesting to read why we view the eating of our placenta's culturally disgusting. I guess I am just going with the crowd... or just what I grew up believing. Not that anyone sat down and told me it was disgusting - but, no one told me it was necessary either.

Another Ultrasound!

So, because of my bad experience I decided to get an elective ultrasound through Stork Vision in Madison, Wisconsin. Sure, it was an hour drive away and there was a snow storm coming... I didn't care. I went and I had a blast. Ricky's mother and sister came with me to the hour long appointment where I was able to watch my little girl on the screen for 43 minutes. She is so beautiful... and so perfect. I just can't wait until March when she is in my arms!



Today is also my ticker change day! I am 27 weeks along and officially into the Third Trimester. That is the home stretch. It is hard to believe that in just 10 weeks I will be full term. Course... it is still 13 weeks until being 40 weeks. But, a healthy baby can be born anywhere after 37 weeks. She moves all of the time and I love her so much already. Ricky and I watched the DVD from the session last night and it was so much fun talking about our little girl.

Heartburn is worse than ever. I am craving cookies and chocolate so bad.

Alina Joy is coming soon!!

Sewing Corner: Baby Clothes

I have a sewing machine. Yes, and I sometimes use it. Mostly I need to tend to Ricky's clothing because he likes to wear things even after they get holey and then expects me to fix them. Yeah.. okay. Since I had gone through the trouble of making a terrible mess of getting the sewing machine out I figured I would make a few extra things. And, if you know me I always start something new. I have patterns cut out from a few months ago - it didn't interest me now. I also have a baby quilt that I made for a friend almost 2 years ago that hasn't been finished... yeah I should get on that.



The above hat and baby panties (that is what the back says and I can't think of a new word... I suppose bottoms work for me) that I made a couple months ago when Hancock Fabrics had a ridiculous sale. I got patterns for 89 cents each!! I know!! And then also a ton of fabric. However, these items are made out of fabric that I have... because I like to waste old fabric the first time I try out patterns. The hat ended up huge - the next one I make will be smaller.




These pants are what I worked on today. This is the medium size from the pattern. I guess I could have gone with small. This was just another thing just for fun. I will probably redo the waistband because I didn't have the right size elastic... but only I know that. The snowflakes are hand sewn on. I think they are cute. Maybe they will fit my baby next winter - or I will give them away. Or make a matching hat. Yeah... we will see about that.

Hump Day Bump Day - 26 Weeks

So, I know I have been slacking at this. Sorry. I don't always look presentable to the public. Okay, wait. I never look presentable - however, today I am in a careless mood... so here you are. You get a bump photo. And it is even Wednesday!!

The whole GD thing has been going okay. My numbers have been well beyond perfect and I only have to test my blood sugar twice a day. So, I am incredibly thankful for that. This Friday I have an elective ultrasound scheduled and this person I am paying to find out the gender - so I shouldn't have the same awful experience I had with the the big anatomy scan. I am extremely excited... even if I do have to drive an hour to get there.

Getting the Meal Plan

So, since I have GD (Gestational Diabetes), I needed to go to the dietitian today. I spent an hour and a half listening to what the rest of my pregnancy is going to be. Originally, I was okay with it. But, I saw my numbers... they aren't that bad. Why am I going to need to go through this nonsense? Not that getting on a good diet and forcing myself to be healthier is a bad thing. I just don't know why I will have to test my blood sugar. I am trying really hard to see the bright side of all of this.

My Test Results:

Fasting = 76 (must be less than 95)
1 Hour = 180 (must be less than 180)
2 Hour = 157 (must be less than 155)
3 Hour = 64 (must be less than 140)

My Meal Plan:
1800 calories (might get boosted if I lose any weight)

Breakfast (30 carbs)
- Suggested meal is 2 pieces of whole grain toast, 2 eggs, and one bottle diet coke.

Lunch (55 carbs)
- Suggested meal is sandwich w/ meat of some kind & cheese, baby carrots, 12 oz whole milk

Snack (45 carbs)
- Suggested meal is one apple, cheese stick, 12 oz glass of milk

Supper (60 carbs)
- Suggested meal is 3 oz meat choice, starchy vegetable, free vegetable, cup of rice with butter, and one bottle of diet coke.

