BBB's room . . .

I have to start with this because this week has made me hate Taylor Swift more than ever.
Seriously...how many times a day must the radio play "We are never ever ever getting back together"...?
We get it...you like to say the same word several times to get your point across.
You also like to talk in your songs more than you sing.
Case closed.
Shut up!!

Wes was productive in BBB's room this week!

He put the light fixture back up as well as the light switch and electrical covers.

He put the knobs on the armoire [which will be the changing station].

 

The top baskets will be home to blankets, socks, mittens,
as well as other odds & ends.
The changing pad will go where the wipes are now and the
wipes & diapers will go in the drawers.

He put the decals up on the book shelves.

 

He hung up the curtains.

 

Also notice more decals on the left and the pretty
animal cushioned wall hangings above the windows.
The swing that's in the picture will come down to the living room
once BBB arrives.

Last, but not least, he unpacked the new lamp and gave the night stand a little homey [honeymoon] feel.

 

I should really get a close up of the lamp alone.
It's so cute...a lil monkey on the bottom.

After seeing all he had done, I got some motivation and decided to clean out the hallway closet.

It was already a "medicine closet" combined with hair products [unused obviously - have you met me? I'm less than low maintenance], finger nail polish [again...have you met me? Why do I have this stuff?!], and other random pieces of junk.

So...I cleaned it all up...pitched a lot of stuff that hadn't been touched in too long, and put all of BBB's bath and medicine type products in little totes.

 

 

BBB now has two little totes - one with his medicinal needs [cotton swabs, gas drops, first aid essentials] and the other with a few bottles and spoons that he won't need right away.

Also, I got a cute little flexible tote to put his bath products in - shampoo, lotions, etc.

 

It's safe to say I'm getting pretty darn excited.

Seeing his room 95% done and cleaned up [I also picked up all the garbage I had on the floor from opening things - I can be such a slob, especially when excited] makes me that much more excited for him to arrive.

Take your time, though, sweet baby...you still have some developing to do in there!

Every time I go upstairs I have to peek into his room and smile. It's so cute - it's so ready for him.

All we need now is the changing pad...

...and Dreft [which luckily I have a $3 off coupon for - stuff's expensive!!].

I need to wash up his clothes, bedding, and blankets and we'll be set!! :)

I'm hoping to get Dreft at Wal-Mart after our appointment next Friday...so then I can start the laundry.

Ok, so this shows how lazy I am...

...do I really need to sort out his clothes and wash the new colorful stuff by hand so it doesn't bleed?

Have they seriously not invented a solution for this color bleeding b.s. yet?!

I mean, c'mon. We can have an iPod, iPad, and now an iPad Mini...

...but we can't solve color bleeding in clothes?!

Priorities, people!!

 

Wow, I think I just sounded more motherly than gadget nerdy. That's a step up! ha!

 

I hope you have a good weekend.

I have two recipe posts I am working for in my drafts that should be up this week!! :)

Kick!

Wes was kicked by Baby Boy last night!!

I'm so glad he was finally able to join in the fun and feel his force.

He even punched...higher than I've ever felt him!

He loves daddy!!

♥

First Anniversary . . .

One year ago today, I married my best friend.

No one knew we were doing it except our parents.

It was a very hot day in Texarkana ... it was actually 104º by the time we got to the court house.

We changed into our wedding attire in their public restrooms which were very modest in size and lacking A/C vents (as my red face shows proof of).

After we finally got the to (outskirts of) Dallas, we freshened up in our beautifully air conditioned room and went exploring. ♥

I love this man. He annoys me so much (more since I'm pregnant) and knows all the buttons to push, but I wouldn't have it any other way. When it comes down to it, he is the best husband I could ever ask for. As soon as I need him, he drops his hyper antics and comes to my side. He is my soul mate. I've had the best year of my life with him and this next year will be even better as we welcome our first child into the world. I can't wait for all the years to come!

Tomorrow I will give a more visual weekend wrap-up!

We were productive!

