The Popejoy's

Best BLT Ever!

2012-03-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

Seriously, I don't know why I didn't think of this!

I got this idea from Pinterest.

DUH! Cut bacon slices in half and weave together. Bake at 350 for about 25-28 minutes. I didn't think they were crispy enough for us so I popped them in the microwave for about 45 more seconds. Yum!

Dustin thought I was sooooo smart. Guess I didn't have to admit it was Pinterest :)

Is it really March?

2012-03-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

Not that I'm complaining about the 80+ days we've been having the last couple of weeks but its just crazy! This weekend we spent all of our time outside. We went for golf cart rides and Asher rode his 4-wheeler. On Sunday we were at Mom and Dad's and they pulled the cover back off of the pool to see what the water looked like - they were a little worried. To our surprise the water looked great!

March 18th - The last time we were in the pool it was October 8th. The weather has been crazy this year!

Asher was all about sticking his feet in the pool.

Yes, this is what I get when I ask him to smile.

He even asked if he could wear his trunks :)

He finally got to go on a ride on Papa's "new" golf cart.

I don't know if the golf cart really is smaller or if Dad is just a big guy. When they were coming at you Dad's knees stuck out the side of the cart :)

Workin With Papa

2012-03-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

Last Tuesday night when Dad came home from work Asher saw him pull the mower out of the garage. He immediately put his boots on and headed outside to help. After he kept yelling at me to not take pictures and go inside he finally gave up. I love this set - if you watch them Asher is always looking the same place as Dad. Too Cute.

Tid Bits

2012-03-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

It is March in Central Illinois and the weather has been in the high 70's & low 80's this week - CrAzY but I'll take it.
This means that I had to go through some more maternity clothes looking for tee shirts. I have 4 and 3 out of the 4 are so ugly I don't think I can bring myself to wear them. My arms have gotten HUGE and there is no way I'm wearing a little flutter sleeve top. So when Mom came over for lunch on Wednesday she stopped at Wal-Mart and picked me up a couple of tee shirts for a whopping $4.50 a piece. They are sooo soft and after I ruched the sides they fit great. I had been looking at something similar here but for $24.99 - Thank God for Wal-Mart and a sewing machine.
RJ wrecked on his 4-wheeler on Sunday pretty bad and Asher saw the whole thing. As RJ was riding Asher kept saying "RJ not being careful" - next thing we knew RJ went over the front and the thing ran him over. He was fine but has some road rash on his face and arms (yes, he was wearing a helmet) and now Asher doesn't wanna go near his 4-wheeler. Dustin finally got him on it last night but I think he's scarred for life.
Asher's Pre-School screening last week did not go well. It took him forever to get off of my lap and didn't want to play with the other kids. He also had no interest in showing them how smart he is - I was so disappointed. Once Mrs Cindy came over and started talking about RJ and Papa and Meme he warmed up and would do his colors and count for her. I was glad that she came over and knew just what to do to help him come out of his shell! So during our review they did reccomend pre-school this fall (he'll only be 3!) but because of him not being social they thought it would be good for him to go.
With all this nice weather I'm so anxious for May to get here so I can be home with the boys! I have a feeling we'll have many walks and days spent by the pool at Meme & Papa's. I'm still a little worried how I'm going to manage 2 but I'm sure I felt the same way when Asher arrived. I feel so much more comfortable with this one coming because I know what to expect - I just hope that Asher is able to adjust :)
Yes, I know my pictures are kind of messed up. This is the first time I tried posting pictures directly from my phone to the blog - might take me a while to get the hang of it.

Aunt TeeTee made Asher a sticker chart because he's been peeing in his pull-up at night. Mommy wasn't having any luck so our resident teacher made Asher the chart and gave him the stickers. We had to send her a picture the next morning when he got to add his first sticker to the chart!

Don't eat the soap - it tastes bad.

Wednesday at lunch Asher wanted steak. So we got him a ribeye sandwich and the child ate almost the whole steak - and a bottle of A1.

And at lunch the week before - we sent Daddy a picture of his new Monster Truck! (Thank God we got a haircut!)

My other boys - Boo is such a cuddle bug!