Ricky and I will have to go shopping for some of the choices, but overall I think it isn't so bad. Not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Mainly I just have to watch the carbs and I will be good.

Pregnancy: Gestational Diabetes

So at 25 weeks it is normal to get the one hour glucose test. Yesterday, I had that appointment and had to drink the sugary solution. It wasn't so bad. However, I did get a call this morning that I didn't pass. Boo me.

Today, I went in for my three hour glucose test. Now, this wouldn't be so bad if they didn't have to prod me with a needle four times... and because the first needle was too big for my veins they had to do the first one twice. I had fasted, so I guess it was good that I checked my phone messages before eating breakfast - otherwise I might have had to wait a day. The first blood draw was taken (it was excellent). And then I had to drink the 100mg glucose solution and wait...

12:20, 1:20, and 2:20 - I had my blood drawn every hour. Have I ever mentioned that I hate needles. They are awful. They hurt. And when only one arm has a good vein so they repeatedly go into that arm... it hurts even more. The last one they had the courtesy to go into my hand for blood. But, it still hurts.

Anyway. I failed and have met the requirements for Gestational Diabetes. Tomorrow I get to go to the hospital... again. I will see a dietitian to help me with diet, guidelines, and how to take my blood sugar.

Other than that... my pregnancy is going well and I am thinking about going to have an elective ultrasound done because I just can't wait til the birth to find out what the baby is. I don't think I am a Team Green kind of person. I am just too much of a planner. I want to shop. I want to know.

The Holidays Are Coming!

I love the holidays. I love Thanksgiving. I like Black Friday. I love Christmas. And this weekend is the Holiday Fair. It is the biggest craft show of the year and I go every year. It is where tons of vendors sell all sorts of fun things and I get new ideas for crafts. I am really excited. So... Most of my Flashbacks for the next two months will be about of Holidays past.



The first family tradition I will talk about is the matching pajamas. Oh yea. I have a small family. It is just two cousins and me. Every year we would get our matching Christmas pajamas on Thanksgiving. I don't know where they all went now... but I think it is so cute. When I was little they had my cousin, Sarah, and I match quite often.

I know I will be doing this to my kids. And they will enjoy it. I promise. I don't care if it will take some coercion... but at least for a couple nights a year they will match like I did when I was little. Maybe Santa only comes to children who wear their matching pajamas... yeah. That is plausible.

In the picture above it shows what happened last year when they once again gave Sarah and I matching pajamas. I made her put them on and take pictures... she didn't want to. However, I am extremely persuasive. And I love it!!!! Hahahaha... I am sinister. Christmas is on the way whether you like it or not... but I haven't sung Christmas songs yet and I walk out of stores who play Christmas music before Black Friday.

About My Pet: Tazmerie

I know she used to be adorable right? I brought her home from school in 7th grade. Okay... the true story. I took the kitten to the principals office so that I could call me mom and ask her if we could get another cat. While I was on the phone and while my mother was saying no - the mom of my classmate who brought the kittens in left. Therefore, I ended up having to call my mom back and tell her I had to bring it home. I really had no choice. That is how we managed to get this adorable bundle of joy.

When she was little she really did love water. The picture above is of her jumping into the hot tub when it was being filled. Really, she jumped in. I did not put her there. Taz is special. BTW, she grew out of the love of swimming in water.



Okay... so she ended up being overweight. I had another cat growing up, Patches. Patches needed special diet food and that wasn't right for Taz's metabolism. However, there was no way to feed the cats separetly - so she got fat. She was at most 16 pounds. And let me tell you, her legs are tiny. She is not meant to be 16 pounds. Poor kitty, but I think she carried it well. But, she had a habit of laying around the house like the photo above.

Don't let that position fool you. She does not want you to pet her belly. Touch her belly and she will bite your hand off. Trips to the vet are always an adventure. She hates it there. They need hawk gloves, towels, and at least two helpers to hold her. I love my Tazmerie.



After Patches passed away, Taz was put on a diet and she lost weight. In the first year she was down to ten pounds. Woo Taz. Now if only I could lose a third of my body weight in a year... yeah right. Don't cats have the life? Anyway... recently she has gone down to about six pounds. Way too skinny. She was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism. She needs a cream in her ear daily and gets to eat wet cat food like a special kitty. Lucky her. We are still working on getting her weight up - but she seems happier and younger than ever when she plays with her new friend Tagomei.

