The T Bot 630

Yay! Trent's costume turned out great. It won't win any awards, but he was happy and loved it, and that's all that matters to this mama. 

We had a great evening. We 'trunk or treated' at my mother-in-law's church. There were about 10 cars, which is perfect for a 3 year-old.

T Bot 630 {630 for his birthday}

All 4 of us. Love.

His costume only lasted about 5 minutes, but he still got lots of candy!

We finished out the night with a trip to Phil's Ice House for burgers, sweet potato fries, ice cream and playing!

Hope everyone had a happy Halloween!

Randoms

• Do you remember the episode of Friends right after Monica and Chandler got married where she opened all the presents and he kissed another bride because he thought he lost all the pictures? And they agreed to not get mad and did a high 5?  Sometimes I feel like that's B and me. We negotiate a lot, but I think it works for us.

Negotiation Gurley-style - 

{B had literally just teased me about how much work I had to do to get the house ready for our cleaning lady.  I think I won this negotiation.}

• Got this in the mail yesterday. Trumpette socks (on sale on Zulilly, score!) for Baby Gurl and 2 books on natural child birth.  Such a great day at the mailbox. It's the little things sometimes!

• 32 weeks tomorrow! Appt on Friday, so I'll do an update then. Yippee!

• Twas the night before Halloween and this mama is still working on a costume for a certain little boy. I wanted him to be a bag of garbage since he loves trash trucks. But we read a story where the little boy was a robot. So T wants to be a robot.

In progress robot...hopefully finished tomorrow...you know...Halloween.

• I have been harping on B because we are terrible people and do not have life insurance or a will. EEK! I think he's pretty sick of my nagging, but we're close to getting both completed. Let's just hope we don't need them for...oh...60 years. It sucks thinking about it!

• Went to body pump today for the first time in weeks. Ouch. I LOVE this instructor. BUT...she asked about my due date and when I said 'the day after Christmas', I got the 'poor December babies'. Ugh. I hate that comment.

• So excited to trick or treat tomorrow!!!

Sleepy Head

We had good moments and bad this weekend...like every family every weekend. Naps and bedtime are especially hard for our little guy largely due to him running on 'high' all the time. {As I write this, I can hear him playing in his room when I put him to bed about an hour ago.} At one point on Saturday when I went into his room for the 5th time because he was being so loud, I found him naked with everything pulled out of his dresser. Good times.

Where he finally fell asleep. Don't you just want to snuggle with him?

Because it can take him an extremely long time to fall asleep, we are forced sometimes to wake him up otherwise bedtime is even worse. Saturday he just didn't want to wake up and came into the living room to snuggle.

He hasn't slept in my lap since he was a baby.  Both my babies are snuggling here.  This mommy almost died.

My un-snuggle bug snuggling!

Therapy Update - 2 Months

Trent has been going to occupational and speech therapy now for almost 2 months. *If you want to know more about our journey to therapy, click here.* I feel like this is a long-term journey we'll be taking with lots of peaks and valleys. 2 weeks ago I was feeling very frustrated but after a good discussion with Ms. Maggie {and maybe some tears shed by this mama}, I am feeling good again!

First, I think Trent is working with a great group of ladies. He likes them all and will tell me stories about them after his sessions. We call this place his 'special school' (maybe it's just me but I feel like therapy can have a bad connotation as he gets older, so I want to keep it positive), and he is always ready to go there. So that in itself is a huge blessing to me!

Speech - Trent sees Ms. Jamie and Ms. Julie. Ms. Julie admitted his 's' is going to be hard to tame, but she knows we'll get there. We are constantly reminding him to put his tongue in his mouth (but never making a big deal out of it). They work in his sessions a lot on looking at his mouth in the mirror and swallowing with a straw to focus on keeping his tongue behind his teeth. Speech is also where we tackle his food aversions. So far we have made progress with apples. Meaning he will eat them at home. He has also tried grapes and carrots but so far won't eat them at home. Both his therapists are impressed with how easy it is to get him to eat the food for them...too bad it isn't easy for me!  Ha!  We try peas on Friday...he used to eat those when he was much younger, so that would be a great one {I hope} to add!

