Spin Cycle: The Kids Will Be Alright

The spin cycle this week hits pretty close to home. Kids and technology. Wow. A lot can be said about this. With Leo his fascination with technology started at a young age. He was born around the time Rock Band was popular and the hubby and I like to play some games and especially when it comes to rocking out we deemed it necessary to get that game. And so of course Leo would “watch” us play. And he would sit there with his own guitar and pretend he was playing with us. He was just so darn cute! ( I was going to insert a picture here but stupid blogger wouldn't let me. Annoyed!)

As he’s gotten older he has continued with his fascination with all things technological. He loves playing on our Iphones. He got a DS for his birthday from his grandma and grandpa who love to spoil him. And of course his dad is a gamer so he felt he needed multiple games to go along with it. He plays Nick Jr. and Playhouse Disney on the computer. He got a Smart Cycle from his other grandma and grandpa that love to spoil him for Christmas. He also has a Superhero Squad computer AND a Bob the Builder computer. Both were given as gifts and he plays with both of them. Oh and yeah, he has a TV in his room because I can’t stand to watch Blue’s Clues and Bob the Builder and and and. And to top it all off he has learned how to play the Wii. While we always knew the Wii would come in handy for a kid because of the ease of use I was not prepared for the monster it would create.

I think it was just a few weeks ago that I said I loved the Wii because it gave me some uninterrupted time to myself while he could occupy himself while playing. Well I would like to retract my statement. While I still love that Leo is capable at 4 to get multiple hole-in-ones while playing Tiger Woods golf with his dad I feel like kids spend WAY too much time playing games and watching TV. And I NEVER thought I would be that parent. I figured that the kid would be diversified enough and that he had sooooo many toys that he wouldn’t want to watch TV and play video games all the time. Boy was I wrong. And maybe as he gets older and has more friends that live by us that are his age he will be able to spend more time doing other things. But right now I have to step in and set limits for him. Like two Sunday’s we woke up to the child bouncing on our bed asking to play the Wii. I told him that he could BUT he could only play for 30 minutes. And I had a headache the size of Texas and this would have been the perfect opportunity to let him play for as long as his little heart desired. But I didn’t. I set my alarm for 30 minutes later and when I woke back up I made him turn it off and do something else. And I’ve done the same thing with the computer and the TV recently. Unfortunately it’s been so hot I’m afraid to send the little bugger outside because I don’t want him to get heat stroke (seriously…it was 111 here today). And as much as he sweats he would probably get dehydrated in a matter of minutes! So finding other activities for him to do that will keep him occupied has been difficult. But I’ve bought some preschool/kindergarten readiness workbooks and he loves doing his “homework.” I’ve also told him that he needs to use his imagination and make up stuff to do. And I know that his dad does not impose the same limits on the games that I do and that’s fine. I also think it’s fine that the hubby and him spend time together playing the games. I actually think it’s pretty darn cute. I just want him to grow up learning that there is more to his life than technology.

One way that we are trying to broaden Leo’s horizons is by taking him to many different museums and events. In our town we have different museums and he’s gone to so many different ones. He’s been to the art museum, the children’s museum, the All-American Indian Center, Botanical Gardens and a Museum of Natural Treasures. He’s also been to a few college basketball games, to see the Harlem Globetrotters, multiple Kansas City Royals games and even a Kansas City Chiefs game. This year we were thinking of taking him to see a KU football game and I was going to send the hubby and him up to Kansas City to watch the Chiefs play again but that just depends on some things in the works for the future.

So yeah. I think there needs to be some regulations put in place by the parents and it has to be what works best for your family. I know that Leo does not spend hardly any time with technology at school so at night what he spends is not a lot. And I also don’t consider the time he spends watching stuff with us or playing games with his dad as part of his allotted time. I think family togetherness is way more important than any amount of time spent doing one activity. So again…we all have to do what’s best for our individual families!

To see other people’s take on this spin visit Jen!