I Love Time with Wes

Yesterday we had our 16 week appointment. It was short & sweet but was so reassuring to finally hear Baby Beck's heartbeat!! It went down from the last appointment, which is normal. Heartbeat is now 153 and I'd say baby is very active - doctor had to move the instrument around three times to be able to calculate the heartbeat. Baby wouldn't sit still!!

The rest of the afternoon was great...having fun with my husband. We walked around the Ped Mall, ate at The Vine, browsed the mall, checked out Stuff, Etc for the first time, and ended the trip with Walmart. Stuff, Etc is a consignment shop...a huge consignment shop!! I got about 8 or 9 shirts, capris, a skirt, 2 books & 2 CD's for about $40. The most expensive piece was a shirt for $3.50. Sweet!! Oh yeah, and we got a yellow onesie with a duck on it (that says "QUACK") for $0.50!! My skirt was $0.40!! Loooove that place.

We've been needing rain like crazy, so of course God gave it to us yesterday while Wes & I were roaming Iowa City. Not just rain, storms with massive winds. My amazing husband volunteered to go get our vehicle to pull around to pick me up...so I wouldn't have to walk through much rain. I love him. Not one complaint.

I'm ending this post with a picture of my fulfilled craving!!!!

Friday Letters . . .

This seemed like an appropriate picture for a Friday to sum up the week.

:)

I'm still in the blogging challenge but am choosing to skip today's topic prompt and just do Friday Letters (link up) instead.

Dear Wes,

I'm sorry for my increased irritability and how I can get severely irritated in 2 seconds flat. I'm blaming it all on pregnancy hormones.

Dear Weather,

Who asked you to visit us? Seriously, you suck! I've only lived in humidity, so I don't know what it'd be like without you. The only way I can describe Iowa weather/humidity is walking into a brick wall when you exit the safety of the indoors.

Dear Vince,

You crack me up. Your heightened concern and worry over me is adorable.

(Everytime he walks by me he asks if I'm ok and if he can help me get up.)

Dear Wes,

You are the most amazing husband. I could not ask for someone better.

Dear Baby Beck,

I'm bummed we don't get to see you today, but hopefully we'll at least be able to hear your heartbeat.

Since I don't really have much of a bump and can't feel you yet, I worry easily. I try to keep my mind off of it, though, knowing many people are praying for you and your health.

See ya in five months.

♥

Goooooodbye 1st Trimester . . .

SURPRISE!!

 There's a baby in me!!!!

Bright and early (because I couldn't sleep knowing there was a chance I was pregnant!) April 3rd I saw this beauty:

Eeeeeeeeeeeeee!! Wes was still sleeping (it was like 5am, after all) but there was no way I could wait. I had this frame I made for Wes' birthday in the bedroom, so I grabbed it and wrote out this:

I took it to Wes' bedside and forced him to open his eyes enough to look at it. He was very groggy and honestly probably only half awake, so his response, while happy, was a little goofy. Haha. When I came home from lunch he was fully awake, so we were able to talk and celebrate. We were so excited.

The first trimester (particularly weeks 9-12) were less than fun. I was nauseous all the time, especially after I would eat. The term morning sickness is so devious. It's not in the morning. Not just in the morning, anyway. It can and will be whenever it pleases. I often thought during those 4 weeks that if men got pregnant, morning sickness would definitely have a cure. C'mon, women...you agree, right?! They couldn't handle it! I was soooo tired all of the time. I didn't do dishes or laundry. I sat on the couch and watched TV...I haven't eaten healthy in over a month. Nothing sounds good and nothing tasted good during that month of morning sickness. 

I'm 13 weeks today - Hellllllllllllllllo 2nd trimester. I hate to put this in writing or voice it, but I kind of feel better. I, by no means, feel 100%, but I feel like I have a little more energy the last few days. After I eat I feel...less than awesome, but nothing like what I did the last few weeks. I hope this keeps up and I just keep getting more and more back to normal. The (will-be) nursery is a mess. Over the years the room has slowly turned into the storage room. There's a lot of random stuff, my stuff, everywhere. The closet (which will be perfect!) is a home to all my shoes, clothes that don't fit but "will someday", and old textbooks. The Gazelle lives in the room along with extra blankets, sheets, and just...randomness. Can't wait to get the room allll cleaned out so we have a clean slate - that'll be a feat!