Crock Pot Balsamic Chicken

2012-03-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

I think this is by far my favorite recipe that I've made off of Pinterest - but then again that could be because Nana Jane was the one who threw it together! I thought it was awesome - Dustin wasn't too thrilled because he isn't a big fan of chicken.

You can find the recipe here.

I served it over spaghetti with garlic bread and it was yummy!

I Feel Better

2012-03-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

This week I've had a couple of people ask me about doing some pictures this spring. At first I wasn't sure how I felt. I'm getting pretty awkward these days with this big 'ole belly so I wasn't sure how to answer. Although the weather is looking AWESOME for this time of year the grass and trees are still looking pretty yucky. Last fall I had hoped to do a few sessions this spring before Brudder arrived. Now that I'm in full blown preggo mode things aren't as "easy" as I had thought they would be. After I turned someone down on Monday I talked to Dustin about it that night and he encouraged me to think about it some more and to try to come up with some kind of alternative since I can't really do the types of photos that I'm used to. So I thought about it that night and emailed the lady back the next day. We booked her daughter's senior session for next weekend! I'm so excited/nervous to get back behind my camera but I've really been missing photography.

So I booked one session and I'm in the process of setting dates for 3 more! I cannot wait to do some maternity pics of my friend Carlee. We're going to be quite a pair waddling around trying to do pictures! Then I'll have some more senior pictures with her brother Tanner and family pictures with my cousin Kristen!

Also, I just booked a maternity/family session with my friend Bri the end of April! I cannot wait to meet her in real life - I totally forgot we've never actually met in person :) I'm so glad to be excited about photography again and I can't wait until Brudder gets here so I can practice on him! These days Asher screams and runs from the camera so he really isn't willing to be a test subject! I just hope I haven't forgotten too much since last fall :)

A Few Pictures

2012-03-13T08:32:00.000-05:00

Somehow there are always a few pictures that don't really work their way into a post. Things have settled in around our house and there isn't much going on these days. I should be working on getting ready for this Lil Guy to come but I just don't seem to have the motivation yet!

For Valentine's Day The Sister got Asher a 45 piece farm animal set. Asher LOVED it but they are all over our house now. Thanks Taylor....

Evidently the waterline on my fridge leaked at some point so before my Uncle Bob could refinish my kitchen floors he had tear our about 1/3 of the flooring and replace it. Bummer. Dustin replaced all the waterlines on the back of the fridge so it won't happen again.

Of course Asher ran in his room to get his tools so he could help!

I entered my Dad in a hardest working hands contest. Yes, they usually look like that - pretty painful huh?

30 Weeks

2012-03-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

He is so stinkin cute

This is typical at our house!

But then again, so is this :)

I think Asher is going to be a great big brother!

30 Weeks with Asher

How far along?: 30 Weeks

How big is baby?: 3 lbs and 15.5 inches

Weight gain/loss?: Hovering right around 25 pounds.

Stretch marks?: Not that I can see but with the way my belly is growing it wouldn't surprise me!

Maternity clothes?: Yes! I just hate clothes in general. For some reason a lot of the clothes from when I was pregnant with Asher just don't fit. I hope it warms up soon because I do have a few capris and such in bigger sizes :(

Sleep?: Sleep? What is sleep? I usually make it until about 2:00 in my sleepytime tea induced sleep but then its like I'm in and out from there on. I roll around a lot. I pee a lot. My mind races a lot. I know this won't get any better...

Food cravings?: My cravings haven't been all that bad lately, still wanting sweets most of the time.

Gender?: Another Brudder!

Movement?: He's getting to be a big boy and I can tell! He seems to be in my ribs a lot which just kills me.

Belly button?: Out. Its gross. Josh saw it poking out through my shirt this week and was like "what the hell is that?"

I have a massage with Lynn tonight and I can't wait! My next appointment with Dr Austman is in 2 weeks. I can't believe the next time I go I'll already be 32 weeks! I am no closer to picking a date to evict my lil guy. It just doesn't seem right. I'm still really hoping he just comes in his own time. Right now I'm leaning towards putting his due date down as a c-section date. I don't think she'll have to hold me to it if he isn't here by then. My Mom keeps reminding me that RJ's graduation party is the 19th so I need to wait until after then! We'll just see what happens!