RTT: Insomniac edition

Tuesday already? It still feels like Monday to me since I hardly got any sleep last night! Well I guess since I'm up I'll throw down some random and join Stacy in the continuing rebellion!

I hate when you get woke up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep. That's what happened to me. Leo woke up around 3 and I could never get back to sleep. Thankfully he's snoozing away now so he won't be a complete bear when I wake him up to get ready for school!

So we are trying to de-clutter the house and get ready for baby time. I figured 1 tote would clean up most of Leo's toys from the living room and his bedroom. Soooo yeah. That didn't work out. I filled up 2 totes and that was just from the living room. So ridiculous. I knew Leo had a lot of toys but had no idea he had this many. Kind of makes me rethink this whole toy thing. And maybe we need to have another garage sale!

Last week I said that the hubby and I had some real conversations about stuff to get the house fixed up. Well we have made some progress! I have 2 people coming to look at 2 different things to get them taken care of. Woot woot! AND...we picked up some paint samples for our bathroom and bedroom. They are both in need of some paint!

It's been over a week and the kitchen and living room have stayed clean. Score one for me!

The weather here is still crazy hot. The sucky thing about it though is that we had some rain on Sunday so the humidity is back. Yuck! I can take the dry heat but the humidity is for the birds!

Ok. That's enough for insomniac RTT! Don't forget to stop by and see Stacy and the other rebels!

Memoir Monday: Relaxing weekend edition

Finally...a relaxing weekend! My first weekend off the whole month of July. And I have been looking forward to it since June! Haha. The sad thing is I'm not even kidding!

Saturday morning we got up super early (4am) because the hubby had to take his sister and brother-in-law to the airport because they got to go to Hawaii. So jealous! I set my alarm too so that way we made sure he got up because they live 30 minutes away so it was quite the drive and I didn't want him to oversleep. While he was gone I crashed back out and slept until almost 8. We got up and ran some errands and then got some McDonalds for lunch. Then the rest of the afternoon we just chilled out. It. was. amazing.

Sunday we got up and went over to my parents house to swim. The pool was crystal-clear (that's for you mom!) and Leo and myself plus my dad, brother, his wife and daughter were all over there. The hubby is not a swimmer (or a people-person) so he stayed home and relaxed by himself. Seriously though...the pool was awesome. The weather has been stupid-hot here so any time we can get to the pool for a little bit we try. We were over there for about an hour and half and the pool was just the right temperature to keep us relaxed. After swimming we got ready and went out to lunch with my hubby's parents who were stopping through town after going to a concert the night before. So we hung out for almost 2 hours and enjoyed the company.

The rest of the afternoon I've just been hanging out and I had 50 free prints from Shuttefly so I downloaded some pictures and ordered them so I could use the coupon before it expired. And now I am getting ready to go bowling for my league. We suck but we have fun!

I hope everyone had as nice of a weekend as I have! Happy Sunday!

What A Night

Here’s a recap of how my week with my menu plan has gone.

 

Monday night I used the Foreman grill to cook hamburgers and brats.  They turned out amazingly and the clean-up was pretty simple.  And I say that because the hubby did it!  Haha!

 

Tuesday morning I got up and made Leo the smoothie.  It turned out pretty good but it made quite a large cup so most of it did not get drank.  He wanted to save it but it did not save very well through the day!

 

Wednesday night was the crazy night.  I got home from work around 6:30 and started dicing up the chicken for the kung pao chicken.  I had bought a large package of chicken so that way I could save money since I was using the other half of the package to make the fajitas.  So I diced the entire package and tossed what I needed for that night’s dinner in the skillet.  I had already put the noodles in to cook as well.  After that was done the hubby and I ate dinner together and then I started cleaning up.  I had also decided that I would pre-make the lasagna so that way the hubby would only have to put it in the oven on Thursday when I had to work late.  So I put that all together.  And as a first time lasagna maker it was not as difficult as some make it out to be.  Maybe I chose an easy recipe but it was pretty simple so that was a definite plus.  Then I cleaned up all the dishes and the cabinets and stove.  I was finished.  But something was kind of nagging at me.  So I let it nag and then I said…fine!  So I decided to make the marinade for my fajitas so I wouldn’t have to do that Thursday night since the plan was to have those on Friday.  So between 6:30 and 8 I got 3 meals prepared for this week.  And I felt completely accomplished!

