It's looking a little different around here! It's been awhile since I've given my blog a fresh coat of paint, and I thought maybe a facelift would help keep my motivated to continue regular blogging. The new design just screams springtime and fun, so hopefully it does the trick. Here's to hoping anyway.
Have you ever used The Cutest Blog on the Block? I think I've gotten every blog design I've ever used from this website. They have the cutest backgrounds and headers, a huge selection, and it's all free! They also do customizable blog designs for those who want something more original, but I'm all about free stuff. I'm cheap that way.
Please let me know in the comments if the fonts or colors are difficult to read. They all seem pretty great to me, but I know all screens are different. I love how much Blogger lets you customize every last detail now. The font selection is huge compared to what it used to be. Is it sad that I got excited over that? Yes?
Well, I'll just go back to eating another homemade molasses cookie then. They were a special request from Baby 2.0.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Baby 2.0
I think the title of this post probably spells it all out pretty nicely, but in case you are confused? We're expecting again!
Right now, I'm somewhere between 6-7 weeks along. The doctors say 6 weeks, 3 days while the ultrasound suggests 7 weeks. But regardless, Baby 2.0 is due to arrive in the middle of November.
At this stage in the game, ultrasounds don't show all that much. Baby was measuring 6 weeks, 6 days, and really all you can see at this point is the yolk sac (which supplies nutrients for the baby) and the tiny little fetus. This was actually our second ultrasound, and at the first you could barely see the yolk sak. It's amazing just how fast they grow. It is said that at 7 weeks, baby is about the size of a blueberry.
A very large part of my absence on this blog over the past few months is due to trying for this miracle. After our miscarriage last April, we had a little difficulty getting pregnant. After a couple rounds of fertility drugs and some progesterone cream to help my low progesterone levels, I ended up getting pregnant during a month when I had no fertility drugs or aids in my system. Figures, right?
Right now, our feelings on the pregnancy run pretty frequently between elation and being petrified. We were able to see a strong heartbeat at the ultrasound which is always a very positive sign, but after suffering a loss and then disappointment month after month while trying again to conceive, it is hard to not let the past color the present.
One of the toughest things about this pregnancy is that Baby 2.0's due date is literally the day before the baby we lost last year. If it hadn't been Leap Year, the due dates would have been the same. The coincidence and deja vu of it all can be a little unnerving at times. But we are trying to hold on to the fact that our chances of another miscarriage are low, and that the doctors seem to be monitoring it all as best they can.
Symptom wise, I'm definitely feeling pregnant. Because I already get motion sickness very easily, I always seem to get nauseous pretty immediately in pregnancy. This time around is a little different in that I literally feel carsick from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed. Eating helps, but only for a brief period of time. Zofran, an anti-nausea medicine, doesn't seem to help much either. Thankfully I have a huge aversion to vomiting so I will do anything and everything to keep that particular symptom at bay. Eating is a chore since I have non-stop nausea, but I've been forcing myself to at least get a predetermined amount of calories in per day. My workout regime has been pretty much halted due to the nausea as well, but I hope to pick it up again as soon as I feel able.
On a happy note, Evie is absolutely thrilled that she is finally going to be a big sister. We started prepping her for the idea of a sibling last year when we got pregnant (thankfully, we hadn't told her about the pregnancy) so she has been talking about having a baby sister constantly ever since. She refuses to even consider the fact that she may have a baby brother. She is going to be one mad little four year old if Baby 2.0 ends up being a boy.
Doesn't she look excited? When we told her of the pregnancy, she just giggled and demanded to see my belly. We debated when to tell her about the baby since we aren't out of the woods yet for miscarriage, but after seeing a strong heartbeat we just decided to go for it. We want to give this baby all the positive juju we can!
Evie's been talking and singing to the baby already, and gives it kisses at bedtime. Since she's been around other pregnant women I think she grasps the concept that it will be awhile before the baby actually arrives. But that hasn't stopped her from asking once or twice if it's time for the baby to come out yet. This could be a long 7.5 months!