Dustin's cousin Jaime is due on March 27th and I can't wait to hear news of the newest lil Popejoy! I still cannot believe how fast this pregnancy has gone. Although on the other hand it has been a reallllly long 30 (28) weeks because this lil guy seriously wants to kill me. Headaches have been a little better so I'm crossing my fingers. With Asher I didn't have a single migraine the entire time I was pregnant but they started back up when he was about 3 weeks old.

11 Things

2012-03-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

Jessie tagged me in the 11 Random Things posts that I've seen on a lot of blogs lately. Since it took me a whole 2 days to finish this I'm behind and all of the people I would have tagged have pretty much participated. So I'm just going to give you 11 Random facts about me and answer her questions....k?

The Rules:

Post these rules
You must post 11 random things about yourself
Answer the questions set for you in the post you were tagged in
Create 11 new questions for your tagees to answer
Tag them on Twitter, Facebook or your blog

11 Random Facts about me...

I LOVE Dean Martin. Always have and always will.
I love spreadsheets. I'm super organized when it comes to money. The way I do our budget would pry confuse the heck out of you but it works for me. We have no less than 2 checking accounts and 9 savings accounts - I'm not kidding. I LOVE to set up automatic transfers and keep everything seperate and in its place.
One of the biggest things I deal with at work is keeping track of all the mobile homes in the County. I love it.
I didn't like The Sister until she turned 18. Then something magical happened and she became cool. Now she is my best friend.
If you saw me out in public you would pry think I was shy - I really only babble like this to my family and you guys.
I went to IAJHSC Leadership Camp in Jr High and it really did change my life!
I don't break rules. Hardly ever. I always like to be on the safe side. My husband however, will do things that drive me nuts like drive the wrong way through a parking lot. Makes me crazy.
During the summer in High School I worked at my Grandma's flower shop in the morning and my Dad's Body Shop in the afternoon. Talk about two totally different jobs - but I loved them both!
My Aunts/Uncles and older cousins call me Tessaroni.... isn't that terrible?
Atticus and Allistair were on my short list for Brudder but Dustin quickly veto'd both names. I for sure want something "different."
I don't think I've slept "soundly" since Asher was born. At first I was listening to him breathe next to me all night, then I was listening for his cry - and so on. Now I keep one ear open all night to hear him hollar that he has to go pee. I have a feeling this will last until he's at least 18...

My Answers to Jessie's questions:

1. What is your favorite fast food chain? Steak N Shake

2. Do you like to work-out? Absolutely not.

3. What kind of sports do you like to watch? I would rather stick needles in my eyes than watch sports.

4. Who is your favorite band/musical artist? DUH! Brantley Gilbert!

5. What's your favorite movie/why? I do not have a single move that is my favorite. BUT there are several movies that I'll drop what I'm doing and watch if they are on TV: Rio Bravo, Steel Magnolias, 8 Seconds, Pure Country, Overboard.... just to name a few.

6. What's your dream vacation? Sometime I would like to go overseas - you know, France, Italy. But if I ever do it won't be for a loooong time.

7. If you didn't live in where you live, where would you go? First of all, I would NEVER live anywhere else. I must live within a 2 block radius of my parents. BUT if I was single and had no kids I would pry move to some flat state like Oklahoma, Nebraska or Montanta - somewhere with cowboys....

8. How many kids, if any, would you have? Although I still think I might want 3 someday Dustin says we're done so I'll be happy with my 2 boys.

9. Is there a celebrity that gets on your nerves? Why? The people from Jersey Shore? I've never watched it but previews on TV are enough for me.

10. Whose blog do you stalk religiously? Why? Ummmm it might be easier to tell you whos blog I do not stalk! A couple of favorites though are Katie and Leah.

11. Do you have a suggestion on a blog? Why? Just look at the blogs on my sidebar for some of my favorites - of course there are more that I read but I just can't fit them all!

The Ode to Glo

2012-03-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

Mom and Dad finished their basement just in time for Kristi's party last Saturday. We are calling the basement the "Ode to Glo" because Dad was finally able to use a lot of Grandma's stuff that he had kept. Here is the process!

