Centuring?

Has anyone ever heard of this? Everything about babies and pregnancy is clearly new to me, but I had definitely never heard of centuring before... but I am VERY excited about it. Excited enough to dedicate a whole post to it!

I got a call from the hospital yesterday asking if I wanted to take part of this. I asked a TON of questions, so I'll try to describe it as briefly as possible.

Basically, instead of going in for your monthly/bi-weekly/weekly appointments, signing in at the front desk, and meeting with a doctor that has very little time or patience to sit with you and go over all of your questions, you instead meet with the centuring director, a midwife (the same one every time), and a group of other women. Skeptical? I was too at this point. Here's where I flooded the poor lady with questions.

No, you do not have to spread eagle or even weigh yourself in front of a bunch of other preggies. Everyone still gets some one on one time with the midwife. These appointments will each last around 1.5 to 2 hours... so what do we do in the meantime you ask? At each visit there will be food and music played while everyone else is getting their midwife time. *can I go first please so I can eat AFTER I've been weighed? Thanks* After everyone is done, there is also a guest speaker each time. For example, the first time a nutritionist, the second time a masseuse.. with her massage table! Sold! She assured me that I'd get much more personal time (if you still have questions afterwards, the midwife will take you to her office), it's a great way to make some friends, and just know a group of girls that are right along with your in your pregnancy. She says they even throw showers for the girls a lot of the times.

By the end of the conversation, I already felt like I met a new lifelong friend. I told her I would love to be a part of it, but that we were moving in May and asked if that would affect anything. I told her where we were going, and small world, that where she just moved here from. She knows the whole L&D dept. in my new home town, said she would have me all prepared to go when the time comes, with a little notebook filled with all my info and extra copies of my charts, and would have an appointment sent up for me in new town before I even get there.. tour of L&D included! They have a centuring group there as well so I'll be able to continue.

Best of all, my next appointment was moved up by a week! So instead of going in on the 11th (to have screenings and schedule my ultrasound) I'm now going in for my first centuring experience on the 4th! Yes, less than a week.

I think this is going to be a great experience! I understand that this definitely wouldn't be every one's cup of tea, but it's right up my alley. Stay tuned a week from today to see how I really feel about it. And to *keep your fingers crossed* find out when the ultrasound will be! Which translates to knowing when we'll find out if this little munchkin is a he or she!

New Discoveries

I've been meaning to post about my favorite new discovery for quite some time now. On the slim chance that there are still people in the dark, like I have been, you must check out Pandora! This is pretty much the coolest website I have ever seen (you'll agree if you're a music lover like me). All you have to do is type in an artist you are loving or a song, and Pandora will create your very own radio station and save it. It'll play song after song for you that has qualities just like the one you picked and you give the song either a thumbs up or thumbs down (or just let it play if you don't want to be bothered by that). Thumbs up - they'll play more of the like, thumbs down - they will never ever play that song again! You can have multiple stations saved up too. Staying true to my random music taste for example, I have these stations: The Fray, Rihanna, MercyMe, Lil' Wayne (should those two stations be even typed next to each other??), and for my husbands deep south county taste, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band? *which gets no play* So anyway, this is perfect for me when it's time to do a little house cleaning. Oh yeah.. best part... it's FREE. Boooyah.

Discovery number 2? I don't remember, actually. I had this blog post idea in my head all day yesterday, but I was following my strict rule of not doing two posts in one day. I was hoping it would come to me by the time I got to this point, but it's just not happening. Buutttt....

I have a third one after last night. I went to a place called A Pigment of Your Imagination last night with our FRG group. It's the cutest little place to go in and paint pottery. I was looking forward to going, but a little worked up about it at the same time. I promise you, I am the least creative person you will ever meet. I also have zero artistic ability and have a hard time with decision making. After saying all of that - I had THE BEST TIME. I can't express how much fun we had! The whole picking out what I wanted to make and deciding on a design and colors did stress me out a tad. I must have changed my mind at least 4 times. I made a great decision in the end, though, and I can't wait to see the finished product. (Much to my relief they had stencils... so you really don't have to be a great artist!) It takes quite a bit longer than I expected so most of us didn't finish. We go back next Wednesday morning to finish up. I can't wait to show y'all the finished product :) And seriously... I could make us go broke in that place! I have SO many more projects in mind at that place. Gifts, decorations, and nursery items... watch out!

