week.seven

How far along? seven weeks.

Total weight gain: i do not want to pay attention to the scale. you can thank past body image issues for that. i just ask the doctor to tell me if i'm not gaining enough or gaining too much. if i hear a number, it triggers something very unhealthy in my mind.

Maternity clothes?  none. i just realized the other day that most of my maternity clothes from ainsley are fall/winter clothes. i will probably have to buy some summer clothing this time around. 

Stretch marks? none. and none from the first pregnancy.        

Sleep: i don't think i am as sleepy this week or as much as i was with ainsley. i remember falling asleep while eating or in mid-conversation. this time around, i seem to have a little more energy...so far, anyway.                

Best moment this week: after a big scare, i called the after hours emergency line and they scheduled me to come in for an ultrasound the next morning. the greatest moment was seeing my little one for the first time and hearing that he/she is healthy and doing great. what.a.relief. i hope my scares with this pregnancy are over.

Miss Anything?  food. coffee.                 

Movement:  none.       

Food cravings:  ewe. none. food is completely uninteresting and nauseating to me. mornings are the worst. i feel bad for ainsley. it takes me awhile before i work up the nerve to fix her breakfast and lunch. thank goodness for daddy who makes dinner so i don't have to fight the urge to throw up.       

Symptoms: extremely nauseous. all day. every day.     

Anything making you queasy or sick:  everything. especially when i open the refrigerator. i even threw up while taking the dogs for a walk. some men that were fixing up the house next door even came over to ask me if i was okay. how.embarrassing. i'm sure they enjoyed my response of, "no, i'm not sick, i'm just pregnant. sorry."

Labor Signs: none.

Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: i have been really happy. yesterday, i was a little cranky. i think it's because i know i have so much to get done, but i'm too sick to do much of anything.    

Looking forward to:  my next appointment. jan. second. i think i just need affirmation that everything is still going well and that baby r is still doing great. i'm nervous!

week.six

How far along? 6 Weeks

Total weight gain: Unknown. Although my pants are fitting a little better, so maybe I've lost some?
Maternity clothes? None
Stretch marks? None
Sleep: I would be sleeping great if Mark didn't snore. I think I have officially become the wife that sleeps on the couch because her husband won't stop snoring.
Best moment this week: Searching for our new home, which has also been stressful!
Miss Anything? Coffee. So bad.
Movement: None
Food cravings: Surprisingly I have none so far.
Anything making you queasy or sick: So far, so good :)
Gender: Unknown
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: So tired. Some back pain. I also feel like Dolly Parton.
Belly Button in or out? Normal.
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: I have been super happy. Today, not so much. I am a major bitch today.
Looking forward to: Spending the holidays with my family!

the secret is out...

the little family of 3 will soon be a family of 4 (well, at least four anyway)!

so, to add on to the busy time of mark accepting a new job, selling our house, buying a new house, and moving...we've decided to throw having another baby into the mix. do we have to keep this level of excitement up forever!?  :)

seriously though, we are so over the moon excited about this! we kept waiting for the 'best' time to start trying. we weren't quite sure when that was. and i swore i didn't want to become that couple that scheduled sex into our calendar. so, for the month of november we decided to see what happened. never in a million years did we think it would happen so soon!

we went to the doctor and established a due date of 08.06.13. a summer baby! and i'll get to see our little sweet thing on 01.02.13.

we broke the news to our family and friends with this sweet little picture:

and i've also decided to keep a little weekly diary journal of my pregnancy. here is my entry for week five:

weekend fun & 2x4 stocking holders

this weekend was full of fun and surprises. i think mark and i have officially determined that our family motto is, 'go big or go home.' each year together, we seem to experience several life moments all at the same time. this year is proving to be just the same. but, i wouldn't have it any other way.

mark has been offered and has officially accepted a new job in staunton, virginia. hopefully beginning at the end of january, he will be the new guidance director at the high school he graduated from. i am excited about this new change. i think we both agreed that we needed a new, fresh start somewhere. neither one of us are really thrilled about where we live now. we love our friends that have grown to be like family, but it never quite felt like 'home' to us. we're more than ready to find our place. a place to raise our family.

so, now comes the potential of searching for a new home AND selling ours at the same time. eek! it's both exciting and nerve wracking at the same time. since i am staying at home this year, our price range is significantly low. we are able to afford the mortgage we are paying now, but we have to wait and see what mark's salary alone will qualify for. the first time we searched for homes, i never fell in love with any of them. the very first home we looked at, i fell in love like. we put an offer on the home, but lost it to a CASH offer. seriously!? i still drive past that house when i drive through culepper. sigh. after that, nothing ever compared. mark fell in love with our current home, but i have to be honest...i hate it. always have. and i am so ready to move!

with the excitement of starting over in the home department, i have been looking online for homes in staunton. for the most part, they are disappointing. it is definitely a less expensive area than we live in now, but the nicer homes in our price range are in the most absurd locations. until linden drive. ahhh, linden drive. i love it. this is the first time i have been excited about a potential home. it's beautiful. the layout is exactly what i'm looking for. there's a yard. a fenced in yard. the home is officially move in ready. we wouldn't have a single project to do (unless we wanted one). it's got tons of storage. no carpet. a bathroom in our bedroom that can provide relaxing moments. yes! sign me up. we shall see :)

so, that's we are right now. and i'm happy and hopeful about the future.

because mark loves me, he let me have a craft day on saturday. i'm not much for decorating the home for every holiday, but for ainsley, i'm trying. i wanted to get our mantle ready for christmas (even though we won't even be in our own home christmas morning). we have beautiful stockings, but no hangers. so, my project for the day was making stocking holders.

and here they are:

they were super easy to make, but they were also time consuming. i had all of the materials laying around except for the hooks.

materials:
1. six 5.5” pieces of a 2x4
2. mod Podge
3. holiday scrapbook paper cut to the sizes of the 2x4's
4. paintbrush
5. wood glue
6. 3 medium sized versa cobra scew in hooks [i wanted to find silver, but they only had white]
7. sticker letters
8. drill and drill bit for making pilot holes

after cutting the  scrapbook paper to the desired size, you will mod podge it to the piece of wood. i have found that applying the mod podge LIGHTLY onto the piece of wood helps to ensure no bubbles occur after applying the paper. once the entire block is covered, allow some time to dry. once dry, you can go over the entire block with mod podge for an extra seal/top coat cover. once completely dry, add your sticker letter to the front.

to add the hooks, you need to find the center of the block. you can do this by using a straight edge. make lines connecting the corners of both pieces. the 'x' marks the center. drill your hole and screw in the hooks.

and you're done. easy peasy.

i just love our stockings :) 

here's a picture of some of our other goodies displayed on the mantle. my daughter is obsessed with the the glitter ornaments. i personally love my tinsel tree [made from a cereal box]. the other tree is made from twine and has the cutest button topper. 

 now, to get my christmas shopping done this weekend