Breakdown

Edit: I'm feeling much better, and I had a Dunkin Donuts Decaf Latte to make me feel better, and it definitely worked! Cheered me right up! I also went to Physical Therapy today, and it was great, so that made my day wonderful. I'll update you all on Physical Therapy tomorrow!

So, I had a minor breakdown in my office a few minutes ago, and I'm not sure why...I'll chalk it up to the hormones.

I've had a fairly rough past few days in regards to indigestion. I'm feeling fine, but I have terrible, awful indigestion with everything that I eat. It feels like a burning sensation in my chest, and it's miserable and so uncomfortable! Also, I woke up this morning, and I was super swollen for the first time during the pregnancy. I've been a little swollen, but it was pretty bad this morning. My fingers were sore to bend and my feet felt huge. I couldn't get my rings on my finger, so it's the first time that I've gone without my two bands and engagement ring since we were married. I've got them in my little jewelry pouch, just in case, the swelling goes down, and I can wear them. I don't know why I'm suddenly retaining so much water. I stopped by and checked my blood pressure this morning, and it was low, so I know that's not it. So, anyways, I've been feeling pretty crappy and been bummed about my rings and the indigestion.

Then to top it off, Grant has been away from the house in the evenings for the past two nights, and he'll be gone tonight and tomorrow night too, so I'm alone in the evenings with the dog. Not that I don't love Banks, but he doesn't talk back to me, and he requires a lot more time and energy than Grant does. :) So, I'm a little frustrated that he has been gone so much lately, and I'm hoping next week is better. But I guess because of all of this, I got emotional, and I just started crying in my office. I don't even know why...it's so stupid, and I have no reason to be upset. I'm fine now, and I got over it within seconds, so hopefully, I don't have another breakdown anytime soon.

On a completely random note, my fingers are freezing. I'm not sure if it's because my office is cold, but my fingers, especially on my right hand just won't get warm. I guess maybe it's poor circulation, but I'm not sure. It's so strange!

23 Weeks!

So, I'm 23 weeks, and I've finally decided that I'll post a few belly shots, as well as, take the weekly survey. :) I feel huge in these photos though I know that I'll only get bigger!

How far along? 23 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Not really sure...I haven't weighed myself since last week!
Maternity clothes? Maternity pants only...I am sometimes wearing maternity shirts that aren't huge, but I am still able to wear most of my regular shirts though some are beginning to get short and / or tight.
Stretch marks? Nope...I don't have any yet!
Sleep: Waking up once or twice a night to go to the bathroom, but overall, sleeping fairly well.
Best moment this week: One more week down!!
Movement: Yes! I'm feeling him more and more often, and I love it.
Food cravings: Nothing in particular, though I'm loving Brownies! So bad!!
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: None...thankfully!
Belly Button in or out? In but getting more shallow
What I am looking forward to: Decorating the Nursery! and my next Dr.'s Appointment.
Weekly Wisdom: I don't really have any...
Milestones: One more week behind me, other than that no big milestones this week!

I feel gigantic in this photo!! This was taken this morning before work, and I was still half asleep. I think Banks was still asleep too! :)

23 Weeks!

Love Dare & Weekend Update

I made the decision to only do the Love Dare on Monday - Friday and skip out on the weekends and see how it goes. It's not that I can't do it over the weekend or don't have time, but I really don't want Grant to know that I'm doing it, so every time I would go to get it out of my bag over the weekend, I felt like I was sneaking around, and he would come around the corner. So, I'm just going to leave the book at the office, and I'm going to do it during the week.

Anyways, Friday's dare went well, and I'm moving on to my second dare today! Today's dare says: In addition to saying nothing negative to your spouse again today, do at least one unexpected gesture as an act of kindness. I think that I'm going to iron his pants tonight...I hate ironing clothes, and I rarely do it, so he is very grateful when I do. He has some pants that need to be ironed, so I think that I'll iron those pants today as my gesture of kindness.

We had a busy, fun-filled weekend! We woke at 5:30 AM on Saturday, and we headed to a Vizsla Field Day. Banks was able to run around with other Vizsla's, get in the water and get on some birds. He did so great! We then headed to a friend's house to watch the UGA Game! Yay! We won, but barely squeaked by. On Sunday, Grant went hunting, then he painted our back deck, and we put the crib together! :) Can't wait to show photos of the room in progress...I'm going to take some photos tonight!

Here are two photos of Banks from Field Day...

Love is Patient

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
- Ephesians 4:2 NIV

Back in March-April of last year, our Sunday School class at church watched Fireproof and decided to take on the Love Dare. Our Sunday School class consists mostly of young, married couples, so it was a great exercise as a group. Though Grant and I weren't married, we had gone to the movie theater to see Fireproof, and we both really enjoyed it. Grant bought me the DVD as soon as it came out on video. We participated in the Sunday School class, but I have to admit that we failed at completing the 40-Day Love Dare. We started, and we got through the first 20-25 days; however, we weren't married, and at times it was directed towards married couples, and it didn't apply to our relationship. Also, simply put, we got busy...the wedding was a few weeks away, and we were busy with work, last minute wedding plans and finishing up the semester of school, so we just stopped.