Spreading the Love

I am usually the worst ever at accepting these awards. I'm really not even doing that well this time. It takes me forever to post if I ever do at all. My actions don't coincide with my feelings though, I pinky swear promise. I received this award 3 times last week and I really did mean to post it up, but when I got it again today, it gave me that extra push. You girls are the best and make me feel SO loved!

Here are the rules:

1. Thank the person(s) who gave it to you

2. List 5 things that make you happy.

3. Pass it along to 5 blogs that bring sunshine to your day.

So thank you Jaci, for my latest award! Don't hate me, but I can remember who else I got this from :( Can I use pregnancy brain as an excuse??

Okay... 5 things that make me happy:

• seeing my little bump growing slowly and knowing it's only going to get bigger
• planning a trip home in just a few months!!
• my husbands big bear hugs
• reading a good book
• warm weather

To continue on further with my horrible award acceptance posts, I'm not going to pass this one on. I've seen it sooooo many times over the past two weeks that I feel like I'll giving it to someone who's already received it. Plus, I'd have a really hard time just picking 5 of you!

Baby Bump

Hubs and I had a great weekend! It was somewhat low key, but at the same time, very eventful as far as this place is concerned.

Friday, he got released around noon. I was so excited that we'd have a whole extra afternoon to our weekend, but when he did get home we were reminded of how there really is nothing to do in this town. When the weather is nice we can always find something to do... even if it's just going for a walk and chatting. This was not one of those days unfortunately. So after some lunch, he humored me and joined me on a shopping trip to a little consignment shop called The Storks Nest (where I found nothing worth buying... funny how there are some shops that are clean and trendy and some that are just.. well.. NOT) then Motherhood Maternity to get a belly band. Yup.. I've reached that point. I was spending most of my days unbuttoning my jeans for some relief, so it was time.

Friday night was spent watching Valkyrie and Skyping with my parents and brother for about an hour. I have a hard time finding the words to express my love for Skype!!

Saturday was another cold and dreary day. Trey was gone until mid afternoon getting certified for one thing or another. I could have spent this time doing something productive like laundry, but I spent it curled up on the couch, under a blanket, reading A Voice in the Wind (which I'm loving so far!!). That night we went to dinner with a group of friends and some of us went back to one of their homes to hang out for what turned out to be a LONG night. My dear husband had a weeeee bit too much to drink, therefore, we didn't make it home until about 1:30. I'm old now so that is waayyyyy past my bedtime. Side note: I'm thinking he's enjoying having this built in DD thing way too much ;)

After such a long night, I had to get up a lot earlier then I wanted to. We drove down to Texas to spend the day with my brother. Our good friends mentioned the night before that they were planning on driving down to the same town for the day, so we all just went together. It was jam packed with going to a bunch of stores that just don't exist in our town, and I refrained from buying a thing!

That just about sums up our weekend... and now... I can't believe I'm about to show you all this. Some of you have asked for it, so yes, I'm about to show my bare belly for all of the Internet world to see.... I'm cringing as I type. Drum roll please ~

A little puffery and bloating action at 12 weeks

A more defined bit of a baby bump at 13 weeks

It's not much, and I can't believe I'm posting a belly pic that could still be looked at as just plain ol' fat, but I am excited. It's the first week that I could tell any sort of a difference. We're in the last week of my first trimester!

Definition of a Military Wife

One of my favorite people I've never met, Tori, sent me this email yesterday. I kindly let her know immediately that I had full intentions of stealing it to post for all of you to read. I just loved it so much.. so here you go...


A Military Wife: A Poem

Lots of moving...
Moving...
Moving...
Moving far from home...
Moving two cars, three kids and one dog...all riding with HER of course.
Moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house;
Moving curtains that won't fit;
Moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours.
Moving away from friends;
Moving toward new friends;
Moving her most important luggage: her trunk full of memories.