When I moved in with Ricky, Taz came with me. Since it has been about five or six years since Patches passed away, Taz didn't seem happy about living with another cat. But, they have grown to be nice to each other.



Taz doesn't always make me happy. Most recently she ran out the door when I was giving kids Halloween Candy. She spent the night somewhere. I don't know where. I wish cats could talk so that she could tell me where she went. It had gotten down to 28 degrees that night. Very cold and like I said she is still very skinny. She returned November 1st at about 3:30pm very dirty. She now meows all the time wanting to go back outside... FML. She is meowing annoyingly right now actually. If I didn't love her so much, I would be mad. But, she is the best furbaby ever and has a crazy personality to boot.

Ten Quick Facts About Taz...
1. She loves peanut butter, popcorn, and Doritos (nacho cheese is her fav).
2. She growls a lot. Sometimes she sounds like a motorcycle.
3. We call her Toothless sometimes - because of her abnormally large green eyes. And she reminds us of the dragon in How To Train Your Dragon.
4. She is declawed because she ripped up the back of a couch, otherwise I am generally against declawing cats.
5. She comes when you whistle.
6. Her favorite toy is the foil wrappers from candy - like mini Reese's cups.
7. She needs a sedative when taken to the vet and still needs to be held down by gloves, towels, and extra help.
8. She is 13 years old.
9. She gets really bad acne when sad. She had bad bouts when our dog Bud died and when Patches died. It appears on her chin - and dude... not even a teenager gets it this bad.
10. She loves me... but not necessarily the rest of the people in the world.

-Sorry about the bad pictures of pictures. I don't have a scanner and it was the easiest way to transfer them... don't know why my camera is being so blurry today.

Another Week of Phone Photos

So this week was interesting and well.. there were many times that my animals were doing hilarious things - but by the time I grab my phone they move. This has always happened though. Not just now... Somehow I always miss on out on the cool things. So - most of my things this week have been photos that I have taken to show my mom things. Enjoy. And don't forget to check out other people's phone photos HERE!!!


All the gallons of milk I have drank
in like... the last two months. I
did start writing down the dates on
them - but gave up. Pregnancy and
heartburn make me crave milk.

All my Avon stuff that is going to eventually
be Christmas gift baskets for family and friends.
I just have it laid out... next step organizing
it into the gift boxes.

Isn't he just the cutest golden retriever
in the whole wide world? That duck didn't
stand a chance. And yes... I watched him
do this knowing I would have to pick it up.
But, it kept him occupied for a good 2 hours
so in the end it was worth it.

This is the cross stitch I am working
on for my grandmother. And I make myself
do a thread at least every day so I don't
give up by Christmas.

Yeah, I went at Midnight, I'm a geek.

Sooooo... when Ricky got home from work Monday night he surprised me and told me we could go to Walmart (the only place open at midnight in this rinky dink town) and get Black Ops! I was beyond excited and got dressed even though it was an hour away from midnight. He had originally told me that I could wait and I didn't need it right away. What a tease. But, I love my boyfriend. I do. And he bought me Black Ops.

Monday night we stayed up til 4 am playing. It is amazing. I love the new maps and I love the new weapons and most of all I love the customization. I played almost all day Tuesday. Zombies is pretty fun too! What can I say... I am obsessed. So when I am not blogging or cleaning the house - which hasn't gotten dirty since we just play the video game right now - I am playing Black Ops. I love it. I heart it. I wish I had more friends who liked to play it.

Right now I am level 33 already. Woot woot! My favorite maps are The Villa, The Jungle, and Nuketown. Zombies... I wish I could see the other maps and I still love the dialogue when you get a head shot. So yea... that is what I have been up to lately. And as you can see in the picture above, next to my PS3 I have a lot of games that I have started and not finished. And right now they will remain unfinished.

Hump Day Bump Day - 23 Weeks

Ricky took the day off yesterday... so I didn't get anything done that I wanted to. I will do a post about what we did all day later. Every Wednesday I plan on getting bump pictures up. This one is a day late, but I am sure you will enjoy it either way.