Right now, I'm somewhere between 6-7 weeks along. The doctors say 6 weeks, 3 days while the ultrasound suggests 7 weeks. But regardless, Baby 2.0 is due to arrive in the middle of November.
At this stage in the game, ultrasounds don't show all that much. Baby was measuring 6 weeks, 6 days, and really all you can see at this point is the yolk sac (which supplies nutrients for the baby) and the tiny little fetus. This was actually our second ultrasound, and at the first you could barely see the yolk sak. It's amazing just how fast they grow. It is said that at 7 weeks, baby is about the size of a blueberry.
A very large part of my absence on this blog over the past few months is due to trying for this miracle. After our miscarriage last April, we had a little difficulty getting pregnant. After a couple rounds of fertility drugs and some progesterone cream to help my low progesterone levels, I ended up getting pregnant during a month when I had no fertility drugs or aids in my system. Figures, right?
Right now, our feelings on the pregnancy run pretty frequently between elation and being petrified. We were able to see a strong heartbeat at the ultrasound which is always a very positive sign, but after suffering a loss and then disappointment month after month while trying again to conceive, it is hard to not let the past color the present.
One of the toughest things about this pregnancy is that Baby 2.0's due date is literally the day before the baby we lost last year. If it hadn't been Leap Year, the due dates would have been the same. The coincidence and deja vu of it all can be a little unnerving at times. But we are trying to hold on to the fact that our chances of another miscarriage are low, and that the doctors seem to be monitoring it all as best they can.
Symptom wise, I'm definitely feeling pregnant. Because I already get motion sickness very easily, I always seem to get nauseous pretty immediately in pregnancy. This time around is a little different in that I literally feel carsick from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed. Eating helps, but only for a brief period of time. Zofran, an anti-nausea medicine, doesn't seem to help much either. Thankfully I have a huge aversion to vomiting so I will do anything and everything to keep that particular symptom at bay. Eating is a chore since I have non-stop nausea, but I've been forcing myself to at least get a predetermined amount of calories in per day. My workout regime has been pretty much halted due to the nausea as well, but I hope to pick it up again as soon as I feel able.
On a happy note, Evie is absolutely thrilled that she is finally going to be a big sister. We started prepping her for the idea of a sibling last year when we got pregnant (thankfully, we hadn't told her about the pregnancy) so she has been talking about having a baby sister constantly ever since. She refuses to even consider the fact that she may have a baby brother. She is going to be one mad little four year old if Baby 2.0 ends up being a boy.
Doesn't she look excited? When we told her of the pregnancy, she just giggled and demanded to see my belly. We debated when to tell her about the baby since we aren't out of the woods yet for miscarriage, but after seeing a strong heartbeat we just decided to go for it. We want to give this baby all the positive juju we can!
Evie's been talking and singing to the baby already, and gives it kisses at bedtime. Since she's been around other pregnant women I think she grasps the concept that it will be awhile before the baby actually arrives. But that hasn't stopped her from asking once or twice if it's time for the baby to come out yet. This could be a long 7.5 months!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
My Direction
I'm back! Again! Yeah, bet you're sick of reading that every few posts. Whoops.
I've decided that the reason I've been such a horrible blogger these past few months is because I've lost my blogging direction. When I first started writing this blog, it was to chronicle our new life as a military family. I knew we'd be moving away from family and friends soon, and I wanted a way to keep everyone updated on what was going in our lives. For awhile, that worked well.
But once we settled into our lives here in Kansas, I didn't have a lot of military stuff to post. Our lives are just like everyone else's...most of the time.
I think the fact that I read some pretty awesome blogs also hindered the writing of my own. I always feel pressured to write a certain way because of what else seems to be out there in the blog world. Many bloggers give each post its own little theme, highlighting one specific thing in their lives that they want to share. Others chronicle the going-ons of their day, throwing a modpodge of ideas into one post.
