Time for relaxation?!?

There are some things that you just miss during pregnancy. You must give up a lot during the long 9 months of pregnancy to ensure that the little bambino is safe. Some of these things are a bit extreme... but some seem a little more legitimate. Well.... one thing that I have really missed is a hot, bubbly bath. I have been holding out for quite some time on this little luxury because I did not want to "hard-boil my baby" (as Jenny McCarthy would say...) But seriously, doesn't this look absolutely delightful?

Well.... my baths never include rose pedals or lime slices.... but you get the point. Well... I have recently gotten the "go ahead" to start taking baths again... (as long as my water hasn't broke).... so you can just IMAGINE how excited I was for the time to come where I could sit in a nice, warm, bubbly bath and relax. I got even MORE excited when these great people got me some bath soap & a new loofah as part of my baby shower gift.
Okay.... so I had this day ALL planned out where I would be able to take my bubble bath. I had to wait until Austin would be close to coming home (just in case I couldn't get OUT of the bath, literally, once I got in), I had to clean the bathtub before, and I had to get all my candles lit. I was SOOOOO excited that I had time to do this today......

First, I started to clean the bathtub. It has been out of use for the past 9 months or so.... besides the cats hiding place from the dogs... so I cleaned it VERY good. It was sparkling when I was done with it. I then turned the water on HOT, added my new bubble bath, lit some candles, and let the bath water flow to wonderful relaxation levels.

When I first stepped into the bath I noticed that it wasn't quite as hot as I would normally prefer, but disregarded it as being "a sign from God" that the bath water still should not be super hot for the comfort of the baby in my tummy. After about.... 1 minute in the tub I decided that the lukewarm water needed to be hotter for me to enjoy this relaxation moment I was trying to make..... I turned on the hot water again.... and..... FREEZING COLD.

WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT! Our water heater must have taken a break on us because there was absolutely NO HOT WATER to make this dream of mine a reality. The water that would come through the pipes was so cold.... and was making my lukewarm bath colder! I couldn't get out of the tub because I was too big.... and un-flexible being 8 1/2 months pregnant! I had timed it perfectly so that I could be in the bath for 30 minutes before Austin got home & then he could help me out.... so.... I had no choice but to sit in my cold, cold bath for 30 minutes!

Maybe next week I will attempt this goal again....

Showering "Bing" with Love....

Last weekend we had our first party/parties for "Bing". First, I must clarify...... we are not actually naming our child "Bing".... this is just what we are calling him until we get to meet him outside the womb. "Bing".... it stands for "Baby King"..... get it?

Well... last weekend he got spoiled with love from family & friends. Do not feel bad if you were not invited to his party. It is not because I do not love you, but because I hate making people feel like they must come and give gifts..... especially if we have not seen you in awhile.

Well... we had 2 parties.... one was just for some of my close friends & family. This was Winnie the Pooh themed and turned out great. It was very low key and was fun seeing everyone.

The second was for me & Austin's mutual friends.... who many are male... and we have grown to love their significant others.... so... we made it a co-ed party with a "Sports" theme.... (especially because "Bing" will probably be tall like his father.... and we will be living in the same town as the Spurs.... he might be the next Tim Duncan.....).... so... we thought we would teach him about sports early on..... I don't really have anything big to post about anything "crazy" that happened at either of these showers.... but it really meant a lot to us that we have such great support from our family & friends.... and I thought it deserved a post. "Bing" is already loved so much and nobody has even met him yet!

Mom Turns 60!

Mom turned 60 last month.... most kids would have gotten (and most Mom's would enjoy) a nice piece of jewelery from her children, or some nice, sentimental gift. My mom? No way. My mom has been talking about a Cotton Candy Machine for..... I don't know how long. So, we all pitched in & got her one of these doozies....

We didn't know it when we first set up the Cotton Candy Machine... but we didn't have it set up right.... and it would take FOREVER for the sweet treat to web up. My mom would literally stand there with her cotton candy cone for at LEAST 20-30 minutes with minimal results and get so excited when she would see just a speckle of candy. You can only IMAGINE how happy she was when she got THIS result..... (and how LONG it took to get it!)When she was cleaning it up after 2 LONG days of making Cotton Candy we finally read the directions & realized that the sugar was not close enough to the heat... and that was why it was taking so long.... so.... hopefully next time we get some better results. Until then... our sugar high will just have to wait...

John has stolen my blog before... without my permission.... so here I am going to steal his... because it is full of good information... and I am hoping Austin will read it..... :)

Good day everyone. My name is John and I’m filling in today for "Browyn." She’s out grabbing some lunch and doing her nails while skydiving. She told me they dry faster that way. I write a blog called Fatherhoody.

I wanted to get the word out to all you ladies and to any husbands that might be reading though, there are certain things you must do to handle a pregnant wife. My wife and I found out we were pregnant way back in 2009. That’s like… a year ago (2010-2009 = 1). That also means we’re getting closer and closer each day to her popping out a small human. (The human will grow to be a larger human and eventually go on to play right field for the St. Louis Cardinals, make millions of dollars, and place me into a very nice retirement home.) Anyway, as we approach A-Day (arrival day) a husband must care for his pregnant wife in a very different way than one would care for a non-pregnant wife.