This week in pregnancy I had an appointment on Monday and found out that that bitch who did the ultrasound is just that way. She doesn't believe that people deserve to know or should want to know the gender of the baby. Well, shit - I think she needs to get a new job. My weight is right on schedule... but it is a bit scary to be over 200 pounds for the first time in my life. I know that I am pregnant. But, I just worry about having the focus to take the weight off once the baby comes. I wasn't able to stick to a plan before pregnancy... how will I stick to one after?

Other than that... nothing too interesting. Current craving is donuts. I run to the gas station every day for a donut. I can't get enough. Ugh.

The Living Room is... done?

So you might remember that I had a living room in the house that was so hideous that I never wanted to even clean it... much less spend time in there. The Living Room Before didn't look like anything anyone wanted to live in. Well, I have finished making the walls acceptable enough to have company.







So on the upside.. it even looks good enough that Ricky wants to keep the living room open through the winter. Last winter we put foam board up and kept it closed. We watched television and just lived in the bedroom. Don't be dirty. It was to save on the heating bill.

So, there is a question mark on the end of that title... yea. It isn't finished. I still need to get things on the walls. I have some shelves to hang and some picture frames with no pictures. I just don't know what to put in them. Ricky and I aren't married so we don't have engagement or wedding photos. We don't have kids yet... what exactly do you put in picture frames in your living room before you have that???? Please help.

Also... I really need a slip cover for that ugly floral couch that you can sorta see in the one picture. I have one picked out. Now I just need to order it. Bah... more money spent.

I Have Pictures on my Phone?

What is on my phone? Well... for the first installment of this I figured I would just get out my phone and look at what I have. I have a lot of pictures of my dog Alexander and none of them are cute. They are all of him just sitting there. Because my mom always wanted updates on what he looked like. I figured I wouldn't put any of these on here... unless he were doing something cute. The cats are far more interesting.

I made this post after reading Untypically Jia's Blog and saw that her newest Blog Hop was this from Jessica, aka the Hussy..


ABOVE: This summer. My road. My house.
Road Construction is evil and makes life difficult.
I complained about this crap everyday.

ABOVE: The only picture of my Baby Bump so far.
I haven't been real good about taking photos.
This is probably around 18-20 weeks I think.
So cute... yea.

ABOVE: Me amused by the cats that decided to
take up residence above my head while I as
on the laptop. Taz on one side and Tagome
on the other.

ABOVE: SHOWDOWN! Haha. Taz is my cat
who is 13 and Tagomei is Ricky's cat who is
two. When I moved in... Taz came with. They
don't always get along. But, it is getting
better.

Still a Papaya!

Alright, it is week 23 and I have given up on trying to write about the past and catching up. It is just easier to live right now and write about it. I guess that is the point of the blog anyway.

On The Bump ticker I realized that I have hit the weeks when one fruit continues to represent the baby for more than one week. 22 and 23 weeks is the Papaya. The baby is now about 8 inches long and just over a pound in weight. That is right! A whole pound of my weight is the baby. This is the start of the Sixth Month. Woo hoo! I am so excited and I figure that with all the holidays coming up that it will go quickly.

My favorite thing about being pregnant right now is when the baby is kicking and moving around. It is amazing to think that the little one is in there.

Right now, I am annoyed with looking over baby names all over again. I thought we had it all set and all picked out, but Ricky is unsure - which has made me unsure. I am having second thoughts about the girl's first name and Ricky has second thoughts about the boy's name. What are we going to do?

Name choices right now: Boy - Vance Dean, Girl - Alina Joy

The Big Anatomy Scan!

This is a little late, but I have been busy and apparently not in the writing mood. However, on October 21st I woke up at 6 in the morning to make sure to pee and then refill my bladder as directed. I never get up that early. I never drink that much water in one sitting. The morning was pleasant, but I was too excited to see my baby to care. I woke up Ricky at quarter to seven and we were out the door and to the hospital in time to wait for our 7 AM appointment.

Waiting in the waiting room was awful. I was so tired and they were so slow. We must have been the first people to come to the damn hospital for the day. I will never make another appointment that early. But, I thought it would be easier than waiting half a day for the appointment to come to me. Finally, it was our turn. It was time to go into the dark room with a big ultrasound machine.

She started looking at everything and taking pictures. The technician didn't really have that much to say. She just kind of gave an overview of what she needed to take measurements of. This took about twenty minutes. She left and then we waited. The doctor came in and looked over some of the pictures and then started at the head and explained what all the organs were, showed the beating heart with four chambers, showed the umbilical cord, and the spine and other bones. It was amazing. We have a healthy baby. This also took about twenty minutes.

