A Lesson to be Learned

I've been thinking a lot about the victims of the horrific tornadoes that have ripped through our country this week.  There have been so many disasters lately--both natural disasters and others brought on by human beings who are lost, hurting, and confused.  I struggle with understanding why these things happen to good people.

This morning, we went to a special church service where "pets" were invited.  We've recently started going to a church that is very different from any I've ever been to--and I really like it.  Among other things, the minister spoke of how animals live every day "in the present".  They don't worry about what has happened in the past, and they don't worry about the future.  For the most part, they are content with what is happening right now.  Leaving this church service, I vowed to do the same today.  Although I had 3 loads of laundry to finish, grocery shopping to do, and a house that definitely could use some spring cleaning, I did none of those things.  Instead, I laid a big blanket out in our backyard, smeared some sunscreen on my little man, and enjoyed a beautiful spring day.  We played peek-a-boo, I tickled him, shared some hugs, and we laughed together for a few hours on that blanket.  And I don't regret a single minute of it.  I lived "in the present".  And I want to start doing more of that.  Because there are only so many precious moments that we have with the ones we love.  If there is any lesson to be learned in the recent tragedies that have happened, that is it.

Is this normal??

I am SO in love with my little boy.  Like, I can't stand to be away from him for even a few hours.  Really...would you want to be apart from this sweet boy?

I have {maybe} left him 8 times since he was born.  I've been trying to get out a little bit more--grocery store trips, a few times to the gym, and doing some wedding planning with my sister.  I know {in my head, anyway} that it is good for him to be away from me and comfortable with other people.  And, it is good for me to have some "me time".  When I go out without Max, I will leave him with JB or my parents.  Even though JB is comfortable with him and spends lots of time with him when we're all together as a family, it seems like Max melts down and cries everytime I leave him alone with Daddy.  

See??  Look how happy they are together.  :-)

I'm not talking a few tears and some whining.  I mean that I get home and my little man is sobbing and whimpering with bloodshot eyes and a bottom lip sticking out.  And, my husband looks so frustrated and upset that he can't calm him.  It breaks my heart.  I know that we just need to keep trying, and hopefully it will get easier for all of us.

But, in really good news---JB worked VERY hard again this past year, and we just found out that he made President's Club again this year.  That means that we will be going on an all-expenses-paid vacation to the Rosewood Mayakoba Resort in Mexico in April.  Doesn't this look amazing??

We've been extremely fortunate that JB works for an incredible company that treats their employees (and spouses) very well.  This means that for the past 4 years, we've been able to go on 100% free vacations to Mexico, Turks and Caicos, and St. Maarten.  Don't hate me!  I am so proud of JB for all of the long hours, late nights, and traveling that he does all year in order to earn these trips.  With all of that being said, I am EXTREMELY anxious about leaving Max for 5 days.  He knows his Lulu and Pops (my parents) very well, and they are SO excited to be watching him while we're away.  I know that they will be just fine, and Max will have so much fun with them.  After all, they did raise 5 kids of their own.  My anxiety has nothing to do with that.  It is more about me.  For the past 4 1/2 months, I've not let him out of my sight for more than a couple of hours.  Even during the night, I have one eye on the video monitor watching him.

What if he cries the whole time we're gone?  What if he refuses to sleep or eat because he's so upset?  (That's a whole other issue---He only takes a bottle every once in a while.  Most of the time he is exclusively breastfed.  This is also something we'll have to start practicing.)  What if he forgets about me?  I know what ya'll are probably thinking.  Meg--you are crazy.  Get on the plane, enjoy fruity cocktails on the beach, massages at the spa, and SLEEP.  I hope that I am able to relax once we get there and do just that.  I am really looking forward to spending some quality time with my hubby and reconnecting with him.  So, mamas out there--Please tell me you've felt like this too and it's normal.  I just need to hear that to make myself feel better.  Thanks--xoxo.

WEEK 15:   April 4-11

I am FINALLY feeling better!  All of a sudden, this week the nausea disappeared (for the most part), and I'm feeling much more energized.  They weren't kidding about a change happening in the 2nd trimester, and I'm so glad!  It's a good thing, because it was spring break this week, and we took a trip to Raleigh to visit friends. 

P.S. This chalkboard post is no lie.  I went through 2 LARGE boxes of strawberries this week by myself. My appetite is finally coming back, although the food aversions are definitely still around. 

Our Trip Back to Raleighwood....
I haven't been back to Raleigh since September, and we decided to take advantage of my time off this week to take a short trip there.  It worked out perfectly, because JB happened to have some work to do there as well.  Basically, he worked and I was his chauffeur between my gallivanting around to see friends.  

We spent the weekend with some of our favorite friends, Ryan and Melissa, and the cutest little girls ever--our goddaughters, Eleana and Livi.  We spent lots of time playing, catching up, and lounging around.  It was great!  On Sunday, Melissa made a yummy Easter dinner of lamb chops, asparagus, and roasted potatoes.  We followed that with chocolate covered strawberries--yum!  It was all so delish.  We also celebrated Elli and Livi's 4th birthday.  I can't believe that they are already four years old.  That is crazy to me!  I remember being out for dinner with R & M just days before they were born, and feeling so excited to meet them.  Now, here we are 4 years later, and we're getting ready to meet our own little peanut.  Melissa is one of my dearest friends, and one of the best moms I know.  I am going to be taking lots of advice from her. 

