Double Foot Grab

So work has been insane and I have been horrible about updating, but I had to share what my husband sent me today while I was at work...



And the audience goes to a whisper as Jude attempts this dangerous, never been done before, move. And he has the left leg locked, now he's going for the right... A bit of a struggle... He's almost there... And he sticks it!!! Wow!!! A double foot grab!!! This is unheard of in baby olympics! And the judges score... Wow!!!!! A perfect 10!!!!!!

Labor Day weekend - was labor-less

what an awesome weekend besides the fact that my Sis, Anndi, was sick... The Kinzli's came to visit and so did YaYa and Gramps.

I took all three kids to Target myself on Friday (I was brave) while the kids slept and Adam went to look at the house we put an offer on.

Saturday was a lazy day, but it was great to just hang with the family. We took all the kids Woo Pig shopping and boy did they have a ball. Little Gabi was into EVERYTHING!!! We were going to watch the Hogs play that night, but the PPV was not coming through (luckily we found out before we ordered it) So we just watched every other 30 football games that were on. Jude and the rest of the boys were in HEAVEN!

Sunday was more of the same, but Anndi was sick so we made breakfast and she went back to bed. That afternoon after nap time we took the kids to Turpentine Creek, the Tiger rescue. I think everyone had a good time, we got there right before feeding and got to hear a few roars (mostly from Gabi and Karsten) Jude slept the entire time so he must have had a blast!

Monday morning was sad as everyone packed up to leave... it was crazy to have such a short visit after all the long visit this summer, but I am thankful for all the time I had...

Here are the pics from our FUN weekend!

Much love!

Back in the Swing of Things

I have been back to work for about a week now... last week was a hard but easy week. I balled my eyes out Tuesday morning (my first morning back) - but all the other days were a bit easier, especially since Jude came to visit me at work EVERY day!

This week is a shorter week and today is the first full day I have gone without seeing my boy - it is 4pm now and I am going to TRY to make it another hour, but I am missing my kiddo like CRAZY!!

I am going to try to be better about updating now that I am back to work - I mean, who does work at work anyways (he hee!)

Portrait People

OK - So they seem totally over priced but a new mom will fall for anything... We had Jude's infant pictures done yesterday and they turned out great!!

He was great the entire time until we got to the family shots and then he was not having it! We got some totally cute ones though...

The packages seemed like total rip off's but the framing seems very reasonable. We just decided to go with the CD of all the pics (which was $250) and that way I can send, order, change, enhance, or do anything else that I want to do.

On the link below all the pics are low res - I have the hi res version as well if anyone want to make copies.

ENJOY!
Much Love

http://picasaweb.google.com/ChaMcFarlane/JudePortraitPeople?feat=directlink

6 1/2 weeks later

So I have been very good about updating my facebook every day - but my last blog post was the week Jude was born- Oy Vey!!

It has been an exciting 6 1/2 weeks and I love it more than I could have EVER imagined. I was so nervous to be a Mom and to have some little person relying on me, but I cannot believe that I was ever worried. It is the most fulfilling experience I have ever been through. He is the light of my life. Just looking at him makes my heart fill and puts a smile on my face.

Jude Kingston is now the best thing to happen in my life!! And it would not be possible without my loving husband (of almost 1 yr) Adam. He is such a great dad and boy does that kid love him. He gets way more smiles than I do!! Adam has been such a great help!!

Also- I am SO thankful to both sides of my family. The Hicks' have been there to help through EVERYTHING!! YaYa is a Godsend - she was here for the 1st 2 weeks - it was WONDERFUL!!!
Aunt Jess, Aunt B, and Grampa all came to visit too and all were SO MUCH HELP!!

Grama Judy loves this boy so much!! They have such a special bond it is so fun to watch!!

There have been so many firsts already and he is getting SO big - time is FLYING by!!

Jude is up to 13lbs now and we still have another 2 weeks until we go back to the Doctor. He is not sleeping through the night yet, but he is only waking up 1 time during the night. He is going through another growth spurt and he is eating like CRAZY!

I am going to add all the recent photo albums here so feel free to take a look at this CUTE little boy!

I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!
Much love to all

First Doctor Visit

Jude's First Bath

Trip to ATL

Misc Pics

6 1/2 week Pics

Baby Jude - 6/21/09

Hi All - In case you haven't heard Baby Jude came into this world on Sunday June 21st... Father's Day at 4:23pm weighing in at a nice 8lbs 6oz and 20.5 inches long.

It was a relatively easy birth - I broke down and got an epidural after being in early labor for over 24 hrs and 12 hours of somewhat painful contractions... so I did get to experience some of it - and that was enough for me!!

We went to the hospital at 3:45am and I was 2cm dilated...then it was a waiting game.

We had a little scare with the epidural, after it was administered (at 10am), my BP dropped to 70 which in turn caused baby J to drop and he fell off the HR monitor for a brief second... SCARIEST thing I have ever had to deal with, but the nurse was great, one shot of ephedrine and I was back...

They broke my water at noon, YaYa arrived at 12:30 and by 3pm it was time to push. I spent an hour pushing when I couldn't feel anything so they turned off the epidural at 4pm and Baby J popped out 4:23pm... Adam was so worried he would be born at 4:20... we missed slightly!

Everyone is happy and healthy and loving life... more updates later, but this is all the energy I have...

Here is the website to view the beginning moments of Jude Kingston McFarlane

39 Week Photo

Good Morning -

I wanted to make sure I got my 39 week photo up before anything happens...

It could be anytime now!!! We are just going to continue walking and we will see what happens!! I am feeling great but I have a feeling Lil J may be on his way before we know it!!

39 Week check-up and a GOLDEN K

WOW! It has been an eventful couple of days... but no baby yet!

