2012, Good-bye!

myrtle beach feb.

2012...what a whirlwind of a year! Staying positive and being grateful was the biggest lesson I learned this year. Despite starting the year unemployed and heartbroken of the many fails of trying to get pregnant, I learn to be as positive as I could and reminded myself every day what I'm grateful for. And now at the end, I have a great job and we're having a baby and everyday I wake up with a big smile.

Here are some highlights from each month:

Jan.
-We started the year off with me going back to school. With me out of a job for 7 months, it seemed like the best decision at the time.

Feb.
- I started my chiropractor treatments and I haven't been this pain free in my back in like 10 years.
-Went to Myrtle Beach, SC with some friends for the marathon.

March
-Heck ya! I got an awesome job!
-I decided to drop out of school to focus on trying to get pregnant and on my new job.
-We went to Maine to visit our friends.

April
-We got rid of a bunch of trees in our backyard and planted a garden. The yard is so much brighter now.

good-bye trees, hello garden

May
- Ran a 5k and did great!

June
-We made the decision that IVF was basically our next and only choice.

July
-We started IVF and it went way better than I ever thought it would.
-My niece became a part of our family after months of waiting!

Aug.
-Guess who go pregnant?! BEST news EVER!!!

never thought i'd see that word

Sept.
-I got to see sprout looking like a baby and see it moving around for the first time.

Oct.
-We went on a much needed getaway to Asheville.

Nov.
-Went to New York for the marathon. Rob didn't run it, but we had a great time anyways.
-We got to visit my family in Arizona for Thanksgiving.
-I got to meet my new niece.

<3

Dec.
-Rob for reals quit his job and we now work together at the same company! Such an awesome, scary, and huge decision!!

office buddies!

25 weeks

I had my monthly OB visit this past Friday. I also had my glucose test, which by the way doesn't taste as bad as girls on the internet say it does. Fruit Punch flavor is pretty good! Anywho, the visit went well! Once again, hearing sprout's heartbeat just made me so happy. Yep, still get tears in my eyes. I am measuring on schedule. Everything else is peachy. Only small thing is that I gained a bit more than I should have. Not something that I need to be concerned about, doctor did point out that Thanksgiving and Christmas did happen. Also my in-laws have been here, so I've been eating way more than normal. Doctor told me I'll be fine if I just get back to eating normal. Of course I'm more bothered by it than I should be, it's alarming seeing my weight so high! Although, everyone who sees me says I've just gained baby and not all over, which is so true. I won't be getting any more ultrasounds either. That means the next time we see sprout will be for reals!! And after my next appointment, I go every two weeks. Yes, things are flying by!

I've been feeling pretty good. I had a much needed easy day yesterday, which makes me feel much happier and not so stressed. Since my bum and back have been feeling great, I even managed working out to my prenatal exercise dvd. I took it easy, but it felt good to move and use some light weights. My belly has certainly be growing and it's at the point now where it's affecting my upper stomach. I constantly feel the muscle there being stretched and sometimes my side ribs get achey. Hee hee, it's such a weird feeling when I laugh too, I have to hold my stomach. Another interesting thing, I can totally feel that sprout's hanging out on my right side, since it's pretty hard over there and not so much on the left side.

Other than that, nothing else really happening. I think this weekend, we are going to start working on the nursery. We're either going to just prime the walls, or completely paint it, along with our Master Bathroom. We picked out the color of the room, which I'm super excited about. Once all that's painted, it's baby furniture time! I'm just itching to get that room ready...or at least cleared out. It's so jam packed with baby stuff in there.

Oh and we found out good friends of ours are expecting their 2nd kid! I am just over the moon for them. We also know another couple who's pregnant with their 2nd and another couple who will be trying for number 2 this year. It's funny because all these people, had their first kids around the same time too, though . It's also fun to be apart of a baby group...since it always seems that's how it happens. People get pregnant in groups.

Blog Lovin'

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Pregnancy Ups & Downs

This week...

Pregnancy Ups

- This week has been a great pain free week! No back pain, bum pain or calf pain. It feels good.

- I am soon going to be the owner of my very own Oral Kiely diaper bag! It's been a dream of mine to own one of her bags. Thank you awesome sale and Christmas money.

- Not really pregnancy related, but Rob has been working hard this week and fixing up a lot of stuff around the house. It's the start of our "Things we gotta get done before baby comes" and it feels good. When I get home tonight I can...*gasp* park in the garage again!

Pregnancy Downs

- I'm still feeling pretty stressed and worn out from all the Christmas prep. While I loved doing it, it's just got me all wound up and I feel I just can't get a break to fully relax. Of course the pregnancy hormones are making it worse and I've become pretty moody.