Last Friday (06.01.12), we had our first ultrasound.

Meet Baby Beck!! Look at that nose & mouth!!

I can't wait to see future ultrasounds as baby grows!! As soon as the sonographer started the ultrasound, baby started doing somersaults. We saw a complete 180. Little booger wouldn't sit still!! It was crazy. I was just watching and then I looked down and was like "wait....that's...in me....?!" hahahaha

We couldn't hear the heartbeat, as they had literally changed their policies in the 4 weeks between our two appointments. Evidently, they found out that the technology/equipment used to hear the heartbeat causes so much heat that they find it unhealthy for the baby this early on in pregnancy. So, we'll have to wait a while to hear that miracle. The heart rate was 163, though.

Of course I googled that when I got home to find the prediction of girl ... but after talking to my friend Brooke, realize we'll just have to wait and see!! Brooke has an (almost) one year old son and his HR was in the high 150's and 160's for the first few ultrasounds they had...so there's no telling! I really don't have a preference - as long as baby is healthy, I'm happy!!!!

Obviously I need to get better at these "bump" pictures. I'll learn...I have a while to practice. Ha! It's not even a bump yet...it's just the same ol' chubby stomach I've had for over a year. Thought I might as well document it, though! :)

Baby:

• is as big as a peach (3 inches long).

• has fingerprints.

• weighs nearly an ounce.







Sunday via Pictures

After church today, we headed outta town to shoot some guns with friends. I was nervous going into it [and rightfully so], but the guys made it fun and tension free. No one cared that I couldn't shoot a gun...they all offered to help me and try their guns anyway. A bunch of great friends we have!

Steve [brother-in-law], Jarid [cousin], and Jeff.

Hubby taking aim.

Damage done.

Mike [brother-in-law] taking his turn.

Watch out! ;) ♥

Oh yes I did!
[That's kinda sexy, no?]

We had lots of choices.

Jarid means business!

People who know me woulda been disappointed
if I didn't stop for a self-portrait.

Steve trying out a diff gun.



Love this picture.
Wes, Jeff, Kyle [knealing], and Jarid.
I think that's Mike or Steve's foot...



After a couple hours of shooting bottles and targets, we headed over to see our nephews. I apologize right off for the bad and blurry photos. They were all taken via phone. Also, as many of you know, a 3 year old and almost 1 year old move quickly...so they create blurs!! 

Ian was telling all kinds of stories.
Including, but not limited to, his nightmares about pumpkin monsters.

Max was allll smiles [until he fell and bumped his head]!!

Look at that happy baby!!!! Precious! ♥

Well, now I'm going to eat a cupcake talk to my husband....

How was your weekend?
What did you do with this beautiful weather we got?!

I smile. . .

Day 23: MoonFittingly, this makes me smile!
via

As promised, I am starting up a new series for the blog. Friday's will be dedicated to "I smile. . ." which I stole from Courtney.☺

I smile. . .

...when Wes puts his arm around me when coming to bed late. [It even makes up for the fact that he steals my blanket!]

...when Princess jumps right up into my arms when I walk in the door at Grandma's.

...because my iPod Touch 4th Generation will be arriving Monday or Tuesday.

...at the rare occasions when I actually hit 40 hours in a week at work [yes, it's rough having banker's hours].

...every time I look at this awesome squirrel drawing at work. [My amazingly talented cousin, Jerome, drew it for me in 2009 and I finally bought a frame for it!]

...when I see other people post pictures [on FB] of their food. It makes me feel less weird for doing it myself.

What are your plans for the weekend?!

I am doing concessions at the Elementary Booster Club Carnival tomorrow after work and then my dad is BBQ-ing ribs for us Sunday.

What makes you smile?!

Spring is springing. . .