Often waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting for housing.
Waiting for orders.
Waiting for deployments.
Waiting for phone calls.
Waiting for reunions.
Waiting for the new curtains to arrive.
Waiting for him to come home, For dinner...AGAIN!

They call her 'Military Dependent', but she knows better:
She is fiercely In-Dependent.

She can balance a check book;
Handle the yard work;
Fix a noisy toilet;
Bury the family pet...
She is intimately familiar with drywall anchors and toggle bolts.
She can file the taxes;
Sell a house;
Buy a car;
Or set up a move... .....all with ONE Power of Attorney.

She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.
She reinvents her career with every PCS;
Locates a house in the desert, The Arctic, Or the deep south.
And learns to call them all 'home'.
She MAKES them all home.

Military Wives are somewhat hasty...
They leap into:
Decorating,
Leadership,
Volunteering,
Career alternatives,
Churches,
And friendships. They don't have 15 years to get to know people.
Their roots are short but flexible.
They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.

Military Wives quickly learn to value each other:
They connect over coffee,
Rely on the spouse network,
Accept offers of friendship and favors.
Record addresses in pencil...

Military Wives have a common bond:
The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands; his commitment is unique.
He doesn't have a 'JOB'
He has a 'MISSION' that he can't just decide to quit...
He's on-call for his country 24/7.
But for her, he's the most unreliable guy in town!
His language is foreign
TDY
PCS
OPR
SOS
ACC
BDU
ACU
BAR
CIB
TAD
And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.
She is the long- distance link to keep them informed;
the glue that holds them together.

A Military Wife has her moments:
She wants to wring his neck;
Dye his uniform pink;
Refuse to move to Siberia;
But she pulls herself together.
Give her a few days,
A travel brochure,
A long hot bath,
A pledge to the flag,
A wedding picture,
And she goes.
She packs.
She moves.
She follows.

Why?
What for?
How come?
You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has lost her heart.
It was stolen from her by a man,
Who puts duty first,
Who longs to deploy,
Who salutes the flag,
And whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her Military Husband,
She will remain his military wife.
And would have it no other way.

--Author Unknown

Book Review

I am always reading one book or another. Always. Especially now since I've re-discovered the library all over again. I'm pretty good about showing y'all what I'm reading at the moment over on my side bar... but then I just leave ya hanging (because I know you value my opinion so much... you NEED to know how I felt about said book, right?) So, I figured I'd start doing a little review after I finish a book from now on. (to give you a little break from baby talk) :)

Last night I finished Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner. I've only read one other book written by her (Little Earthquakes) but I feel in love with her with the first one. I LOVED Little Earthquakes! Like I said, I've only read two of hers now, but it seems like she has a pattern of involving many different characters, dedicating separate chapters to them, and having them all intertwine? My favorite kind of book.

All this being said, I didn't like BFF quite as much as I liked LE. It has hard for me to get into at first, but it has to be REALLY horrible for me to give up on a book so I kept going. The story is about the friendship between two girls that lived across the street from each other, one terribly shy, the other outgoing and adventurous... almost to a fault. It covers their friendship as little kids, growing up through high school and how they split apart during that time, and then (where I found it hard to connect with) the drama of how they reunited. After a 15? year reunion, outgoing girl attempts to get payback from the boy who did her wrong in high school - which ends with her thinking she may have hit him with her car in the parking lot while he was sans clothing. She goes back to shy girl for help and the book follows their adventures of covering up her hit and run and rekindling a lost friendship.

All in all, I did enjoy it. It had a few parts in there that I really could lose myself in, but lets just say that I won't be shoving it in any friends faces demanding they read it now!

Next up, A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers. This is kind of a big book, so don't expect any kind of review for at least 2 or 3 weeks :)

The best part of waking up...

since Christmas has no longer been Folgers. Remember when I mentioned that we got one of those really cool Keurig single cup coffee makers?? We've been in love with it ever since, but we ran out of our coffee supply last week. I kept forgetting to order more (yes, I have to order because I live in the middle of nowhere and there is no Bed, Bath, and Beyond in any sort of reasonable driving distance) so we've been in major withdrawals for a few days now. Doesn't seem like a big deal to you? Imagine my poor husband standing at the counter every day, spinning the empty coffee rack round and round, hoping a cup of coffee would jump out at him... yeah....