Some of the block wall had to come down to make doorways wider.

Room at the bottom of the steps before.

And After! Dad will eventually put the rest of his Coke stuff in this room - including a vintage Coke cooler that holds 1000+ cans. Its a monster.

The main room. This was done once in the early 70's I believe. The paneling and nasty floor tiles had to go.

After! We have another place to hang out :)

View from back room before...

And After!

Dad re-used the bar that was there but recovered the front with doors from Glo's pantry. The cabinets in the bar area were from the pass through in Glo's dining room.

The Spandrel is something Grandma saved out of the old funeral home in Fairbury before they tore it down to build one of the apartments. It was in Grandma Jane's flower shop before it came here.

When you are sitting on the couch it is just like sitting in Glo's living room. Dad took apart her book case piece by piece and saved it so it could someday be moved downstairs. And it looks great! He stuck her TV back in there and put a lot of her things back on the shelves.

Behind the bar.

Back room before.

And after! They put their old dining room table in chairs in there for overflow seating. Eventually Dad's old glass bakers cases will go in there filled with all the old crap he's collected over the years :)And just cuz its cute - Asher and Papa's boots

Aunt Kristi's Birthday Bash

2012-03-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

On Saturday night we had a party to celebrate my Aunt Kristi's 50th Birthday! Saturday also happened to be her and Uncle Bob's 34th Anniversary. Yes, if you did the math they have been married since she was 16! I can't imagine a 16 year old making it that long today so I give them LOTS of credit!

The Brucker kids played with the little kids all night and they had a blast! Asher especially loved the fort under the old dining room table!

Somehow this is the only picture I got of the "party." There were SO many people upstairs I tried to stay in the basement as much as possible :)

Asher playing pinball with Keegan and Cullen.

Buds

My Aunt Denise, The Birthday Girl and Mom

And with Grandma Jane

Happy Anniversary Bob & Kristi!

I Passed

2012-03-06T07:00:00.000-06:00

Dr Austman's office called yesterday afternoon to let me know that I passed my 3 Hour Glucose test! I felt pretty good about it when I left the hospital on Friday after the nurse told me that they had been having a lot of people fail the 1 hour test but pass the 3 hour.

Just to be safe after I got the call on Thursday that I had failed the first test I ran next door to Pfaff's Bakery and got a cinnamon roll - you know, just in case I couldn't have another one!

Mmmmmm

So Friday morning I sat at the hospital for over 4 hours. It never fails - I sit in the corner away form everyone else but I always end up with a chatty or somewhat stinky person next to me. This happened multiple times over the 4 hours. Can't people tell I'm reading and I don't really wanna talk?

After they called to tell me I passed my boss said we would have donuts to celebrate this morning :)

Family Time

2012-03-05T07:00:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday we headed over to Dustin's Mom's house for pizza. It wasn't long before Charlee found a dress up outfit. Asher wasn't going to let her get undressed without getting in on the fun. Shouldn't surprise me cuz this kid never wears clothes at home.

I just love his lil butt in Thomas underwears!

Then on Wednesday night we went to Dustin's Dad and Sue's for dinner. They gave the kids their prizes from their vacation to Mexico. Charlee LOVED her lil dress!

Hiding in Grandma and Grandpa's shower.

And hanging out in the jacuzzi. These two are so much fun to watch together. For the most part they play really good.

Tid Bits

2012-03-02T07:00:00.000-06:00

Thank God its Friday again. I'm ready for the weekend and some time with my Bubby.

