18 Weeks and Growling

Err, growing I mean. No, on second thought, growling is correct. My stomach is HUNGRY and wants FOOD and wants it RIGHT NOW THIS VERY MINUTE AND FEED ME I'M SO HUNGRY WHY ARE YOU TAKING SO LONG I NEED FOOOOOOD. My stomach is becoming a menace and speaks in run-on sentences.

Now that that's out of the way, you can see pictures. That's right, you lucky people, you get TWO this week! One is my normal facing direction without my face, and I thought I'd "mix it up" with the other and face the other way.

Yep, it's a belly.

I kind of look like a "Who" from the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. I should be that for Halloween. And Dimas too. With a little Who baby in tow.

Apparently, people seem to think that my belly looks like it's holding a little boy. I don't know how they can tell, but we'll find out in a week, we will!!! Woo hoo! And, by the way, my project is not coming along well at all. However, I decided since I find out the gender that same day, I'll just do my presentation and reveal the results at the end! That way, if my presentation sucked, no one will remember or care because they'll be too excited for me.

Sneakiness. :)

I hope everyone reading this is doing great in your respective worlds!

I almost forgot!

I can't believe I posted a whole blog about goings-on, and I didn't even mention what is probably THE most important thing:

I FINALLY felt the baby move, and it is awesomely cool mixed with a bunch of happiness sprouts grown on the rainbow side of the moon and a dash of hot sauce!

I don't know what he or she is doing in there, but I imagine it's boring so s/he's just trying to keep entertained by wriggling around. It must be strange to not be self aware. Like, you'd probably think to yourself, "Okay, I formed all my major body parts, now what do I do? Just float around in here? Oh, wait, I'm not self aware yet." It probably gets frustrating....poor little thing.

A Blarg

So, believe it or not I've been kind of busy lately, at least by my standards. Even though it's definitely the main part of my life right now, growing a little person isn't the only thing I've been up to. Read on...

A Promotion?!

Yep, I already got promoted, in a "well, sort of" kind of way. Basically, I've been bumped up a full federal grade level, which equals a take home pay of about $200 more a month...which equals awesome! A couple of coworkers and I realized we met the qualifications for the higher grade level, so we spoke with our supervisors about it. They sent the request, along with our transcripts, up the chain of command and voila! Insert dollar signs here.

A Dumb Project?

Sometimes dumb things happen at the federal level. I don't know why. If I did, I'd be the first to tell you, but I don't. One such dumb thing is a presentation I have to do prior to graduation. I know, I know, it's not the biggest deal in the world, but they're making us create a posterboard to go along with our presentation. I haven't made one of those since my elementary school science fair, and even then I'm pretty sure my mom did most of the work. What do I even need to buy for it? Markers? Stencils? Glitter? My topic is "Lifting latent prints from human skin," so I don't see how glitter would even work. I'm just not creative and at a loss. Maybe I'll just draw a big fingerprint and use the thing as a backdrop to my powerpoint. Also, I detest speaking in front of groups, and there are gonna be some higher ups in there, so I'll be interested to see how I do. Anyway, two weeks from now it'll be over with and I can get on with life as I know it.

Upcoming Graduation

Which leads us to May 1st, when I'll be officially graduating from the training portion of my job. Apparently, it's quite the event and they even let us bring family members in the building to attend! Keep in mind, there are people that have worked there 15 - 20 years whose family members have never been allowed in, so it's a really great opportunity. Of course, I don't have anyone to invite, but my instructor said she'll take pictures so I can show all the folks at home. Even THAT is a big deal, as cameras aren't allowed in the building. So, I'm thinking of getting a decently okay, professional dress since my business formal attire looks silly on me. Imagine a Crystal-size blazer, only now all the buttons look like they want to pop off, and that's what I have to work with. Having a balloon for a stomach can get tricky, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Oh, and after our little ceremony thing, we get paraded around the friggin' building so all the employees can check us out.....which is just weird to me! They say it's because they're proud and want to show us off, but I think it's the mildest form of hazing they could get away with...lol. I imagine all the "cougars" working there will be checking out all the young guys and vice versa. It should be funny.

What About Dimas?!

Pssh, don't ask me. He's doing this big, secret training in AZ and SEEMS to be really enjoying it, but I don't have a clue what he's up to in all honesty. I asked him to send me a picture or two so I can post it here, but he really has been too busy to remember. I haven't seen him in two months, which sucks, but we're meeting up in San Antonio in late May and I can not WAIT!