 

Thursday night was so relaxing because I came home and dinner was already made and so all I had to do was take some out of the pan and eat it.  The lasagna tasted really good but I still have a hard time getting over the ricotta level.  NOT a fan of ricotta!  But the hubby said it was good so the vegetarian dinner was a success!

 

And now today is Friday.  The fajita meat has been marinating for a day and a half so hopefully it will be deliciously seasoned!  I am grabbing lettuce and tomatoes and I have cheese and sour cream at home.  It is definitely a dinner I am looking forward to! 

 

Leftovers come tomorrow and then Sunday I’m making enchiladas.  I have all the ingredients for them so that I am looking forward to as well!  Happy Friday to you all!

WILW: Love in the Sun

Woot woot!  It’s Wednesday!  That means it’s midway through the week and time for What I Love Wednesday!

 

Here are just a few things that I’m loving this week:

 

I’m loving Dairy Queen Blizzards.  No I haven’t had an abundance of them because I swore I was going to stop eating as many sweets.  BUT…it’s been so darn hot so the occasional treat isn’t bad!  Last week I had the banana cream pie blizzard and today one of my co-workers went on a Blizzard run and I got the mint oreo blizzard.  Yum!

 

I’m loving that so far so good on sticking to my meal plan.  Go me!  Tonight I’m trying my hand at kung pao chicken.  We’ll see how that turns out!

 

I’m loving that Leo is so darn smart (I’m not biased or anything!).  We’ve been talking about Grandma being in Scotland for work and so we’ve also talked about what continent Scotland is on and the ocean that Grandma had to cross to get there.  And he’s retained the information.  He’s a genius!  I’m sure he gets it from his mama!

 

I’m loving that the hubby and I have had real discussions about things around the house that need to be fixed up and actually have made moves to actually do them instead of just talking about it and then tossing them on the back burner.  Go us for being adults!

 

I’m loving that when I went swimming last night it was like bathwater.  I’m not even kidding.  I love hot tub temps for me to go swimming in.  I don’t want chilly.  I don’t want yeah, it feels good once you’ve been in for a while.  I want warm when I walk in.  A-mazing!

 

I’m loving that I have done really well on not drinking as much pop.  My OB would be so proud of the amount of water I’ve been drinking.  My bladder on the other hand…

 

I’m loving that I got my money for competition at work I won AND there are 3 paychecks in July for us.  That is super awesome.  That means more money for our baby fund!

 

I’m loving that this Saturday is the only Saturday in July that I don’t have to work.  I have been looking forward to this since June!  It’s ridiculous how excited I get over a 2-day weekend!

 

I’m loving that my grandpa got out of the rehab center he has been in for the past 4 weeks.  And he even got out to come to family dinner last night.  Awesome!

 

And that’s all I have right now.  I hope you all have a lot to love on this Wednesday!  I know I do!

RTT: USA all the way!

Whew. It's Tuesday again and boy do I have some random for you! After you get done visiting me don't forget to visit Stacy and all the other random rebels out there!

