21 Weeks And A Consignment Sale

We had our midway ultrasound yesterday with the full anatomy scan and I am happy to report that Hudson looks healthy! The tech was not able to get a great picture of his heart due to the way he was laying (stubborn baby), so that means I get to have another ultrasound at my next check up! More pictures for the baby book! :)

I also went to my very first consignment sale last night with my friend from work. It was amazing how many clothes, toys, books, shoes, etc. were there. Leslie pointed me in the right direction and I was a woman on a mission!!! Luckily, people are more interested in older kids clothes than newborn/infant, so I was able to score on some really really cute things. Unfortunately, the lighting was bad and I came home with a few outfits with stainage, even though I THOUGHT I had looked everything over. Note to self...come prepared with a flashlight to scrutinize every garment. Oh well. Most of what I purchased is just fine and hopefully I'll be able to get out the stains in the other things with a little OxiClean and prayer.

So what's going on with Hudson this week? Evidently, he is being compared to a large banana in size (according to thebump.com) and the ultrasound tech says he weighs about a pound. His movements are becoming more pronounced even though Chad still hasn't felt them - just me. On the mama front...I gained 4 more lbs at this appointment (which the nurse said was good), am constantly hot, and don't have a HUGE appetite. The crazy breakouts I had when I first got pregnant are gone (thank goodness) and I'm mostly in maternity clothes, even though I can still pull off a FEW pre-preggers dresses. My nails grow scarily fast and my hair is growing faster than normal too. Oh, and my placenta has moved away from my cervix quite a bit, which was GREAT news to hear!

If you need me, I'll be trying to remove stains...

And I'm Exhausted.

Chad and I spent a great weekend in Atlanta with family and now it is Monday morning and I. Am. So. Tired. Since I blame everything on the awful heat that's been with SC since, oh, JUNE, I am blaming my tiredness on that as well.

My mom (bless her heart) bought Hudson's nursery rug this weekend when we visited a real live Pottery Barn Kids store in Alpharetta. We wanted to see their rugs in person since our bedding was from their online store and we found the perfect one that matches AND happened to be on sale. Score! We also visited the Janie & Jack store, which is my most favorite children's clothing boutique ever. Too bad you can't afford anything unless its on clearance. They have got the cutest classic children's clothes and we bought Hudson some "on sale" stuff - like REALLY on sale stuff. I'm of the opinion that our local outlet mall needs to have a J&J outlet store. I wonder who to contact on that...

Our last major nursery purchase will be the glider, which is actually going to be a gift from some amazing family members. We have been so, SO blessed with this nursery. The only thing we've had to buy ourselves is the bedding. Everything else has been a gift to us and I am soooooo thankful! I so wanted this nursery to bebeautiful and it's coming along just as I imagined. My sweet husband is working on the closets this week and we're going to pick out paint at some point this week as well. THEN all the big stuff will be out of the way and it's on to accessorizing!!!

Baby Hudson just kicked me a few minutes ago...I hope that means that he's as excited about his nursery as we are. Chad and I are looking forward to seeing him on the big screen on Wednesday at our 20 week ultrasound (almost 21 if you want to be technical - HA!). Please say a prayer that everything is normal (no reason it shouldn't be) and he is healthy. He certainly FEELS healthy - his kicks are starting to be much more prominent than "little flutters." Also pray that my placenta has moved back from my cervix - something the doctor mentioned at our last appointment. She told me not to worry, but of course I do!

I hope everyone has a great week! :)

I Think I Can...

I have reached the pinnacle and it's all downhill from here...20 weeks!!! This pregnancy has truly gone by fast and I know these last 20 weeks will fly by. And then my baby will be here...and life changes forever. Wow.

So anyway, have you ever heard of a "push present?" Well, I hadn't really until I got pregnant myself and heard about all the great gifts husbands give their wives for birthing their babies. Things like jewelry. Diamond jewelry. I hope that my dear husband, who sometimes reads this blog, does not overlook this post!

As great as a push present is, there are also other milestones in pregnancy that deserve to be celebrated. Like the "I made it halfway and no varicose veins yet" milestone. Which happens to be my current milestone, by the way. So I bought myself a present. Not diamond jewelry, but close...a fabulous diaper bag.

Even before I got pregnant, I coveted Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bags. I have no idea why. I think it's because the name is so quirky and fun and the bags are pretty and have lots of pockets. I don't have an exact reason. But I did know that I had more of a chance of scoring a PBB bag than a Kate Spade, even though PBB are pretty pricey. So when I got an email that Petunia was having a surprise sale with 40-60% off their bags, I did a happy dance and immediately sat by my computer this morning waiting for the clock to turn the magic hour. And I finally scored my bag this afternoon!

Isn't it cute? I think it's the perfect celebratory gift...a pat on the back for me and a functional diaper bag for when I look like the coolest Mom ever pushing Hudson around town. 

Amazingly, I got another gift today. My sweet mama decided to get Hudson a "blankie" made. My great-aunt made my blankie and I carried it with me through babyhood and even into teenage/adulthood. It is one of those objects that I will forever treasure. Unfortunately, my aunt Gert passed away years ago and no one in my family can sew. So one of my mom's friends said she would make Hudson his own blankie. Mom and I went to the fabric store today and after questioning the clerks who definitely laughed at us after we left, we settled on some very cute fabric for Hudson's blankie. I hope he loves his as much as I love mine.