Last night I found out that I was awarded a Golden K from my company - my entire team is in Chicago at regional/national meetings for the week and last night was the awards celebration. My boss called and told me to listen, but all I could hear was gibberish and then clapping. He asked if I heard all of it and I said no, what was that... he said "that was you winning a Golden K". It is a pretty big deal - they give out just a few each year and only one per team - I am SO happy!!! It felt great, but it would have been nice to be there to accept it! Oh well - Jude will be be just as exciting!!

I went to the doc this morning and found out that I am still 1cm - no further progress. She wanted to schedule my induction since she won't let me get to 41 weeks. So after much thought and some tears and some advice from Mom and Husband... I picked the 25th of June and I am just going to hope that I can get him to pop out before then!

I have a whole list of things to try to get him to move along :) I won't go into too many details - LOL!!

I will update pictures this week and my Mom is coming on Sunday!!! TIME FOR BABY!! Well, at most he will be here a week from today!!

Much Love!

6 days to go!!

I am working from home this week while the rest of my team at Kellogg's is all in Chicago for a regional/national sales meeting... I am slightly bummed that I have to miss all the fun - they did not do one of these meetings last year, but I DO NOT want to be walking around with an almost 10 mos pregnant belly up there!!

It was such a great weekend and BUSY!! Keisha came to visit on Thursday and stayed until Saturday. It was so great to see her - boy has she gotten SKINNY!! We just hung out and we also went down to the NCAA outdoor track meet. She got the cutest C-USA onsies for Jude - he will love it!

She left Saturday morning and then I got to go pick up my in-laws at Walmart since they had locked themselves out of the car - what is with these McFarlane's and locking the keys in the car lately!?! After that fun adventure Adam and I went to hang with the old crew (Tony, RonJovi, Pat, etc) at the pool - it was such a nice way to take the pressure off the belly!

After a night of poker, my parents arrived from KC (they had a wedding to attend) and they spent the night. Sunday we all got up and went to Judy's for some breakfast and I took my parents to see the hospital where Jude will join us.

It was a GREAT weekend!!

Below is my 38 week belly shot - not too many more of these to take before I am holding a precious little boy in my arms!!!

I'll update again after my doc appt on Thurs morning!

Much Love

38 Week Dr Appt

It was a good appt, not any new news, but my Doc was sure in a good mood! (She just got back from vacation)

My BP is still normal and weight - I don't know if we want to talk about that this week... 5lbs this week, but I am blaming that on the fact that my appt was in the afternoon and I had JUST eaten lunch, oh and my ankles are slightly swollen - so I could be retaining water too.... It has nothing to do with the fact that I eat whatever I want, whenever I want - right?!?!

Lil J has a HR that is still in the 130's - perfect for him and I asked my doc what she thought about the size of this son of mine... her 1st reaction was "LONG" and then she felt my belly and said he felt about normal size... who knows, I am still hoping for a 7-pounder, but since I am so tall she said it could possibly be 8... we just have to wait and see!

Then came the "fun" part of the appt (gosh it is a bit painful to get checked for dilation) and she said that she would generously give me 1cm... I asked if that was different than the "finger-tip" that I got last week, she chuckled and said - it is barely more. She also said that she doesn't let her patients go longer than 41 weeks, so if he is not here by the 22nd, he will for sure be here within a week of that time.

Off to enjoy the sunshine!!
Much Love!

12 Days to go!!!

I can hardly believe it!! I remember when the ticker on my desktop said 199 days!!! Where did all the time go and how did it go so fast!!

My friend Maria had her baby this week - a sweet little girl Abigail Michelle... I haven't gotten to see either one of them, but chatting with her it sounds like they are both doing very well!! Congrats White Family!!

I hope that it is easier to update my blog when I am home all day with this little boy - work just seems to get in the way of posting!

I have a Doc appt tomorrow afternoon - so I will be updating again after that... but so far this week I am feeling GREAT!

I had two days this week where I actually got more than an hour of sleep... Sunday night I got 3 hour blocks and then Monday night I got 2 4-hour blocks... last night it was back to the same 'ol - 1 to 1 1/2 hr blocks - oh well!! It was nice for those 2 nights

OK- I have had all I can take today... almost a full day (4pm) and I had a buyer meeting today too!

More updates after the Doc appt tomorrow!

Much Love

OH - how could I forget - I need to post my 37 week photo! I will also add some other belly pics that Adam took of me this weekend later...

The Baby Shower

I have to say that I have the best friends a girl could ask for!!

3 of my co-workers banded together and not only threw me a surprise shower a few weeks back, but then they put together an all day event that included the shower and then a cook-out for all the husbands and the kids... What a day it was!!!

I am attaching two links of pictures, the 1st is pictures from Sarah's camera and the 2nd is from Heather's camera (did I mention that Heather is just as prego as I am, her due date is 10 days after mine)

My hostesses were Lisa (it was at her house), Jennifer (she helped with food and games), and Sarah (who did all of the creative and I am sure many more things)

I had friends from all aspects of my life that came to visit, my friend Dee Dee (who I havent seen in at least 1 yr) was there - I worked with her at U of A and we went to grad school together, Rhonda (my old Walmart Buyer and volleyball pal) and Brenda from my Navarre days, then there was Heather (Adam and her husband go way back) and Lupe, one of Adam's old co-workers from J&J who we have become friends with and Adam is now poker BFF's with her husband Rob. And then there was my family... Judy and Jordan, Mom (Peggy) and Anndrea, and Karsten & Gabi... that was just for the shower!!

