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

Back from the "Mile High"

WOW - Copper Mtn has a LOT of altitude... You don't realize how high it is until you try to walk from your hotel room to the meeting rooms and you are out of breath after the 3rd step. Now, personally I would much rather travel to the beach where there is sun, sand, and most of all WARMTH! It was fun to be around the mountains again. They sure are gorgeous! Also, I really like all the people I work with and it was a ton of fun to be around them for 3 days.

Adam was feeling better each day I talked to him and he is now almost 100% - still a bit of coughing, but he has most of his energy back.

This weekend we bought our chair for the nursery - it will take 6 weeks to get here, so I will post pictures when it finally comes in... it is the most comfortable chair I have EVER sat in... Hopefully Jude and I will get plenty of naps in it :)

I am attaching my 25 week picture - I am in week 26 now and feeling great. My ankles did get swollen during the travel to Colorado, but I think that was mostly flying and the food we ate at the meetings (it was total bar food for 3 days!!)

The cravings I am having this week are mostly normal for me - SALAD!! Although Adam thinks I need to be getting more protein, so I am trying not to eat them every meal. And my other not-so-good- for- you craving is the sweet memory invoking Orange Julius - Oh they are SOOOOO good!

Much Love!

Recovery and Packing

Well what a weekend it was... My poor Adam is finally starting to feel like himself again... still not working in the office, but he was actually playing video games last night when I got home (you know its bad when that man is not even strong enough to play Call of Duty) He is still coughing some, but he has his color back and he is done with his antibiotics. I'll be honest - it was a LONG week. If there was ever a time when I questioned how much support Adam brings me, (which I don't, but if I did...) all I have to do is think how much slack I had to pick up while he has been sick, and how I rely on him to talk about my day and my feelings. I have never missed lying in his arms to fall asleep as much as I did this past week. UGGGHHHH- I am SO glad he is getting better - I NEED HIM!!

So this is week 25 of the pregnancy and I feel great! A bit "plump", but I LOVE having the little belly. My hair feels great (really need a cut), but it has stopped falling out and my nails are the strongest they have ever been. My favorite thing right now is to have my lil'guy kick me...Just puts a smile on my face!

I am adding my 24 week photo... No cravings, still eating a TON of fruit. The weather has gotten spring-like this last week and I have taken full advantage of it by wearing dresses almost everyday. It is SO great!





Here are a few pics of the nursery bedding that came in... The rug is a bear - and much bigger than what I thought - it takes up most of the floor. And the second pic is one of the curtains - unfortunately I only ordered 1 panel (I swear I changed it to 2 when I ordered it) so they are not hung, and I am still trying to decide how to make it work, since Target is now out of stock on that product.

The last pic is the cutest little pup Daisy hanging out with me in the nursery. Let's hope she likes Babies!!

I am off to Colorado for work meetings this week - I even get an 80 min massage on Thursday afternoon - HEAVEN!!

Much love!

"Today is FRIDAY"...

Only my mom and sister will get the reference to the song from Childrens House above... but really - it is FRIDAY and I am SO glad.

This week has been quite a week! And 5 days has seemed like 30 this week. I got my yearly eval on Tuesday (which seems like a lifetime ago) and during that conversation came the talks of bonus and pay... Let's just say I am VERY happy with the way it went :)

Unfortunately after that everything seems like a blur...it was a week of fire drills in the office and meetings, on top of meetings, on top of meetings. Oh and did I mention that my poor Adam caught a case of pneumonia?!?!!? Luckily it is just a slight case, but still, I have never seen he feel so bad - except maybe 2 Christmases ago in ATL when everyone on the house (EXCEPT JESS) caught a case of the WORST FLU EVER!!! Adam said he felt worse than that!!! Poor guy!

Today didn't start out any different than the rest of the week... Milo has been staying at our house this week and he likes to hide under our bed - the problem is, he can't get out from underneath without someone lifting it up off of him... He got under there this morning (after I told him not to - he doesn't listen too well) and then he wouldn't come out... I tried to grab him after about 10 mins of his growling and he nipped my hand a good one. THAT sent me over the edge... he is such a BRAT!! Oh well - I shouldn't be fighting with a dog anyways - LOL!

Thanks heavens that we have NOTHING planned this weekend - it will be a bunch of sleeping and recuperating at the McFarlane house.

On a good note - Lil' J loves to twist and turn and kick Mommy- I love the way it feels, it makes me smile every time. You can now start to see my tummy bonce when he kicks. He's gonna be a strong one just like his Daddy!

Much Love!

"Someone's got a case of the Mondays"

(From Office Space- in case you don't recognize the quote)

Well the weekend is over and the snow is gone... I wish I could say the same thing about the cold weather :(

It was a pretty busy weekend for the McFarlane's... We spent Saturday morning cleaning up the house and I ordered our nursery bedding from Target (I can't wait for it to get here). After that we made our way out the to the lake for Darcey's Baby shower (she lives on the lake and it is like 40 mins out of town - CRAZY if you ask me!! - But she has a GORGEOUS house). We stopped by The Baby's room in Rogers to pick up a gift and I TOTALLY fell in love with this store. I think we found the glider that we REALLY want in this store... it is a lot more than the one I am registered for at Target, but it is SOOOOOO comfy at it is more like a recliner than a rocking chair. I also picked up the 1st thing that I have bought for the baby (his 2nd gift as he already got a "fishy" from YAYA at the GA aquarium) I am posting the pic below as I think it fits him perfectly!!

After the shower (mind you it is still snowing and now the roads are getting icy) we headed back into town to attend the "Kiss a Pig" Gala for American Diabetes. It was FREEZING but it was still an enjoyable night of fun... we even won a few auction items (its for a good cause and tax deductible) after that event we headed back to Steve and Judy's to see if the Saturday night poker game was still going. It was (of course) so we sat down and played until about 1:30am - Adam decided to sleep while I played for the last hour, but when your winning you just can't stop!!!

Sunday was a little more laid back, but still no time at the house. We had to go pick up our winnings from the silent auction and then we went to lunch with the in-laws to outback - WHY on EARTH did they decide to get rid of the creamy onion soup?!?!?!?! UGH!!! It almost ruined my lunch!! (was that dramatic enough??) After lunch Judy and I went shopping and we picked up some very cute baby outfits, I got some new PJs, and a new dress (now the weather just needs to warm up so I can wear it)

It was a nice weekend, but I really could have used at least 1 more day!

Below is a pic of my 23 week belly... Onto week 24, the LAST week in the 2nd trimester...maybe now I will stay to get a belly

No cravings (besides anything edible) and I am feeling GREAT!!

Much Love