Hello Morning Sickness

Sometimes I wonder how much empathy I would have for my husband if men were able to have babies and our roles were reversed. I am not one that handles other peoples illnesses very well (with the exception of Jeremiah). I get totally grossed out by vomit- like really grossed out, and I am not so inclined to do things such as mop it up, hold back hair or fetch water. The only times that I have seen Louis throw up are after he has had too much to drink- so, my lack of sympathy and empathy for him is probably well understood, because I don't like either him or I drinking to the point of throwing up. He has had to clean everything up. I have more empathy for him if he is truly sick with a fever or cold, but my patience with him isn't as great as his is with me.

This morning I had my first bout of morning sickness for this pregnancy. And, just like when I was pregnant with Jeremiah and vomiting nearly every morning for two months, my sweet husband followed me into the restroom, held my hair back, kissed my cheek and fetched me a bottle of water. I love him. God bless my husband. With Jeremiah, once I threw up I was fine for the rest of the day- today, however, my stomach ache lingered for a few extra hours- then I began craving Lays potato chips, something I normally don't like to eat (too much grease). Luckily we had some in the house =) And I can't wait for us to bbq some hot dogs tonight!

I have my first doctor's appointment on Thursday. I can't wait! And tomorrow I have my first day with my new Mother's Helper- my best friend's 17 year old sister, Diana =) You have no clue how excited I am about having two free hours twice a week while someone else plays with Jeremiah. I have so many plans for things I want to get done around the house and books to read, but I know I have to use at least part of that time to take a nap. I'm worn out.

I guess I'm having a boy....

I'm not one to believe old wives tales, Chinese calendars or anything like that, but when I want a little daughter as badly as I do (especially considering how much Louis does not want more than two kids), all of these old fables that tell me that I"m having a boy start messing with my head! My friend Michelle is a firm believer in the Chinese calendar for predicting genders, and her trusted one says that I'm having a boy. Then last night, my Uncle Ken told me that I'm having a boy because Jeremiah's cowlick is in the middle of his head. Apparently, according to my grandma Arlene, the position of the older siblings' cowlick determines what the gender of the following baby will be- center means boy, off to the side means girl. It worked for all of my dad's siblings- My dad and uncle Tom each have it in the center of their head and wound up with little brothers; my uncle Ken has it to the side and he has a little sister. Plus there's lots of speculation about me not throwing up yet- more barf apparently means a girl. But... I'm only 6 1/2 weeks along, and I didn't start throwing up with Jeremiah until I was 8 or 9 weeks along. I've definitely come very close to throwing up in the last week but nothing has happened yet. My cousin Tiffany has been throwing up all day for the last few weeks, and so we're convinced she's having a girl. Lucky duck...

Yesterday I bought the cutest little dress at Target that was on clearance for $4. Call me crazy, not officially knowing the gender or anything but I just could not pass it up!! If I do indeed get the announcement that "it's a boy!" when I go for my ultrasound in a few months, then I will gladly give the dress away to some other lucky duck mommy. But for now I like seeing it hang up in the baby's closet =)

Don't get me wrong; I would LOVE for Jeremiah to have a little brother. Little boys are a ton of fun, and from what I hear, less drama-filled =) But if we really are only having two children I would love to have one of each... I need some more estrogen in this house! I know that either way I will be perfectly happy with the blessing that God is giving me, but please- cross your fingers for a precious little girl!!!

Happy Father's Day!