• What is it about baseball players and chewing tobacco? Of course since it's the summer we watch a stupid amount of baseball and I've always noticed that baseball player like their chaw. And I don't get it. I definitely prefer to see them chewing on sunflower seeds or big league chew but you see a lot of them spitting and it is so gross. I wonder who started that. I'm sure I could find it on Google but figured RTT was a much better place for me to put my question out there!
• I picked up Kentucky Fried Chicken Sunday night for dinner and it was expensive. Like $20 for 2 meals and 2 extra biscuits expensive! I'm not sure why there prices are so inflated. And by the time I saw the prices I had already been in line and didn't want to go somewhere else. I just couldn't believe it. Pretty sure that's the last time for awhile that we will be getting any KFC.
• The hubby and I both downloaded Angry Birds (or as Leo likes to call it, Mad Birds) on our phones because Leo played it on my uncles phone and really liked it and it will keep him busy for a little bit if we have somewhere we need to keep him occupied. But something strange happened after download. The hubby and I have become addicted to it. It is so much fun and I just want to crush those stupid pigs! For awhile the hubby and I were on the same level but he has overtaken me and so now all I want to do is beat him!
• The women's World Cup just happened. I'm not sure if any of you cared. I dislike soccer quite a bit. The hubby enjoys it sometimes. Our son became a soccer hooligan. We watched the USA-Brazil game and that was pretty exciting. I won't lie. And then I tried to follow when they played to get into the finals. And then on Sunday when the finals were on I watched most of it. I fell asleep and then woke up during the extra time. And then they lost in the penalty kicks. So I was ok with sleeping through part of the game so I didn't feel like I wasted my time to watch them lose. That's so terrible but that's how I feel. I also feel the same way about watching baseball games only to see the team I want to win lose it in the 9th. But my main point about the World Cup is that I know soccer is probably the least liked sport in the United States but my Twitter and Facebook feeds were full of updates. I think it's like the Olympics where no one cares about gymnastics, curling, swimming, etc. but man...when those Olympics come on you better watch out because we are USA all the way!

And that's all she wrote. Don't forget to visit Stacy and have a happy Tuesday!

My Sweet Peo

My baby boy. The one who loves to do almost everything. Was crying because he didn't want to go to school. Full-on tears. Well first came the "I'm sick." He's 4 people. I had no idea it started this early. When I asked why he was sick he told me he had a head ache and he throwed up and he had the hiccups. A lot of ailments for a little boy! I told him that he hadn't thrown up and that hiccups weren't an illness. Then the tears started coming. The soft tears. Not the mean, angry tears that come when he doesn't want to do something. And my heart broke. So I asked him specifically why he didn't want to go to school. And he told me that there was a "friend" who was hitting him. And I was not surprised. He's a boy and he's 4. But he was still crying. So I felt bad. I asked him if the teachers knew about it. And he told me they did. And then I asked what happened when they found out about it. And he told me the kid went into timeout. And I was pretty satisfied with that response. Because when Leo got into a fight at school that's what happened to him. He was in timeout and I was told of the incident. And at 4 I'm ok with that. I understand boys will be boys and as long as there are no acutal injuries I think those situations need to play out. I also reminded him how the little boy that he got into a fight with before probably was in the same situation with him mom saying how he didn't want to go to school. But we all have to do things that we don't want to do sometimes. So off to school we went.

And then at the school I went to the teacher and told her about what Leo had said about being hit last week. And would you like to know what her response to me was? That another little boy AND Leo had been put into timeout for hitting each other. And then there I was...looking like a fool. (or at least that's how I felt!) And so before I left I told Leo that we need to remember that if we don't like to be hit that others also don't like to be hit. So we need to keep our hands to ourselves. And that we need to tell the whole story and not just the part that we want to tell! I think he just had a case of the Moon-days and didn't want to go to school. But I guess we all had a learning experience.

Spin Cycle: Meals for the week

This weeks spin cycle is food. And that is sooo easy! What I (try) to do on a weekly basis is make a meal plan and stick with it throughout the week. That way I'm not trying to go to the store on a daily basis and so I don't have to worry about what to make and if I have the stuff to make it with. So for the spin cycle this week I figured I would share my meal plan for the week.

Monday: Hamburgers and bratwurst with chips and fruit

Tuesday: Dinner at the parents house. Every Tuesday we have dinner at their house with my grandparents and parents and brother and his family.

Wednesday: Kung Pao noodles and chicken. This is a new recipe that I got from Betty Crocker and I'm a little nervous at the spiciness of it. But I figured a little change was good.