I think I need to be somewhere in between. And to stop feeling the pressure. And to just write again. I miss writing. With all these other hobbies I've picked up, writing has fallen to the wayside.
So bear with me. Again. As I try to get back into blogging multiple times per week. I do have some pretty awesome things to share with you all so I'm hoping all the excitement around here will inspire me to blog more. Fingers crossed!
I've decided that the reason I've been such a horrible blogger these past few months is because I've lost my blogging direction. When I first started writing this blog, it was to chronicle our new life as a military family. I knew we'd be moving away from family and friends soon, and I wanted a way to keep everyone updated on what was going in our lives. For awhile, that worked well.
But once we settled into our lives here in Kansas, I didn't have a lot of military stuff to post. Our lives are just like everyone else's...most of the time.
I think the fact that I read some pretty awesome blogs also hindered the writing of my own. I always feel pressured to write a certain way because of what else seems to be out there in the blog world. Many bloggers give each post its own little theme, highlighting one specific thing in their lives that they want to share. Others chronicle the going-ons of their day, throwing a modpodge of ideas into one post.
I think I need to be somewhere in between. And to stop feeling the pressure. And to just write again. I miss writing. With all these other hobbies I've picked up, writing has fallen to the wayside.
So bear with me. Again. As I try to get back into blogging multiple times per week. I do have some pretty awesome things to share with you all so I'm hoping all the excitement around here will inspire me to blog more. Fingers crossed!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
My New Obsession
I am a one-hobby-at-a-time kind of person. I get really hooked on and obsessed about one thing for a little while and then move on to something else that I'll be equally as hooked on and obsessed about. I'll usually come back around to the first obsession eventually, but when it comes to hobbies I'm incredibly ADD. I just can't stick to one thing for long.
Over the summer during Michael's first deployment, my obsession was P90x. I worked out six days a week, and really trained myself to *eat clean*. But when Michael got home and my heart condition started giving me problems, I put it on the back burner. I tried really hard to stick to eating as healthy as possible--because after all, it's a lifestyle change, not a diet--but with the holidays, that took a big nose dive too.
I kept meaning to get back to my workouts, but I just didn't feel motivated. I've been down in the dumps a lot lately, dealing with circumstances that are out of my control, and that is what finally kicked me to get back into the fitness world. Working out helped me get over the emotional pain of our miscarriage last year--it could help me again. That, and the fact that my new *skinny* clothes were starting to feel a little tight. Whoops.
This time around, I'm doing a different Beachbody fitness program: Turbo Fire. I am so in love. I can't believe how much I enjoy working out every day. When I was doing P90x, I enjoyed it because I liked how it made me feel, and the results I was seeing. I didn't necessarily love the workouts themselves. They did their job and weren't incredibly boring, but they were really just a means to an end.
But Turbo Fire? Amazing! I was actually pretty leery about doing the program because so many fitness programs that are aimed at women seem very wimpy to me, especially after completing P90x. I don't want to waste my time with a twenty minute workout that doesn't leave me drenched in sweat. Turbo Fire is often described as a mix of dance and kickboxing which also worried me. It just seemed too...girly.
It may be girly, and we may work out to the lyrics of "Girl I got your boyfriend, I got your man" during one particular workout, but it isn't wimpy. I am soaked in sweat after every workout. After only two weeks of the program, I can already see small changes in my body. That, ladies and gents, is golden.
Besides Turbo Fire, I'm trying to incorporate running into my fitness regime. I've never been a runner. I've always had issues with becoming easily fatigued and out of breath doing any kind of fitness for as long as I can remember (stupid heart!) so running has always been especially hard for me. But since my endurance and stamina are so much better than they've ever been, I'm going to give running a try.
So my old obsession has come back around, and I hope it keeps me hooked for a long while. I'm ready to see what my body is capable of!
Over the summer during Michael's first deployment, my obsession was P90x. I worked out six days a week, and really trained myself to *eat clean*. But when Michael got home and my heart condition started giving me problems, I put it on the back burner. I tried really hard to stick to eating as healthy as possible--because after all, it's a lifestyle change, not a diet--but with the holidays, that took a big nose dive too.