So I finally get around to ordering them on Saturday from this website. And I have no real point in this blog other than to tell you that our coffee supply is now in transit (in Nashville) and will be here tomorrow :) It was so much fun picking them all out and I was very pleased to find that they had half caf! No plain ol' decaf for me anymore... I'll be treating myself to a little caffeine every day now. I'm almost out of the 1st trimester and all doctors looked at me like I was crazy when I told them I was avoiding caffeine anyways... I was still hesitant (and still kinda am honestly), but apparently 8oz of caffeine a day is A-OK. Just a little FYI...

*This shot-out was not paid for by Keurig... I really just love them that much*

All you need is love...

Happy Valentines Day everyone!!

I looked back at my blog post from last year on this day and really not much has changed! We've never really put much into this day, and we still try to do little things quite often to show how much we love each other. We did make a little bit more of a bigger deal out of it this year, just because this will be our last Valentines Day with just the two of us. We went to see an early movie around 4... Valentines Day! It was sooo cute! There was plenty of laughter to go around, lots of "awwwws" and even a tear or two sliding down my cheek at the end of the movie. I did think it was going to be a little bit better than it actually was just because of all the great actors involved, but it's still worth going to see! And I hear rumor that there will be a sequel called New Years Eve!

After the movie we had plans to go to the only Japanese steakhouse in town. I was excited and hungry! There ended up being over an hour wait.. there was no way I could hold out that long! So instead we went to a Chinese buffet that we'd heard about a couple times (there was a strong need for some fried rice clearly). It did not disappoint and I came home a happy mama! I mentioned to Trey while we were eating that it probably WAS NOT a good thing that I was introduced to that place... that could be dangerous! We spent the rest of the night watching the Olympics... we are such an exciting couple aren't we??

When I said not much has changed, I was referring to the fact that we are sprawling around on opposite couches, me blogging, him napping! Almost the same scenario as last year :) And instead of going over to my parents house in a bit (man how I wish we were!!!) we will be going over a friends house who is making a roast, veggie soup, and cornbread. Different house, same home cooked meal... what can I say... I'm spoiled!

To all of you who are spending this day on your own - here's a biiiigggggg (HUG) me!!

Oh yeah ~ and happy 12 weeks to us ~ only 2 more weeks in the first trimester :)

Most Wonderful Sounds in the World

My appointment went very well today!

I actually saw a midwife instead of the doctor I was supposed to see and I LOVED her! She was great. If I were going to be giving birth here, I would want her to deliver baby. She did a full exam today, but I will spare you from the not so glamorous parts and tell you allll about the most amazing moment so far in my life.

I had a friend come with me since Army training does not care what-so-ever that your wifey is hearing the heartbeat for the first time of your first born child. She was able to stand right next to me for the big moment (heartbeat, not pap smear... i relieved her for that moment) cell phone in hand ready to record. It took no longer than about 10 seconds for her to find that swooshing sound and it was music to my ears. The tears were flowing. Direct quote from midwife: "that's a fast one.. 160-170 bpm.. it's a girl" She could have told me it was an alien at that point though, I was so happy just to here that something is actually happening in there. Plus we have a gorgeous name picked out for a girl :)

The recording picked up better than I expected. I'm going to attempt to put it up for all to share my enjoyment...

No such luck! A big thank you for all of you who listen to my baby rambling day in and day out :)

Pitter Patter

I cannot wait to hear the pitter patter of our little munchkin's heartbeat tomorrow. I am beyond excited.. so excited that I can't even express to you, but I have to admit I'm a little nervous as well. I'm a big what-if(er). I can't help it. I can't get rid of that nagging little voice sitting on my shoulder reminding me of how devastated I would be if there was nothing to be heard. Dramatic and morbid? Yes. Normal? I think so.. hopefully.

