Memorial Day Recap

I'm in a great mood. Want to know why?

Well, I got to snuggle with my husband for the first time in 3 days. I know for most of you that's not a lot of time but for some reason I just sleep SO much better with his snoring self beside me. And for a pregnant lady in the first trimester solid sleep equals happy! All weekend I woke up at least once in the middle of the night and then I was awake at 6 AM. 

Also, another happy is when my child sleeps until 9 AM this morning. This N E V E R happens. She is a "get up when the sun gets up" kind of girl. We both needed a good, long sleep. 

Our trip was amazing. We went down to Gulf Shores, Al where my grandparents retired. They live on the Inter-coastal Waterway. Hazel was so excited to be the center of attention.

We left later than planned on Friday because of really bad traffic but the trip down was good. I am impressed by how well Hazel does in the car. She is either talking, looking out the window, playing on the iPad, or watching a movie. She never cried or whined. She is good at being content and not having to go to the bathroom 1,000 times. 

When we woke up on Saturday and ate breakfast together then headed to the pool. They have 2 pools in their complex and 1 over looks the ocean.

It is breathtaking. 

After the pool, we went and had lunch at Lulu's. (It's Jimmy Buffet's sisters' restaurant.) My grandparents call it a "tourist trap" but it is good. It's seafood and they have a really good, relaxed atmosphere. They also have a huge sand pit where the kids can play while the adults eat and drink. 

After lunch, we headed back to the condo where Hazel and I took a long nap. After our nap we went back to the pool for a little while and then ate dinner at the condo. 

(11 Weeks)

Sunday, we woke up and went to the beach. Since they live on the Inter-coastal Waterway, it is about a 10 minute drive to Gulf Shores Beach. It was a fun day! Hazel loves the ocean water and the sand and she didn't want to leave.

 We stayed at the beach until almost sunset. Then we went back and went for a boat ride on my grandfathers boat. 

We saw dolphins, fed seagulls, and saw a baby alligator. It was such a fun and relaxing boat ride and Hazel absolutely loved it. I can't wait to go back in July so Jonathan can be with us to see how excited she gets at the simple things in life.

Like cutting open a watermelon.

And loving on her great-grandfather.

And riding on a boat with her grandmother.

And feeding seagulls. 

And driving the boat. 

And eating oranges with her Aunt Kendie. 

On Monday, everyone else headed back early except for Mom, Hazel, and I. We went to the outlet malls and I got 2 dresses for a wedding this weekend (one for the rehearsal dinner and one for the wedding), a maxi skirt, and a bathing suit cover up. Hazel got 4 pairs of shoes, a t-shirt, and 2 outfits. 

We had a great trip but it didn't last long enough. I can't wait to go back in July with Jonathan! 

Now I have 3 days to re-group and then we have wedding fun this weekend!! 

I hope ya'll had a great Memorial Day weekend. 

Thumbs Up... Thumbs Down.

Hey all my beautiful friends!

I have really missed the blogging community and just blogging in general. 

This first trimester has taken it's toll on my energy level. BIG time.

BUT... I will be 11 weeks on Sunday so that means only 1 more week and I will hopefully be in the clear!!

With Hazel it was like a light switch. I am praying for that relief again.

Thumbs Up: I have finished all laundry in the whole house.

Thumbs Down: I had to fold and put all of it away.

Thumbs Up: We are going to Gulf Shores, Al this weekend where my grandparents retired to visit them and have a weekend get away!

Thumbs Down: 6+ hours in the car with Hazel.

Thumbs Up: My house is almost completely clean.

Thumbs Down: I had to clean it all. I have a weirdo who can't leave a dirty house.

Thumbs Up: I am feeling great today and the weather is amazing.

Thumbs Down: I wish I had more of an appetite and didn't have so many food aversions to healthy foods.

Thumbs Up: Hazel is being good and letting me clean with little interruptions.

Thumbs Down: I have to use this time to clean. 

Thumbs Up: I'm going to the beach for a weekend!

Thumbs Down: Jonathan isn't going, he will be a bachelor party. I always miss him so much when we spend time apart. I would not do well with a long distance relationship. I get anxious. He really calms me down and is my partner in parenting so it is always no fun when he is away.

Thumbs Up: I will be doing little to no cooking this weekend:

NO Thumbs Down to that one ;)

The Sweetest Puppy.