Big girls with their new scooters they got for their birthday!

A kiss from mom!  She was so serious about dying eggs.

Big Smiles!  Egg dying is fun....until you drop the egg. 

On Tuesday, I made a visit to the elementary school where I used to teach in North Raleigh.  I spent a few hours catching up with coworkers, friends, and kiddos that I had in my classes over the past three years.  Durant Elementary School is such a special place, and I'm so glad to have spent three awesome years there.  I miss everyone there so much! 

Then, on Tuesday night we enjoyed dinner at our friends, Sara and Michael's house.  We met their sweet little girl Lainey, who was born on Christmas Day.  We loved getting the chance to catch up with them too.  You can tell that they are so in love with their sweet little lady.  I'm loving all of this baby time we've been getting!  

On Wednesday before we left, I got to meet up with Melissa for some grown-up girl time.  We enjoyed pedicures and a yummy lunch out.  It was the perfect end to our trip.  We were definitely torn about our move out of Raleigh when we decided to leave.  We have some great friends there, the weather is beautiful (it will near 80 during our trip), and the people in the south are so friendly.  I'm so happy that we get to go back to visit.  Hopefully our friends in NC will travel up to see us in NJ too.  You're always welcome!  Have a great week everyone!

 

Pregnancy Survey

How far along? 12 weeks

Total weight gain: -1 pound
Maternity clothes? I've bought a few pairs of maternity pants, but it was really warm this week.  I've been wearing the belly band or using the "hair-tie" trick.
Stretch marks? none yet!  Anyone have any miracle creams?
Sleep: No trouble sleeping here...I'm usually ready for bed by 7 pm.
Best moment this week: Telling my family our big surprise!  Andrea figured out the clue with the pink and blue cake I made for dessert.  :-)
Miss Anything?  Nope...nothing!
Movement: Not yet
Food cravings:  Fruit, crackers, macaroni and cheese

Anything making you queasy or sick: meat (the smell or sight of it), coffee, alcohol (the smells)--UGH!  Nothing really sounds that appealing to me. 
Gender: Mystery...Should we find out?  Still undecided...
Labor Signs: No....thank goodness!
Symptoms: Nausea, tiredness.  **Update on my rash (mentioned last week).  I went to a dermatologist.  He said that I likely had an allergic reaction to the prenatal vitamin AND I had a viral rash.  I had been sick two weeks earlier with a stomach bug I caught in school.  The rash typically hits about a week after you're feeling better from the virus.  AND it can take up to 4-6 MONTHS to disappear!  Luckily, it is starting to go away already.  It better be gone by April 19th when we head to Turks and Caicos! 
Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy & EXCITED....It's so nice that we were able to share our news with my mom, dad, nick, Andrea, and Matt.  We also Skyped Molly and called Tim.  They all can't wait to be grandparents, aunties, and uncles!
Looking forward to: Telling Joe's side of the family when we go up to Boston in 2 weeks.  I know they will be SO excited.  This is the first grandbaby on both sides!

Baby Dustin is On The Way!

We are so excited to announce that Baby Dustin is on the way!  We found out in January that we are expecting our first little peanut on or around September 26th, 2012.  We kept it a secret for a long time, but I wanted to document everything along the way so that I didn't forget anything!  So, I'll be using my blog to share pictures, thoughts, questions, and asking advice of all of you over the next six months.  Make sure to stop in often, and I'll try to make sure I update it at least once a week. 

Finding out we were expecting...
This is kind of how the life plan works, right?  We move back to New Jersey to be closer to family and friends.  We buy a big house with four bedrooms.  We need to fill it up!  I was wondering if I could possibly be pregnant, and I decided to take a home pregnancy test at 10:00 pm on January 23, 2012.  It came back positive.  (**NOTE--This also happened to be my very first day at my job as a 2nd grade maternity leave teacher.  Ironic, huh?)  JB was on a late-night phone call for work, and he was taking FOREVER to get off of the call.  Finally around 11:15, I heard him hang up the phone.  I walked into his office, and inconspicuously videotaped his reaction.  It was priceless.  I don't know that I'll ever be showing our child his first reaction, but I am happy to report that he has gotten used to the idea that we are going to be parents, and he is more excited than freaked out now.  :-)

Monday, February 6, 2012
I had my first OB appointment.  At this appointment, I took a urine pregnancy test, and it obviously came back positive.  (I had already taken 3 at home, so I was pretty sure this was the case.) I had a lot of bloodwork taken for genetic testing.  Then, I sat down with the nurse, and we went through a very thorough family health history for about an hour.  Finally, I walked out of the office with a big folder of pregnancy literature and a giant bag of prenatal vitamin samples.  (More on the prenatal vitamin debacle later...)

Thursday, March 1, 2012
I had my 2nd OB appointment with an ultrasound at 10 weeks.  JB came with me to this appointment, and it was amazing to see that there was actually a baby in there!  The ultrasound technician was very sweet and answered all of our questions.  She also sent us home with a ton of "first" pictures.  My doctor's office does both regular and 3-D ultrasounds.  I have to admit that the 3-D ones kind of creep me out.  I think they will be better when the baby is a little more developed.  The heartbeat was strong at 164 beats/minute, and the ultrasound tech said that everything looked perfect.  Baby D. is growing right according to schedule and hitting all of the milestones. 

Check back tomorrow for the Week 11 picture!  Thanks for going on this exciting journey with us...