This seemed like a really slow week. Monday night for dinner I made Crock Pot Rotisserie Chicken and it was awesome - Dustin even ate it! My Uncle Bob came and did the Mr Sandless treatment to my kitchen floors and they look awesome.
Tuesday night it was family dinner night at Mom and Dad's. Mom made beef stew and Grandma Jane made goulash. They were both awesome.
Wednesday night we went to Ray and Sue's for dinner. Asher and Charlee got to play and hang out and run around like crazies - I don't know how Sue does it watching them both on Fridays!
On Wednesday I also made the appointment for Asher's preschool screening next week. I didn't cry on the phone but I did cry the night before when I told Dustin I had to call to make the appointment. It just doesn't seem possible. I do have a feeling he'll clam up when we get there so I'm interested to see how it goes.
Yesterday I found out I failed my glucose test. I texted Jodi to tell her and she called me right back to tell me that she had just found out she failed hers too. So I'm off to the hospital this morning to take the 3 hour test. Thank God for my Kindle!
Tomorrow night is the big party for my Aunt Kristi's birthday. Mom and Dad have been in a mad rush to get their basement finished in time for the party (pictures to come).

At the Home Show in Forrest last weekend. I had to wake Asher up from a nap to go and he wasn't happy - Can you tell?

Last Sunday I had a little bout with some vomiting and felt like crap so Mom and Dad offered to take Asher to spend the night at their house. Asher was all about it and was excited to go. Then Taylor texted me this photobooth picture of him so I called over there. When I talked to him on the phone he told me he wanted to come home - which made me very happy because I missed him. So I made Taylor bring him back home. He was only there for an hour but had fun playing and eating ice cream. He is scared to death of this picture!

Getting Bigger!

2012-03-01T08:09:00.000-06:00

We had dinner at Ray and Sue's last night so I wanted to make sure I brought my camera. It had been 10 weeks since Jodi and I had taken our picture together!

28 Weeks

18 Weeks

As you can see my fat face has really set in over the last several weeks. And I must say that my belly seems huge compared to Jodi's in person. But then again - everyone is huge compared to Jodi! I really do love being pregnant with her because we always have someone to talk to that understand what we're going through. I guess now we'll just have to wait and see how close these boys are going to be!

February Favorites

2012-02-29T07:00:00.000-06:00

February Favorites!

I know I've told you before that Asher LOVES Thomas Rhett, well so does his Mommy and The Sister! We saw him open for Brantley in November and he was awesome. His first single came out this month and although I like the acoustic version much better I was so excited it hear this on the radio yesterday. I bought his CD a few weeks ago and it is one of Asher's favorites. He calls this song "stick it in your pockets." He's so dang cute.

Sleepytime Herbal Tea

A big Thank You to Mel Brucker for telling me about the Sleepytime Tea K-Cups! I do not like tea but decided to try this since I've been having trouble sleeping. It doesn't taste all that bad (like spearmint) and I think it really helps!

Wen Cleansing Conditioner

I haven't used "shampoo" for several days now. That seems weird. While I was home sick I saw this stuff on QVC and they totally convinced me to try it. It isn't traditional shampoo and is a little hard to get used to but so far I love it. It has been great for Asher's hair as well!

28 Week Dr Appointment

2012-02-27T19:06:00.001-06:00

Weight Gain This Month: 3 lbs

Total so Far: 24 lbs

Belly Measurement: 29-30 cm

Brudder's Heart Rate: 130's

Last Friday Dr Austman called to check on me. After our conversation she pry wished she wouldn't have even called! I've said several times over the last few months that I think this child is trying to kill me. I've had more health issues since I've been pregnant than I think I've ever had in my life. He is either going to come out an angel for all that he's put me through or be a complete hellion!

I decided last week to give up on all medications (for my migraines) and just suck it up. This poor baby has been through enough medications while I've been pregnant. I give up. The migraines have been worse - 3 last week. Then I had some double vision last weekend that literally had me on the floor begging Asher to go find a phone - I was totally freaked out. Add that to the "flu-like" symptoms I had this past weekend along with a nice eye infection and I'm doing just great.

I also had my glucose screening yesterday - yum! Dr Austman also told me that we need to pick a date by the end of April for a C-Section that is within a week of my due date either way. This is just a date that says if I hadn't had him naturally by then that we'll take him. I will not be induced so she wants to have a date nailed down in case Brudder decides he doesn't wanna come out. She is going on vacation the end of May so I need to have this lil bugger before then! She also confirmed that they did not see the band in my 20 week ultrasound! So happy that the band issue is completely behind us. I go back in 4 weeks then we are down to every 2 weeks! Time is flying by!

