here comes santa claus

here comes santa claus

December 24, 2009

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with lexy on his sleigh!

this morning started out normal - just headed off for our NST/Clinic appt. NST went normal, so we headed down to the clinic. after waiting the appropiate hour or so, we were finally called back. we didn't see our normal doctor again, we saw another really nice lady. they checked for the heartbeat and uterus size and the doc said she'd give me 1 more week to have the baby and then they would induce me. so i got off the table and sat down beside her desk while she wrote in my chart, then she said she had to talk to someone and would be right back.

20 minutes later...

we're being told we're getting induced this week!

they wanted to induce me today, but the doctor was nice enough to put her foot down and let me have christmas at home. so saturday, dec 26 we'll be headed off to the hospital to be induced. i have to say, i did well up with some tears when they told us. i knew she was coming, obviously i've carried her for 9 months, but just knowing an exact day i'd be going into labor is scary! i doubt i'll get much good sleep before then, but i'll try :)

manny & i are busy making sure the house is all ready. i had to wash some of lexy's clothes and do the dishes and more laundry and the floor needed mopping. plus, we need to be ready for christmas tomorrow & the arrival of my family! it's been absolutely the weirdest christmas eve ever.

but i think that we're ready for the most part. i'm nervous, of course. but manny couldn't be more happier...unless she was coming today lol but i'd really rather have christmas at home!

so merry christmas to all of our families - can't wait to spend the day with you all tomorrow - and to my far away family, i can't wait until we can spend time together and you can meet our beautiful baby girl!!!

and a special note to bubba - don't you worry, we'll put her on the webcam the day she comes home so you can meet her :) she loves her blake just as much as we do! & she loves her tyler just as much as well!!!

only 2 more days to go!

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Ohh i'm a slacker

Ohh i'm a slacker

December 22, 2009

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Snow!!!

I said i was going to get up and do something...but instead i was catching up on blogs and decided i should post one!

I had such great CVS deals to post about...but, i never did. I'll probablly post them later (once i find the reciepts b/c i absolutely won't remember what i payed for things) even though the deals are expired now.

So today makes 39 weeks! Woo! Who would have thought i'd be here already?! M is getting very antsy about L's arrival. He told the NST lady this morning that he was hoping she'd read contractions lol - he can't wait for his bundle of joy to arrive. I can't either - i'm feeling blahh lately. Just tired and like i am at the end, which i am! Time is just crawling by now though - slow as a snail.

And we got a blizzard this weekend! The snow is starting to melt, but i'm hoping it'll last long enough for me to have my first white christmas!! We got, im guessing, about 15 inches or so. It was so pretty at first, now it's dirty and shoved to the side of the roads lol. But snow is snow! Help's it feel like the holidays :)

Well, this was a small post - but i didn't have much to update, just didn't want to put off updating the blog even longer. I'll post again when something happens ;)

Only 7 (can you believe it?!?!) days left!!!

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38 weeks & still preggers...

38 weeks & still preggers...

December 16, 2009

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Yup, the bun is still in the oven. Tuesday made 38 weeks - the end is so near! Not that it really feels that way though. Tomorrow is my clinic appt, maybe something will be going on. My NST & sono were good yesterday. Lexy weighs 6 lbs 10 oz. I think she's going to be smaller than we expected.

I have my hospital bag ALMOST packed :) Gotta get a few things out of the laundry and set aside some snacks and change for vending machines and a book for me, but mostly it's ready to go. Now, it's really just a game of waiting.

I can't believe christmas is next week! It doesn't feel like christmas. Firstly, i expected some snow by now - it def snowed last year before christmas. I guess manny & i are so concentrated on everything else going on that we haven't payed much attention to the holidays. We decorated, put up the tree, shopped for all the presents and wrapped most but i don't know, just doesn't feel like christmas.

I'm slowly knocking out my large to-do list - although i'm come to realize its probablly not all going to get done before Lexy arrives. But, i did finish the christmas & thank you cards - just got to get a few addresses then drop them in the mail!

So, we had our 3rd and last baby shower this past Sunday. We all had fun and enjoyed ourselves - just very tired when it was all done! We got some great gifts and what we didn't need/already had we exchanged for stuff we did need. We ended up getting her a bumbo seat w/the tray, and some halo sleep sacks. Also, we got the frog pod that holds toys in the bathtub (it's so cute!), lots of clothes and blankets. Some cute decor signs. More, of course, but my brain isn't working right now. I have to put all the gifts away this week so her room is nice and organized again! But, i think we finally have everything we need for her arrival :)

My friend sabrina is taking up photography and just got a new camera so i headed over there a couple days ago and we took some preggo pictures! She's still working with them and editing them but she did email me 2 she had finished. They look great! She's also going to take some of Lexy once she gets here - she's got great ideas for them!