- I'm almost at the point again where I need to start buying more clothes. Tops are becoming scarce and wearing a top that's a little too tight isn't very cute anymore.

- My belly is making it harder to do some normal things. You should hear me grunting while I try to lace up my shoes, hee hee.

Oh hey!

I had meant to change the layout for the new year, but while trying things out it saved over the old colors and such.

So yeah....new look!

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a nice holiday!

Ours was lovely. We had it at our house this year. It was fun to get the house looking nice and being able to use our dinning room for a big fancy dinner. Rob's parents and one of the brothers joined us. And let us not forget the dogs.

After Rob got back from a run (we're in marathon training mode here), we opened presents. I got a pretty raw diamond necklace and a few other awesome goodies. Rob already got his gift of a leaf blower, but sprout also gave him a season pass of the latest Adventure Time. We also got sprout a couple things, like a pair of stegosaurus booties picked out by Rob. Yes, our kid will be into dinosaurs!

For breakfast I made a prefect batch of steel cut oatmeal. No chocolate chips this time, I put walnuts and cherries. Walnuts is almost as good as chocolate chips. Then it was prep time! I made sweet potato casserole, which turned out so good! No gooey marshmallows or pecans, just sweet potatoes, some cinnamon, orange zest and juice, a bit of brown sugar and some butter. I also made the ever popular sour cream biscuits. And of course there were the cookies I had made throughout the week. I love all this baking a cooking!

We just spent the day chilling, watching tv, eating dinner and then we all watched a movie while digesting. It was a nice low key Christmas. I did miss my family a lot, 'specially when my dad told me all the good things they were making, including traditional Croatian dishes. One year we'll make spend it with them again.

I can't WAIT for next year when we have a baby to celebrate it with. I think everyone is excited about that as well!

24 weeks

Woah Belly!! This is the first week where I noticed a difference from the beginning of the week till today. Which went like this, "OMG Rob!! Look at this!! Look at my belly! Crazy!!!" Sprout is also moving so much more, which just makes me so happy. I noticed the baby has moved higher up since I'm feeling more belly movements rather than the crotch kicks from before. Big changes here!

So I've got some major cravings now. Anything with chocolate chips....just hearing the words chocolate chip practically makes me drool. And with all the baking I've been doing, I have 3 bags of chocolate chips leftover in the pantry! Yes I still put it with my oatmeal. Sandwich wraps, something about putting delicious food in a tortilla/wrap just makes it so much better. I had this tofu and veggie wrap the other day, you would've thought I was eating some gourmet 5 star meal. And Christmas cookies. Um, how many can I eat in one sitting? Let's not go there. Thankfully, I eat healthy throughout the day, so I balance out the cookies. Why do cookies taste so much better around the holidays? It must be the love!

Pregnancy Ups and Downs

This week...

Pregnancy Ups:

- We've been doing a great job in doing our Bradley Method exercises. Cat Cow pose never felt so good.

- It seems like every week I'm going to mention how amazed I am about my growing belly, but each week...it's really that much different! And a big growing belly means a growing baby. So awesome!


- I felt sprout move with my hand last night! Sprout was being extra wiggly and I just happen to feel it when I placed my hand on my belly. Of course I couldn't get Rob to come quick enough. But that means he'll soon be able to feel it move as well.


Pregnancy Downs:

- I've been feeling a lot more tired this week. It's been such a busy week for us, but I'd love nothing more to just curl up on the couch and nap with the kitty.

- I've been craving sweets a little too much. I've had many samples when baking holiday cookies the other day. Granted I made small cookies and some don't have much sugar, but it's still sugar none the less.

- With the craziness of this week, I haven't been able to do any exercises or even walking the dogs. Next week should be easier with the holidays over and I'm not scrambling to get things done.

Holly Hair Clip Tutorial

I made this fun little tutorial last year on my other blog for these holly hair clips. I thought I'd share it with this blog. Have fun!

Step 1: Gather your supplies.

• hair clip
• green felt
• 3 red buttons
• red and green embroidery thread
• needle, scissors and scrap paper

Step 2: Make a holly leaf out of paper. (you can skip this and directly cut on your felt if you've got mad skills)

Step 3: Trace and cut out 2 leaves from your felt.

Step 4: Stitch a line down the middle, this will also give it some stability.

Step 5: Sew the buttons on the bottom for the berries.

Step 6: Sew the leaves onto your hair clip. You can also glue it on if your hair clip doesn't bend to open.

And you're done!

Make a bunch and share! Dogs and beards look especially awesome wearing these;)

Happy Holidays!