OT - Trent sees Ms. Maggie and Ms. April.  OT is where more of the stress comes into play for me. We had a run of 'bad' reports from school. Lots of hitting friends. Biting Miles. Tantrums. Scratching/biting/hitting me. His therapists have identified some other areas that T needs help with (his core strength, some hand coordination). I told Ms. Maggie I wanted to stop really focusing on those things right now because it seemed like the outbursts were not really getting any better. She printed me an article called 'How Does Your Engine Run' and it was all about a person's arousal state (how you operated each day - feeling high, normal or low). Reading this article was like a light bulb going off for me.  Trent is a CLASSIC 'high'.  He wakes up energized, easily gets out of control/distracted, described as 'hyper', can have trouble with friends, very hard to go to sleep.  BINGO! Bullseye! He gets overstimulated very easily and can't process how to get himself back to normal which is why we have so many outbursts. Kristen also reminded me (having nannied for 2 children with similar needs) this isn't about discipline. He has a sensory need! Seems to simple when you say it like that. Maggie and April are putting together a sensory diet (specific activities/exercises we'll go through daily with Trent), and we've also discussed getting a weighted blanket to help him settle at night and 'chewlry' for him to chew on instead of chewing on me! It's all very preliminary and in the early stages, but I'm so excited!!

So there you have it.  It's been an interesting couple of months. I do admit that sometimes I feel down about all this. It isn't easy to hear about a 'bad' day at school. I hate that times are a little harder for him right now. I do lose my patience with him more than I'd like even though I know he can't help a lot of what his body is doing which I am really working on. But I get a nice reality check when I see other children come into the therapy center with visible problems. It hits home that my son is smart, funny, kind, loving, adventurous, and overall ADORABLE. I'm so thankful that we've been able to identify some {really in the scheme of things} minor issues that can be resolved with a little hard work from us all.  I know in the long run he will be amazing...because he already is!

Pregnancy Pet Peeves

I did a great post today {if I do say so myself} about pregnancy pet peeves over at AMB.  Go check it out and let me know what you think!

Weekend Ramblings

Brent was gone this weekend on a fishing trip. He really pulled a fast one on me with this trip.  He won it this summer in a golf tournament. I have a good {like whoa good} golfer of a husband, and he plays competitively throughout the summer. Normally, he brings home dolla dolla bills y'all.  This time? A fishing trip. So you got to spend the day away golfing and you won a weekend away. Not fair. I managed to still have a great weekend.

Friday we had a great dinner for Aunty K Dub's birthday. Trent was SO good the whole time.  Miracle.

This little stinker kept me company on a Starbucks and taco run. We had breakfast with Babs, Pops and Uncle Bruce. And of course, Blanket came along too!

We went to the pumpkin patch. Best picture we could get.

Did you see my great post at AMB about this place?

Face painting and cheesy smiles anyone?

My MIL just HAD to have T for a few hours on Saturday evening.  Oh, geez, twist my arm to let her have him so I could hang out with a friend for an evening.

Sunday morning Pops took T on an adventure (I think people are starting to feel sorry for me.  I'm not complaining.), so I got to go to church with just my mom.  AMAZING homily.

Brent surprised us by coming home earlier than I expected, so this mama hightailed it to the nail salon for a deluxe pedicure.

Dinner of Schlotzsky's wrapped up our weekend.

Baby Gurl Bumpdate - 30 Weeks

30 weeks = 75% of the way through! Very exciting stuff. This week I had my first appointment with the new OB. I met with the midwife, Liane.  She was so sweet, and I had a great appointment. Blood pressure was good, urine test was good, fundal height was good, heartbeat of Baby Gurl was good... I also was able to talk with her a lot about the way I want my delivery to go. We were together about 15 minutes, and she didn't make me feel rushed at all. Such a nice change from my old OB. I feel such peace about my switch.

30 weeks

Weight Gain: 23 pounds

Maternity Clothes: Silly question at this point. We'll just say 'yes' and move on.

Movement: Still a ton. She was head down at my appointment this week which makes sense because I feel more movement up high.

Sleep: Starting to not be great but still pretty good. Peeing more often in the night. I found an amazing position to sleep in early on in this pregnancy and it's still working. I hope it keeps working because it keeps my hips from aching which was my big complaint with Trent (and one the pregnancy pillow didn't help with).

What I Miss: Getting up easily, not tiring so easily...just normal ease of motion. Oh, and wine. Vegas was tough not being able to drink!

Cravings: I don't want anything healthy anymore. My willpower is probably going to cave soon, but I'm trying to hold out until after Thanksgiving. I figure once I'm 36 or so weeks, it can't really matter much anymore, right? Ha.

Symptoms: Nothing unusual at this point. Just basic aches and pains. Still no swelling for which I am so thankful. Remember this? That was at roughly 28 weeks. Hoping to keep that from ever happening again!

