So.

Bedrest sucks. Seriously. I know that it could be so much worse so I feel bad for bitching. I really do. But i miss my kid. I want to do laundry. I just dont like feeling out of control and helpless. I know that I need to do whats best for the baby and I am okay with that, its just a temporary moment of suckiness in the big picture of it all. You know me though, I asked the Dr. if I could be up to scrapbook (sitting only and not for extended periods of time). So I have been working on a "proto-type" for my baby announcements. I am scanning them as I type, so I will add them to this post. **added**
Anyway... I go in Thursday cause I am in some pain. I cant describe it, it just felt like he wanted out, now. They check me, nothing. They do a cervical ultrasound, nothing. Well it did show that his head is basically sitting on my cervix, which would explain all the pressure. At this point I am feeling stupid because I went in cause of pressure. Then they did a non-stress test which showed that I was having contractions. I had to get a shot of some medication that made me very jittery and wait for them to calm down. Thankfully they did, and I was able to go home, to return on Monday, but to be on bedrest until then. So here I am. I think that the worst for me is that I just feel lazy. I dont like feeling like that at all, and it is upseting me. I also am feeling like I need to wash all of Chase's things, but I dont have the dresser painted yet, so I have no where to put them away. I need to wait until the appointment Monday, see what they say and then I can decide whether or not I really need to be freaking out like this. I did email one of the nurses that I used to work with (she works in the NICU now) just to get some insight on what to expect if he does come soon. The test I am having done Monday (fetal fibronectin) should help them to know whether or not I will deliver soon.... I will report back then..... :)

Yep. Thats Right. Still Pregnant.

So what week are we on now? Like 57? It feels like 92. In reality? 33. I am almost done. The end is near. The finish line is looming before us. I should consider myself lucky. I actaully have a set date. I know when this is going to happen. I get to go 12 days early. I really only have to make it like 38 weeks. The crappy thing is, you would think that I only have 5 weeks left, right? Nope. 6 weeks from yesterday. I cant wrap my brain around the counting of the weeks. Whatever. So. Here is a new belly pic. There is something in there. It wants out.


On a little nicer note.... we finally put up the pool! Can I just say, I LOVE the pool? I LOVE THE POOL. LOVE THE POOL! Its so nice to get in there, and float around without carrying all the "extra" weight. It just feels good. Riley really seems to enjoy it too. In fact, we came home after work today and got right in. I need to have Derrick take some pictures of her in the pool! Derrick doesnt swim, and since I am always in the pool with her, it leads to some technical difficulties.

Okay. Derrick is off playing poker, I want to scrapbook...

Ahhh... my sweet kid...

Daddy went four wheeling yesterday and has his helmet out. Riley had to wear it, of course. I almost peed my pants on the front porch watching her walk around with this HUGE helmet on her little bitty body!

I was off work today, so we ventured to the park for a little fun. Riley has been terrified of the swings this year, but we tried it again today, and to my suprise she loved them, again! She would get upset if she didnt feel like she was swinging high enough! We also made spagetti for dinner. Notice she doesnt get to wear clothes when we have spaghetti. We eat, I run the bath water, she finished eating, I pick her up from behind, and into the tub she goes. The sad thing is I think that she likes getting this messy, dirty. Just like her daddy!

I am doing well. Okay. Not really. Not that I am not doing okay, I am just really tired. And big. And pregnant. And its kinda wearing on me. And I am trying REALLY hard to not complain about it. But its getting really hard not too. I am getting to the point where nothing is comfortable, I have to pee every fifteen minutes (more if I laugh or sneeze), my body hurts. Especially my back. And my hips. I keep thinking that maybe he has dropped, thats why I feel so different than a week ago. Then I realize thats not possible, cause I still cant breathe! I dont like feeling this way. I feel like I should be thankful to be pregnant, and be the happiest person on earth, yet there is this little bitchy complaining monster inside of me begging to be let out to complain as freely as it wants too. Vent over.

I need to pick a day to get maternity pics done soon. I only have 49 days left until this little guy is here. Last time we did it a month before, and i would like to stay in that time frame. Now if Derrick would just give me a little advance notice on his schedule.....

Alright. I think that I have to go to bed. That way I can roll around in the covers like a beached whale trying to get comfortable. Even more fun will be the 1am bathroom trip. I am sure thats a pretty sight. Ahhhhh.....

First Kiss....