Thursday: Meatless lasagna, green beans (or other comparable veggie) and some fruit and garlic bread. This is another new recipe from Betty Crocker. I am trying to do a few vegetarian meals per week for health purposes. Plus the hubby isn't a meat and potatoes kind of guy so if we don't have meat in the meal it won't be the end of the world. Also...I am going to prepare this meal ahead of time and put it in the fridge so all the hubby has to do is pop it in the oven. I have to work late so this will be a meal that the boys will eat by themselves and I will just eat when I get home.

Friday: Chicken fajitas with beans and chips and salsa.

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Cheese enchiladas with beans and chips and salsa.

For breakfasts we have pop-tarts, multiple cereals and then some sausage to choose from. Leo also has asked for a smoothie so I got a recipe for that as well so I'll try that some morning this week as well.

I have tried recently to put some variety in our meals so this spin made me dig deep for some things that we don't normally have! So thanks Jen! You made me make a meal plan and hopefully spinning about it will make me stick to it!

I need a nap

I woke up around 3:45 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. Therefore I need a nap and it's only 7:30. On the upside I have already showered, ate breakfast (what...a frozen pizza totally counts!) and did the dishes. On the downside I will be working all day and then will have to come home to get dinner ready and then go back to work and do it all again tomorrow. Is anyone else thinking what I am? Yeah, it's gonna be an 8pm bedtime for Leo for sure. And if that's not happening his dad can keep him company while I hit the hay at 8! If you need me don't call past 8! Happy Friday to you!

Spin Cycle: Things that make me Happy

Jen said that we needed to spin about unicorns and puppies and things that make us happy. That's easy enough! I also thought that this would be a fabulous time to bust out a picture blog because a) I'm lazy and b) I take pictures (or can find them easily enough on Google!) of things that make me happy! So here are a few things that are making me happy as of late!

**All images that are not photographs were found on Google**

Franklin and Bash is a TV show that is on TNT and is hilarious. It is a law show but they make it funny and not so uptight as the Law and Orders of the world. Mostly because the cases are ridiculous. But still. If you have time it's on Wednesday nights and you should check it out!

I know I said I didn't know if I would really get to like my Kindle but yeah, I pretty much love it. Other than the whole buying books thing. I think there is something with the public library where you can download some for free so I really need to look into that I've ready 4 or 5 books already that I've purchased. Thank goodness for gift cards from my birthday!

Yeah...I love me some Diet Dr. Pepper. And I have done a really good job of cutting back since my last doctor's appointment. I have only had 1 in the last 2 days where as before it was possible I could drink 2 in a day. So hopefully that will help with the weight gain but I'll still get a little bit of my fix!

I say the Wii makes me happy but really it's because it makes Leo happy. And so if Leo's happy it means it is keeping him occupied which means that I have some time to get stuff done without him underfoot. If I let him he would play for hours on end. I'm sure his dad lets him play more than I do but at least he stays active while doing it. The kid breaks a major sweat playing. He moves around our entire living room jumping and running and playing basketball with it. It's quite hilarious!

I threw this one in for good measure since the last update didn't include one. But this is at 23 weeks and my cameraman was not in bed. This makes me happy because my belly's growing which means the baby's growing. And nope...still doesn't have a name yet!

And here on out are just my Leo that makes me happy every single, stinking day. Even if he drives me crazy I love this little dude!

My cameraman wanted his picture taken when he was taking my belly shots!

Catching fish with his uncle Bob and grandpa (in the background)

Feeding the lemur at the wildlife park in town. He's just so cute. And I'm not talking the lemur!

Ok...so that's what makes me happy. What makes you happy? Go spin it up and tell Jen! We'd all love to hear!

RTT: Another rebel random and 111 degree heat

Whew. When I said June was over I didn't mean like I wanted the hottest weather to start and make us wish we were still in June. I really didn't. But apparently that is what happened. So let's get this random over with so that way I can go sit back in front of the fan AND air conditioner!