After the shower all the husband and kids showed up for the cook-out... Oh what a day and night - I couldnt have asked for a better day!!! Oh and for memories sake - let me also put that after the shower part was over, I had to go pick up my Husband and Father-in-law after Adam locked the keys in the car at Macadoodles (the liquor store in MO)

We got so many wonderful gifts - I really have to start on thank you letter this weekend!

Enjoy the pictures - Everyone had to get up and tell a story or fun tale about me before they handed me their gift - they were quite funny... but Lisa's takes the cake - she got up and talked about how there was some tension between the two of us when I first started at Kellogg's (my jaw dropped, I had no idea she didnt like me) then she went on to say the reason was is that I took over her spot of being the tallest in the office - that is when everyone broke out into histartics- Lisa is about 5 foot nothing (with heels on)... it was the best of MANY MANY laughs that day!!

Here are Sarah's Pictures

Here are Heather's Pictures

Next Update - Family Visit

I had the pleasure of having my Mom and my Sister Anndrea and her little kidlets come visit me and they got to come to my baby shower... it was such a GREAT weekend!

The kids drove in on Thursday night which means Anndrea drove all night that night... and Adam was so kind as to baby-sit while Anndi took a nap and I finished up work. My Mom flew in at 7:30pm that night...

Saturday we all went to the shower (that is another blog) and then Sunday we had some fun and went to the Gentry Drive-Thur Safari.

Here is a link to all the pictures from their visit... mostly from the zoo and then some from the Little ones just having fun at the house. They both have such different personalities but they are both SOOOOOO cute!

Karsten had a good time hitting my belly and saying HI to Jude - oh and how can I forget that he just LOVED Daisy!! All weekend he had decided that he was going to take Daisy to his house. Adam told him that it would cost him all his toys... Karsten didn't like that deal. So by Sunday, he decided that we could keep Daisy, and he would just get one just like her for his house... Oh I love that boy!!

Gabi is such a little dare devil and STRONG personality - she has got quite a little temper and is not scared of ANYTHING!! She loves ice cubes and I have some pictures of her playing with her ice. My MIL (mother-in-law) calls her the "who girl", little Cindy-lou who from The Grinch.

I wish they could have stayed longer than the weekend, but even though they couldnt stay long - it was SO great to have them here.

Oh and my Mom and Sis gave us some good advise for breathing techniques for labor... boy I am glad that I have them to talk to about this stuff!!

My Mom and Dad are coming back on the 13th after a family wedding in St. Joseph, MO and then they will all be back when Baby Jude comes!!... I could get use to this!!! Maybe they should just move here (PLEASE?!?!)

Here are the pictures from there visit

1 of Many today... Week 37

I have a million things to blog about today so I want to split them up...

I have to talk about my Doc appts, My Baby Shower, and of course... my FAMILY came to visit!!

I will start with the last 2 doc appts.... my week 36 appt made me so frustrated... it had to be an afternoon appt - which I never do, I always do the morning slots... so they said it would be quick since it was after lunch - YEA RIGHT! After getting into the room quickly and hearing that I had gained 2 lbs and my BP was just fine, I sat on that table for 52 mins waiting for the doctor to come in. It was her last day before leaving before vacation and you could tell! She was very quick and short and all she did was check my belly measurements and Jude's heart rate - all of which were just fine... she didn't even check to see if I was dilated?!?! UGH!!

SO - now on to my week 37 check-up... Since my Doc was on vacation, I saw the other female in the practice and now I am wondering why I didn't pick her in the first place - she was great and made me feel very comfortable - for the next one, i think I am going to switch to her. I only gained 1 lb and my BP is still doing very well. Jude's HR was 136 so that is just perfect! And then she checked to see my progress - my belly is still measuring right on - I don't know if that means I have a normal size baby or since I am so tall - he could be HUGE!! LOL!!

The doc checked my cervix and she snickered when I asked her how it was going... she said I was "a finger-tip" dilated. When asked what she meant by that, she said, "don't plan on anything happening anytime soon...

So for now - we are still on track for June 22nd!! Just 2 1/2 weeks from now... Next week will be my last week at work as everyone is leaving for Region meeting in Chicago the week of the 15th - so there is no point for me to be in there all alone all day...

Here is my week 36 photo - a little late, but here ya go...Oh and I was just getting sick in these so that might be one reason I look so tired!

Now onto my other blog updates!

Much Love!

36 Weeks - Memorial Day weekend

And what a rainy weekend it was!! But we sure did have some fun!

I had a Doc appt on Thursday and did my Strep B test and also found out that I am not dialated at all. I start going weekly from here on out!

Friday was a gorgeous day and I made sure to take advantage of the half day Friday! Adam and I went to go see the new terminator.... SAVE YOUR MONEY - it was was overrated!

Friday night we headed out to Sugar Creek and camped with Tim/Jordan & Family in their new camper on the Kelly's land. We got there just about sundown so we just had dinner by the campfire and sat around enjoying the company. I went to bed early with the other kids (can you blame me?!?!) But sleep did not come easy... The camper matress was nice, but still not as soft as my bed at home. Boy were my hips sore the next morning.

Saturday we got up, put on our suits and headed down to sit in the river, there was just enough sun to get a slight tan and then we came up to start lunch. By the time we got back up and got the food going, the sky blackened and the rain poured down. We spent a few hours watching movies in the camper and then decided it was time to head back to town (the Kelly's land is great b/c it is only about 20 minutes from town). We headed back to the house for a quick nap and then headed over to Study's (Steve & Judy's) for Saturday night poker. It was also a UFC fight and we decided that rather than having a party, we would just go to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch (saved us about $50 on our cable bill)

Sunday was another rainy day. Adam had gone back to Study's after the fights and stayed playing poker til about 5am - so he slept in. I decided that to go get a pedicure and get the car washed (pointless since the rain came again) Then the ever-exciting chore of cleaning the house.