Rileys first kiss with Payton....cute as can be!!

Hmmm.

So I can't think of anythign creative for a title. So Hmmm. it is.

I snapped this pic of Riley today. Looking onery as ever. This was actually right after she ate part of a green crayon. I give up. I guess it will just match the red one she ate earlier.

Derrick and I are utalizing the new room to its fullest potential. In fact, I dont think that we have been in the rest of the house at all since we moved in. I think that my scrapbook area is mostly "straightened" out, but I am still working on organizing a few things. Mainly crap I hate to sort through, like patterned paper, and misc. embellishments. I did alter this barn star last night, using some paper from chatterbox. I love their paper lines, they pretty much match everything for you. Anyway, this star started out this puce yellow color (is that a color) and I painted the "showable" parts a cream color. I cut the paper to fit, inked the edges (with staz on) and then modge podged the whole thing together. I have two more smaller stars I intend to do the same thing with. I am also doing a large 16 x 20 canvas that will have the family pics that we had taken a while ago with the same patterned paper line. Oh yeah, and a clock. I have to many project to count, I think. With all this altering, I have not scrapped anything in forever! In fact I am waiting on a couple picture orders to get some things done. I am kinda mad at clark photo. I
placed an order that "shipped" on the 15th. Still isnt here yet. They still have not answered my email. I better get my prints, and soon. I figure if I dont have them by Wednesday I am going to make a phone call to them instead of waiting any longer. I ordered all my zoo prints, and really want to start on my zoo book, but their non-delivery-ness is not helping.

Everything else is going fine. Baby Chase is as active as ever. I went to the old navy outlet in Tuscola today and picked him up some cute little outfits. I just cant resist. Especially when things are on sale. Carters is having a 70% off sale right now. I just had to walk away. There were so many things so cheap though, I might just head back tomorrow, providing I have full cooperation from the little one.

Well, we have company on the way, so I better get things picked up... hope everyone is having a good three day weekend, providing that you are having one! :)

Oh Baby!

Here is the belly....

Mommy's Little Poker Player....

Derrick had all the boys over to play poker the Saturday before Mother's Day, and Riley was just thrilled with the concept of the chips! We let her play with them for a while before letting the boys get on to their game.

We are all moved in. I am still in the progress of organizing and re-organizing the scrapbook room. It feels like a lengthy ordeal that will never quite be over. I am halfway through patterened paper though, which if you have seen my stash, is no small feat. I have been buying Hobby Lobby out of all their photo boxes and using them for storage on my new shelves. I will be sure to post pictures when its all complete.

NOt much else going on here. I am going back to the Dr. tomorrow for a routine check. I can not believe that I am at the two week appointment time already. That reminds me that I need to take a new belly picture. I am getting to the point where I am tired, but its not nearly as bad as it could be. I am a littl uncomfortable, but still functioning, which I think is a plus! I have to admit though, I am looking foward to the three day weekend, and the chance to sleep in a little bit. I waited until the last possible moment to get up this morning, and I know that I will do the same thing tomorrow. I am cursing myself for cutting my hair, as it takes longer to do in the morning than the simple ponytail. If I work it right I can get it all back in a little bitty pony, but it takes almost more effort than its worth. Its much better than drying and straightening though, which takes forever, and is no fun now that its getting hot out! Well I guess thats it... off to take a belly shot...

ITS DONE!!!!

Its finally done! Move in will be mothers day! I can not wait to get all the rest of furniture in! Derrick and I moved my scrap stuff two weeks ago, and he finished working on the rest of the room after I was settled. I have to admit its nice to have it complete!

BOY!!!

I can not belive I forgot to update that. Yes I can. BUt it sounds nicer if I say I forgot. So here is the first peek at little baby boy white... we are tossing names around, and the only one that we can agree on is Chase Matthew. I really like the name Tate too, but have not been able to force Derrick to agree with me.... yet...

Sorry for the quick update. Storms are a'comin, so I want to get the computer turned off before they hit....

Its a......

Baby!! We have told almost everyone what it is (yes we know) but there are a couple people (like Uncle Matt) who we want to tell in person (or on the phone) before they find out online..... so here is the sneak preview...

Is it Spring?

<--- we took an early morning walk to Miss Opal's and the post office. Riley LOVES the wagon, even more than before!

<---playing outside this afternoon. The backyard is a mud pit, so it was a little messy, but worth it.