Best Moment of the Week: My appointment was pretty high up there for a great moment. And always hearing Baby Gurl's heartbeat is a huge plus! 

Worst Moment of the Week: On Thursday I had a meeting in Odessa. I was able to fly there, but there were no return flights or available hotels. So a co-worker and I DROVE back. All 350 miles which was almost 6 hours. I was uncomfortable a lot that day!

Other Random Stuff: My MIL has mostly painted the nursery! Brent made a comment and might like a different color for the bottom. Men. He finally has an opinion, and it's the opposite of what we have. But he might be right...

I finally think my bump is evening out.

And I think my face looks way less swollen to me!!!

Real Life - How Our Anniversary Went Down (A Timeline)

• Trent woke us up about 7:30. I should have gotten up an hour before this, but the time change back from Vegas was not allowing it. 
• Got T set up watching a video {Shaun the Sheep}, got him some breakfast {gluten free pretzels and apple/carrot/water juice...mom of the year} and got in the shower. Brent still in bed because he came to bed at 2:00 AM. Force him to kiss me for our anniversary.
• Rush, rush, rush. Out the door at 8:50. Happy anniversary!  Love you. Smooch, smooch {air kisses}. 
• Many hours later, realize I did not give Trent a drink in his lunch.  Hope his teachers gave him some water.
• Work. 
• Argue with B over paint. Pregnancy hormones almost unglue me. Barely hold it together; luckily he offers a good solution.
• Head to a client meeting WAY across town.  Rain starts.
• Nana begins painting the nursery!
• Leave meeting at 5:00. Make it home at 6:50. Fear I will run out of gas on the way home.
• Play. T refuses to eat dinner. I eat it. No clue what B eats {Ruffles and Ranch dip maybe?}. No bath for T because he's spending the day with Nana.
• Bedtime by 8:30. Battle ensues until 10:00 to get him to stay in bed. Mom and Dad victorious although room looks like said battle zone. {Therapy update soon because we have identified some HUGE things, and I'm feeling very optimistic!}
• Work. Blog. Read. B watches TV.
• Bedtime.

And that, my friends, is how a real anniversary looks. {grin}

EIGHT

As I reflect on the past 8 years of my life, there have been lots of ups and downs.  Lots of changes.  Lots of surprises, disappointments, new beginnings, happiness, unexpecteds.  One things has remained constant.

My love for this man.

{Celebrating our first anniversary}

Happy anniversary to my best friend.

The Little Things

Happiness is...

Leaving for Vegas in a little over 12 hours!

A 4-day weekend!

Cadbury 'screme' eggs!

An open house at the fire station!

2 new {to me} books on the Kindle!

Rain! And amazing weather!

Trent not fighting bedtime for 2 hours tonight {b/c Mama was about to lose her sh!t}!

5 days until our anniversary!

Who Knew 'Independent Play' Was a 4-Letter Word?

One of my issues when I had post-partum anxiety after Trent was born, was that I felt like I wasn't doing enough for him. It sounds crazy now and was crazy then, but it's what was going through my brain. He was 2 weeks old, snoozing/eating/pooping/occasionally awake, and I was worried I wasn't keeping him entertained or showing him enough affection.

I sometimes still have those moments where I worry I'm not doing enough.  Trent is finally really seeming to enjoy independent play. Not for hours on end but for 20-30 minutes, he is content to drive his trucks or trains around the house or look at books or 'cook' (you should try his birthday soup, it's divine)...you get the picture. It's so nice because I can SEE that he's having fun, and I can fold a load of laundry, make dinner (haha...like that happens in our house), or prep for the next day.

But those old doubts creep back in. That if I'm not giving him 100% of my attention all the time, I'm not doing enough. I know it's not rational, and luckily, I'm not in the throes of post-partum again, so it's easy to knock those doubts out quickly and enjoy the freedom to just get sh*t done. I just wish I could get those doubts to go away. I guess at the end of the day Mommy Guilt is always there about something.

Does anyone else ever feel this way?

Naked train time.  Who wouldn't be happy?

Changing OBs

Warning: This is a long, rambling post. Read at your own risk.

Very often Always, I am a typical little sister. When I don't know what to do, I ask my big sis what she did. And if it was good enough for her, it is good enough for me. So when B and I got pregnant 4 years ago (almost exactly! just realized that!), I went with the OB she had picked. (The OB Patty and I saw in college and our early married years stopped doing OB, so we needed a new doc.) I had a very normal, low-risk pregnancy and a pretty normal delivery. At the time, I thought my delivery was all complicated and crazy and how happy I was to not end up needing a c-section. Since having T, I have learned that my situation was all too common.  