You see, the Pregnant Wife (Wifius Pregnasius), is a creature like no other. She can be emotional. She will always be tired (and will always use the word exhausted to describe her current state). She will also always be uncomfortable. She’ll be uncomfortable standing, sitting, sleeping, driving, walking, running, jogging, especially jump roping and always when mountain climbing. Therefore, as the helper of Wifius Pregnasius the Husband of Pregnant Wife (Husbandian Wifius Pregnasius) must use the following advice to keep things happy in the household.

1. Act Excited About Everything. A request to do the dishes for her on a night should be met with the following: “You want me to do the dishes? I’D LOVE TO DO THE DISHES!” During statements such as these keep your voice pitch an octave higher than usual to show extra excitement. Also, be extra excited about doing anything outside the home. It is very difficult for Wifius Pregnasius to get the energy to leave the nest, so if the opportunity arises make sure you act like she just asked you to be her date to every single game of the 2010 St. Louis Cardinals season and you get to sit right behind home plate and wave to it throughout the whole game while on your cell phone. “WHAT?? You want to go to Target to look at maternity tops?? Oh my GOSH!!! I was just thinking how I’d love to go to Target and do some shopping! I’m so glad you thought of it too!” If Husband does not act excited, there could be tears involved.
2. Strength Training. As Wifius Pregnasius enters into the third trimester, the Husband must be prepared to help her with every larger scale movement. This means any movement that is more than one step forward. Getting up from the chair? A Husband must have an arm extended. Getting up from the floor? Husband must have arm at the ready. In the middle of the night and she needs to turn over? Husband must have arm raised throughout night for her to grab onto. (If arm is not raised, she will punch you in the face. It’s happened to me.)
3. Help Out a Little More. Wifius Pregnasius is growing a human. Husbandian Wifius Pregnasius had no pain in making said human (in fact, he had a pretty good time creating said human). Therefore, it’s the least Husband can do to take on a couple more chores than usual and maybe even make the bed… even if it is his most hated chore in the world.
4. Entertain. Wifius Pregnasius will encounter incredible mood swings. These will mostly occur when she is “exhausted” and it will usually end with her being quite depressed for no reason. There is very little Husband can do to prevent this sadness. (“Hi honey! I just brought home a million dollars!” will lead to “That makes me so sad…” which will lead to “Why are you sad?” which will lead to “I don’t know!!!!” and a tear.) Therefore, it is up to Husband to find someway, anyway, to make Wife happy. It’s a difficult task, but for my wife, there’s one thing that can put a smile on her face. Me dancing. (Now, before you hit play, I should have you know that this was a very big debate in the house about whether this was for the “internet” or just for the “family”. I sided on the side of “internet”. Wife sided on the side of “family” fearing she will be forever embarrassed by sharing my incredible talent with the world. I’m not quite sure one would be embarrassed when they are met with award winning style points.)

   John Dancing for Pregnant Wife

And people… I want you to realize that that was pure talent without any music or a beat. Eat your heart out dancing reality show peoples.

So there you have it folks. Four suggestions to help both Husband and Wife make it through nine incredible months of amazing joy, amazing trials, and an absolutely amazing journey. God bless.

See you at the hood… Fatherhoody that is. (That was a dumb way to sign off)

Fighting Multiple Sclerosis

MS WALK 2007

Well.... My little sister has shown me up.... and I am so glad she has. You see, every year I do the MS walk for Multiple Sclerosis. We started a team after my father-in-law got diagnosed. Our team was "Allen's Awesome Ambulators," and our team has grown each year, and each year we raise even more money than the previous year. Here are some pictures of my late father-in-law, Allen King.

Austin's father passed away about a year and a half ago. Though cancer is what ultimately took his life, I believe that the MS disguised many of the cancer symptoms and they were left untreated until it was too late. As you can see, raising money for this cause is near and dear to my heart.

I think this would be our.... 4th year.... doing the MS Walk. Right now I am still up in the air on if we will get a team together again.... and this is because of my little sister, Bridget.My little sister is graduating from college in May of this year... and then she is doing something big.... really big. She is biking across the country to raise awareness and money for the fight against MS. Why am I debating doing the walk? Because I want all donations that would normally go to me for the MS Walk to go to her instead. She needs to raise at least $3,000 to make this possible. Here I ask you to check out her website and donate even a small amount to her. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

http://biketheusforms.org/cyclists/details.asp?c=Bridget_McCartney

My name is Bridget and I am currently attending St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas. I'm graduating in May with an Advertising/PR degree and I have absolutely no idea what I want to do after graduation. I've only recently gotten into biking, within the last year, but I absolutely love it. Whether it's riding around the city or going for long rides, I'm all for it. After graduation, I want to do something filled with risk, beauty and meaning before having to start life in the "real world". I started thinking about riding my bike across the country but didn't want to do it alone. (I mean, what better way to start the rest of my life than by riding my bike across the US?) I found the website for 'Bike the US for MS' and applied right away. I can only imagine how unforgettable of an experience this will be and not only that, but also doing it for a great cause. I don't think I really know what I'm getting myself into, but I'm ready to find out.