<---I dont keep her locked in the backyard...she was watching the kids play baseball in the back. She looks like a little inmate though...







Not much else going on here. I filed our taxes tonight. For someone that is pretty detail oriented, this is hard for me. I have to check. And re-check, and then check again. It was a half hour process, turned into a 3 day event. But they are sent in, so hopefully we will be seeing that return soon!

I felt the baby kick this afternoon. It was a good solid movement, that I could feel on the outside of my belly. Love that feeling. Now if we can just be patient till the 20th to find out what it is! Its so strange to think that this wasnt an option for people years ago. They had to wait the whole 9 months, and I get antsy waiting a whole 4!

I napped a lot today. Riley took about a three and a half hour nap, and so did I. I also slept when she went down for the night, until Derrick got home. I have had this nagging headache all day and cant seem to get rid of it. I was hoping to get a little scrapping done, but think I will be laying back down instead.

I guess thats all the updates..... Where are the comments??

Here is the pic I am talking about in my previous post... I kid you not, this is what my child looked like...

Ahhh.....toddler-hood

We can put ADORABLE pigtails in Riley's hair. They are so stinking cute. The minute she lays down for a nap, she takes them out. Not so cute. She got up today, looking like a little excaped convict. She reminded me of those pictures of Nick Nolte (I think thats who it is) when he had his mug shot done. Hair was everythere. By the end of the night, she looked like one of those bedraggled kids that you see on COPS, cause their parents are fighting, and the cops are having to hold the kids. Sad. But she is ours, wouldnt change it.

We didnt do much today. Went to Menards early this morning to get some stuff for the duct work for under the house. It was considerably more then Derrick "guess-timated". It wasnt too bad, he was thinking cheaper though. He wasnt going to buy the vent covers until I pointed out that he would have gaping holes in the floor when he rips out the door between the new room and the kitchen next week. Gaping holes and our child are not a good combination. We already have to go through the trash before we take it out, cause she throws EVERYTHING away. Shoes, socks, jeans. Anything she can fit in there.

Well thats it I guess. There is a new show on tonight that is supposed to have the Dukes of Hazzard before they were the Dukes of Hazzard. Kind of like Smallville. Derrick is sooooo excited. I am not. I think I will scrapbook....

Motivated?

So. Now all my pics are smushed together. Whatever. I did a layout tonight!! This is the first time I have scrapped since an donline crop in eary Jan. And cause I know you are dying to see it, I am posting for you.....

Only cause she is so dang cute...

Here are some more pics from today, that we took this morning after getting up. Riley gets up about 7:30 in the morning. I go get her, change her, and take her into our room, where she proceeds to annoy the hell outta Derrick until he decides to get up. Cute huh?

Cause Blogger Stinks sometimes......

<----new belly shot...











Ahhhh. Oreos. In the living room. Priceless.












So I have not been able to upload pics for forever. I cant figure out what it is. With my regular browser it doesnt ever load. I tried Firefox today, and hello... there they are!

We are all doing well. We have our next appointment on the 20th. Our Sono is at 2:00, and we see the Dr. at 3:00. So in like 17 days, we should know what we are having! Its starting to get real. In fact the picture above is the first pregnancy pic I have taken. I think I was scared to take one before this point. Sad, cause I am almost halfway through. Still no definate kicks, but I feel some swirling every once and a while!

We settled on the car, for a grand total of 1085.65. That .65 will get me far, I am sure. I am happy with settling, I just hate that what they are paying doesnt 1. cover the cost if we were fixing the car 2. isnt quite half what the car is worth. Oh well. It sucks that we had to buy another car, and are stuck with the neon, but life goes on. At least we are all okay. We refused to settle on medical until the sono. We want to see for ourselves that everything is okay.

Riley is doing well. Into everything. Cause what else would an 18 month old do? We had family pics taken. You can see them at Ambers site www.photographicsgallery.net They are SUPER cute, I am having a hard time deciding! I know for sure I want to get a HUGE black and white print though.

Well its almost 7am here, and the bean will be up soon.....

I forgot....

the one really FUN part of the day today? Letting the dog outside to pee in drifts that are taller than he is. Now that was amusing. Derrick and I kept letting him out over and over, just to watch him in the snow!

SNOW DAY!!