23 weeks

You know, looking at these photos back to back, I really don't see a difference, but I know I am much bigger this week.

Once again I'm really starting to feel the toll of pregnancy. Saturday we decided to walk the dogs before lunch time. Now I wasn't hungry and I snacked on some fruit before and I also went to the bathroom. Half way through our walk I started to feel that pressure in my pelvic area and my tail bone was all ready really tight. We walked a littler further and I had to stop, it felt like I had been running a race. While heading back I had to stop a couple more times, even sitting down since at that point I was feeling a bit faint. By the time we got to our street, I couldn't go any further and Rob went and got the car. Mind you it wasn't far at all. After some lunch and a nap, I felt great again! Then again I felt the same way when we went to the store the next day. I actually had to go back and sit in the car while Rob finished the shopping. It's so extremely frustrating to me to feel like that. I was almost in tears yesterday out of embarrassment and frustration. I don't want to not be able to do things! Again, once I got home, rested a bit and ate lunch and felt fine. Fine enough to clean up, start my holiday baking and even go to the store by myself. I can't exactly pin point why I feel like that sometimes and not others. I do have my OB appointment in two weeks, which I'll ask the doctor. I don't think it's anything, just my body growing and adjusting.

With all that happened and all the time before that, I have to say how awesome Rob is. He takes such amazing care of me. He's constantly making sure I'm ok and helping me out. He did all my baking shopping today and surprised me with some chocolate. He constantly makes sure I eat often and plenty.  He's doesn't even mind doing our Bradley Method exercises together. Sometimes I get annoyed at him and sometimes I feel like I'm being lazy, but he reminds me that I'm already doing enough growing a baby and it's his job to help me. I couldn't be more grateful and proud that I am married to someone so awesome. Knowing that he's already so supportive of me actually doesn't make me that afraid of when I go into labor, because I know he'll be there next to me the whole way through. I'm always a stronger person when I'm with him.

Pregnancy Ups & Downs

This week....

Pregnancy Ups

- Yay! I can walk like a normal person again! While I still have a nagging slight pain/tightness in my bum, I feel so much better! I even walked the dogs and went shopping, carrying bags and all.

- That belly of mine is really growing! It feels good to finally look pregnant, not just feel it. I feel more confident about myself and my body now. This is the first time I don't mind having my shirts be tight enough to show my belly, when I always used to wear more loose fitting shirts.

- We went to our first Bradley Method class! It's going to be fun and informative. I'll talk more about it in another post.

Pregnancy Downs

- Like I mentioned in my last post, my body is slowly becoming more uncomfortable with the growing weight and pressure in my belly. I really noticed it when I get up after sitting down for a long time. Sometimes it makes me feel a little woozy. I know upping my stretching and yoga will help my body so much more. Next week starts a whole new schedule for me and Rob and I feel I will do a lot more now with this schedule.

22 weeks

The uncomfortable part of being pregnant is starting to creep in now. These past few days I noticed a lot more pressure around my pelvic area and sometimes it's down right uncomfortable. But always before I start getting miffed at my situation, sprout moves around for me and then I'm all happy again because I got to feel the baby move. With this new pressure and the ache in my bum, I'm taking it easy again with  my activities, like when cleaning the house, I'll take little breaks. I'm going to give my prenatal workout dvd another week off, but continue to do my yoga. Before I got down because I couldn't exercise or walk the dogs or even move around normally, but it clicked this weekend that it's ok that I can't do these things. As long as I do my best and still honor and take care of my body.

Saturday we headed over to the Charlotte Motor Speedway for a 5k that Rob and some friends were running. They got to run around the actual NASCAR tracks, pretty cool! I was always hoping to at least walk it, but I totally wouldn't have be able to to. Walking and standing around where we were was  even a bit too much for me. There was another pregnant girl there with us and it was fun to be around her and compare our pregnancies so far. She's on her 4th pregnancy, 4th boy too. Their 3 boys are so cute and well behaved. Our other friends had their kids too (who are just as cute and well behaved) and it's just fun and exciting for us to hang out with other parents. It's funny because we keeping getting the, "You guys are just cute cuz you have no idea".

This week we start our Bradley Method classes! I'm so excited! I remember when December was so far away. I'm curious to see how the class is going to be and what all we're going to learn. I mean I know the kind of things we'll be taught, but it's different when you're actually there. It's also crazy to think that we'll be taking these classes once a week for 12 weeks, which finishes in March, which is a month before I'm due. I'll make sure I write about our first class!

Pregnancy Ups & Downs

This week...