This past week has been semi-emotional for me. I think a lot of things are coming into focus about becoming a parent that can be overshadowed by the "fun" things about pregnancy - you know, things like registering and decorating and shopping. But parenthood is so much more, such a huge responsibility. And that weight has settled on me tremendously this week. I am responsible for this child. His safety, well-being, happiness, discipline. I'm responsible for introducing him to Jesus and giving him the tools he needs to grow into a Godly man. Chad and I, as his earthly parents, are responsible for giving him a taste of what the Heavenly Father's love is all about. It's a scary task with so many uncertainties along the way. I'm encouraged by this verse:

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

I guess the Bible speaks directly to worrywart mamas-to-be in 2011.

I am now into my 19th week (okay, by a day) and I am almost HALFWAY THROUGH with this pregnancy and closer to meeting my little Hudson. We're still going with that as his name. I feel like its a keeper and so does Chad. I haven't monogrammed anything yet, but give me a week or so!

We have had a good week - last weekend, not so much. I came down with some sort of stomach flu/food poisoning and barfed all over the parking lot at the outlet malls last Friday. It was fabulous. So much for not getting sick ONE TIME while pregnant! Let's just say I won't ever eat Zaxby's EVER AGAIN. We did get Hudson's dresser moved into his room last weekend and all the stuff that isn't baby related is slowing making its way out of the nursery. Next on the list is remodeling the closet! Then on to painting! I am determined to get this stuff done before Chad starts the school year next month. He's thrilled, I promise.

I am definitely feeling Hudson fluttering around, which is probably the coolest feeling in the world. It really is, like my mom said, like butterflies. I can't predict when I'll feel a "butterfly" or not and I don't think anyone else can feel them yet, but I'm looking forward to Chad being able to feel him, even if that means kicking the crap out of me.

At 19 Weeks:

Name: Hudson Stewart
Stretch marks: Yup
Sleep: Couldn't live without my Snoogle and our A/C being turned down as low as possible! I need to pick up some more Breathe Right stips, but other than that, I'm sleeping good. Not sure about my husband!
Best Moment This Week: Explaining to my step-daughter what a "hooker" was.
Movement: He's fluttering around quite a bit these days! Wiggle worm!
Food Cravings: Chili beans. Seriously.

Have a great weekend! I'm going to make some chili beans tonight!

Sweet Potato - Week 18

Well, we've graduated from the fruit section and now my baby is a root vegetable. He's also chilling on my bladder and I've been feeling little flutters from down below for the past few days that I am attributing to HIM and not to flatulence. At least, I hope it's him! People have tried to describe what "quickening" feels like, and I'm pretty sure that's what I'm experiencing...tiny little flutters that happen every once in a while. It's exciting and makes this whole thing seem real!

As if a crib in the bedroom and a dresser in the sunroom (we're still rearranging and moving furniture out) doesn't make it real enough! Oh...and the baby bedding came yesterday and I LOOOVE IT! Yesterday was my mom's birthday and she and my step-father came over last night to see the new furniture, bedding, and the large amount of baby clothes I've purchased. She got onto me about buying so many clothes, but guess what? My baby, although he is a boy and will be covered in dirt most of the time, needs CLOTHING CHOICES! And he will have them seeing as his mother is a shopaholic and a clothes horse who can't fit into anything cute for herself right now. Lucky boy! I'm so ready to get my organiziational skills on and get his closet ready and put those little duds up where they belong.

This weekend we're going to move out the bed in that bedroom and the furniture and move the dresser in so we can really assess the space we have/don't have. The only "big ticket" items we need for the nursery are my overstuffed glider (which I have to pick out the fabric for) and a rug for the room. The rest is just painting and accessorizing. I think that the nursery will be complete by the start of my 3rd trimester, which was my goal from the beginning. Since Hudson will be born smack in the middle of the holiday season, I would rather have all the necessary things done well before D-Day!

18 weeks...almost halfway there!

July 4th Weekend

Chad and I have had quite the productive weekend preparing for the baby, who MAY be named Hudson. Actually, we're test driving that name, so I'll be referring to him as Hudson and if something changes, well, you'll know that we decided that that name doesn't work.

We did a little shopping at my new favorite place, Show Offs, which has excellent prices on smocked clothes (thanks to some of my facebook friends for alerting me to the awesomeness that is Show Offs!). I'm not sure if seersucker and smocking are just a Southern thing or not, but here in the South, we dress our little boys and girls in hand smocked outfits. And they are not cheap. A quality hand smocked jumper will run $70 and up. However, at Show Offs, they have excellent prices on these outfits. I got two adorable outfits for $58 (total)! I know, I know, you can find them at consignment sales for even cheaper and I'll be doing that, too, but I wanted him to have some new stuff.

With the help of Chad's friend, Jared, we got the desk moved out of the sunroom and the new couch assembled and in place. It looks different...

We still have some things to do to finish up this room and you can't see it, but there are major piles on both sides - to your left would be our yard sale pile and to the right, Chad's pile of things to take to his new classroom. 

We also set up the crib! I couldn't help myself...the nursery still has Chadee's bed and furniture that needs to be taken to my mom's for storage, but I just wanted to see what a baby crib in MY HOUSE would look like.

It looks like this:

You can see that this is still clearly Chadee's room - that's her whiteboard above the crib and messages that she's written. :) One of the things that I wish is that we could have moved into a bigger house prior to the baby arriving, but, times being what they are, Chad and I both feel that it's a better financial move on our part to stay put. Not forever, but for a little while longer. I think Chadee will enjoy a room with a TV and a DVD player!

We finished up the weekend with some more shopping at Gymboree (hello sale) and watching fireworks with Chad's family in Columbus, NC. It was a wonderful weekend to celebrate our nation's past and our family's future.