Adam and I felt like we were missing out on Memorial Day this year, so we decided to go to Outback and see a movie - at least it was something... Well while we were sitting at lunch we decided it would be even more fun to head up to MO and play 3 card poker at the casino.

It was a great time - albeit almost a very short trip... after about 30 minutes we were almost out of money. I took a bathroom break (a very lucky one) which shifted the whole night... We went back up and were actually up about $200 and then they switched dealers... We tried to play through it, but ended up being about $70 down (not too bad) Plus we played for about 4 hours - so it was well worth the fun.

Monday we slept in and just enjoyed a day from from work. Study cooked steaks and we pigged out!!

This week is a short week - which I am totally excited about because my girls are throwing me a shower this weekend and my Mom and sister Anndrea (and Big K and Gabs) are all coming to visit! I CAN'T WAIT!!

Here is my 35 week photo... still feeling great! BP is still low and swelling is minimal as long as I eat well. I am still getting a TON of comments about how great I look for being 9 mos prego. The people at the casino didnt even notice! It was rather comical!

Much Love!

Week 35... So far an enjoyable week

Well the week is about half way through, but so far it has been a fun one!

I'll go back to this previous weekend and try to remember what we did (my memory is getting worse by the day)

I do remember that my husband has been a poker playing fool and he has been winning quite a bit. Friday morning he and his Dad went over to Downstream Casino in MO. Well neither one of them made money in the tournament they played in, but Adam won a nice chunk of change playing 3 card poker - enough that the staff there was trying to figure out how he was cheating (crazy!!)

I worked all afternoon on Friday - which is rare since I try to take full advantage of our summer hour Fridays...but alas, work had to be done! So Friday night ended up being a very chill night with no exciting plans.

Saturday morning we got up and my Hubby made me cinnamon rolls while I did a work out in the living room (boy have I gotten weak!!) Then we headed over to Steve and Judy's... Judy and I went to Target to get baby stuff and Adam went to the gym. I think I did too much during my work out and with shopping, b/c I really thought for a few moments that I was going into labor... YIKES! I always get more Braxton-Hicks when I work out, but these were different. They were stronger and my back was aching like no other right before the B-H started. All I wanted to do was sit down... luckily it was towards the end of the shopping trip.

After shopping Adam and I had to head over for Child Birth classes, I figured if they didn't get better from sitting that I would talk to the nurse while we were there... perfect place to be if I was going into labor. Well nothing more happened - so I just over worked myself... I will be taking it a bit more easy from here on out.

Child Birth classes were enjoyable, the RN was a hoot - but she was NOT at all a fan of natural birth - we will have to look for other ways to study up on that one. She thinks people are crazy not to get drugs, I can't tell you how many times she said "drugs are good!!" - oh well. I am not ruling out drugs, but I want to see if I can handle it first.

After that we headed back to Steve and Judy's for poker night - I lost a bit, but luckily my Hub was still on his winning streak and he more than made up for what I lost.

This week has been much quieter in the office - as my entire team (except Jenn Keeton) is in Battle Creek. I have actually caught up on everything that I had been putting off - GO ME!

Last night was Paige's (our niece) graduation in Tulsa... at 8pm on a TUESDAY night - who does that?!!? Steve, Judy, Adam and I all headed over for the event - and it was so cool! I am so proud of her!!

Here is a pic of her with her "hero" She is going to OSU in the fall and already has a dorm room and a roommate picked out!

And I will end this as I normally do... with my last week pic... I am STILL getting a TON of comments about how small I look for being so close to my due date... People - I am 6'2", I have gained a ton of weight, but I guess I have plenty of room for it to spread out... I am not small, all you have to do is look at my 8 wk photo and you can see, I have gained all that I need and MORE!!

This is the week 34 photo

Much Love!

Nursery is 99% complete! Week 34

As promised I have some photos to share today... My 33 wk photos and also the nursery in an ALMOST complete state.

I absolutely LOVE being pregnant, I cannot believe the end is so near...yet so far... I think I am finally getting over the anxiety that this little boy is going to have to come out whether I like it or not!! I am not to the point that I am just so ready for him to be here, but I think I am now okay with the fact that he could be here in a couple weeks.

Here is the shot of my BIG Ol'Belly - At least it is starting to look that way... At a party on Saturday night, I had a fleece jacket on to stay warm and people were SHOCKED to hear that I was 7 1/2 months pregnant. But you can totally tell in this picture!

Adam (my super husband) - he has rubbed my feet every night for the last 5 nights... got the crib put together yesterday... I love it!! However the room looks MUCH smaller now that the crib is in - I thought babies were little?!?!?

The crib turned out to be EXACTLY what I wanted with the higher back than front and the nice round sleigh-like features - PLUS I got it in Espresso - just like I wanted. My friend Sarah is going to be nice enough to let us have her mattress so as soon as we get that the room will be 100- well I mean 99.5% complete - we still need a BABY in there for it to be completely finished!

Here is the crib in the put together state and I will share more, when we have the mattress and all the bedding in. (It is all washed and ready to go!!)

AND - I had to add a few pics of our little girl Daisy - she is really starting to grow up - she can jump on the couch all by herself now, and as you can see in the pictures, she can even hide herself underneath cushions...LOL!!

Much Love!

Mother's Day

Who knew Mother's Day could be so fun even before you have the baby!

I got so many notes and texts wishing me a Happy Mothers Day... it was AWESOME!

I don't have a pic today, but I will be able to upload one tomorrow. Not much has changed, I still have a big belly and I am still smiling!!

I did great last Friday at my Doc visit, I only gained 2lbs in 2 weeks!! My BP was still low (108/63) and the Doc said all the Braxton-Hicks are very normal.