28 Weeks

2012-02-27T07:00:00.000-06:00

Yes, I know these are terrible pictures. But I was in a hurry this morning and Asher was throwing a fit about my belly being out again.

28 Weeks with Asher

How far along?: 28 Weeks

How big is baby?: 2 and 1/4 lbs and 14.8 inches long!

Weight gain/loss?: Right around 20 pounds - but I find out today how much I've gained in the last 4 weeks because I have my 28 week appointment and glucose test! At least this time I'm pretty sure I didn't gain the 9 pounds that I did last month :)

Stretch marks?: Not that I can see but with the way my belly is growing it wouldn't surprise me!

Maternity clothes?: Yes! But a lot of them are getting too small! I hate to buy new ones but when I purchased most of my maternity clothes (I hit the clearance racks all year) I was about 30 pounds lighter and NOT pregnant. Evidently I thought I would stay that small....

Sleep?: Decent. Asher peed the bed 2 times a couple of weeks ago so I made him go back to pull-ups until he's been dry for one week. He's done awesome but that also means that he gets up once a night to go potty. That would be because this Mommy just can't tell him no when he wants "Just a widdle sip of water. I's thiiiirsty!"

Food cravings?: Nothing I can really think of right now. My cravings haven't been all that bad lately - hence me thinking I haven't gained as much weight.

Gender?: Another Brudder!

Movement?: Oh yes. Sometimes I just sit there and rub whatever part is sticking out and beg him to please move so he isn't killing me.

Belly button?: Out. Can't believe how early it happened this time - and its looking a little indecent.

Tid Bits

2012-02-24T09:04:00.001-06:00

This has kind of been a weird week. Have you noticed my lack of posting?

I had Monday off - 2 Mondays in a row and it was great! Asher and I hung out all day and cleaned and did laundry. Then we made dinner and I actually had my parents over for a change.
Tuesday we had the funeral for my Great Uncle. This came the day after they buried his Grandson after a tragic car accident - what a hard week for Glo's side of the family. Weird thing is - Nikki, the girl I work with, its her Great Uncle too. My Grandma's Sister is/was married to her Grandpa's brother. How random.
Tuesday night was family dinner night. Mom made Marlboro Man Sandwiches which are soooo yummy.
My Mom, Grandma Jane and Great Aunt Annie bring Asher to Pontiac to have lunch with me every Wednesday. Its my favorite day of the week!
Wednesday Dustin left for work at 6:45 and didn't get home until 9:15. He works extra hard when his Dad is gone on vacation.
Yesterday I dropped Asher off at the sitter, dropped Boo off at Mom and Dads - then realized that there was no possible way I could wear the pants I had on all day. They were just too tight on my belly. So I went back home and changed. I wore jeans and it was only Thursday. Again - whoops.
Last weekend I made skinny jeans out of a really ugly old pair of maternity jeans. I used this tutorial and they literally took me 10 minutes. And they didn't even fall apart when I washed them!
I got my blog books in the mail. I had to break them down into 2 installments because they have a maximum picture load of 1500. Wow. I love getting these in the mail.
Tomorrow my Uncle Bob is coming to do my wood floors in the kitchen. I'm so excited. Dustin is working the Home Show in Forrest so Asher and I will head over there and have a look around.

I took one measly picture this week. This is last Thursday when Asher and I headed to Gibson City with Mom and Grandma Jane to meet Miss Mel and the kids for dinner at The Bayern Stube. I hadn't been there since Mom's birthday in November and I was due for some red cabbage! Asher ate a ton of my steak and some cabbage too. He loves that place - especially looking at all of the "animals." I told Gunther as we were leaving I would make sure that I'm in the hospital with Brudder on a Thursday because thats the only day they serve lunch. When I had Asher Mom went and got me some Hungarian Goulash Soup and it was AWESOME.

Mr Sandless!

2012-02-22T08:15:00.000-06:00

My cousins Ryan & Milissa recently started a new business with Mr. Sandless! The wood floors in my entryway had seen better days with all of the wet boots and traffic that goes through there so I wanted to be one of their first customers. My Uncle Bob came yesterday and did them and they look great! He was done in just a couple of hours and we could walk on them an hour later! Good thing too because thats the only way into our house. The pictures don't do it justice but they look great - makes me wonder why we didn't do something like this sooner :)

Years of wear and tear and being the first thing that wet/muddy boots hit made our entryway pretty rough.

