Appreciation

"The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated."

- William James

I didn't realize how important appreciation was or how often it was thought of or brought up by people until I started to feel like I wasn't being appreciated. I looked up the word appreciation today, and not only did I find the definition, but I found hundreds of quotes, poems and stories on appreciation and appreciating those you love and who do things for you.

In the past few weeks, I've felt like I'm not appreciated, and it hurts my feelings. It's become increasingly difficult for me to bend over, fold clothes, iron clothes, etc. as I get bigger and bigger. It's uncomfortable and my feet hurt if I stand for too long. I'm still cooking dinner daily, as well as, cooking dinner for the dog (long story), and I just want someone to notice that I'm still working hard. It's not that Grant doesn't appreciate me, because I know he does, but I'm at the point right now where I need that reassurance that I'm still doing a good job. I'm sure that a huge part of it is my emotions right now, but I just feel like I'm being lazy and that it's not good enough if I just want to sit on the couch and relax. And Grant would never say that to me or make me feel like that, but it's just my emotions telling me that and letting it get the best of me.

Here's to hoping that I'm a little less emotional and not so "needy" next week...

Physical Therapy

So, I mentioned yesterday that I went to Physical Therapy, so I thought I would blog about it today...I was a very active teenager, and I found out shortly after beginning my college career that I had spondylolisthesis. In addition to that, I also had two stress fractures most likely caused from some of my activities in high school, as well as, a disc in between the two fractures that was starting to disintegrate. I was in a lot of pain, and it was frustrating. I wasn't ready for any type of back surgery at my age, so I fought the pain with physical therapy. As my back got stronger, as well as, my core muscles, the pain became very minimal, and I was able to go back to my normal routine.

In the past three-four weeks, I've had a lot of back pain again, and I knew it was related to my preexisting condition. So, I went to the physical therapist yesterday, and I got some exercises that I can do to help me out, as well as, started a prenatal yoga class that she said would help out and got access to the pool that they have at the physical therapists office. So, I'm pretty excited, and she was able to do some exercises to adjust me, because my right hip was lower than my left, and I felt better walking out the door. :)

Also, when I came home I had a gift certificate on the counter for two prenatal massages with my favorite massage therapist. I have the best husband in the world!! So, I made my first appointment for late October before my first shower, so I can feel nice and refreshed for the shower! I can't wait! :)

Keep Your Fingers Crossed...

...that I make it home this evening!! I'm in Mississippi, and I'm heading back towards Atlanta around 2:00 PM, so I'm going to be driving I-20 all the way! I know that I-20 is still closed due to flooding, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's open by the time I come through. If it's not open, I'll have to take the detour, and I heard that the detour had a very large delay, approximately 4 hours this morning. I'm going to be coming home later in the evening, but I still anticipate that I'll have delays even if I-20 is back open. I'm just anxious to make it home safe and sound and spend the night in the bed with my wonderful husband and see my sweet dog, Banks! It's been a long week, and it's only Wednesday. I don't sleep well in hotels, so I haven't slept well, and I'm tired. It's also been raining in Mississippi, so that's not a whole lot of fun! Anyways, I'm so ready to get back home to Athens! Hope everyone is safe throughout Atlanta!

Fall Swap

I've been entertaining the idea of hosting a Fall Swap for a few weeks now, and I've finally decided after some feedback from others to host my first swap, and it'll be a Fall Swap, because I don't know about you all, but I'm really looking forward to the Fall.

The theme for the swap is obviously Fall, so any Fall items that you'd like to send to your partner whether they be Halloween, Thanksgiving or for Fall in general.

So here are the rules...
- Spend no more than $25, does not include shipping
- Send your partner a minimum of two items...it can be anything you want from decorations to stationary to something monogrammed since I know many of us out there love monogrammed items!
- Also, one more thing...since there are SO many great dishes out there for the Fall, you must include your favorite Fall recipe. I know you guys have some, so help your Blog Friends out by sending them a new idea for a Fall treat!

Please email me at historyoftheharveys@yahoo.com by Friday, September 18th. Please indicate "Fall Swap" in the subject line to help me stay organized. Your email should include your name, email address, mailing information and blog address. It's OK if you don't have a blog, but make sure you email your buddy to give her a little insight on your likes and dislikes. I will list swap pals by Monday, September 21st. Packages must be sent out by Monday, October 5th.

This is my very first swap to host and organize, so please let everyone know to come by and sign up! Hope everyone will participate!

I Heart My Doppler!

So, I have a friend who is a born worrier, and she bought a Fetal Doppler when she was pregnant with her son, so she could hear his heartbeat without going to the Doctor's office. She thought it was the best thing ever, so she immediately offered it up for me to borrow when she found out that I was pregnant. I was hesitant at first, because I was told that it will just worry you if you can't find it and you'll think that something is wrong. After a few weeks, I brushed that aside, and I decided that I would borrow it and at least give it a try without holding too much merit to the results.

Anyways, I tried to find his heartbeat for the first time around 15 weeks, and I couldn't find it. I didn't get discouraged, but I put it away, and I decided that I wouldn't listen again for a few weeks, because it was just an at home Doppler and not nearly as strong as the one at the doctor's office. We went to the beach this weekend with my family, and since my mom does ultrasounds, I had her try to find it again. She found it right away, and she was able to hear it and my dad and I were able to hear it. It was such a sweet sound.

I listened to it again on Monday night when we got home and again last night...I'm not able to hear his heartbeat in almost the same location every single time, and I can find it right away! It's awesome, and I love the swishing sound of his heartbeat. It makes me so happy, and I know that he is okay, and I just love it!! I'm so glad that I was able to borrow it, even though I'm confident that I would've been just fine without, it's a pretty neat thing, and I really enjoy checking up on my growing little one.

On another note, I was putting Banks in his kennel in the backyard yesterday morning, and I picked up his bone to bring with him into his crate, and I suddenly felt like something was pinching the palm of my hand. I looked down, and I had an ant biting the palm of my hand. He ended up biting me two times, and I can't stop itching today. Has anyone ever been bit by an ant on the palm of your hand? What a strange place?!