So you would think that I would have accomplished SOMETHING today. Maybe done my millions of loads of laundry. Cleaned house. I did "work" on laundry. However, it has not been as productive an activity as was planned. I did clean house, but got bored. I did about ten things today.
1. Put Rileys hair in pigtails. Twice.
2. Gave Riley a bath.
3. Looked out the window at the blowing snow.
4. Ate leftover veggie pizza. For snack.
5. Napped.
6. See #3
7. Ate lemon yogurt.
8. Napped.
9. See #3 (or #6 which ever you prefer.)
10. got really excited when they decided to close the clinic tomorrow.


And just about two minutes ago, I let Derrick have my last Mt. Dew. He better appreciate it.

I need to make my valentines day cards for tomorrow, so Derrick will at least have something to open. But as you can see, I am lazy today. I hope that we can go out tomorrow and take some pics of the snow. I have never seen anything like this, but I also have never lived in the country before. Its creepy and scary, all at the same time. Its weird to think that the whole Champaign Urbana and surrounding area has pretty much ceased to work. Its like it just shut down. I get to sleep in tomorrow though, so I wont be complaining! On to the pics!




<--- I know this is sideways. Bear with me. I am lazy. (see above if you want explanation for said lazyness). Riley has decided that the one and only place to play is on daddys sub-woofer in the living room. Ashley did her pigs like this at daycare yesterday, they were so CUTE!

<---- again sideways. She was standing on the back of the couch looking at the snow this morning. This was before I caught her licking snow of the mat in front of the front door. Its moments like that I have to start chanting "I am not a bad mommy" over and over.

I think thats it on the homefront. Bean is still growing and doing well. I think that I am feeling some movement, but cant tell for sure. I guess when its for sure, for sure, I will know for sure!! We may be getting a sex identifying sono sooner than we thought, since we have to get it done before we settle on the health part of our accident claim. Other than that, we are smooth sailing!! Alright. I am off to find something productive.

Sigh....

Contrary to popular belief, I am still alive. Just a horrible blogger. I would love to say that i have been incredibly busy, rushing here and there, and just have not had time. Thats not the case. If you want to believe that is the case, I will not choose to argue. The fact is i am lazy. Thats right. LAZY. I hate hauling my happy butt back here to the scrabook room, only to wedge my chair in between the computer desk and one of the towers of scrapbook paraphenelia, try to squeeze in, and type while my arm is hitting the cutting station (for scrapbooking of course). Then the heat turns on and all this warm air comes out from under the desk and I swear I am not pregnant, but in fact, approaching menapause, and having the worst hot flash in my entire life. There is the story. The whole truth. On to something more fun, kay?




<---- we got snow a couple weeks ago. I took Riley out in it, and she had a ball. Was adorable, as usual!

<-- I made oreo dessert last weekend for the superbowl party. I let her lick the spatula. She enjoyed every minute of it. Who doesnt like a sugar high at 8AM?









Well the good news is that insurance has decieded that the will go 50/50 on our car. Thats a lot better than the 70/30 they offered us. The 70 would be us, meaning that we were 70% at fault. Her insurance has also decieded that they will pay for my medical as well. I think that Derrick and I are just tired of fighting at this point. We give up! If they want to say that we are partially at fault, whatever. Just stop calling us and having us re-hash the whole day over and over again. And for the record to the lady in the white van: learn to visually measure distance, you moron. So. All in all, we will end up getting about 1,000 for our car, which is better than the 600 they initally offered us. It kinda sucks that our car is worth more than that (we blue booked it at 2300) but then again, we were not expecting to get anything, so something is nice. We went ahead and bought a new vehicle. We got a 2002 Dodge Durango. I like it, but am still getting used to the fact that its mine. I am sure it will hit me when we pay the first car payment. We have not had to pay a car payment in 3 years, so it will feel weird to pay one again!! Oh well, life goes on, and we needed something bigger anyway.

Baby is doing well. My belly is expanding. Its kinda weird to think that I will be 16 weeks on Tuesday. It seems like the time has gone so fast, yet so slow. Like the time until 12 weeks crawled by. Now the time is just flying. We go back to the Dr. on the 20th, and then we will hopefully schedule our sono!

Derrick is working on drywalling the addition tonight. From all the thumping I hear out there, I am asuming it is either A) progressing well. B) there are little peices of ripped up drywall shrapnell everywhere. I choose, while in the plush comfort of the scrapbook room, A. I should check on him soon though, as he has been known to fall of ladders. And you never know.

Well I promise, I will TRY to blog more. Try is the operative word here....