Before - it doesn't look all that bad, but trust me. It was.

After!

And just so you can see the difference here is a before and after shot right next to my stairs. Pretty amazing that this was done in just a couple of hours! My kitchen is next :)

Tid Bits

2012-02-17T07:00:00.000-06:00

Thoughts and happenings this ~~week~~.... Make that 2 weeks since I didn't post last Friday

Jessie made my day last Tuesday when she emailed me and asked me if I wanted the pre-sale code for the Brantley Concert in April! Ummm is that even a question worth asking?!?! I've been counting down all week until the tickets went on sale.
**UPDATE** I was sicker than a dog last week and totally missed buying Brantley tickets. I was so sick I didn't even care. Kind of bummed now though.
Acid reflux is here - hopefully not to stay. This past week it has been killing me and I never had it with Asher. All along I've said that there is NOTHING the same about this pregnancy compared to Asher's.
I've hardly used my camera lately. When I do I just pick it up and shoot in auto mode. I'm hoping to work on this in the coming weeks. I wanna brush up on some skills before little man arrives.
I also want to try to teach The Sister some basics. I'm still hoping for a VBAC and I really want a birth photographer but I can't see having someone on call (or that I want in the room) so I'm hoping she can do this for me. She always wanted to be in the room with Asher so I'm giving her a job!

On the way up to Wisconsin Mom and I played around with PhotoBooth on Dad's IPad. I'm sure my Aunt Kristi and Cousin Milissa got a kick out of us sending it to them. Give me a couple more months and my face really will look like this. I about peed my pants I was laughing so hard - but then again - it doesn't take much these days.

Asher riding his scooter to the car. In the snow. In shorts and cowboy boots.

Thats how we roll.

Sending our cousin Kate a text with a thumbs up. Her and the PC girls cheerleading squad won State!

My view last Wednesday of all the monitors hooked to my belly.

My Mom's view as I was saying "WTF?" when she was taking this picture. I thought for sure it would be on FB.

And one just for fun . As I was going through the old pictures on my phone I came across this one. These are my cousins Heidi and Milissa in Vegas for my 21st Birthday circa 2007. This was after the Thunder From Down Under and Coyote Ugly - and that is a bathroom counter. Hehe.

Wordless Wednesday

2012-02-15T07:00:00.000-06:00

Maternity Shirt Re-Do's

2012-02-14T12:31:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I was so over my maternity clothes. I decided to take a couple of those shirts I had from Asher that I never wore and try to make them just a little bit cuter... if it was possible.

I started with one of the ugliest ones I had. That way if I totally ruined it I could throw it away.

Just not flattering!

After seeing this tutorial on Pinterest I found out that ruching the side seams is actually much easier than I what I did on the swim suit.

I measured about 4 inches down from the arm hole and about 2 inches up from the bottom hem. The I measured the space in between divided it in half and added about 1.5 inches. Got all that? I then cut a piece of elastic that length and pinned it the 2 inches from the bottom and 4 from the top.

I then secured the elastic right on top of the seam where the top pin was (making sure to back stitch). Then just stretch the elastic to come down and meet the other pin and sew. It will look pull itself together and you're done!

I also like a more banded bottom so I cut a small slit in the inside hem of the shirt. I measured a piece of elastic around my waist and fed it through with a safety pin. Make sure to pin the other end to the shirt so it doesn't pull through! Then I just sewed the elastic ends together really good and sewed up the hold I cut in the shirt.

Still not exactly cute but its bettter!

Asher thought I was pretty. Thats all that matters anyway! And this took about 20 minutes.

So I grabbed 2 more shirts I paid about $3.00 each for and I had never worn.

And did the same thing!

26 Weeks

2012-02-13T13:21:00.000-06:00

How cute is he?

I told him I was gonna take pictures and he yelled back "wait for me!"

26 Weeks with Asher

How far along?: 26 Weeks

How big is baby?: A pound and 2/3 and measures 14 inches long

Weight gain/loss?: 18 pounds. Lost a few when I was sick.