I kept meaning to get back to my workouts, but I just didn't feel motivated. I've been down in the dumps a lot lately, dealing with circumstances that are out of my control, and that is what finally kicked me to get back into the fitness world. Working out helped me get over the emotional pain of our miscarriage last year--it could help me again. That, and the fact that my new *skinny* clothes were starting to feel a little tight. Whoops.
This time around, I'm doing a different Beachbody fitness program: Turbo Fire. I am so in love. I can't believe how much I enjoy working out every day. When I was doing P90x, I enjoyed it because I liked how it made me feel, and the results I was seeing. I didn't necessarily love the workouts themselves. They did their job and weren't incredibly boring, but they were really just a means to an end.
But Turbo Fire? Amazing! I was actually pretty leery about doing the program because so many fitness programs that are aimed at women seem very wimpy to me, especially after completing P90x. I don't want to waste my time with a twenty minute workout that doesn't leave me drenched in sweat. Turbo Fire is often described as a mix of dance and kickboxing which also worried me. It just seemed too...girly.
It may be girly, and we may work out to the lyrics of "Girl I got your boyfriend, I got your man" during one particular workout, but it isn't wimpy. I am soaked in sweat after every workout. After only two weeks of the program, I can already see small changes in my body. That, ladies and gents, is golden.
Besides Turbo Fire, I'm trying to incorporate running into my fitness regime. I've never been a runner. I've always had issues with becoming easily fatigued and out of breath doing any kind of fitness for as long as I can remember (stupid heart!) so running has always been especially hard for me. But since my endurance and stamina are so much better than they've ever been, I'm going to give running a try.
So my old obsession has come back around, and I hope it keeps me hooked for a long while. I'm ready to see what my body is capable of!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Schooling at Home
Let me start by saying, wow. I really do suck at posting regularly. Whoops! I keep meaning to write all sorts of posts, but I've just been living in the moments lately. I promise I really do want to try to become a regular blogger again!
Evie is four years old now, and keeping me plenty busy. She's been attending preschool two days a week (two and a half hours a day) this year, and learning tons. She's always been really curious and interested in learning, and school has just enhanced that. She's a little sponge for information, and I love seeing her little brain at work.
Now that the school year is starting to wind down, they aren't tackling as many new skills or concepts as they have been. It's mostly testing and preparing for the end of the year program. Evie, however, is continuously ready to learn new things. So what is a mom to do?
I started scouring the internet--and Pinterest, which is my form of crack--for printables and worksheets that I could start doing with Evie at home. Evie has quite a few Preschool-geared workbooks at home already, but she's almost beyond them. She mastered letter and number recognition long ago, and is ready to start learning early reading and math. Wasn't she just a baby a few minutes ago? How is she ready for this stuff already?
The internet is such a beautiful thing. I've found a lot of awesome Pre-K and Kindergarten materials online that we've started working through at home. I quickly realized unless I wanted to buy a million boxes of computer paper and new ink cartridges every other week, buying a lamination machine was a necessity. They are pretty inexpensive, and now she can practice the new concepts over and over again until she masters them without worrying about killing a ton of trees.
I'm pretty excited about schooling her at home over the summer. She loves learning so much that her excitement rubs off on you. She has one year left of preschool before she starts Kindergarten so it's going to be interesting for sure to see how far she comes.
If you're interested in schooling your little one at home, Confessions of a Homeschooler and 1+1+1=1 are two blogs that have awesome printables that I love. You can also check out my Pinterest board for others that I've pinned for later perusal.
If you know of other sites that have materials for at-home-use, please feel free to pass them along! I'm looking for as much help as I can get!
Evie is four years old now, and keeping me plenty busy. She's been attending preschool two days a week (two and a half hours a day) this year, and learning tons. She's always been really curious and interested in learning, and school has just enhanced that. She's a little sponge for information, and I love seeing her little brain at work.