This weekend was a ton of fun - but I think I will be paying for it when I go to the Doc next week. We had a going away party for Lauren and Jack (both co-workers of Adam and I) - Actually I went to 2 of Lauren's going away parties and PIGGED OUT at BOTH!

We spent quite a bit of time at the Dog park this weekend - it is the Dog's new favorite hang out. They all did very, very, well. Although - Daisy had a golden retriever come romping over to her (as you know how those GR do) and when the dog got about 5 feet from Daisy you would have thought that he had just eaten her leg off. She started yelping so loud and backing up sideways - she was SO scared - you couldn't help but laugh at the cute Lil thing.

Adam made me breakfast in bed on Mothers Day and we went to eat lunch (PIG OUT) and Judy's.

I hope my Mom had a good day - she was shopping when I talked to her so it couldn't have been bad!! Maybe she will get her present today too!!

More updates tomorrow with PICTURES!!
Much Love

The end of week 33

I really had high hopes of getting my blog updated on Monday this week - May this be a lesson to anyone that thinks telling their boss they need more projects so they don't get "bored" is a good idea!!

I know - you are a scoffing thinking- Yea, like I would really do that, let me tell you why I did... I am to the point in my current role that I am ready for another challenge (this role is suppose to last 18-24 months - I am at 18) and I just got a new boss in Feb. I was very honest with him that when I feel I have mastered a role, I tend to get bored and distracted. I am not good sitting all day with nothing to do (at least not when I am sitting in an office) - my previous manager had done a great job of making sure I had extra projects to help out on. So I told my new manager about this and he said he would make sure I had something to work on.... BOY do I ever!!

The crib came in this week - YEAH!!! I think we will try to put it together this weekend.

Adam has an interview today, at a company and a position that he really likes - so we will see how it goes. I actually really like him being free all day. I am amazed at how productive he has been. Yesterday he actually cleaned our oven - after he cleaned the smoker, gave the dogs a bath, cleaned the garage, and cleaned out the fridge. Man, I could get use to this!!

Anyways - back to pregnant life... I am at 33 weeks this week and I am still feeling great. I have a doc appt today so we will see what she says, but I do not expect any surprises.

I am still having plenty of Braxton-Hicks, not everyday, but every other day now. I will be telling the doc about this - but I don't think there is anything she could or should do.

I am attaching my 32 week photo - BOY am I getting a belly on me!! It is to the point now that I am really having to stretch to get my tennis shoes on and it is getting harder and harder to get up out of the tub after my relaxing baths my husband draws for me. :)

Much Love!

Brackston-Hicks & Star Trek

Well I don't know why I am surprised - since I am a Hicks-Chick it should be a prerequisite for me to get Brackston-Hicks contractions... Well I had some yesterday and it is the weirdest feeling. They did not last for longer than 20-30 sec and happened throughout the afternoon and evening. They sure did make Jude a jumpy boy!! Nothing today...

I have to recommend to EVERYONE that you go see Star Trek when it comes out. My office got tickets to see a special premiere of Star Trek on Tuesday night. Now there was no red carpet or paparazzi, but the only people at the theater that night were there to see Star Trek. It was AWESOME!! I was so impressed with what they did with the film.

I am not at all a "Treky" or even a huge Star Trek fan - although I can remember watching many shows that my parents had on - mostly what I remember is the "Next Generation". You don't have to be a fan in order to like the movie, but it does help to get all the subtle references that they make to the original. Either way - it was action packed and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time - I LOVED IT!! Go see it next week when it comes out.

Back to work...Much love to all!

Update 2 of 2 - Week 32... 55 days to go!

OK - so after this I should be caught up for the moment - now at least everyone will have some updates to read when they check my blog (sorry for those of you that have felt left out)

After the surprise party week, my sister Jess came to visit. She got here last Friday (April 24th) and left last night (April 27th)... it was SO much fun to have her here.

Friday afternoon I picked her up and we had to run back to the office for a few more work projects, she got to see my office and some of my co-workers. Then we went to eat lunch at Guido's Pizza (they have GREAT salad) and we took Adam and Steve back a pizza after their day of fishing. That evening we went with Steve and Judy to take our nephew Jack to T-ball practice - have you ever watched a group of 4 & 5 year olds try to stay focused out on a grass field?!? It was am amusing site to say the least. After practice we took Jess and the rest of the gang to our FAV Mexican restaurant, Oseguera's... and it was WONDERFUL as usual.

Saturday morning came early since we got up to do the 'Race for the Cure' and worked the Kashi booth after the race. We walked with Sarah and Jon and their two cute little one's, Amara and Dominic. After the race, Jess and I went shopping for all of the nursery decoration and started our hunt for blue fabric for curtains. We stopped at about 5 stores and got everything else BUT fabric... we finally had a woman suggest that we just use sheets, since we wanted it to match the room - GOODNESS - why didn't we think of that?!?! So a trip back over to Target and we had everything we needed. Luckily Jess did not want to sit back and watch TV all weekend (and if she did, she was a good sport about it!), because I put her to work!!

Saturday evening Jess and I went to dinner at Johnny Carino's and watched movies while Adam played poker and went to hang out with the boys. We needed some down time after our busy day

Sunday morning Adam got up and made us a delicious breakfast and we got to work finishing the nursery deco - or so we thought - we got through most of it, but had to break to go to a hospital tour. I really like the hospital and felt as comfortable as I could there. As long as I am in a private room and they have talented staff- I am good!