And, of course, more baby stuff...

I had my 3rd Dr.'s appointment last week and it was a little weird for various reasons I don't feel like boring you with, but my uterus is apparently measuring closer to 20 weeks (doc said because I'm "petite"), and the heartbeat was still nice and strong. I have all these blood tests I need to go take, but I'm scared! I'm not needle-phobic by any means, but they are going to need quite a bit of blood (I'm assuming 7 vials minimum for all these tests) and I'm always scared I'll faint afterwards. Not that it would be a big deal, I just don't ever feel like fainting is the right idea. Like, how does a grown adult just lose consciousness in the middle of doing something....like walking, for example? Walking is important and the brain should know that, and instead of going to sleep right then and there, it should wait until the body is in a comfy chair or some other safe haven. Brains. They just don't get it.

In other, less scary news, I have my anatomy ultrasound scheduled for April 28th! Dimas' 30th birthday! And, no, it wasn't a coincidence. I asked and I received, thankfully. :) I am as excited as you can imagine....unfortunately, that dumb presentation I mentioned earlier falls on the same day, so it'll be busy and I'll be lugging around a big old board along with my u/s photos, but I'm still looking forward to the 28th.

"Wanna know the rest? Hey, buy the rights."

Love you all!

15 Weeks and Dreams

I turned 15 weeks (well, baby did) yesterday and I honestly feel like time is moving soooo sloooowly, but then again the half-way point isn't too far off. There are a lot of milestones coming up such as the 3rd doctor's appointment, the anatomy ultrasound (hopefully at the end of April!).....and I guess that's pretty much it. Oh! And hopefully the first kicks and whatnot. I've felt some randomly weird feelings, but I don't know if it's baby yet or not.

What this picture should tell you, if anything, is that I need to clean my mirror. I just did it like 2 weeks ago. Stupid mirrors. And, yes, I'm aware that I look like a weird letter "S." Lol.

Anyway, now for the dream part. Last night I had several dreams where I went in to have the gender ultrasound done. They all turned out pretty strange.

Dream #1: I was in this huge hospital that looked more like the subway station in D.C. Naturally, I was lost. My step-sister, Melony, was with me and said, "Here, I'll take the baby to the pediatrician and you go get the ultrasound done." It seemed like a good plan. Kill two birds with one stone and all that. So I somehow got the baby out of my stomach (well, uterus to be more anatomically correct).....I guess it was just like a pouch I could unzip or something....handed her the baby and rushed to my ultrasound appointment. I guess I was running late. When I got there, I told the u/s technician that I didn't have the baby with me at this time. He said that was fine and we'd just have to find out the gender next time. I was so mad! Lol. So then I tried to go find Melony and all I found were a bunch of Chinese restaurants. So weird.

Dream #2: Not a whole lot of extra stuff in this one. I went to get the ultrasound, and they told me I was pregnant with a flower. And it wasn't any kind of metaphor or anything. It was an actual flower. I saw it. It looked a lot like this:

Except without all the grass and stuff. And I know what you're thinking: "Awww, that's pretty. Flowers are nice." Wrong. It was not a nice dream at all....I was so mad and kept thinking to myself, "Well, flowers are all fine and good, but I could've just grown one in a pot and it would've been a lot less trouble."

Dream #3: This one didn't really go anywhere. I was laying there waiting for the guy to tell me "It's a ______!" and all he could do was make fun of me for being skinny. Lol, story of my life. It was just annoying.

Dream #4: I went in for my appt. and there were a TON of people waiting ahead of me. They told me the wait would be at least an hour. So, I went outside and did God knows what, then came in an hour later or so, only everybody was gone! And the u/s technician went to lunch! The receptionist got annoyed to have to put my name back on the "after lunch" list. Boring.

Dream #5: This time I actually had the baby (a girl) and Dimas & I were trying to figure out her middle name. (I think we already have the first name picked out). Well, some random family member.....not quite sure who it was, but it was a male figure....didn't like the names we were thinking about so he took the baby to go get her named himself. I think he had to go to the court house in San Antonio or something. Anyway, so we go to his house to get her and they gave her the middle name "Wilhemina." Lol, I hated it! So, Dimas and I decided to change it. I thought of the name "Rose" and he loved it. I think my step-sister was in this dream too, as that's her middle name. Anyway, there's that. All ended up well I think.