Most of you that follow me on Instagram (kscott24) know that we lost our sweet puppy on Monday.

We got her 2 and a half years ago when she was 6 months old. It was love at first sight. The second I saw her I knew she was mine. I've never had such a connection with a puppy and she was my soul mate. She always knew when I was happy, sad, or mad. She would lick my tears off my face until I started laughing. She was my shadow and my snuggle bug. 

You might say I was a little too attached to her. I just can't explain the bond I had with her. I've never had that kind of connection with a dog. Ever. 

She followed me everywhere. She had a mat she would sit on while I was doing the dishes, she would walk around with me while I was cleaning up, and she would lay in my warm laundry as I was folding it. She would sit right outside the door while I took a shower (She wouldn't get too close just in case I got any funny ideas about trying to bathe her.) She would bark so long at Jonathan when he first got home and then as soon as he sat down she would attack him with the sweetest kisses. 

She loved.

She was loved.

Callie suffered a back injury in November. We don't know exactly when it happened but we have 2 flights of stairs and dachshunds aren't good with stairs, so I assume it happened some time on the stairs. My heart broke when we got the diagnoses. She had to have a $7,000 surgery that WASN'T guaranteed to work. We just couldn't pay that much. So we took the route of giving her steroids which helped her get the ability to use her back legs (instead of dragging them) and she could walk (wobbly). Basically, I carried her everywhere. We could have lived this way but she couldn't control her bladder. When she had to go she went with no warning no matter if she was in the floor, on the sofa, or on our bed. So we took her to the vet to see if there was any other medication we could give her to help her control her bladder and we got the worse news imaginable. 

Callie has been in pretty much constant pain since November.

Heart broken.

The vet advised us that the humane thing to do was put her down. 

The decision was the hardest in my life. 

She died on Monday, May 20, 2013. The day before her 3rd birthday. 

All the next day I couldn't go an hour without crying. I just kept thinking "if I could just have one more day with her" THEN I would be ready to let her go. But the reality is I would NEVER be ready to let her go. 

She was my love.

I am SO incredibly blessed with a happy, healthy, loving marriage. 

I am so blessed with an incredible, loving, HEALTHY child. 

I am so blessed for this baby in my tummy that is growing every day. 

I can not fathom how someone feels when they lose a child. 

My heart was torn to shreds and I felt like I couldn't even move. And she was a dog. 

Not my bouncing 3 year old. My mind won't even let me "go there" to think about that because I just don't know what I would do. I will be sad for a while. I have stopped crying every time I think of her. I have started to remember the happy times and the only thing I am focusing on is HOW MUCH she loved me and HOW MUCH I loved her. 

No one will understand that type of love.

She is in Heaven. I firmly believe that. She is waiting for me with her wagging tail and jumping up and down. I can't wait to see her again. It's going to be the most amazing day. 

We got her cremated. She's currently sitting on the mantle in a little tin until I can go find an urn that I love. She will always be with me. 

Just like she loved to be.

10 Weeks and weekend recap

I hope ya'll had a great weekend! 

I sure did.

On Friday night my mom came over after we got done with the gym and we went to eat Mexican. What? You don't follow your gym session with chips and salsa? You're weird. 

Then on Saturday my mom took Hazel to my sister's so that we could have a break/date night. It was wonderful. It's been a couple months since Jonathan and I have been on a real date so it was great to get away and be silly with him. We went to see Star Trek and I wasn't expecting much but I really enjoyed it. It was a great movie and the popcorn was even better. After the movie we went and got fro yo and headed home. 

On Saturday night there was a terrible thunderstorm here that kept waking me up so I didn't sleep as well as I would have liked. Then we went to Stone Mountain, where my mom's company was having a company picnic. I was surprised at how fun it was despite it being rainy and wet. We even got free passes for a later date so we can go back and enjoy Stone Mountain while the sun is shining. :) I am looking forward to it.

Oh and we got those sweet visors & hats. 

Also, today I am 10 weeks pregnant! I am almost in the second trimester. This first trimester has taken a toll on me. Utter exhaustion is just that... EXHAUSTING. I just can't seem to get up and do anything. I am so, so, so thankful for this pregnancy so please don't take my talking about my exhaustion as me complaining. I am not complaining... just simply talking about what's happening in my life.