Not so Identical Pregnancies....

The first rule my doctor gave me, and probably the most important, was as follows: Do not compare your pregnancy to anybody elses.

In this blog I will break that rule. I mean, is it REALLY possible to NOT compare my pregnancy with my sister? Who, if you didn't know, has the EXACT SAME DUE DATE as me? No. It is not possible. So, here I go comparing. Most of this will be the down-sides of pregnancy. Though it may seem like I am complaining in this post, I am not. I realize that everything I am going through, have gone through, and have yet to go through, will all be worth the little prize in the end. I am very happy to have every ache, pain, crack, kankle, and every stretched out piece of skin.

Well, this past weekend Molly was in town for her Nebraska Baby Shower. I have not seen her since November... so we have both.... grown.... a lot since then. This was our first time seeing eachother after we were pregnant. This was at the end of October....

As you can see, we are not too big at this point... but boy we thought we were big. I am hardly showing and I am already in a maternity shirt! ha! Little did I know.... This past weekend, THIS is what we looked like....And pretty soon we will have one of THESE pop out....

As you can see, we are both already pretty big. It is amazing to think we have 9 weeks left.... and people are NOT shy to tell either one of us that they CANNOT BELIEVE we STILL have 2 months left (if you didn't already know... this does not make a pregnant girl happy... see Molly's blog: http://www.consideringcampbell.com/2010/01/molly-is-getting-upset.html)

Well, when Molly was in town we compared pregnancies... a lot. Mostly because I think I feel "more" pregnant than her. I have hip pain, leg pain, beginning stages of kankles, killer heartburn and it is getting nearly impossible to put my shoes or socks on. Molly.... none of this. She has an itchy tummy and feels "uncomfortable." Not me.... I am already beyond the stages of "uncomfortable." Which REALLY worries me because people keep reminding me I have 2 months left!!

Molly states that it is all "fair" because she "got sicker" in the first trimester then me. Notice how it is "sicker" and not "sick"..... I still got pretty dang sick... it just took a couple weeks longer to start up.... but it lasted a bit longer than Molly's. There was one point at work I was running to the toliet (to throw up.... sorry).... and I leaned over so fast I ripped my work scrubs right down the center!

Anyway.... Since I always compare and contrast every aspect of me and my siblings life... and everything is a competition... I must say... Molly, I've got you beat on this one.

But... Look what I did get her for her Baby Shower. It may be the most amazing thing ever. Not quite sure yet if Molly agrees.....

"Make that a double!"

Things that make pregnancy just a wee bit better

This blog is all about little things I have found that have made my pregnancy a little more tolerable. Let's start....

1. Zantac. As reported in a previous blog.... heartburn is a killer. This stuff works amazingly well. However, I have learned that just because you take this magical little pill does not mean you can go out and eat tomato sauce, nachos, and spicy nachos in one day.

2. Snoodle. I just got this wonderful little pillow and it has made my nights so much more pleasant. Wait.... pleasant is never the right word for pregnancy sleep.... it is more like, "tolerable." I broke down and bought this $50 pillow though and it has made my nights so much better. I strongly suggest getting this to any pregnant woman, or not pregnant, because it is delightful. The only thing that is not so nice about it is trying to turn over in the middle of the night (already trying to turn a "few" extra pounds with you) and being tangled up in this pillow. Yes, it is true... you get tangled up in a pillow.

3. Switching cars. Austin & I have a Saturn Vue & a Nissan Altima. The Altima is my pride a joy... and still new. I had to give up this little beauty a month or so ago because it was getting too hard for me to get in & out of it. It was really quite sad. The Vue treats me just right. I have noticed that getting in a car that is TOO high can be as hard as a car that is too low, however. Recently we have been "car sitting" for my mother-in-law, who owns an Xterra. This is a great 4 wheel drive vehicle that has come in handy over the past couple snow storms, but it is awful to get in & out of as well.

4. Handicap bathroom stall. This is my most recent discovery. Like I have described in #3, it is hard getting my pregnant butt up when I've been sitting. This goes for the bathroom too. I found that the bathroom stall was amazing by mistake... all the other stalls were taken. Since this event, I will never go back. Try it ladies.... it will make your bathroom experience so much better.

5. Someone to put socks on & off. Austin is amazing at this. He is always a good sport about putting my socks on for me in the morning. I do not usually have to ask him to tie my shoes... because I have learned to keep them tied. Luckily, at work Brittany has been my saving grace when I need a good double knot. These small tasks really do wonders for a pregnant woman.... so gentlemen.... listen to this advice.....

(This woman is OBVIOUSLY a model with a fake tummy on. This position is impossible while pregnant.... or if it IS possible... it would not be "painless" like she is portraying it....)

I will keep you all informed if I find new things to help you out as my pregnancy progresses... And if you have any tips for me I would love to hear them!