At the end of the appointment when she made it to the feet... I asked about the gender and the doctor said "I didn't see anything dangling, but I don't pay to redecorate people's homes." How unprofessional! I was so angry... but it was too early in the morning to protest. Or to tell her to try again. I guess for now we are Team Green. I am coming to terms with it... but I am still complaining about her at my next doctor's appointment.

Pregnancy: the First Trimester

Still catching up with the story that is Ricky and I having a baby. And I am truly sorry that there are no pictures to go along with this post, but I decided not to do belly pictures. Okay, that is a lie. I really wanted to do belly pictures, but the one's with my phone just didn't seem to turn out right and my camera never managed to get charged until like a week ago. I was probably postponing it all on purpose.

I think that only because in June 2009 I was 140 pounds... and in June 2010 at the time of the BFP (Big Fat Positive) I had managed to make it all the way to 192 pounds. I don't want pictures of myself right now. It isn't the way I want to be. I should have never gained this weight and now I knew that it wasn't going to be coming off any time soon... I was depressed to say the least. I wasn't going to take bump photos because my first trimester bloat just made me look fatter.

Beyond that problem of how I feel that I look, I had other symptoms. I was tired. I wanted to sleep all day and all night. I only wanted to eat what was appetizing. And that was okay because I never threw up from morning sickness. I was just majorly picky. Through this I ended up losing about 10 pounds in the first trimester. Which, my mother and grandmother both managed to do. And it felt good to me because I had started out over weight.

I was also trying to decide what I was going to do about the birth. I have always been a sucker for pain, although I love the feeling of getting a tattoo, I am a baby. Basically, I figured that medication was going to be the route for me. Epidural all the way. But, Ricky has other ideas. He insists that I am strong enough to go natural. I also have the backing and strength from my family and his family that I can do it. Therefore, it was also in the 10th or 11th week of pregnancy where I declared that I am going to be a Natural Birth Momma.

Cravings: Sour Cream & Onion Chips, Salami Sandwiches, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Ups/Downs: Our number one choice of name, Vincent, was taken by Ricky's cousin. We had to go back to square one... and choosing names has been hard, that was sad. I lost weight, that was exciting. Seeing our baby in the ultrasound was amazing and I can't wait until October 21st when I can see it again.

Nesting: The Living Room Before

They always say that when you get pregnant that you go into a nesting mode to make the house ready for the baby. But, in the house that my boyfriend and I live in I have been restless about the way it looks since I moved in in May. The living room has been a sore thumb since I met him over a year ago. In the picture below are the lovely roses that cover the paneling all over the room. Awful. Ugly. It just looks plain dingy. It has to change.



So, I started looking into the options on how to cover the paneling. If we would have taken it completely down the walls would need sheet rock. My options turned into that thick paintable wallpaper and just painting. But! When I was looking for texture I found the sand stuff that you pour into paint to make a texture. Soooo, we picked out a color and so far the walls have been primed. The gaps between panels was spackled, and now it is time to get the rest of the paint up and trim done. Hopefully, only a few more days and the after pictures will be up!!!

Pregnancy: the BFP!!!

Let's play some catch up and I will start with the story of how I told my boyfriend, Ricky, that we were having a baby.

July 2nd, 2010 I had just gotten home from work (at the time I was working at Wal-Mart) and had picked up a pregnancy test from Wal-Mart. I was about 4 days late on my period and had been late a few times since we started trying in January. Mostly, I figured that it would be negative. Therefore, I was talking to one of my best friends, Nicole, on the phone when I decided to pee on the stick (she had no idea and was telling me a story - important story)... when I saw the second line and interrupted her. "I'm pregnant." She was caught by surprise and I apologized and told her I didn't know what to do. I really wanted to cry, happy tears of course.

So, this was before I marched Ricky into Verizon and got him a cell phone and he told me he was going to be at his parents helping them cut some hay. My mind was going a hundred miles an hour and I didn't even think about calling the MIL's cell phone or house phone to find out if he was there. Nope, I hopped in my car and drove the 15 minutes into the country to their farm. Ricky wasn't there. No, he was somewhere getting a car part to fix a car. Woops. I acted awkward, but didn't want to tell his parents why I was looking for him. They must have thought I was insane. Anyway, I left and decided to go back home and wait.