98% of me is certain everything is going to be just fine though, and I can't wait to let you all know how it goes! Oh yeah, and remember how they told me I'm only getting one ultrasound? Don't think for even a second I'm above begging them to throw one in for me tomorrow :)


Completely unrelated....
Is anyone watching American Idol this year? I took a little break from it last year, but so far I'm loving it this go round! Ellen took her permanent judging seat last night and she makes.the.show for me! I <3 her and she makes me laugh continuously! And I thought I'd go ahead and throw my favorite out there early in the game. I don't know his name, but I'm pretty sure you'll remember him. He got up last night with his guitar and sang his own rendition of Paula Abdul's song. Be still my heart. It was AHmazing and even brought me to tears. Pregnancy hormones were not to blame I'm sure!

Your Weekly Update and a Movie Review

We are now in our 11th week! This is a fun one for me for a couple different reasons. Most excitingly, Thursday's the big day! I'll hopefully hear that heartbeat strongly beating away. Trey sadly won't be able to come to the appointment, but I'm going to try and record it on my cell phone so he can at least hear it. On top of that... there are just a few fun things going on inside my belly this week :)
-The little munchkin is a little over 2 inches long now and weighs about 1/3 of a pound. (still sooo little!)
-Hair follicles are forming and the finger and toenail beds are developing.
-The fingers and toes are no longer little webs anymore - there are 10 of each hopefully!
-His/Her ears are just about in their final shape, nose has open nasal passages, and there is a little bitty tongue in that mouth!

I've been feeling really good lately. My food aversions are still there, although I have been able to add eggs back in the mix (which is good because I'm getting the protein that I'm not getting from meat). I'm still tired quite a bit and try to get naps in when I can, but I do feel like I'm able to get through the day easier now. No nauseousness in sight... Amen!!

I can't wait to tell you guys about Thursday!!

Soooo.... I saw Dear John Friday night. I won't go into detail for those that haven't seen it yet. It's been a while since I've read the book, but from what I can remember, the movie did a good job of staying true to it (besides one MAJOR part!!). For the most part, I enjoyed it. I ugly cried for pretty much the entire thing. I wish I could talk more about how I felt about the ending, but I'm afraid that would ruin it for some. I will say though, if you are without your husband now, or will be going through a deployment shortly, I don't suggest going. After I left, I could not get home fast enough to wrap my arms around my husband and let him know how much I love him. I don't think I would have been able to handle it if I were coming home to an empty house! In my opinion, I feel like that would just be too hard!

Random Thoughts

I'm too tired to form a full blog post today, so I'll take you through a tour of my brain on a normal day and all the thoughts that run through it at any given moment...

Chocolate chip cookies - Very fun to make. Gives off a very yummy smell throughout your home. Very pleasing to eat. Too pleasing. Not very fun to have sitting around the house tempting me. All 5000 of them because I'm incapable of splitting a recipe. Never did quite master those fractions.

I'm almost at 11 weeks. Guess what has already reared it's ugly little head? I'm the not so proud owner of my first stretch mark. Yes, I'm using cocoa butter. Yes, my momma had them in all three pregnancies. Yes, I've come to terms with the fact that it's inevitable. Yes, when I first spotted it, I made Trey double check, then cried a little. Isn't it too early for those things??

We went to a social for Trey's unit Wednesday night. It was called the Red Leg Social. I'm still not sure why it's called that. I could google, but I'm thinking maybe one of you will already know and save me from googling something YET AGAIN FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME IN A DAY. I had a really good time there. The food left something to be desired (chick-fil-a afterwards to be exact) but it was great to sit with all the other spouses/significant others and chat. One girl has been sitting here with nothing to do this whole time and get this... lives in the same apartments as we do! Next week we have a cocktail party and I'm even more excited about that!

Dear John... tonight's the night! Going with said group of girls and I cannot wait! I bought our tickets yesterday bc I'm a little anal like that and was afraid it'd be sold out. Not everyone is going. It seems that the movie is a little controversial among the Army (Military) community. I do see why one would not want to watch it, but I can't help myself. I'm not saying I agree with what she does or that it won't be hard for me to watch. I fully expect to sob in an embarrassing sort of way. You know.. that cry that really shouldn't be done in public. I hope I still have friends afterwards. I'm just a sucker for a Nicholas Sparks movie!