I guess Sunday must have been Adam's cooking day, because he cooked us dinner too! He made awesome steaks and veggies (Jess even ate her veggies - Good Girl Jess :))

Monday morning we all got up and headed over to the Dr. office for the 32 week ultra sound to make sure that my placenta had moved up enough to avoid a C-Section and to try the 4D ultrasound one last time... Good news, my placenta is plenty high enough... Not so good news, Jude is still hiding in the corner of my belly with his arms across his face... I have a few more pics, but still not as clear as we had hoped for... but I can't complain, we didn't get charged for any of the attempts (that just saved us $175 - WHEW!!) The weirdest part of this time was Jude actually had his eyes open a few times - it was slightly creepy to see him staring back at you...

Here are a few of the pics that we got from this visit:
3 weeks since last time - look at those cheeks!

Arms are still right infront of his face

And he is still hiding in the corner (he didn't get that from Mom or Dad)

I can't wait to see his little mouth in person

Here is one of the creepy one's- his eye is open and he is smiling (the Tech made the comment - why does he have his eye's open, it is dark in there!!)


Monday afternoon Jess and I stopped for our daily Smoothie (we had Orange Julius or Kennedy Coffee Smoothies every day - we had to get our fruit) Side note - we had real fruit everyday too - Adam got a juicer so our house is LOADED with every fruit you can think of - I LOVE IT!

After that we headed back to the house to finish the nursery deco - take a look at these pics. I think we did a TERRIFIC job! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the way it turned out. I just kept going back to sit in the room and rock in the chair - which Jude already loves, he kicks and twists the whole time I rock.

I owe my sis a HUGE Thank you for all her help and hard work - it turned out better than I ever could have imagined. Now we just have to get the crib (hopefully this Friday!!) and it will be complete!

This is the view as you walk in the room

This is the corner where I plan to spend much time rocking my boy

I LOVE the way the curtains turned out - and the crib is going to go right in front of them

I left room on this wall for some wall art with his name on it - I might have to get Sarah's help to pull that off.

Next I have to update my weekly pic with the 31 week picture... my belly is really starting to stick out... I think I am as wide front to back as I am side to side now - and the reason I know this is because, this past week, when I went to turn sideways to let Adam pass by me, he had just as much room as before I turned... It is an odd feeling.

Still feeling GREAT - BP is still normal, weight is still being gained, and I am happy!! My husband is very happy too now that he no longer works for J&J - shock to some I know, but it feels great to have my old, happy-go-lucky husband back! He has been so helpful and productive in his first week at home. Luckily paychecks are still coming in until after Jude is born, so no need to stress about money! He is either planning to start his own business (a lifelong dream) or go back to work for another supplier - I just don't want him to make a hasty decision and get back into a bad situation like he had at J&J.

There - now I think you are all updated!

Much Love!

Update 1 of 2 - Week 31 - SUPRISE PARTY WEEK

I have so much to update since I have not done it in 2 weeks - I decided I needed to break it up into parts - This first part is going to be week 31... now let's see if I can remember back this far... during week 30, I was in Battle Creek for 3 days which is the start of the reason I did not update my blog (I had to get caught up on work) PLUS - week 31 was a VERY eventful week.

There was a SURPRISE baby shower (for me) and then a SURPRISE birthday party (for Adam)

Let's start with my 30 week photo... still feeling great and still craving Orange Julius and Root Beer Floats... Luckily I am craving fruit too - so they balance each other out right?!?





Next - My co-workers got me SOOOOO good - they had my boss schedule a lunch with me and as we walked down to the car, he mentioned that he had to say hi to someone in the restaurant on the ground floor of our building and he made me walk in with him... well as I looked into the restaurant, I saw all my co-worker pointing cameras and video cameras and staring at me - it took me about 5 secs to realize that it was a shower for me... I was SO surprised!! I felt so special!! I am going to have to think of a creative way to thank my friends for doing this... I don't know if they realize how much it meant.


I got so many cute and useful presents, most everything is a animal theme since that is the nursery... here are a few pics and the rest are on the website below.






http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=ChaMcFarlane&target=ALBUM&id=5329777863166773361&authkey=Gv1sRgCP2AxfzF2b-TrwE&feat=email

The very next day I had a SURPRISE birthday party for Adam at Copeland's... I think I got him just as good as my co-workers got me... I had his Mom call and invite us to dinner (which he just wanted his Mom to cook) and we had to convince him (Jedi mind tricks) that he wanted to go to Copeland's. Before we left he insisted that he open his present - which he thought he was getting running shoes, to further this, I wrapped his real present in a shoe box. We didn't have a Asics shoe box so I used a Kenneth Cole that he had just gotten. His reaction to the shoe box was priceless - it was one of those "More black shoes, great"... then he opened the box and saw that I got him a new gorgeous watch, his excitement level was much higher about the watch :) After the big present, we left for the restaurant and, of course, he wanted to sit in the bar, well I walked right in and the lady knew that we were suppose to go to the banquet room, so I didn't even pause, I walked him right in and everyone yelled "SURPRISE"... it was classic! He said it was one of the best times in his life... I can't believe I pulled it off - I have NEVER surprised him before, so this was a milestone!!

Unfortunately I forgot the camera, so I don't have any pictures from the night, but we sure did have a good time!

Now on to the next update!!

Much love!

30 Weeks - only 70 days left - OMG!!

WOW - this pregnancy has really flown by!! I am not ready for lil J to be here yet - I like him in my belly!!!

This past weekend was Easter and it was a very enjoyable one this year (well Easter itself was turenchal downpour - but the rest was nice).

I guess my Easter started on Thurday evening... Adam and I did our gift giving early.

Here is a pic of the basket and clothes that he got me... He even got me my diamond for the year. It is a beautiful silver necklace with a mom and a baby in the shape of a heart and a diamond in the middle of it... he is so thoughtful...