After the wedding, and I had time to stop and think about it, I felt like we had failed. We have a great relationship, and we were / are getting along great, but we had committed to doing this, and we didn't finish, and I was disappointed in myself. So, I decided to start from the beginning and do it again. I'm not telling Grant that I'm doing it, but I started today. I read the assignment, and I'm ready for the challenge to actually complete the entire 40 days! I should be finished with this assignment on November 4th. Even though it's a daily exercise, I won't post about my progress daily, but I'll post about how things are going on a regular basis, so I have the accountability from you all. I think I might even go home and watch the movie this weekend for a little added motivation! :) Though we have a great relationship, I can only hope that this exercise will improve our relationship even more, and we will become stronger as a couple. I'll keep you all posted.

Here is today's dare:
The first part of this dare is fairly simple. Although love is communicated in a number of ways, our words often reflect the condition of our heart. For the next day, resolve to demonstrate patience and to say nothing negative to your spouse at all. If the temptation arises, choose not to say anything. It's better to hold your tongue than to say something you'll regret.

This one should be pretty easy...Wish me luck!! :)

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!

22 Weeks!!

So, I'm technically not 22 Weeks until tomorrow, but I'll be tied up in meetings all day out in Mississippi tomorrow, so I thought that I would go ahead and post my 22 week update today! :)

How far along? 22 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +10 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Maternity pants only...I am sometimes wearing maternity shirts that aren't huge, but I am still able to wear most of my regular shirts though some are beginning to get short and / or tight.
Stretch marks? Nope...I don't have any yet! Still applying Belly Butter twice daily to help prevent them completely. I'll keep my fingers crossed!
Sleep: Waking up once or twice a night to go to the bathroom, but overall, sleeping fairly well.
Best moment this week: Painting the first two coats of blue in the nursery and repainting the ceiling...now to move onto the stripes! :)
Movement: Yes! I'm feeling him more and more often, and I love it.
Food cravings: Mexican sometimes, and I craved Chicken Pot Pie last week.
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: None...thankfully!
Belly Button in or out? In
What I am looking forward to: Decorating the Nursery! and my next Dr.'s Appointment.
Weekly Wisdom: I don't really have any...
Milestones: Again, painting the first two coat's of blue on the wall and getting some items ready for his arrival! :)

Also, I bought Weston an outfit that I love, and he is going to wear it for Easter next year. It's super cute, and I'm so excited about it. It came in the mail late last week, and I absolutely love it. What do you guys think? This is a picture of the one that was listed to buy, but I obviously got it with Weston's name on it. :)
It's cute, isn't it? Let me just tell you...he is going to be so spoiled! :) He is the first grandchild on both sides of our family, so he'll definitely be getting all that he wants! Ha-Ha!

Thanks for Participating in the Fall Swap!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Fall Swap...rather than posting everyone's information here, I've emailed your partner to you with their information. If you emailed me and wanted to join in on the Fall Swap and haven't received an email with your partner's name, please leave me a comment and let me know. I've just arrived in Mississippi after driving the entire way through the monsoon that is Georgia & Alabama right now, but I'm here, and I'll try to comment on everyone's blog this evening.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Weston's Nursery

So, I have wanted to have a boy first for as long as I can remember, and Grant wants two boys, but we'll see about that! :) I have had nursery ideas picked out since way before he was even thought about, and so, I was really hoping for a boy. We have bought paint and tape for the stripes, and we've done a first coat of blue pant on the walls. I am so excited about his nursery, and I can't wait to show you all the photos.

I made a collage of photos (see below) that I've been collected, which includes the nursery that I'm designing Weston's after, so you can get an idea of what it'll look like. If you click on the photo, it'll open up larger. It's the nursery with stripes and blue walls...I'm obviously going to have some differences, but it'll be fairly similar, as I loved this nursery immediately and the stripes on the wall! I can't wait until it's finished. I'm so excited about. Also, our crib came in, so we get to go pick it up on Saturday! Yay!! I'll post pictures of the first coat of paint and our progress as we go along.Oh yeh...I forgot to add his nightlight to the collage, but you can't go without seeing it. I love it!!

Fall Swap Reminder

Just wanted to remind everyone not to forget to sign up for the Fall Swap if you haven't already...you have until midnight tonight to get your name and information in to me, if you'd like to participate. I think it's going to be a lot of fun, so don't delay! I'll post the partners by Monday, September 21st.

Also, I'll be traveling to Mississippi next week for work, so I may be a little distracted and unable to blog or comment much next week, but I'll try to keep up. I'll be back on Friday, so I'll catch up then.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Nesting

I want to know when you begin "nesting"...All of the pregnant women I know have said that they started nesting during some point of their pregnancy. Cleaning, organizing, cleaning out, etc....And I was wondering when does this start to occur? I'm certain that I haven't reached that point yet. :) I am getting all my usual cleaning done, but I am not really excited or anxious to do it. I need to do an entire pile of ironing, but I don't have hte motivation to do so. So, if anyone of you knows...when can I expect to start wanting to organize the closet and clean things out? I need to start doing it soon, because I've got a long way to go with organizing my closets and cleaning, etc.

I'm feeling better today, and Weston is moving around a lot in my belly the past two days! It's so much fun to feel him kick and move. The nurse said that before long that it'll start to get annoying. Maybe so, but I can't imagine it getting annoying. I just love knowing that he is in their doing well and growing strong and healthy!