Someone stumbled upon my blog from googling... ready for this... I can hardly contain myself... "redneck woman pee". LOL. I don't know what I'm more curious about - Mobile, Alabama - you have to tell me why you even googled that if you ever read this!! Or should I just be more concerned with why on earth that brought her to my blog??? Ohhh man... I've seen some good ones before, but that just takes the cake.

My SIL sounds like she is doing very well with little Addyson. She is such a good mommy and I really hope to be as calm and collected as she is when our time comes. She has this DVD which shows you the difference between your babies' cries and she says that has been such a great help. She's sending it to me as soon as she feels like she's gotten a good handle on it.. along with some maternity pants that her friend offered to give me.. YAAYYYY!

The whole maternity clothing thing has been on my mind a lot lately. I'm a little confused as to when I'm supposed to buy them and how much to buy. Don't you need different sizes throughout the whole pregnancy? I really can't wait until it gets warmer. I fully intend to live in dresses this summer! Finally for once in my life I'll be flaunting that belly instead of hiding it :)

Columbia, SC (my hometown) was "awarded"?? the title of the 13th drunkest city in America today. That really makes me laugh and shocks me not one bit.

Cayce (family dog) got her first BIG kill yesterday. Mum said she saw her in the drive way flinging a POSSUM around like it was one of her chew toys!! HA! Can you imagine this sweet thing doing that?

I hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Giveaway!!

KLC over at Tales of a Northern Belle is doing an awesome giveaway. You have a chance to win a pair of Nomad Puddles Rainboots... they are tooo cute! Head on over here for your chance.. the contest closes on the 7th!

In the meantime, our little town has been threatened with no water! That's right... they're saying the whole town is going to lose water for 2-7 days. Apparently, at the place we receive our main source of water, the generator broke aannddd the backup generator failed as well. There is another place we get it from, but it only produces 25% of our water. It was supposed to be shut off for everyone last night (so says the ugly rumors), but it's still pouring out strong. I'm now thinking we won't lose it at all, but just to be on the safe side... we have pitchers filled up with water, luckily we had plenty of bottled water so we didn't have to run out for that (I heard Walmart was a mad house), and filled up the tub so we could use that to flush with! I wish I could take credit for that genius idea, but a friend of mine suggested it. I don't know what we would have done, but I'm sure it wouldn't have been pretty..haha! I'm not sure if this still is from the ice storm.. but on that note.. schools around here are STILL out!!

I got my first email from our FRG leader out here! I just figured we didn't have an FRG group out here since it's just for training ( training... the past year of our lives...) but it does exist! So, I plan on getting involved in that! She made promises of lunch dates and pottery painting. I'm down!

Hello, my name is Jessica...

... and I am addicted to playing Bejeweled on FB. I can't get enough and my competitive nature can't stand that there are four people ahead of me with higher scores. It does really aggravate me that you only have a minute to get your big score and raises my bp a little more than it probably should.

... and I'm scared that I may be getting a stomach bug. We had friends stay at our house Sunday night (their power went off) and while getting coffee yesterday afternoon, she really didn't feel too hot. She sent me a text last night saying she had the bug. This morning I talk to another friend who says her little boy had it for two days as well as another one of the wives little girls. Both of whom I had dinner with (held and canoodled) Saturday night. I'm sitting here thinking that I may be a little nauseous, but I'm praying that it's all in my head.. I'm good at doing that.

... and I really need to clean my house. I've ignored my cleaning list for the past week. Shame on me.

... and I really miss my family. I secretly want to dig into our savings and buy a plane ticket home, but I'm way too responsible for that. No, not me, I wouldn't do that when I have a bridesmaids dress to get altered and shipped to MA and a plane ticket to buy to ship myself to the same place.

... and I may or may not be fantasizing about walking outside, taking the hammer out of the nice construction workers hands, and smashing his fingers with said hammer so he can't hammer one second longer. Aggressive? Maybe... but I cannot take one more day of them "fixing" our apartment building.