Oh? You're 40 weeks? Let's induce that baby! We'll put you on a Pitocin drip, we'll break your water, we'll get you an epidural. And maybe you can have your baby vaginally...but probably not.

I now know how lucky I was that my delivery ultimately ended the way I wanted.

Fast forward a few years, and I've learned A LOT. {If B is reading this, I know he's rolling his eyes.}  I used to be so mainstream (which is not a bad thing), but the more I learn, the more un-mainstream I become. And I'm proud of it! So I found myself knocked up again.  And still with the same OB. And confused about what I wanted out of this experience with Baby Gurl. I've been watching a lot of documentaries and learning a lot about the practice of obstetrics in the US compared to other countries. I've been learning about hospital births vs. birthing centers vs. home births. {Yes, I would deliver in a birthing center. No, Brent will not go for that. To quote him: 'I am a regular guy who goes along with all your hippie requests. This is 1 request too many.'}

I've also felt ignored at my doctor's office. Yes, I'm low risk and healthy, but when EVERY appointment is at a minimum 30 minutes late (and sometimes closer to an hour and a half) and my doctor is always rushed (if even at my appointment), it's hard to not question the level of care being received.

When you combine those 2 things together, I've felt very conflicted the last few weeks. Part of me feels like things worked out with Trent, and I'm smarter now and can use that to my advantage and why rock the boat. But part of me feels like I don't have a doctor who cares as much as I'd like and is a little too mainstream for my taste. And it was stressful thinking about that and closing in on the 3rd trimester.

So I contacted a few other local mommy friends and got a recommendation for a new OB and got assurances that it wouldn't be bad to change doctors this late in a pregnancy.  I had a meet-and-greet with the practice (they have a very small practice of only 1 OB and 1 midwife) and spent more time with them in my meet-and-greet than with my old OB my entire pregnancy with Baby Gurl. I was able to talk with them about my 'typical' delivery with Trent and what I hoped would happen this time around.  When the response was 'That's pretty much our normal protocol', I knew I had found my new doctor.

New OB recommended I sleep on it and wait a few days before making a decision, which I did. However, when, 2 days later, my 28 week appointment took an hour and 20 minutes for me to see my doctor for 4 minutes, that was the final nail in the coffin. The very next day I 'fired' my old OB and set my 30 week appointment with my new OB. And I am beyond thrilled. I cannot wait for my next appointment (which I already know is designed to give me 30 MINUTES with the doctor or midwife).  I have a ton of questions! And am writing a birth plan (which I totally rolled my eyes at with Trent)! And can't wait for one of these 2 amazing ladies to delivery our daughter!

So there you have it...the whys behind my decision to switch OBs at 28 weeks. Hopefully that somewhat made sense! I still have a few things to talk over with B - including him...you know...meeting the new doctor, but he has been completely supporting of me switching doctors, and I honestly finally feel so at peace!

Indecision at Its Finest

Remember when I mentioned my painting gone wrong purchase?  It has gone downhill from there.  I just can't quite find the right color combo for her room.  I've even dragged my MIL into the madness...

Oh you know...just 10 colors on the wall, no biggie.

The good news is I think we've decided on the colors!  

And just in case you think this is a 1-time situation...

Master bedroom makeover...Spring 2008

What can I say?  Until you find (or make) the right color, you have to keep trying!

Mojo

I'm in a bit of a funk. Hence the lack of blogging. I've started a few blogs that I didn't finish. I've got ideas in my head that haven't made it out of my head.  

My 2nd work inspection isn't going as well as we'd hoped and honestly, it sucks. And it shouldn't affect me as much as it is, but I had some big plans  for when I came back from maternity leave that might be off the table now. I work in a insanely regulated environment. I feel like most people do their job and then their boss says 'Good job' or 'You suck'. But in my job, after your boss tells you how you did, all the bosses get together and rate you. And then after that, regulators come in and look at your work (which your boss already said 'Good job' about) and says 'You suck'. Does that make sense? Probably not.  Long rambling point? It has me really feeling down right now.

I am trying to focus on all the great things in my life because I KNOW I am super {beyond super} blessed.  But sometimes that's hard.  I might have done just a little {meaning A LOT} of emotional eating the last few days.  And not worked out AT ALL.  

So it's a new week that ends with a trip to Vegas with my sweets. So here's to getting back on track and finding some mojo along the way!