Those two handsome guys pictured to the left (and the baby in my tummy!) are the most important people in my life. Today we are celebrating how that precious little boy, Jeremiah, made my amazingly sweet and handsome hubby the best father in the whole world (well, tied with my dad of course!). So far the day has been perfect- Jeremiah slept in til nearly 7:30 (a big feat for him!), and Jeremiah and I played while we let Daddy sleep in. However... Daddy was SUCH a trooper! I was intending on letting him sleep til 9:00 or 9:30, but after making Jeremiah's breakfast (oatmeal mixed with a stage 2 bananas) one whiff of the bananas made me so close to hurling- oh, pregnancy! Louis very graciously got up an hour before he needed to to feed Jeremiah and even stayed up afterwards to play with him so I could shower! What a sweet husband. Then it was present time- Jeremiah and I filled in some missing volumes of Louis's "Family Guy" anthology collection. We can't wait for Jer to go to sleep tonight so we can start watching it! I love Bryan. After Jeremiah's bath and nap, the three of us went to "Cielito Lindo," this Mexican restraunt that has a brunch buffet and live mariachi show- something that Louis LOVES, and I tolerate on his behalf =) Actually, this kind of show is more my style- 45 minutes long, quick up beat songs, and plenty of yummy food in front of me =) Jeremiah also loves listening to the live music- but is starting to wail like a banshee whenever the clapping at the end happens. I think it scares him... poor guy!

We came home, I fed Jeremiah (since he pretty much lived on Goldfish and punch at the buffet), he and Louis watched some Discovery Channel show, then I put Jer down for his nap. Louis is asleep on the couch. I could really use a nap too, but I hate napping when Jer is. First of all, I hate waking up from my naps. Secondly, I always am scared that I'm not going to hear him (which is darn near impossible because he makes it VERY well known that he's awake!) When Louis wakes up we are going to dinner with his dad and sister. I feel like I"ve eaten all day. Which isn't good- I'm almost 6 weeks pregnant and ALREADY outgrowing some of my shirts, and my pants are feeling tighter. ALREADY!! This didn't happen until towards the END of my first trimester with Jeremiah, not at the very beginning! No, I"m not ready for maternity wear, but it certainly would be nice to fit into my clothes for just a bit longer.......

I really wish I could give my dad a hug right now. As I type this, he and my mother are driving a moving van somewhere through Missouri, coming back from a convention their business participated in in Illinois last week. My mom's birthday was Friday... so I missed not only that but Father's day as well! =( We are going to celebrate next weekend when they get back (they should be home by Tuesday). They've been gone for over a week now and I miss them!

Happy Fathers Day to all the daddies out there!

Pure exhaustion

When I got the good news that I was pregnant with Jeremiah, it was on Easter Sunday. I had an entire week and a half of spring break from teaching and I spent most of it in bed, sleeping or watching TV. This time around... well Mommies don't exactly get a spring break, do they! I am not AS tired as I was last time (then again I found out about this pregnancy around 3 weeks earlier than with Jer so I know it's coming) yet by 5:00 I am pooped. And all those fun pregnancy symptoms are starting to kick in- upset stomach (no barfing... yet)... heightened sense of smell, food cravings (sour cream with fresh black pepper, grape tomatoes, smoothies- pretty much my pregnancy cravings from last time around) and food aversions- anything greasy (no pizza last night), or "fast food," ranch dressing and LETTUCE. Well, nasty iceburg lettuce. I think I can stomach some crisp romaine or spinach. And then there's the issue of me needing to pee on the hour, every hour. Jeremiah thinks it's hilarious when I go "potty." He will stop what he's doing and run at break-neck speed to the restroom when he hears me mention the word "potty" or hear me open the door, and will stand in front of me, grinning his head off until I flush the toilet- then he wants to play w/ the nasty potty water. I'm now locking the door when I go and he's not too happy about that.

I thought last Tuesday was my last day w/ Sydney but it turns out this Thursday is (it's my only day this week). I already miss my little gal. Now that she's crawling and is much more independent and way less needy, we have some great times together and my days go by sooooo fast. Just when it starts to get easy it has to end. Boo.

On Thursday a contractor is coming over to give us a quote for our kitchen remodel. I'm sooooo thrilled about this- I've been dying for a new kitchen since before we moved into our house- ours is ANCIENT. And there's hardly any cabinet space- and the entire opposite side of the kitchen is just bare wall, dying for some more counters and cabinets. And a dishwasher. I'm praying that come the end of summer my title as head dishwasher gets turned over to Maytag.