**If you saw my tweet last night or follow me on Twitter (shameless plug...@kendrasue18) you saw that my clothes dryer stopped working but that I fixed it! I was amazed at my genius. And by genius I opened the door and saw that some clothes had become lodged between the door and lint trap so I had to unlodge it. But lo and behold my dryer started working again and I was extremely happy. Because it meant I don't have to step back into a laundromat!**

**Speaking of laundromats...I went 2 weeks ago to wash our comforter because it won't fit into our washing machine. I had called around to a few dry cleaners and they told me it would cost $25 and I could be without my comforter for up to a week. So I just took it to the coin-operated laundromat and did it myself for $6.75. Well in the mail last week I got a coupon to a dry cleaner for $25 worth of free services. It expires at the end of August so I figured I'll take my comforter there at the very last minute and get it cleaned again. Might as well!**

**As I'm typing this I'm watching the Home Run Derby. These dudes (aka major league baseball players) are ridiculous. I can't believe how they can just hit ball after ball and be homeruns. Some of them are almost 500 feet. That is so ridiculous!**

**I'm looking forward to my day off. It's today (technically tomorrow since I'm typing this on Monday). I don't have a lot planned and did stuff on Monday night so I wouldn't have as much to do on my day off. My plans include going to the gym and going to my parents to lay out by myself for awhile before coming home to finish my chores. I'm pretty sure as much as I do around the house I deserve an allowance!**

**I really want a massage. And a mani/pedi. And I think I deserve one. I think that should be my allowance that I said I deserved! Maybe to compensate for all I do I could get a bi-monthly spa day where I get to get a massage, mani and pedi. That would be amazing. I think someone needs to tell my hubby this to get him to agree!**

**My mom gets to go to Scotland this week for 2 weeks for work. How ridiculous is that?! I wish my work sent me to totally awesome places like Scotland. Instead I get to go to downtown Wichita for meetings. That's pretty awesome right?!**

**Speaking of my work I applied for a new job within my company. It's a management job so I think that it has pros and cons along with it but I've been in my current position for about 3 years and the next step is a manager job soooo I guess it's a good thing for me to try to get. And if I don't get selected for this particular job then at least my name is out there that I am looking to move up. We shall see where it leads!**

**Did you see where I said in my title 111 degree heat? Yeah...I wasn't kidding about that. Our little city hit 111 degrees on Sunday. And they said on the news this morning that we were going to be a little cooler today at 107. I'm not sure about you but I don't think I can tell the difference between 111 and 107! One thing I do know is that I'm glad I'm going to the pool to lay out and swim!**

**My grandpa has been in a rehab center for an issue with his back and so my grandma has been by herself at my aunt and uncles house. So Monday I picked her up for dinner and we hung out for awhile and then went and visited my grandpa before I took her home for the evening. While visiting my grandpa he was talking about from 1928 (when he was born) until 1939 he said on their farm they didn't even have electricity. And so in the summers they didn't have fans or air conditioning. I'm so glad I never had to deal with that! But it was nice to listen to him talk about his childhood!**

Ok. That's enough for today. Go check out Stacy and see all the other rebel randomers! And if you're somewhere that it's going to get as hot as it is here I hope your air conditioner is working!

Memoir Monday: Whirlwind Weekend

Whew! What a whirlwind weekend. Ok...that's pretty much every weekend but it just seems like every weekend goes faster and faster! Nothing I can do about it though! Just live it to the fullest I guess!

Friday night Leo stayed with his grandparents and cousin who was also having an overnighter and so we didn't even see him after work! I came home and the hubby and I hung out and got some take-out from Buffalo Wild Wings and then came home and watched the baseball game. It was a pretty uneventful evening but oh-so-awesome! It's nice to just have an evening where I don't have to take care of anyone!