We also go to the beach with Jonathan's side of the family each year and this year we are going in 18 days. So I'll be in the second trimester and hopefully feeling 100% better. 

This week I slacked big time at the gym. I went to Body Pump on Monday, walked 4 miles on Tuesday, and then went on Friday. I will be getting back in there this week and kicking butt! I am ready and wanting to get back into it... hopefully my exhaustion will cooperate. 

I hope ya'll had a great weekend!!! 

9 Weeks.

Is it weird that I feel like this pregnancy is already flying by and I'm still so early in it? I feel like just yesterday I was jumping up and down and crying in the bathroom after those 2 pink lines popped up. 

I don't ever want to forget that memory. 

After waiting for something for so long it is amazing to get what your heart desires most. 

I am 9 weeks pregnant. That is still early but it's a lot farther along than 4 weeks (which is when I found out.)

We've already had our first ultrasound and heard the baby's heart beat. What an amazing sound. 

We've told family and everyone we know. 

I'm already showing. With Hazel I didn't really show until around 25 weeks. That's a big difference! 

How I'm feeling:

-Tired. Tired. And more tired. Hence the lack of blogging.

-I feel sick but as long as I eat every 2-3 hours then I'm okay and don't throw up. I've only thrown up a handful of times and compared to my pregnancy with Hazel that is a huge difference and blessing. Although, I wasn't this utterly exhausted with Hazel... But I'll take being tired to being sick 24/7. 

-I am definitely getting more emotional and sensitive to comments. I have always been a very easy going, go with the flow person, who doesn't let much bother me. But my "pregnant-me" is a different story. If you could just be extra sensitive to me for the next 7 months that would be great. :)

-All I can muster up doing is a couple chores, making meals for Hazel and I, dragging myself going to the gym, and making dinner. It is exhausting just thinking about.

-It hurts my feelings when people who have never been pregnant don't understand how exhausted I am. And how just doing day-to-day things wear me out. Please be patient with me. 

-I have a gut feeling it's a boy. I don't know if that's just me wishing it was a boy or what. OF COURSE I will be ecstatic either way but for some reason I just picture a little boy. It was the opposite with Hazel. I couldn't even fathom her being a boy. 

-I can't wait to be out of the first trimester in 3 weeks. Perfect timing because that's when we are going to the beach. I can't wait. My soul is craving the beach. And we get the opportunity to go twice this year. What a blessing. 

I hope you guys have been doing well. I need to get back to reading and writing daily. Maybe after a nap I can catch up! :)

Weigh In Wednesday... Week ???

Hey ladies.

Miss me?

If you haven't been checking my blog regularly shame on you... 

I'm pregnant! :)

8 weeks and 3 days to be exact. 

My last weigh in was a couple weeks ago. Sorry bout it. I've been sick, nauseous, exhausted, and have crazy food cravings and aversions. So basically, I've been trying to eat well.. But I'll be honest... My eating has gone down hill. I really just have to eat SOMETHING so I don't start puking.

So without further adieu. 

I'm 6'1 for the record. 

Starting Weight (1.2.2013): 230.4

Last Weigh In (4.18.2013): 211.4

Today (5.8.2013): 211.6

I am so pleased. 

If I can stay around there or close to there in my first trimester I will be a happy camper.

I've discovered that the secret is eating small meals every 2 hours (Thanks Heather twinsy for the suggestion!) that way my stomach doesn't get empty and I don't feel sick.

This pregnancy is so different than when I was pregnant with Hazel. With her I was sick 24-7 no matter what I did. It was awful. And it was in August in Statesboro (aka the hottest, most dry place on Earth.) I literally had to tell all of my professors (I was still in college) that I was pregnant and not just skipping class because I couldn't go an entire hour without having to go to the bathroom. 

It was torture. 

So I am thankful there is relief this go around. But the difference is my utter exhaustion. I could/can fall asleep at any given second of the day. I may or may not put on Mickey Mouse and dose off on the sofa a couple times a day. Hazel has been an angel for the most part and has been content. 

I just feel like the worst friend ever. I don't/can't leave my house really. I'm so exhausted no one would want to be around me anyway. 