Spring is nearing full bloom!! The tulips aren't quite blooming, but their leaves are strutting their stuff. I think they'll be up any day. I'm a far cry from a gardener, but it excites me to see my tulips. Mostly because I don't have to do a single thing to them - they just show up. There are a few other random flowers that pop up, some pictured above. We have some poppy's that are gorgeous as well!

Today Lesa & I blew through 2.5 miles in 35 minutes (with several taunting hills). I'm sure that's not impressive to most, but every additional day that I actually get out and exercise is a victory for me! I was rather impressed that afterwards my lungs didn't even burn. After 5 minutes of laying on the couch, though, I learned that my body was not as advanced as my lungs. My body was screaming "Don't even try to get off this couch - it's not happening!" So I'm continuing to walk around the house...hoping if I keep moving I will loosen up and not wake up stiff.

My hubby loves him some mac & cheese, so I try to keep several boxes in the pantry at all times. Lately, though, he has decided that the name brand Kraft isn't good enough for him. He now needs Shells & Cheese. It makes me laugh because I always think of my dear friend Kenz. The first time she made me shells & cheese she refused to let me put the cheese sauce in. I mean, she was adament that I back away from the stove! Whoa Betsy!! Somebody is a little too attached to her shells & cheese! Hahaha! ♥ her!

Day 20: Before/After

I'm too whipped to figure out how to be all crafty and make these 2 pictures one before/after picture...so I'm keeping it at two. Every morning I have sugar free maple & brown sugar oatmeal and one piece of toast. It's become quite the morning ritual.

Day 21: Delicious
Nothing I ate today was particularly delicious [more on that in a minute], so I decided to picture an onion. Yes, just an onion. Lately I have developed an unhealthy obsession with sautéed onions. Plain. On a plate with a fork. Nothing else. Ok, salt and pepper. That's it, though! Soooo good! I use EVOO when sautéing them instead of butter, so that shouldn't be too bad for me, right?!

So yesterday after work I helped grade some paper for my sister [4th grade teacher]. Afterwards, my niece, Syd, asked if I would come have lunch with her at school today - it was spaghetti day. I love spaghetti and I'd never had school lunch with my nieces before, so I jumped on the request. Let me just tell you, never have our local school spaghetti. I'm not even really sure what was in it. I have some pretty vulgar analogies for it that I shared with Lesa during our walk today, but I'll spare you the details. Let's just say it was a pile of noodles and something ground up with them. Couldn't they just leave the "meat" out?! Ick! So, against my better judgement, I stopped and got some Totino's Pizza Chips to munch on at work and allowed myself a Diet Pepsi. I know I know...bad Jenna. When you have a horrible lunch, though, you deserve a treat to pick yourself back up!!

Coming soon:
I came across this blog today which totally inspired me! Not only do I love the way this chick writes, but she has some great ideas for blog themes. So, I'm stealing some of her ideas!! She has a weekly "I smile..." post where she lists reasons she/things that make her smile. I love it! Also, she does a "These are a few of my..." post where she lists favorite and not favorite things. I love it! I'm not sure what days I will be adding these in or how I'll incorporate them to make them my own, but I am def going to start em up! I just had to give her credit here first. I also commented on her post telling her I was stealing it! :)


What's blooming in your yard?
What shows are you into now?
I am rewatching Lipstick Jungle on Netflix and still love it. I wish it was longer than 20 episodes, though. Also, 90210 started up again and I assume Gossip Girl is too - so there's two shows I'll have to find a way to watch online!!



Walk & Weekend . . .

**I know you're supposed to  be meeting somebody in my life today, but...well, I'm slacking. Next Saturday, though, I'll make up for it. You will be meeting Princess.**

Sorry I didn't get around to posting yesterday! It was a busy day!
Before I get on with that, though, I want to say hi to my new followers! I'm excited to get more people following me. I don't have anything extraordinary going on in life to talk about, but between stories and pictures I hope to keep people laughing and coming back.

After work yesterday I was on my own for walking. I enjoy walking on my own because when I walk with Lesa I feel like I'm holding her back. She usually jobs before walking with me, so that just proves how much more in shape she is than me. The great thing about walking with her, though, is she pushes me. She gives me motivation to push through the pain.