Saturday morning the hubby golfed in a golf tournament and I went to work for a short shift. It was sooo nice that I just had to work until noon instead of 6 and I had the rest of the day to do what I wanted! Leo was still with my mom and they called when they were on their way back to her house so we could hit the pool. And on a day that the temperature reached 108 (yes...really!) the pool felt amazing! We all swam for a bit and then it was time to come home for a nap. Which never happened. But we hung out and watched tv until it was time for dinner where we sprung for Chinese and watched the Royals. (Do you see a pattern?! Pretty much every time the Royals are no we watch them! It's hilarious because Leo has his favorite player and he knows which one he is by what he looks like. So we always cheer for Melky Cabrera!)

Sunday was our busiest day. We got up and hung out for a little bit before going back over to my parent's to swim before we had to get moving on our day. We swam until about 11:30 and then came home. I got Leo lunch and I prepared what was going to be our dinner so while I was out the hubby could just pop it in the oven and so when I got home we would have dinner. Easy peasy! I also took a shower, cleaned up the living room, did the dishes and took out the trash and recycling. All before 1:20 when my mom came and picked me up to go to music theater. We saw Sunset Boulevard and let me just say...it was dark. And I kind of felt like I needed a shower to scrub off the filth that was the show. But that's just me! Then we came home and the hubby had put the meatloaf in the oven so from 5-5:45 I got the sides together, cleaned out the dishwasher and we all ate together as a family AND I cleaned up the dishes and put the dirty ones in the dishwasher before it was time for bowling. And then we bowled. And it wasn't pretty. (or at least my scores weren't!) But the other team that we were playing against didn't show up so we won all the games! Then I got home and gave Leo a bath and got him to bed and whew.

That was my weekend! Sundays that involve Music Theater and bowling are so jam packed that it seems like they go so fast but I only have 1 more show left and probably 3 more weeks of bowling and then I'll get my Sundays back! But I had a really lovely weekend and spent most of it with family which I enjoyed very much! I hope you all had equally awesome weekends!

Baby Update: 22 1/2 weeks

Another few weeks have gone by so I figure I better do another update so I don't kick myself later!

How far along: 22 weeks. Technically if we get down to the nitty gritty it is July 7th and the baby's due date is November 7th. So exactly 4 months until baby time!

Baby size: Papaya...or in people fruit challenged...8 inches long and 1.2(ish) pounds

Weight Gain: I'm embarassed to say this but at my appointment today I am up 19 pounds. Holy hell. In the last 2 1/2 weeks I have put on 9 pounds. I'm not sure what to do to curb that. I think I need to cut back on the amount of sweets I am eating. Nothing major but I have taken to eating an ice cream cone here or an apple pie from McDonalds there. I think that is going to have to go out the window. Along with the pop drinking. My doctor said I need to be drinking lots of water so I think I am going to try to limit myself to 1 pop every 2 days.

Maternity Clothes: I am still wearing them and they are fitting better than ever. I am nicely filling them out now! :)

Sleep: Sleep has been normal other than the wake-up in the middle of the night between my dog and my bladder. Freckles is getting up there in age and so she seems to need to go out in the middle of the night (off topic but does anyone want a 14 year old dog that pees and poops on the floor sometimes even though she doesn't bark to get anyone to take her out even though they will get their pregnant arses out of bed to do it?! Anyone...anyone?). And if it's not the dog it's my bladder. I'm hoping that if I can arrange myself differently to sleep then then I can get a better night's sleep.

Best moments: The best moment in the past 2 weeks has been when Leo was giving me a hug and had his head resting on my belly and he felt the baby move. He was pretty excited but of course that emotion subsided when he remembered he had 17 billion toys to play with.

Movement: This baby is a moving machine. He hangs out pretty low so I feel him moving quite a bit below my belly button. He also seems to move the most when I am laying on my back trying to relax.

Cravings: If you see weight gain you can see that I have been eating more sweets than I am used to. So yeah, no more sweets!