My office was closed on Friday, so I ran errands all day - things like - getting a new licence with my married name on it, and returning all the clothes I have bought online that didnt fit. I met Adam and Sarah for lunch at Olive Garden - that place is SO good! After lunch Adam and I went to see a few day cares and we put a deposit down to hold a spot for Jude at the Kids Studio. It does not have state of the art security, but they have room and it is RIGHT next to both our offices.

Saturday was a GREAT day! We did a little shopping and then headed down to Fayetteville to see Adam's tax lady - she was a very sweet woman and I'm not just saying that because she helped us get a heck of a big return check coming, but that didn't hurt the mood of the day! After our good news on the taxes, we headed over to Baum Stadium and sat in the outfield and watched the HOGS play. It was GORGEOUS out! Sunny and about 75 degrees! After all that excitement we headed over to Steve and Judy's for our weekly poker game. Adam lost and I won, so we almost broke even for the night...

Sunday was glooming from the start and I was tired... We headed over in the POURING rain to Judy's for Easter breakfast with everyone. The Easter Bunny hid eggs inside the house this year since it was so wet and yucky outside. After stuffing ourselves we hung out for a short while, but I was so tired and needed to get some housework done. We lounged around the rest of the day and I even got a nice bath in.

Here are my 29 week photos - my belly is really starting to get big now! Besides the last couple days of feeling run down, I am still feeling great! I am still craving Orange Julius and now I have added baked potatoes to my list of wants...

Oh and here are a few pics of Daisy with the neighborhood cat, Snow. Adam lets him come in and play every now and then. Daisy loves him!! - but who doesn't Daisy love?!?!

Much love.

Well he sure likes to show off his man parts...

Take 2 of the 4D ultrasound was pretty much like the 1st, our little guy still had his face right on the side of my belly. He really likes to keep his hands at his face...

The tech explained to us why the pictures we were seeing were not like that on the flyer in the lobby... the machine needs to have fluid in front of the object and the more the better. If there is no fluid, it is like trying to take a picture with a blanket over the persons head - it is not very clear.


So there was a place where there was plenty of fluid, but that happened to be around his "man parts" - I have video of it - but it is too big to put on this site... you just have to come visit me if you want to see the video!


I had a Dr Appt before the 2nd try and everything looks great! I only gained 4 lbs this month, which is normal and my BP is still nice and low.

I have moved into Dr Appt every 2 weeks now... we are nearing the finish - GOSH I can't believe it is getting so close - I'M NOT READY!!


ENJOY the PICTURES of my SON!!

Much love

The shy guy :(

OK - well hopefully this is not a sign of things to come, but our lil J did not want to have his picture taken today!

We went for our 4D ultrasound this morning and at 1st we could see half his face clearly then he turned and was hiding against my uterus and the placenta and he DID NOT want to move...unless you count the feet swinging around and toes going up to his nose. He is pretty darn flexible at this point.

Here are the 2 pics of what we got - but we have to go back on Thursday to try again...

I think he is beautiful even if we didn't get a clear picture of him... his arms look so long and he has my feet!! Nice LONG TOES!!

I could just stare at his picture all day long!! But I better go eat and keep his fed!!

Much Love

Work on the nursery...

Hopefully I can stay awake to write this post... I had a horrible night sleep and then just had a huge lunch for one of my co-workers birthdays. Needless to say, I am dragging right now.

You would think that your body would want to get as much sleep as it possibly could NOW since once the baby arrives there is no more sleep - but NOOOOO - my body has to get up and pee or toss and turn - UGH!! I would love to have a night where I sleep for a solid 8 hours... It could be worse though - I could have a rough pregnancy on top of not sleeping... I'll be thankful for what I can get!

This weekend was great - especially Saturday... the weather was SO warm, we had all the windows and doors open... I put together the baby furniture while Adam brushed the dogs and replanted plants, and all that other manly stuff :)

Sunday felt like winter was back - it was windy and gloomy and just nasty!! We cleaned the house and decided how we wanted the baby's room laid out... We are still waiting on the chair and the crib to come in, so for now, I think we have the layout the way we want. The furniture looks GREAT - the wood is so pretty and I love the style... it looks much better than in the pictures. I have added some nursery pics below...

After moving furniture and cleaning all afternoon we went to an adoption party for our friends the Dovers... they have adopted their 2nd child (and their 1st childs older sister) Kylee. She is cute 6 yr old that is FULL of spirit and spunk and just as cute as her little brother Thatch.

I got to talk to all my sisters - YES, even Anndrea - who is back from the Middle East - WOOO HOOO!! They had a Birthday/Welcome Home party for Anndi and Gabi on Sunday... I'm bummed I live so far away and had to miss... BUT Anndi is coming to visit in May with the Kids!! I cant wait to see them and take Karsten to see a BIG WOO PIG!!

All in all it was a great week 28 of pregnancy... now on to 29...

I am still feeling great, just a bit tired. Lil J is 2 1/2 lbs this week and 15 inches long... I love it when he stretched out (for now he still has plenty of room) It is so fun to press on his heels when he shoves them into the sides of my belly. I hope they are feeling that I remember forever. Adam felt something this weekend - either a butt or his head and his reponse was "Oh My... do you realize you have a HUMAN BEING growing inside you?!?!?"

As for diet and exercise... I am attempting to go to boot camp this week - didnt do so well last week, but I did go for walks with the dogs. Diet - I am on the diet that I eat whatever I want, whenever I want... Might as well enjoy it!!

I am still craving Orange Julius and I am now getting hooked on root beer floats. And of course...fruit!! I have to have it! My husband is so sweet - since my other obsession right now is the bath tub... he has been sweet enough to cut up fruit and bring it to me in the tub at the end of my bath... I am so LUCKY!!

Here is my 28 week pic...

