This One vs. That One

"Every Pregnancy is different."

If you've ever been sucked into a pregnancy conversation you know the saying; but if you've had more than one pregnancy you KNOW the saying. You think you're a pro at being pregnant cause you've had one kid and then before you know it your body is like "BAM! Be you didn't see that comin!" Since I have been somewhat absent from my blog during this pregnancy and we need some catching up, I'll use this to also share how these 9 months of baby making have been different from the first.

So, let's begin

Pre-Baby Boy #1

Morning Sickness
THAT ONE:
In the beginning there was MORNING SICKNESS and we saw that it was bad; Very, VERY BAD! Two days after I found out I was pregnant with handsome my normal body was done! I was in bed for almost a week and pretty much only ate Saltine crackers. And even those caused me to run to the toilet every once in a while. I lost about 7 pounds in those 5 days. BUT! That was it! As long as i had something salty or spicy on hand (hot cheetos and lemon chips were my go-to) I could settle my nausea. Within a couple weeks I was back to "normal".

Pre Baby Boy #2

THIS ONE:
We found out right before Thanksgiving that we were expecting. I didn't get full blown "stuck in bed, not getting out unless it's to barf" morning sickness, but I was nauseous. I had to make sure that I had SOMETHING in my system to keep from getting nauseous. But, it wasn't enough to keep me in bed or feeling horrible. Safe to say, I'd choose THIS over THAT one even though this one has given me a taste of something new, HEARTBURN.

5 Months in both pregnancies

Weight gain
THAT ONE:
I gained a total of 27 pounds! Yep, that's it. Steady healthy weight gain. My doctor was never worried about my weight gain or how my belly was measuring until a few weeks before my due date. He said I was measuring a bit small and wanted to take an ultrasound so we did, but handsome was fine. He was born one day late and weighed 7lbs1oz. Perfectly normal. I was able to stick with my regular jeans for most of my pregnancy which was awfully nice. I bought my first pair of maternity jeans until almost halfway through and still had some jeans that I kept the whole time. I like loos fitting clothes so most of my blouses were fine through to the end.

THIS ONE:
Oh geez, here we go. I thought at the rate I was gaining weight I would hit 40pds gained by due date but my body has let up a little. (Let's just say I'm enjoying eating for two) At my last appt I was at 35pds gained. This explains that chunky faced person who shows up in all my pics. I started gaining weight pretty quickly which also gave me a pudge pretty early in the pregnancy. So I began showing alot earlier. I was in dier need of Maternity pants not even two months in. I couldn't handle my jeans cutting into my midsection. My regular pants were taken out of my closet pretty quickly and put away where they couldn't haunt me. My shirts are on their last stretch. Thankfully I have a few that are working with the belly.

Swelling
THAT ONE: I want to say it was about 5-6 months in that I began swelling pretty good in my hands and feet. Rings were retired and so were heels. Since it was Texas summer time needing to retire my shoes for sandals wasn't a bad thing.
THIS ONE:  It took a little longer to swell this time around, but it did happen. Rings have been stored away and only certain shoes can be worn. I tend to find myself VERY swollen in the mornings when I wake up.

9 Months in Then

Pain and discomfort
THAT ONE:
Honestly I don't remember having ANY pain with Handsome. We had no complications, no complaints, no worries, it was a perfect first pregnancy. I never had questions for my doctor about what I was feeling or why. It wasn't till I actually began going into labor that I had pains. I did sleep with a body pillow to keep myself from laying on my back where I wasn't able to breathe, but sleeping wasn't a problem apart from the middle-of-the-night trip to the potty.

9 Months in Now

THIS ONE: This is probably the BIGGEST difference in the pregnancies. The past 9 months have been pretty painful. I have a pretty good pain tolerance and I'm the type to just suck it up and wait till it passes. So, my hubby has been really the only one to know how bad it was, but even with that it was only what he could see on my face. Let's just say there's been plenty of times where I just wanted someone to literally come jump on my lower back and onto my hips. If hubby and I were relaxed on the couch at night and then headed upstairs to bed I felt like every bone in my my pelvis was about to break. I would find myself on my back in the middle of the night and rolling on my side would take like 10 minutes. No joke. Waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom was always painful and scary because I knew if I fell in pain or couldn't make it to the bathroom because it hurt too much to walk, Hubby wouldn't know, and knowing me I'd try to get myself back up and going before waking him. The newest pain has been feeling like someone has beat me in the crotch. No other way to describe it. I'm guessing Little Guy is just so low that his head is resting just in the perfect spot to cause the pain.