So what was I going to do on my own? Well, I wanted to push through and go on our "long route" but soon into it I realized I wasn't going to be able to "power walk" the route...so I did about half and half. I wanted to make sure I was able to get through the route, regardless the speed.

The view of the first half of the route.
It will get prettier once it's green.

I look so great when I walk.
*sarcasm*

A cute little rest stop...
...that I didn't stop at!

The lovely corn field view.

See the stoplight at the top of the picture to the left? No? Me neither. At the very top, at the horizon, there is a stop light (at the end of the off-ramp). That stop light was my destination. It's a never-ending hill. I think I mentioned it earlier in the week. Well, since I hadn't power walked prior to the hill, it was easier for me to power walk up the hill.

Even though it wasn't as rough as the first time I braved the hill, it was still work. Once I got to the top, though, this is the view I got. It's not a great picture and doesn't capture the height and view, but it's the best I could get with my phone while walking.

The high school was the next view on my route.

The highway in front of the HS that I walked along.

Soon after this picture, mom txt me asking me to stop by Grandma's, so I took a detour. It was worth it. This is how I was rewarded:

Princess missed me and made me feel alllll better.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 17: GreenMy green bedroom walls and blanket.

I woke up this morning and Wes said I should stay in bed to sleep. I oddly had already slept in, so I decided to pick up my Nook and relax. There was such a refreshing breeze coming in our bedroom window (with the help of a fan), I didn't want to get up.

For lunch we had hamburgers on the George Foreman
and of course, per hubs request, Mac & Cheese.

We finally took up Vince on his offer to clean our bathtub and Wes got busy with dishes. Meanwhile I did some cleaning in the bathroom and put away laundry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh! I have a hilarious story from last night! I'm sure it won't come across as awesome here as it truly was, but I will attempt.

Let me preface this by saying that we have recently discovered a raccoon lives in our front yard tree - or rather in the "crotch" of the tree. We have a window right next to the tree from our living room, so we have seen the raccoon at night several times climbing up and down. We live in town on a highway, so it's kind of shocking that a raccoon chooses to stay right there, but we haven't seen it in the day time, so I feel pretty safe in saying it doesn't have rabies or anything. Regardless, ick!

So last night, or rather this morning, at 1am, I was sitting at the computer desk with Wes standing and looking over my shoulder. We have all the windows in the house open that weren't painted shut by the previous owners. (Can you believe how amazing it feels out...for March?!) So as we're looking at the computer screen we hear what can only be described as a down right cat fight. It was so loud and I could have sworn it was happening in the house. My first thought was RACCOON and I instinctively went straight from my chair up the four stairs and shut the door. My heart was beating so fast and I thought I ran, but Wes informed me later that I just stood up and calmly walked away. Inside, I ran! I'm not real sure, as I was panicked, but I think Wes exited the living room too. So after the noise stopped, I peaked through the door and asked, "What was that?!?!" Neither of us saw anything and therefore know for sure, but I can only assume the raccoon met with a wandering neighborhood cat or a cat fell out of the tree/in the well in front of our house.

I don't know how to describe it. "Well" is my best guess. It's a cement wall that reminds me of something you'd use to put plants in front of your house, though it goes across the whole front of our house. So one of my thoughts is that the call fell down there and freaked itself out. We'll never know. An hour later, when my heart rate returned to "normal", I laughed a lot about it. Turns out I hate raccoons and Wes hates cats. So either way, we were covered. I would have taken care of the cat, had it been in the house and Wes would have taken care of the raccoon (as I ran upstairs screaming). I think the fact that we've had a bat in the house a couple times really amplified both of our reactions. Once you have something wild and uncontrollable in your house, you have a completely different reaction and outlook on all things, shadows, and noises. If you haven't been lucky enough to have a bat in your house, just trust me.

I'm planning on getting an iPod Touch, so am doing research on them. Anyone have one that they'd like to give me a review on?

What did you do this weekend to enjoy the awesome weather?