I am also attempting to add a video of all the crazy dogs as they chase the vacuum cleaner... they hate it, but they love to chase it and bark at it... It cracks me up!!

28 Weeks - The final stretch...Is it here already?!!?

Well - I am moving into the 3rd trimester this week... I am happy yet I am not ready for this to go any further or faster... This is the one and only time I will have my belly for the 1st time and the only time I get to enjoy it for the 1st time... I love my Lil' J...but right now I love him in my belly!!

He is about the size of a Chinese Cabbage this week - where do they come up with these references!?!? He is just over 2 1/4 lbs - he is getting bigger and bigger by the day.

Here is my 27 week pic - I am really starting to "pop out"!!

Everything is still going great, although I have noticed that if I sit in the wrong chair or stand for too long my back will start to hurt. Let's hope it is just a fluke this week and not a sign of pain to come. I am still craving Orange Julius - but other than that I am just hungry!!

This last weekend was BUSY and SNOWY - can you believe it?!? Snow at the end of March?!!? CRAZY!!

Here is a pic of Adam at this work tennis tourney on Friday afternoon... he had a great time - I am going to need lessons if I ever want to play with him... his team got 3rd place.

On Saturday we tried to stay inside as much as possible since it SNOWED all day long... here is the proof - this was at about 10:30am

Saturday night we hung out with Adam's co-workers at a house party and then headed to Oseugera's for Wes' birthday dinner. I was beat by the end of it...

Sunday we helped my co-worker Lauren do landscaping to the front of her house for curb appeal, she is getting ready to start her new position up in Battle Creek. I need to get a pic from her - I had a really great time playing in the dirt - but Adam said he was REALLY tired...maybe he did all the hard work!!

OH -- I forgot to mention - CONGRATS to my SISTER JESS!! She got engaged on Friday night - her boyfriend flew in to surprise her and asked for her hand in marriage - I had tear when I heard how it actually went down!! It was even better than all of the family had been planning (since we have known for about a month that it was going to happen)

This week should be quieter than the weekend... Next week is a BIG week - it is the 4d Ultra Sound!!!

Much Love!

Crazy Weekend...but I am home safe!!

What a weekend it was!!

I guess I can start before the weekend - on Thursday I had my Dr. Appt to do my glucose testing and my normal monthly visit. My BP was great, the scale is always scary, and I feel great!! The lab tech that took my blood told me that if I don't hear anything by Monday, then no news is good news (I'll get to the rest of this later)

Friday morning I left EARLY for my LONG trek to North Carolina - I had a 5 hour layover in Houston...YUCK!! But it was made totally bearable by my friend Maria coming to hang out with me at the airport - it was SO great to see her! I can't believe that she is only 3 1/2 weeks ahead of me and her belly is twice as big (NO FAIR!!) We sat at Starbucks and just caught up on life. It made the time FLY by! Thanks Maria!!

I made it to Asheville and my friend and former teammate, Sabrina, came to pick me up from the airport. We checked into the hotel, changed, and headed straight to the gym to play in the alumni game. And yes, I actually played, I was just much, much slower than I had been in the past. Oh well, that's what happens at almost 7 mos! That night we had an enjoyable dinner with old teammates and talked ALLLLLL night about babies and life after birth... We headed back to the hotel and the Family was just arriving from ATL.

Saturday was a normal Hi Neighbor Saturday...trip to the gym to watch pool play and SHOPPING!! It was great to hang with the Fam and cruise around Asheville. Saturday night we all went to dinner again and my coaches family was all there - her kids are SOOOO grown up.... can't believe it! It seems like yesterday that they were all babies!!

Sunday all the craziness started...My Mom had a BAD headache and didn't make it to breakfast - I knew she was feeling horrible if she was passing up time with me. We all got to the airport and as I was checking in the staff let me know that there was a medical delay and I was going to miss my connection home. And wouldn't you know, EVERY flight, from EVERY city, on EVERY airline was booked full trying to get into XNA - CRAZY! I ended up jumping in the car and headed to ATL with the Family to catch a flight on Monday. The best part about this was, I got to spend more time with them and also I got to see Jessica (who hadn't been able to take off work to come have fun).

Monday turned out to be as crazy as the rest of the weekend... Bre was my chauffeur and on the way to the airport, we got in a little fender bender in her boyfriends work car... UH OH!! Luckily the guy she rear-ended was very nice and there was no damage to his car so he felt no need to call the police. We got back on the road, no traffic, and then got to the airport. I had to go through the domestic check-in, since I was switching airlines... The line was LONG and I really didn't think I was going to make the flight. BUT - I did and security was less than 5 mins - it worked out perfect.

So I get home and decide that I am too worn out after all the fun and drama to go into the office so I lay down for a nap. As I am about to fall asleep - my phone goes off and I have a message from my Dr. Great!! Just what I need to finish off the drama - luckily she was calling to tell me that all my blood work was fine, but I am on the verge of being HYPOglycemic, so I just need to make sure that I don't let my blood sugars fall too low - this could also explain why if I don't have fruit and breakfast at a regular time when I wake up that I get migraines.

So that was my weekend... I am now hopefully going to have a mellow week 27 of my pregnancy, the baby is 2 lbs this week and is the size of a head of cauliflower. He has been kicking me like crazy (which I LOVE). I am attaching my 26 week picture - I took it in ATL since I didn't make it back to XNA on Sunday.
Week 26

I am also adding pics from the weekend of FUN in Asheville.

Much Love!

All the Gang at El Chaps!

Bre waiting for breakfast at IHOP - think she is crazy hungry?!?

Mom and Dad enjoying themselves at Breakfast

Sabrina and Cha at Cracker Barrel on Sunday Morning

Bre and Cha at Cracker Barrel