But I have been going to the gym other than last night. I've been alternating between Body Pump and RPM. It's been great and my goal is to go 5 times a week... but I'm totally not stressing if I don't make it. It's hard enough just to get up to clean my house so I'm not really worried about it. I know I'll get my energy back in a couple weeks. I just need to give my body the rest it needs. 

In other news my belly is starting to poke out. Yikes. I guess it's true that you show much sooner with the second. I am sucking my stomach in and it still pokes out. 

I know it's small. But it's there.

I hope ya'll are all staying on track and I can't wait to read all your successes. 

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday!

We had a great weekend. We went to a family reunion with all of my dad's side of the family and it's the first one I've been to in about 10 years. We watched the Kentucky Derby and afterwards played cards. And I won $19 big ones because I had the winning horse. Hazel had her 2 cousins there so she was in Heaven and having fun without my entertaining her. 

= mama got to relax. 

I love being with my siblings and their families so it was a good weekend but I was exhausted. So this morning when Hazel woke up I got her some cheerio's and put on a movie and I went back to sleep. Mother of the year.  

In other news, I am 8 weeks pregnant now. It's still really early but it's starting to feel "more real." Annnndd my belly is already poking out. You can't tell unless I'm naked. It's true that you start showing much earlier with the second, I guess. And I weighed myself and I have actually lost 1.6 pounds! I have no idea how. I have been feeling sick so I have to eat every 2 hours so that I don't get nauseous. I've been trying to eat small, healthy meals but really I eat whatever sounds good and that is quick. Not the best way but with the exhaustion and nausea it's all I can do right now.

I'm feeling better than I did with Hazel though. With her I was sick 24/7 no matter what I did. So I'm thankful this pregnancy is easier on me. 

And I've been keeping up with my exercise. I started back Body Pump last week and it was amazing. I have really missed that class. So on Monday, Wednesday, (and hopefully Friday) I do Body Pump and on Tuesday and Thursday I do RPM. It's a good mix of cardio and weights. My doctor said as long as I keep my heart rate under 160 then I'll be good. So that's been a struggle but I am still getting a good workout. And it helps with my nausea so that's good too. If only I could get my butt up and go in the morning... but lately that's been a struggle. 

Thank you so much for all the congratulations!

Happy Post!

 So, although most of you already guessed. 

I'M PREGNANT.

I am in shock. I can't believe it.

After 5 long months, I finally have a baby growing in my tummy. 

I know for most women 5 months isn't a long time. And I know in the grand scheme of things it isn't. But it felt like a lifetime. When you want something so badly ANY time of waiting is like torture. Especially when it's a baby. I can totally empathize with anyone going through fertility issues now. I couldn't say that before going through this, so I think the waiting has made me a better person and friend. I am more sensitive to what others are going through. 

Through our 5 months of trying, I had many friends become pregnant and while I was thrilled for them, a little part of me always wondered "why not me? what's wrong with me?" and the jealousy was insane. So I totally get it if any of you aren't instantly happy for me, I know that you will get pregnant and I am constantly praying for you. Having issues with getting pregnant are incredibly emotionally draining, I know. But I PROMISE, the wait is worth it. When you finally get those 2 pink lines (or in my case a plus sign and 2 different 2 pink lines... yes, I took 3 test. I didn't believe it) it will all be worth. Knowing that you finally got what your heart has wanted for so long, it's the best feeling and I can't wait for you to experience it. 

Hazel is beyond thrilled. We called everyone and let her tell them by saying "I'm going to be a big sister!" Most people couldn't understand her, or they didn't want to guess wrong and then upset my feelings, so they asked me what she said and I said "Hazel's going to be a big sister!" She is so proud. She is telling everyone (which I'm totally okay with!) 

Right now she wants a baby brother. She is always hugging and kissing my belly and saying "my baby brother!" It melts my heart. 

She also said the other day that she wanted to share "her bed, her blanket, her toys, and her rope" with her baby brother. Any time she gets food she asks if she can share with "him." She is going to be the best big sister. It makes me so happy to see how excited she is. She keeps asking "is my baby brother grown up yet?" It's going to be a long 9 months!

Due date is December 15, 2013. 

So I'm almost 8 weeks. I know it's "too early" to tell people. But I read a quote that stuck with me and I believe it with all my heart. 

"The more people who know, the more who can pray." 
So please pray for my sweet baby in my tummy. 
We are overjoyed.