Even with all the differences in the pregnancies that may have not been the best, I'm very blessed to say both of these pregnancies were beautiful and worth remembering. There were never complications or scary patches. Everything has been cool and groovy. And now we wait. We wait to meet the little guy who has brought me so much discomfort! haha And I cannot wait to have him in my arms!

A Flyin' Good Time

I KNOW! ABOUT TIME! Goodness, it’s been forever! I’ve been wanting to post plenty of times but not having internet plays a BIG factor. (who’d of thought?) Let’s just say going to sit in a coffee shop with a toddler who is way too busy to sit and let mom upload pics just hasn’t been the first thing on my “to-do list”. But, I am going to start finding ways to do this. Like my brother told me, there are too many people outside of Alaska who want to see my Handsome. He said this because he wanted me to post more on my Instagram.

Well, onto the reason for this blog. Handsome is 2! My goodness! It just goes by WAY too fast and they change WAY too much. This birthday was so much more fun to plan than last year’s. I decided on an airplane theme since that’s one of Ashdon’s favorite things. I looked on Pinterest for inspiration (of course) and fell in love with the colors orange and blue. So, on we went from there.

 The piñata. Who doesn’t like a piñata? Come on?

 Handsome liked a little too much. He was pretty bummed when it had been decapitated.

So thankful for my hubby who helped me with the lot of airplanes we made for the favor bags. They were the biggest hit of all! And the extras I have lying around will go in handsome’s room.

 It was a blast. We got lots of great feedback on how fun and cute everything was. But most of all, Handsome had a blast. Even though he wasn’t a fan of the bounce house. (it’s ok. I got it for a GREAT price) So that’s what matters most: Handsome enjoyed it and mommy didn’t pull her hair out nor did she shed a tear.

...The Best Is Yet To Come.

A Little Creative Fun

Well, this past weekend was my wonderful hubby's birthday. He decided he wanted something small. So I planned a get-together/game night with some friends and family at our place. In other words, the ladies go at it in cards while the gents rid the world of zombies. It turned out to be a fun night for even the munchkins crawling around throwing balls and conversing in their adorable babbles.

In the process of prepping for the party I decided I needed to add something "festive" to our partially decorated apartment. As I looked in the party section at Walmart I soon realized that unless this party were for a kid I wasn't going to find anything I liked. So I quickly searched through Pinterest for something to make that wouldn't cost much. I came across a garland that looked fun. As I read the blog, I realized how easy it was and went straight to the craft section.

I bought printed card stock. This one was a 30-sheet pack. (I would suggest making sure it is printed double-sided if you're using something with pattern) cost=$5.61 +tax

I cut out circles in two different sizes and triangles. One sheet of every pattern I wanted. Lots of patience needed. But if you have little ones they would love to help I'm sure. My handsome liked all the shapes as they ended up all over the floor.

Once I had all my shapes cut out, it was time to put it together. Get this, all you do is sew them together with a machine. Just slide one in at a time and go! It's the easiest thing ever. Don't overlap but don't leave too much slack in between each piece. I allowed maybe a couple stitches once I got the hang of it. I used a simple straight, tight stitch. I rotated patterns but allowed the shapes to kind of go however. I didn't want a distinct pattern. If you're a little more OCD then you could do triangle>circle>triangle>circle and so forth.

I ended with different lengths because my thread popped when there was too much slack in between shapes. But, it ended up working well with the different lengths.

I hung them in different places around the apartment depending on the length. Over the window, over the front door, across the beam in our dining room, and over the sofa.

They were a big hit at the party. Got lots of compliments and hubby loved them. Good, cause I was worried he may think they were too kiddish, but, no.

The next day I decided to take them and hang them over Handsome's crib. I've been thinking of how to re-docorate his room. So my plan is to take a color from the garland and use that. The garland came out great over his bed. Don't ask how I got it up there. Lets just say I was a very bad influence to my son who loves to climb on furniture.

That's my bit of creative fun. Only cost me $5.61 and patience. And I didn't even use half of the pack of paper.

All's Good in the Woods

 

I am so happy to be writing this post from the comfort of our Lazy Boy in our apartment. We've officially been moved in for a week now and oh, does it feel good.

Let’s catch up shall we? Hubby is now officially licensed as an Alaskan Realtor. It took FOREVER for his license to process through and post. But this past week it finally did, and this week he’s been busy with showings. We are so blessed to have had this job pop up. I know he’s gonna go really far with this job.