37 weeks 6 days

Only 13 days to go!

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Cheesesteaks!

Cheesesteaks!

December 9, 2009

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They were yum! I wish i could have chopped the meat really thin, like restaurants - but i don't have a food processor. So they were thicker pieces, but still delish!

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Round of applause...

Round of applause...

December 8, 2009

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for my black beans!

they were delicious - i mean, manny only had 3 servings ;) they were worth the onions burning my eyes :D

manny says between the breadsticks last night & the beans tonight, i'm setting the expectation bar really high for yummy-O dinners like this way more often. we'll see LOL ;-)

we went to pick out our christmas tree after dinner. man, these places get HUGE trees! and woah, some went up to $120 bucks. who seriously pays $120 bucks for a tree they can't even plant and keep forever?! not this gal. we needed something pretty but small b/c it's squishing into our small dining room with the dining room table & computer desk. and we found one - only $26 :-)

but you only get pictures after we decorate it!

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Madisynn Alexyss Grant

Madisynn Alexyss Grant

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it's been 5 years since this little beauty passed away. her life may be been short, but it was so full of life & love. not a day goes by where i don't think of my princess. i love her and miss her to pieces! i know she's up in heaven looking down at all of us - she's our angel <3 div="">

i just wanted to let my family know i'm thinking of all of you on this day! keep on living and being happy because that's what she would want us to do!

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Oh, yum!

Oh, yum!

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i had full intentions of posting how dinner came out last night with my homemade breadsticks - but the printer wasn't working to pull my pictures off of the memory card and once the printer was working i had full intentions of staying on the sofa!

it must be pregnancy, b/c unlike before i was preggers, i can totally dig into a plate of spaghetti, in fact i could even eat some now! i ate a little too much last night. it's actually nowhere near what a normal meal is - i eat way less than the norm and even then i feel stuffed like a turkey. anyways - dinner was really good. we both stuffed our faces with ceasar salad, spaghetti & meatballs, & breadsticks.

i think the breadsticks could have been a bit more flavorful but manny seemed to love them. & it was my first time ever making any kind of dough by scratch. i mean, i've screwed up pizza dough from the bag where all you add is water! so i must say i am pretty proud of myself for my accomplishment. i was going to take pictures of the process along the way - but that required a bit too much organization for me. maybe next time ;)

here's the final product - yum O!














for tonight's dinner, i'm going to attempt to make black beans according to back of the Goya can. i lovelovelove black beans. it's high-time i try to make them myself :) i'm going to cook skirt steak, yellow rice, rolls, & a salad w/tortilla strips to go with the beans.

as for lexy updates, my nst/sono were both good this morning. lexy wanted to sleep for most of the nst and had to be waken up by the nurse with a buzzer thing. she wasn't too happy about that. but after that she did her part so mommy could go home! of course, it's ob 1x wk, sono 1x wk, nst 2x wk. i'm in the hospital so much, i won't know what to do once i don't have to go anymore. the really nice nst nurse is retiring in 5 days :( now lexy & i will have to get used to a new nurse. but this nurse already understands my crazy daughter who does what she pleases once we're hooked up to the machines - so she'll be missed.

now after all of my belly aching yesterday, i managed to find a couple things to spruce up the house - just some cute $1 bulbs to throw in a pretty dish for the dining room table & some garland. i'm going to try it out on the banister in the house & if i like it, go back and get more for the banisters outside. it was only $1 too! i finished my gymboree trip i needed to make - got lexy the cutest pink high tops that look just like converse! oh my, she's going to be adorable in them! and i got all of my coupons clipped and stored and pulled out all the ones i needed for todays cvs/walgreens trip! i'm glad i got some things accomplished.

i still need to clean my house though - my parents will be here on thursday. yay!!! of course, mom, you can feel free to clean my house ;)

only 21 days to go!

oh, AND i'm technically full term today!!! 37 weeks :D although, i really feel she's going to take her time coming out - but i can't blame her, she has plenty of stubbornness to get from me and her daddy!

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My daughter...

My daughter...