I'm also in the market for a Mother's Helper to come in and play with Jeremiah for two hours a day, twice a week so that I can clean or nap. If anyone knows a high school or college aged girl that wants some extra cash this summer (or if YOU want some extra cash this summer!) just let me know! Hours and days are flexible.

A Great Big Positive!!!

Yes it's true.... baby #2 is on his or her way, due sometime around Valentines Day!! I found out on Wednesday evening and Louis and I couldn't be happier. I have my first doctor's appt. on July 2 with a new doctor (since we have insurance this time around) and I'm crossing my fingers that I get one that I like. So far I'm feeling great but exhausted. The morning sickness hasn't kicked in yet- I'm only around 4- 4 1/2 weeks along so I'm sure it's not long before it happens; however I have been feeling a little more queasy than I'd like to. I think we're going to be "normal" people and find out the gender this time around, but we'll see how we feel when we get our ultrasound =) Just wanted to share our good news and ask for prayers that we actually get to meet this bundle of joy this time around!

Beefy Mac and Cheese!

Tonight's dinner is Beefy Mac and Cheese in the crock pot from this cookbook:
Louis and I both love Sandra Lee! Louis loves how yummy her recipes always turn out to be; I love how fast and easy they are because a lot of the ingredients you can purchase pre-made! Like the beef stroganoff I made on Friday (which turned out FANTASTIC, by the way- and I wound up throwing in a can of cream of mushroom soup as well), this recipe is also being altered to compensate for my husband's pickiness. In case you're interested, here's the recipe!

12 oz dried elbow macaronni

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

1 packet (1.5 oz) beef stew seasoning mix

2 cups shredded four cheese blend (I'm just making my own with cheddar since I think the packaged shredded cheeses are a ripoff)

1 can (10.75 oz) condensed cheddar cheese soup

1 cup frozen chopped onion (I'm using fresh though and adding them in to my portion only at the very end since Louis hates them. I might sautee them for a few min. in butter to eliminate the raw onion taste)

1/2 cup reduced sodium beef broth

choppedf fresh tomato (optional- I'm using)

chopped parsley (optional- not using since I forgot to purchase it)

1. In a pot of salted, boiling water, cook macaronni for 5-6 min or until almost al dente. drain and transfer to 5 qt slow cooker

2. In a large skllet, cook and stir ground beef and beef stew seasoning mix until beef is brown, breaking up clumps. Drain off fat. Stir remaining ingredients (minus tomato and parsley) into slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 2-4 hours. Serve with chopped tomato and parsley if desired.

Has anyone ever traveled to....

... Monterey or Santa Cruz, CA? Louis and I are thinking of going there for our anniversary trip. We are bouncing back and forth between lots of ideas right now... including the following:

*San Diego/Coronado (but the rooms are insanely expensive for July weekends)
*3 day Carnival Cruise- makes one stop in Ensenada and one day at sea. We would not be getting off the ship because of Louis's fear of the swine flu and other crap going on in Mexico right now, but we LOVE cruising, and the prices are so cheap that its less expensive to go on the cruise, all meals included *plus $100 ship credit with a deal going on for incidentals like beverages and photographs!* than the hotel stay alone in Coronado or SD
*Santa Barbara
*And Monterey and Santa Cruz. Louis has been to Santa Cruz and liked it; I"ve always wanted to go to Monterey so we would do both during our trip (depending on how close together they are. We think they are near each other?) We would fly up there and rent a car. I would also want to do a day stop in San Francisco... but again I haven't even checked a map to see how close these places are to each other. And Louis is scared of going to SF because of that huge quake that took place there like... almost 100 years ago?! He watches too much of the History Channel

Anyway, if you have been to either Monterey or Santa Cruz, did you like it? What was there to do? It would be fun to go someplace new!