Little Handsome. Oh my little energy ball. He is all over the place and has SO much to say. He turns 18 months this month. 1 year and a half. Already. It’s so hard to believe how much these little ones change in a year and how fast it all happens. I must admit, I am ready for another one. I miss pregnancy and the excitement of it all. I miss carrying him in my oversized tummy. All in due time though. My plan is to at least wait out the summer. A little selfish of me, but I want to enjoy the outdoors first. I want to hunt, fish, four-wheel, hike, anything and everything. I need to start a summer bucket list.

Next weekend is going to be exciting. We’re driving down about 4-5 hours to a town called Nikiski for, what is called, “Main Event”. The youth of the Nazarene churches meet for this event where they compete in lots of different competitions. So we’ll be taking a church van with a group of our teens. Handsome and I are most likely going to be staying in a hotel nearby due to the youth being housed in, well, we don’t really know. Haha All we know is that it’s not Little-Man-friendly. 

But the most exciting thing of all, OUR NEW PLACE. You know, it’s great to see when God just begins to open up the heavens. I must say this has not been an easy process for us. But the great thing is that regardless of how deep I was in anxiety, or the days I was just so depressed I couldn’t fake the smile anymore, I always knew that God still had it all. The process hurts. And God doesn’t expect us to be on cloud nine all the time. We’re just supposed to trust. Trust that He knows what He’s got us into and believe that we’re safe and standing on His promises. And that’s what we had to do. I am so thankful for my husband. He has been my shoulder to cry on. The one to hold me while I cry myself to sleep. He knows my heart so well. We think alike in so much and we realized that through this process. We really have been strengthened as a couple and as a family. He is my blessing.

Well, God gave us even more than we wanted and a lot faster than we thought. He brought it through connections we didn’t even think of and layed it in our lap. He’s so awesome. He’s amazing. And He only gets better and better. I kept telling Mister Fancyman that if we couldn’t rent a house, I would prefer a Townhome over an apartment. Mainly because of our little man. He is crazy mobile and I don’t want to deal with cranky downstairs neighbors. And that’s what He gave us. A great townhome right by the lake with over 1000sq ft. Did I mention the storage??? OMG the storage. Let’s just say we can go crazy shopping and never run out of places to store things. We are out of the town so we don’t have much noise, at the end of a cul-de-sac so we don’t have much traffic, and we’re only 5 minutes from church and work and TARGET. Hello Target, how you have won me over. 

All this to say, IT’S ALL GOOD IN THE WOODS. I know I don’t have a whole bunch of pictures of our new place, but I will put them little by little as our box-filled town home gets a little more de-cluttered.  But do check out my latest thrift win. I had been wanting something to use as a nail polish display, and there she was. 

...The Best Is Yet To Come

Smile and Wave

I know it has been forever since I've posted. Life has it's up's and down's and not everything needs to be written. In other words, I needed to keep myself quiet for a while. A lot of, really, nothing has been going on until this past week. The job search has ended. (thank you Lord.) But, there's still a waiting period. It's gonna be a while until we see ourselves moving forward financially. I keep telling myself what I told Hubby, "We're getting closer." Closer to our own place, closer to Ashdon's own room, closer to our own kitchen, closer to US. 

This past Saturday the town of Palmer celebrated "Colony Days". I honestly don't remember what it was for but they had stuff going on all over town all weekend. Everything from craft shows, reindeer, and ice sculptors. Santa even came down from the North Pole. (Not THAT far from here) They ended the celebration with a parade through the town. Which brings our adventure. My father-in-law scored us a beautiful fire truck to ride in through the parade. So we went to the station, they washed the truck and in we piled. 

Handsome LOVED the truck. He mainly loved all of the flashing lights. He would see the other trucks and start jumping up and down at their lights. He got a window seat on his Tia's lap and looked out the window at all the kids waving at the fire truck. Along with the parade to end the night, God decided to add His spin. Everyone here can't understand how there has not been snow. Normally, or so they say, by Halloween there is permanent snow on the ground and it will last all season. Well, it hasn't been that way and I can't say I'm complaining. Although it would be nice to have something cover all the deadness in the trees, we don't have the money for snow tires yet. But, as we were waiting for the parade to start, God blew through the clouds and there it came. A beautiful mist as the parade went on. It warmed my heart to know all of these kids that were sitting out in the cold with their big coats were not only getting to see the trucks and Santa, but also the snow fall. It was a beautiful sight.
Handsome has grown very fond of lights. Mainly ceiling light fixtures. He'll point up and say "what's that?" or EVERY time we get in a car and the lights go on "What's That?" Of course he knows its a light but still, he wants our reaction. He absolutely LOVES music. It makes me so happy! He here's any music and he gets a huge grin and begins dancing. He's hilarious!

...The Best Is Yet To Come