December 7, 2009

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makes my body feel like it has food poisoining. nice, huh?

i love my darling lil girl & i love having her inside me for as long as she needs, but do ya think she could please not need any more time in there? i want to love her in my arms now! i'm not too keen on the pushing out a 7/8 lb chunker out of my body but i am ready to have normal bodily functions back.

so, it's december. & it's cold. & ABC Family has all my favorite christmas movies playing everyday. but it doesn't FEEL like the holidays. i'm sure thats partly due to the fact that i thought i had way more festive decor to spruce up the house with than what i really have. the house is bland and unfestive. i'm hoping i can find something @ the dollar store or big lots or marshalls. because, well, it's christmas & we have 2 large families & 2 spoiled furkids & a baby on the way & a non-working me & a not so large paycheck from the military. all that = a small budget! a small budget we don't manage nearly as well as we should :/ but that happens when you get married at 20 and 22 and all of a sudden you have your own money and freedom. smart choices aren't usually made. but we're living and learning. so budget christmas decor is what i'll be after!

but i still don't feel in a festive mood. i should. it's the holidays - i LOVE the holidays. and for the next couple weeks i have all the time in the world to do whatever i need to do. and i have a baby that'll be born on or around the holiday/new years. so what's my problem? no se.

i am excited about scoring 1 yr subscriptions to Good Housekeeping & Cosmopolitian for only $5 each, shipped! sweet savings for moi!
here's the link to them on amazon - http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&plgroup=1&ref_=br%5Flf%5Fm%5F1000461761%5Fgrlink%5F1&docId=1000461761

i should really stop using my amazing procrastination skills and do something. there's presents to be wrapped, gymboree trip i need to make, presents to be mailed out to germany (sorry! b/c of my before mentioned procrastination skill your presents will probablly be late), christmas cards to finish writing, a house to clean, laundry to put away (yes, still, even after putting away 5 loads yesterday), a very aggravating rocker chair to figure out how to recushion/cover, dinner to shop for and cook, a toby that could use walking, coupons to clip. *deep breath, now* you know, all the stuff that seems to accumalate when you let it.

+ i've been finding these yummy cookie recipes in my inbox that might help with the holiday spirit. and who doesn't love eating cookies?!
i'm also thinking of trying to bake a batch of homemade breadsticks for dinner and serving with spaghetti. now, i'm not my "marthastewart" sister, even if i did wish to have all of her wonderful skills :), so i could totally fool myself by thinking i can do them, but i'm going to give it a try!

i'll post an update later if they do indeed work out for me.

until then...
only 22 days to go!

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Week 36!

Week 36!

December 4, 2009

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WEEK 36!

36 weeks preggo! It's the final stretch :)
I had my doctor appt yesterday - they did an internal exam & took blood. My cervix is still closed - lexy is snug as a bug in there for the time being. Oh, and at my last sono Lexy weighed 5lbs & 13 ozs! I'm now going to weekly ob appts and the doctor changed my NST back to 2x a week. I lost another 3 lbs in 3 weeks. The nutrionist isn't too concerned, she said with high blood pressure the body can retain water and then lose it, so that could explain the weight fluctions. Otherwise, everything seems to be good.


Wednesday was my last day of work - WOOT! It feels nice to know i have time to do things now. I don't have to try and cram everything into my day off. I managed to get the kitchen cleaned last night! Now, the rest of the house :) Hopefully, Manny & i can decorate for christmas this weekend and get a tree soon. All the presents have taken over the dining room table!


So manny and i were lucky enough to score a spot on the ice right in front of Rockefellar Center christmas tree Wednesday night! NBC was doing a special for a unit of marines that just came back from overseas and they invited local marines & their families to come to the tree lighting. It was pretty cold & rainy all night! And, of course i didn't think through my footwear and just wore flats with no tights or anything! Standing on ice in flats is not very warm ;) My feet were frozen most of the night! But we had up front seats to see Jose Felicano, Michael Buble & Aretha Franklin! Who gets to see Aretha Franklin up close? Although, we're pretty sure she lipsynced and that kinda bummed me. We unwrapped the video camera so we could get footage of the night - it was a once in a lifetime thing! The tree was huge & beautiful! So cool to see it light up that close :) Manny also got to shake hands and meet the host Zachary Levi - he's got a show on NBC (Chuck, i think?!) and is playing a role in the new Alvin & The Chimpmunks movie. He personally went around and thanked each marine he could for doing their service. I thought it was pretty nice :) All the girls were going crazy and he posed for individual pictures with all of them! It was a really cool evening and we finished it off with some very yummy nachos @ Canyon Road.

Of course, yesterday we were exhausted from all the events but it was worth it :)

For some Lexy news: we finally finished her room! Minus a rug, lamp, fixing the rocking chair, & picture frames. So, okay, not completely finished. But finished enough for her arrival! She's got enough supplies, clothes are washed & put away, bedding is washed and made!


Now i have a house full of cleaning to get to!
Only 25 days to go...

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