Baby Gurl Bumpdate - 28 Weeks

Holy cr@p.  I am in the 3rd trimester.  In a quick 12 weeks (give or take), I will be responsible for another human being. I may or may not have had a moment of not being able to breathe this week thinking of that fact.  

This week's OB visit included my glucose test and an extra ultrasound due to my larger fundal height at my 24 week appointment. Ultrasound says she is big. Every measurement they took was 30-31 weeks (head, belly, leg bone, weight). I am in the 78th percentile. Well, Trent was 8 pounds, 9 ounces which was 75-90%. My doc wasn't concerned and neither am I.  Plus, I know u/s has a large margin of error. Fundal height was 30 weeks (it was 27 at 24 weeks).

Weight Gain: 20 pounds - I actually feel really good about that number. I didn't write it down ever with Trent, but I'm pretty certain I was more than that by this point with him. Go me!

Maternity Clothes: Yup. Only a few workout related things aren't maternity.

Movement: Still going nuts in there. She moves around a ton throughout the day (love it) and utilizes every inch of space she has.

Sleep: Getting harder but still not worth complaining about. It's harder to roll over and that kind of stuff but again not bad.

What I Miss: I realized this week it's uncomfortable to sit on the floor to play with Trent. That sucks.

Cravings: Still loving hot chocolate, chocolate drinks. With Trent, I drank the cr@p out of some chocolate milkshakes. (Hmm...a 45 pound weight gain you say? Crazy!) This time it's either hot chocolate or chocolate almond milk. A smidge smarter. BUT I did read in a 'best foods to eat during pregnancy' book how good chocolate milk is for you for the calcium in the milk AND the antioxidants in the chocolate. Who knew I was so naturally smart?

Symptoms: Still mainly just regular aches and pains. A little bit of restless leg later in the evening. Still some sciatica. My friend, Veronica, mentioned prenatal yoga today and I thought 'duh', so I'm going to check that out soon. I always meant to go with Trent and didn't, and I think it could be super helpful.

Best Moment of the Week: Ultrasound! Seeing her move is so fun, and I love that I got an extra peak at her.

Worst Moment of the Week: Charley horses! Two nights in a row! I grabbed Brent one night because it just shocked me so much. To wake from a dead sleep to blinding pain is not fun. I also had a nasty twinge of sciatica on a late night pee run that caused me to moan. I am starting to freak Brent out, poor guy.

Other Random Stuff: I am still on a high from the sprinkle. Rocked a mad sale at Old Navy and got Baby Gurl, T (time to start switching out seasons for him) and myself some stuff. 8 things total for $65. Score! Did I mention I am breaking up with my OB? No? That's a fun story...to be continued. {grin}

Too Cute

Too cute is Trent saying his big boy bed was wonderful.

{And a semi-sneak peak of his room as it slowly comes together.}

Too cute is Trent playing on his rug with his trains and saying it was awesome.

 Too cute is Trent singing while in the bathtub:

'Brrr, it's cold in here.  There must be some Trentys in the atmosphere'.

Too cute is Trent willingly eating apples at dinnertime and once for snack.
And then eating raisins (another old 'no way' food) for my dad.
This mama wants to cry!

Too cute is this little ham with her first pigtails.

And dirty self.

And handprint on her head???

Sprinkled with Love

A few of my friends honored me with a sprinkle on Sunday.  I had such a great time celebrating Baby Gurl and spending the afternoon with some of my favorite people.  Baby Gurl got some great stuff too, so that never hurts! {grin}

Pics with my moms, sis, and hostesses

I just couldn't make a collage of all the amazing decorations.  The ladies outdid themselves - everything was beautiful and the food was amazing!  The hostesses know how I feel about roses, hearts, pink and monograms, so the decorations were right up my alley.

The cake!!  Didn't Rhonda do an amazing job?

I guess our class has been paying off for both of us!

Rhonda also bought a Cricut (pronounced cricket, I didn't know) and made all of the cutouts.  

Too stinking cute.

I got a little grief for Baby Gurl not having a name, but all the 'G's were so fun!

More Gs, hearts and pink!!

These are now adorning my kitchen table.

Gorgeous.

And, of course, it wouldn't be a sprinkle without gifts!

Baby Gurl got so many great outfits, her first girly cloth diaper, and we even got our double stroller and big girl car seat!

We are so loved and blessed!

Brent even 'oohed' and 'aahed' over the great stuff, too!

*This post was not sponsored by the exclamation point.  I used it so much because I love it!!!