I could probably post a new dream every day....I've been dreaming up a storm! Alright kids....I have to get ready for work. Take care!

Hooray for sandwiches!

I hit 13 weeks today, which also means that I am officially in my 2nd trimester! Maybe it's a coincidence, but I woke up super hungry today and have remained that way....basically for almost 24 hours.

My photo for the week:

I think my "baby belly" may just be completely related to the digestive process, but you're missing the point! The point is that I don't hate bread anymore! You see, bread has been my nemesis so far through this pregnancy. The look of it, the smell of it, the thought of the look or smell of it.....it's made me so nauseous! Today, however, was different. I wanted a tuna sandwich, went to the store, bought the necessary ingredients, and ate two without batting an eyelash. Good. I like bread again. There is a little bit of normalcy in my life. The word normalcy looks incorrect.

Oh, and just a disclaimer: I take these pictures with my cell phone (obviously). Well, when I edit them, I have to rotate the pic because it's always sideways or upside down or whatever. For some reason, it adds bulk to my frame when I do this, so I may or may not be as big as my photos suggest. I honestly can't tell. Just thought I'd mention it in case I ever get my regular camera and it suddenly seems like I lost half my body or something. :)

So, I'm hoping the rest of my 2nd trimester goes as great as the first day of it has. I'm hungry, I'm eating bread, and I'm starting to look forward to, you know, living life again. Morning sickness is for the birds, I say.

Funny Pregnancy Quotes

So, in between working and sleeping I tend to get bored. I found some funny pregnancy and baby quotes online and thought I'd share. Enjoy!

If men were equally at risk from this condition - if they knew their bellies might swell as if they were suffering from end-stage cirrhosis, that they would have to go nearly a year without a stiff drink, a cigarette, or even an aspirin, that they would be subject to fainting spells and unable to fight their way onto commuter trains - then I am sure that pregnancy would be classified as a sexually transmitted disease and abortions would be no more controversial than emergency appendectomies. ~Barbara Ehrenreich

Never go to your high school reunion pregnant or they will think that is all you have done since you graduated. ~Erma Bombeck

Love is all fun and games until someone loses an eye or gets pregnant. ~Jim Cole

Love and pregnancy and riding on a camel cannot be hid. ~Arabic Proverb

Somewhere on this globe, every ten seconds, there is a woman giving birth to a child. She must be found and stopped. ~Sam Levenson

You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment. ~Dave Barry, "Things That It Took Me 50 Years to Learn"

There are three reasons for breast-feeding: the milk is always at the right temperature; it comes in attractive containers; and the cat can't get it. ~Irena Chalmers

Life is tough enough without having someone kick you from the inside. ~Rita Rudner

If nature had arranged that husbands and wives should have children alternatively, there would never be more than three in a family. ~Lawrence Housman

It sometimes happens, even in the best of families, that a baby is born. This is not necessarily cause for alarm. The important thing is to keep your wits about you and borrow some money. ~Elinor Goulding Smith

The worst feature of a new baby is its mother’s singing. ~Kin Hubbard

"A grand adventure is about to begin." - Winnie the Pooh

Well, internet world, it's official.....we are going to have a BABY!!!!

Okay, so it's been official for a few weeks now (12 to be exact), but until now I've been hesitant to blog about it. I don't know why, since I've told everyone who will ever read this anyway. I'm a weird pregnant lady now. Leave me alone.

So now for the all-important belly shots. I don't have a whole lot going on yet, but it's definitely noticeable to me and to my pants, which refuse to button, zip, etc. Since I just turned 12 weeks today I haven't taken a new picture yet. Just imagine my 11 week belly bigger, and that's basically where I'm at. :) Pictures!

7 weeks in a weird nightgown. It's the only one I had from the earlier weeks.


Blah, I still haven't really figured out how to display pics the way I would like to on here. I should take a class. Oh, here's baby's first picture!

(Edit - I'll have to repost this pic when photobucket starts working again.)

I promise you it's cute when you kind of know what you're looking at. :)

Well, this is all getting kind of random so I'll return with more organized thoughts soon. Just wanted to share the most exciting news in the world to the whole internet. (It's a series of tubes.)

Happy daylight-saving!