Looking forward to: Of course getting to meet the sweet baby boy. But more importantly trying to get everything ready for the baby! I've been buying stuff on clearance from Target and Babies-R-Us when they have sales so I have some really cute clothes for this new bebe! And finally...figuring out a name. We have nothing on the horizon. Gah.

Symptoms: No symptoms really. So that's nice!

Stretch marks: No new ones that I've noticed. And I'm trying to get out to the pool a little more because don't they say tan skin looks better than pale skin?! Ok...maybe I just say that but I think it's working!

And no picture today because my photographer (AKA Leo) was already in bed when I got home from work! haha! Maybe next time!

Forgive and Forget

Forgiveness is a funny thing. Because you have to do something to someone to cause them to grant you forgiveness or you have to be wronged to be able to give forgiveness to someone. And sometimes you think you’ve done nothing wrong but the other party feels completely different or vice versa.

I think in a marriage forgiveness is the most difficult of topics because you are so in-tune to each other that usually if you do something to the other you will know that it will cause hurt feelings before you even do them. Or you think that you are right and they are wrong so when you say something (as stupid as it may be) it could very easily cause hard feelings over the simplest of things. But I also think that in a marriage forgiveness is taken for granted. Of course I’m talking about the small things…not like hiding huge amounts of debt, cheating, etc. I think that when a spouse says or does something that they know will cause an issue they just let it linger because they think…hey, we’re married. They know this is how I act, speak, etc. and so they should be more willing to allow these actions to slide. But at the same time they have to realize that yes, the other person knew about these behaviors and while they can’t/wouldn’t change it sometimes those behaviors should be changed. Only to better themselves or to better their relationships.

So while this was not where I originally thought my thoughts were going to go when Jen gave us the prompt forgiveness I think that it’s definitely something to think about if you are in a relationship. Take a deep breath and clear your thoughts before you do or say that stupid thing because it may save you the step of asking for forgiveness tomorrow! And go see Jen and other spins...or she might not forgive you!

RTT: Holiday weekend recap

Whew with the holiday it threw off my day for random! But here I am but just a little bit later in the day!

Our 4^th weekend was really nice. I had to work Saturday but got Sunday and Monday off so that was nice. A 2-day weekend when I had to work Saturday. Woot woot! The in-laws came into town so Saturday after work we headed to see and eat dinner with them.

Sunday was spent with my family. In the morning Leo and I went over to my parents and laid out by the pool and played in the sandbox (I’m sure you know which one did which!) for a few hours. It was nice and I got some color. It was pretty red Sunday evening but by today it has gone to a nice shade of brown! Ahhhh summer-time color! And then Sunday evening we went to my grandma’s 80^th birthday party. It was a nice time and we got to see some extended family.

And then on Monday we headed back to the in-laws to spend the 4^th. I got a little antsy just sitting around watching TV all afternoon so I hit up Babies-R-Us and picked up a new stroller/car-seat combo on uber-discount so I was pretty stoked about that. Then we grilled out and watched fireworks. It was a pretty nice weekend.

­There is a Dairy Queen right across the street from our bank branch and they started serving Orange Julius drinks. If you’ve never had a strawberry Julius you are just plain missing out. But I decided that I wanted that for lunch so I went over there today. I was a little disappointed in it though because it didn’t have enough ice in it so it was pretty liquidy. But it was still pretty tasty!

I’ve had an ear ache in both ears since last Thursday and I think I need to go to the doctor. I don’t get ear infections so this has been very weird. It’s not a pain all the time but when I yawn or swallow or something random like that my ears pop and then hurt. But I work a crazy schedule this week so it will be an off-doctor who will see me. Or I can wait until Thursday when I go to my baby-doctor but I didn’t know if that was the right protocol to ask her to randomly look in my ears. Who knows…I just don’t want to pay an additional co-pay if I didn’t have to!

Only 4 more months until baby time! Eeeeee! It’s getting down to crunch time. Ok …not really crunch time but there is a lot of stuff that still needs to be done to get ready.

I guess I’m short on random this week so this is all I have. Don’t forget to visit Stacy to see more random!