Now that the school year is starting to wind down, they aren't tackling as many new skills or concepts as they have been. It's mostly testing and preparing for the end of the year program. Evie, however, is continuously ready to learn new things. So what is a mom to do?
I started scouring the internet--and Pinterest, which is my form of crack--for printables and worksheets that I could start doing with Evie at home. Evie has quite a few Preschool-geared workbooks at home already, but she's almost beyond them. She mastered letter and number recognition long ago, and is ready to start learning early reading and math. Wasn't she just a baby a few minutes ago? How is she ready for this stuff already?
The internet is such a beautiful thing. I've found a lot of awesome Pre-K and Kindergarten materials online that we've started working through at home. I quickly realized unless I wanted to buy a million boxes of computer paper and new ink cartridges every other week, buying a lamination machine was a necessity. They are pretty inexpensive, and now she can practice the new concepts over and over again until she masters them without worrying about killing a ton of trees.
I'm pretty excited about schooling her at home over the summer. She loves learning so much that her excitement rubs off on you. She has one year left of preschool before she starts Kindergarten so it's going to be interesting for sure to see how far she comes.
If you're interested in schooling your little one at home, Confessions of a Homeschooler and 1+1+1=1 are two blogs that have awesome printables that I love. You can also check out my Pinterest board for others that I've pinned for later perusal.
If you know of other sites that have materials for at-home-use, please feel free to pass them along! I'm looking for as much help as I can get!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Me
This is how I'm feeling today. I'm not sure if I'm ready to write about what's been going on with me lately, but this pretty aptly describes how it's all affecting me today.
Paula Cole "Me"
I am not the person who is singing
I am the silent one inside
I am not the one who laughs at people's jokes
I just pacify their egos
I am not my house, my car, my songs
They are only just stops along my way
I am like the winter
I'm a dark cold female
With a golden ring of wisdom in my cave
And it is me who is my enemy
Me who beats me up
Me who makes the monsters
Me who strips my confidence
I am carrying my voice
I am carrying my heart
I am carrying my rhythm
I am carrying my prayers
But you can't kill my spirit
It's soaring and it's strong
Like a mountain
I'll go on and on
But when my wings are folded
The brightly colored moth
Blends into the dirt into the ground
And it is me who is my enemy
Me who beats me up
Me who makes the monsters
Me who strips my confidence
And it's me who's too weak
And it's me who's too shy
To ask for the thing I love
And it's me who's too weak
And it's me who's too shy
To ask for the thing I love
That I love
I am walking on the bridge
I am over the water
And I'm scared as hell
But I know there's something better
Yes I know there's something
Yes I know, I know, yes I know
And it is me who is my enemy
Me who beats me up
Me who makes the monsters
Me who strips my confidence
But it's me
And it's me
But it's me
Paula Cole "Me"
I am not the person who is singing
I am the silent one inside
I am not the one who laughs at people's jokes
I just pacify their egos
I am not my house, my car, my songs
They are only just stops along my way
I am like the winter
I'm a dark cold female
With a golden ring of wisdom in my cave
And it is me who is my enemy
Me who beats me up
Me who makes the monsters
Me who strips my confidence
I am carrying my voice
I am carrying my heart
I am carrying my rhythm
I am carrying my prayers
But you can't kill my spirit
It's soaring and it's strong
Like a mountain
I'll go on and on
But when my wings are folded
The brightly colored moth
Blends into the dirt into the ground
And it is me who is my enemy
Me who beats me up
Me who makes the monsters
Me who strips my confidence
And it's me who's too weak
And it's me who's too shy
To ask for the thing I love
And it's me who's too weak
And it's me who's too shy
To ask for the thing I love
That I love
I am walking on the bridge
I am over the water
And I'm scared as hell
But I know there's something better
Yes I know there's something
Yes I know, I know, yes I know
And it is me who is my enemy
Me who beats me up
Me who makes the monsters
Me who strips my confidence
But it's me
And it's me
But it's me
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
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