However, while I was driving back home Ricky called from our house number. He asked where I was and I said that I was driving back home from his parents and I cursed him for not letting me know where he was going to be and finally a was home and walking through the door. He was standing there waiting for me and staring at me. I said that I had something to tell him... he nodded and gave me a hug and said, "No kidding."

Well... in my franticness I left the positive pregnancy test on the bathroom sink and he saw it before I could get the chance to tell him. Either way we were and still are super excited! We told his mom the next day (which was her birthday) and I called my mom that day too.

Reinventing the SOS

So, I have been out of the blogging mood since I moved to Small Town Wisconsin with my boyfriend. I think it is about time that I start blogging and I have plenty to say. A LOT has happened to me in the past few months and I could start anywhere, but I will just outline a few things that you will find on my particular blog going forward. So, if that interests you - GREAT! If it doesn't - I am sure that with my random mind that I will come up with something to tickle your pickle.

How I describe myself and what you will see posted here is the following:

Baby Stuff (I am currently almost 19 weeks pregnant)
Video Game Stuff (My boyfriend and I love gaming)
Movie/Television Stuff (Since I am a SAHM now, I have a lot of time on my hands)
Animal Stuff (I have 2 cats and a dog that are truly entertaining)
Housewife Stuff (Cause cooking, redecorating, and chores is what I do)
Random Stuff (Cause that is the basics of what Shiny Object Syndrome is)

So, that is what sums it up and that is how it is!

Ricky and My Bathroom!

So, Ricky always complains about his house and I decided that we would go one room at a time and make it a home. He has lived there for two years and it looks kind of like he hasn't. The before pictures are after things were screwed off the wall, but there wasn't much there. So yea. And that's my man painting, mmhm. We started with white, then red, then black.





Sorry about the quality. I forgot my camera and my phone was all I had. Below are the after photos, I still have some stenciling to do in the white part will be some fluer de lys sybols in black. But, I was so excited to show it off!

Start of a Problem

Me: I wanna buy Bioshock 2 today.

Ricky: Why? You haven’t even played the first one.

Me: But, I liked watching you play the first one.

Ricky: You should finish the games you have bought in the passed three months.

Me: No. I’m stuck on Batman, can’t kill them.

Ricky: Okay, Infamous?

Me: Well, I played that the other night.

Ricky: And, Sacred 2.

Me: The update won’t load on my PS3. You know that.

Ricky: Uncharted 2?

Me: Still know where stuff is from watching you play. BOR-ING…

Ricky: How about Borderlands?

Me: I played it all the way through…the only reason I need to play it again is cause all the trophies are on your name. Hey! I know, you give me MY Dragons Age and Assassins Creed 2 back and I won’t buy Bioshock 2.

Ricky: No. You don’t wanna play those.

Me: Yes I do. And I bought them.

Ricky: You want to play Bioshock 1 or Assassins Creed 1 or Dead Space or maybe Call of Duty campaigns.

Me: Fine. Target didn’t have it anyhow.

Okay…so I didn’t really play video games until I met Ricky. I had lots of fun watching my friends play and that was just fine for me. But, no. My new boyfriend likes video games. LOVES Video games. So I watched him play. Then I watched him and his friend, Jamie play World at War Nazi Zombies. I started getting addicted and soon I was better than Jamie, which I of course reveled in. Beating a boy at video games is always lots of fun. Then, of course, MW2 came out. I bought my own PS3 and it has turned into a problem. I buy games. Lots of games. All the time and never finish any. Its like ADHD at its best. Course, I buy it and play the first chapter then Ricky steals it.

My list of games to complete…that I have started playing:

Assassins Creed 2
Sacred 2
Dead Space
Call of Duty: MW2 (campaign and spec ops)
Uncharted 2
Dragon Age: Origins
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Infamous

List of games I should probably play…

Assassins Creed
Uncharted
Call of Duty: World at War
Bioshock

SOS!!! I haven’t played any of the first of anything. Perfect…I got to call Ricky back and let him know my newest angle. I must buy Bioshock 2 and play it before I play others. Course…that doesn’t really explain all my half finished games. Er…Shhh.