Pregnancy Ups

- I've had some real good nights of sleeping this week. Tuesday I think I slept through most of the night and I only went to pee out of habit (only moments before the alarm went off, d'oh) I think drinking some Sleepy Time tea helps me wind down.

- Sprout is moving more and more! I still feel it deep and not really on the surface of my tummy, but I definitely have a baby in there. Sprout tends to be active a lot during my lunch break when I'm sitting on the couch resting my legs. I really look forward to that time now.

- I'm so excited that we got our Ergo baby carrier! It's exciting to start getting the big and "real" purchases. Clothes and toys are fun, but seeing a stroller in the house is like, "Dude, you're having a baby soon!" Next month the real fun beings when we start working on the nursery!

Pregnancy Downs

- My butt muscle is still causing me problems, Monday was the worst! It was a 2 visits this week at the chiropractors and another in a couple weeks, but it certainly helps. Nothing like getting your butt massaged at the chiropractors, ha ha. It's something I'm mostly likely going to deal with constantly, but like my mom reminded me, at least the baby is all good and healthy. Exactly.

- My stomach has been sensitive after meals. Just being all gurgley and gassy. It's no fun, 'specially when I really want some dessert after dinner. The brussel sprouts I ate did not agree with me and I practically lost my appetite for dinner. I really like eating too!!

- Being in pain and not being able to do a lot of things has kind of got me down and frustrated. I couldn't walk the dogs, I couldn't do any exercise videos and even shopping is difficult for me. To come home and just sit on the couch is a drag, 'specially when I sit all day at work. I'm also missing out on a really awesome 5k that I was going to walk this weekend. But I got the go ahead to be able to start doing yoga again, so I can slowly start incorporating some sort of exercising.

Thank you REI!

Ok, Rob and I love REI. It's just a fun place to shop and it always gets you motivated to be more active outside. Rob's even a member, where we get great deals, dividends and our favorite, the garage sale, where you can buy returned and used items at amazing prices. (you know we'll be at the one at the end of this month!)

Remember how I wrote about the awesome Black Friday deal we got with our BOB stroller? Well the good folks at REI left a comment say how they'd like to give us a gift. What?? I totally was skeptical, this is the internet, but it turns out it really was REI!!

Monday we got a gift card in the mail! I couldn't believe how awesome and generous they were. Thank you!

Since this was sprout's gift card, we looked at what sort of baby gear they had and I was surprised that they had more than I expected. I always knew they had a great kids selection, but what really can you do with a baby outdoors? Let it see awesome how nature is! What we ending up getting was the Ergo baby carrier, one of my musts on my list. I was so happy to see REI carry it. It makes sense, be outside and close with your baby!

So again, thank you REI for the gift! We are truly grateful. Not only we'll be be running and jogging with our baby in the BOB stroller, we'll be carrying our baby around in style!

p.s.
this is a wonderful example of if you are positive and help others out without being selfish, you will in turn be helped out: )

21 weeks

Being pregnant has now become a way of life for me, the way I look, the way I feel, the way I move or can't move anymore...it's all so fun and exciting. And I keep telling myself there's so much more to come!

It was pretty exciting this past Friday to finally distinguish movements and to know I've been feeling them for a bit now. Funny because I didn't really feel anything this weekend. Thanks sprout.

My leg and butt has really been bothering me this weekend. I didn't really realize how much it was affecting me until this weekend. Friday I walked the dogs and I was completely worn out when I came back. Saturday I went shopping and I was limping by the time I headed back home and exhausted again to where I had to take a nap. Again Sunday, wiped out from simple shopping. It's kind of a bummer since it'll be hard for me to keep walking the dogs or do my workout dvd and just when I really want to get my body moving. I think yoga is fine since it is stretching. I'm really hoping the chiropractor will be able to help me. It's no fun for me to be limited in what I can do.

We put up our Christmas decorations this weekend. It's always fun buying Christmas stuff on clearance after the previous year and when you unpack everything the next year, you're surprised about the new decorations. I got some pretty nice stuff last year! This year I got us brand new matching stockings, including one for sprout. It makes me excited to know that we will put some things in it for our little baby.

I'm really looking forward to Christmas though. I've been thinking and planning what cookies I'm going to bake this year. I love baking and even more so when it's for other people. And I'm the type of person who likes to try different things. Last year I made earl grey tea cookies and coffee cookies, along with my family classics. And even though sprout is still in my tummy, Christmas is so much more exciting knowing we'll have our own little family soon. Thinking about what traditions we want to start and such. Christmas is just so much more magical when there are kids around even though I never really lost the excitement of Christmas as an adult like wearing silly pjs and filling our stockings with fun things and sitting by the tree opening our presents and just think how much more it's going to be with a kid. I just love it!