Stretch marks?: Not that I can see.

Maternity clothes?: Yes! I ordered a few new things that have been coming in the last week. Thank God because I'm getting down to a very small section of my closet that actually fits.

Sleep?: Well normally its pretty good. But while I was sick I don't think I slept more than 30 minutes at a time. It was awful!

Food cravings?: I didn't eat for like 3 days last week. The thought of food made me sick. But I have been craving and drinking a lot of Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade Kool-Aid. Yeah, not the best thing to drink but its yummy! Mom had some at her house to mix with Blue UV but since I can't add vodka to mine I started just drinking the Kool-Aid and every time I left her house I'd swiped a pack. Saturday I finally broke down and bought my own.

Gender?: Another Brudder!

Movement?: There was a party in my belly this week. I can sure tell he's 14 inches now!

Belly button?: Out. Can't believe how early it happened this time!

Deja Vu

2012-02-12T10:37:00.000-06:00

About 3:00 Wednesday morning I woke up with a migraine and the worst lower back pain ever. I didn't know what the deal was but I just laid there for the longest time because the thought of getting up was making it worse. Finally about 45 minutes later I got up and took one of the Tylenol 3's that Dr A gave me for migraines. I laid back down for a little while and couldn't stand the back pain anymore. So at 4 am I was up and running water to take a bath. That was the only thing that seemed to help. It was when I was up and walking around that I noticed how crampy my lower belly was. I soaked in the tub for about 15 minutes and just when I was getting out Asher started yelling from across the hall that he peed the bed. Great.

So I took the sheets off and everything off his bed, wiped him down and put him in bed with Dustin. I went downstairs and put everything in the washer and laid on the couch. Asher came down a little later and told me to come upstairs. So I laid down with the boys and not 15 minutes later I was running for the bathroom because I was so nauseous. What a WONDERFUL morning! I called my boss because I knew there was no way I was going to work and Mom came and picked Asher up. I called the Dr office when they opened to talk to Dr Austman but after an hour of her not calling me back (told you I was in pain) I called again and told them just to make me an appointment and I'd come to Gibson. Of course I couldn't get in until 2:30 but thankfully Mom and Asher were with me.

At first I thought maybe I had a bad UTI. Of course in the back of my mind I had looked up preterm labor and I had several of those "symptoms" too. So she said my urine came back fine and was concerned it might be preterm labor. So she did a test in the office that would check for something that would be present if I was actually in labor and sent me to the OB at the hospital across the street. At this point I was starting to freak out. She asked me if the cramps I was feeling were contractions but I never went into labor with Asher so I wasn't real sure.

When we got up to OB the nurse was waiting in the hall - just like they were the night I had Asher. It was like deja vu. So they got me in a room and all hooked up. They gave me something in an IV and took the sample I brought in to send it to the lab. Then they sent someone in to do an ultrasound to check the length of my cervix. Brudder was hooked up to a monitor and they checked me for contractions. Dustin got there about an hour afterward and then Dad came to pick Asher up because he isn't good a sitting for a long period of time! After about 3 hours in the hospital Dr Austman came over and said that everything came back good and she wasn't real sure why I was having the pain. The nurses tried telling me maybe I slept on it wrong and I seriously wanted to hit them. I was in TERRIBLE pain - this wasn't from sleeping on my back wrong. So they gave me soemthing for the pain and we went home.

And then I laid in bed for 2 more days and moaned, and vomited, and had chills and then sweats and a fever. It was awful. Thursday morning I thought I had the flu but the vomiting only lasted half a day. I talked to Dr Austman again on Friday and she said that it could either be a raging bladder infection that somehow didn't show up on my test along with severe constipation. Fun stuff! She went ahead and sent me in a script for an antibiotic and a new medicine for my head. After about 3 doses of antiobotic I was starting to feel much better.

I also went to the chiropractor twice in those couple of days in case I was out of line. And I was but just a little bit. So I'm still not sure what was going on but I really thought I was dying. Feeling better today, just tired. Being sick sucks but being pregnant and sick is 10 times worse.