California Love

My favorite guys and I just got back from a quick trip to my home land...California.

It's where I was born, where I always called "home" (even when we moved away), and where most of my extended family lives.  Derek, my dear husband, had never been "home" with me until now!  We will celebrate our 4 Year Wedding Anniversary in July and he had never seen where I grew up.  Disgraceful.

SO, we decided that we would make a little mini-vacation out of it.  We flew in to San Francisco, which is kind of scary to drive around in, but all around a really neat city.  We stuck to the super tourist-y type things and hung out around Pier 39/Fisherman's Wharf.  I LOVED Pier 39 when I was a kid!  (What kid doesn't?  I mean really.)  So it was really fun to show my Brennan boy around my old stomping grounds.  He got a big kick out of the Sea Lions that hangout in the little marina and really enjoyed riding the big carousel with Daddy!  I would have gone too, but it's five dollars per person to ride or something insane like that...so I passed.  I was on picture taking duty and enjoyed a warm churro with my Mom while the boys were riding :)  We also got to meet up with my precious old (not OLD, but old-as in, from junior high) friend Diana and her sweet baby girl Amaya!  It was super awesome to see them, even if the Rainforest Cafe* did scare the dickens out of my son.

After our lovely day in the bay area we headed back home to Stockton which is where all the family is.  We stayed with my Grandpa Bill and Grandma Reggie and got to see lots of little cousins and my uncle and aunt whom I haven't seen in YEARS.  It was awesome.  Brennan had tons of fun playing with sweet Caroline (who is a little more than a month older than Brennan, but clearly more dainty than my big boy!)  We also spent lots of time with my mom, my sister, my nieces (Madisyn and Abigail), my brothers, my grandma...LOTS of people! :)  Lots of food, naturally.  Lots of laughs.  We were even able to capture a picture of all of my siblings and my Mom.  A rarity, my friends!!  So what if we couldn't get Austin to smile...that, too is a rarity (even more than the picture) :)  It was the perfect little trip and just long enough.  We were ready to get back home, but we will definitely look forward to coming back for another visit soon!  Next time it will be with TWO kids...whoa.

*The Rainforest Cafe is an obnoxiously loud and humid restaurant that is set up to look like an actual rainforest...complete with moving/mechanical wildlife such as gorillas, snakes, and butterflies.  Also...every 30 minutes on the dot there is a "thunder storm" sans REAL thunder, but it makes for an ULTRA loud couple of minutes where there are strobe lights, rumbling chairs, loud claps of thunder from the sound system, etc. combined with the screeching of the mechanical animals.  Being that we have ACTUAL thunder storms (which are quite scary sometimes) here in good ol' Texas...Brennan wasn't too keen on the spectacle.  He screamed and cried in terror every thirty minutes and clung to me through the whole thing.  *sigh*  AND...our meal was OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive.  $15 for a cheeseburger?? Really?  Next time we will stick solely to the clam chowder in a bread bowl sold on Fisherman's Wharf.  YUM!

Ultrasound Shmultrasound

Well...that was disappointing.  We had our "20 Week" ultrasound the other day and it was just not very exciting.  I was actually only 19 weeks, but they call it the 20 week ultrasound because it is usually scheduled "around" the half-way mark.  We were also dealing with a less-than-enthused Brennan during the appointment because honestly...WE couldn't even tell what we were looking at half the time, so how could we expect our two-and-a-half-year old to be interested in the black wavy lines on the screen??  So poor Derek wrangled Brennan and got even less out of the appointment than I did (which wasn't much)

Let me just start by saying that I am beyond blessed to have a healthy baby/pregnancy.  I don't mean to be whiny about it, so I will try not be...but let me just vent some of my frustration because well, that's what I do here on my blog from time to time.  Terribly sorry.  

First of all, our ultrasound tech was just not very talkative.  She was nice enough, but really only spoke when I asked "is that an arm I see?" or "Oh look, I think those are kidneys..."  Other than that, she stared blankly at her computer in between squeezing warm goo on my belly and waving the magic wand to see the baby.  It can be a little disconcerting to an expectant mom and dad to hear absolutely no comment from the person examining their child to check for any abnormalities.  In this case, as they say, "no news is good news"...but still...I could have used and "Oh look...There's your baby's perfectly beating heart!"  Alas...silence.

I think all of my feelings on this matter were heightened by the fact that the ultrasound tech that we had in Richmond during my pregnancy with Brennan was AWESOME.  She was so sweet and always sent us away with tons of pictures and congratulations and "Oh, Look how sweet those chubby cheeks are!!"  She was also extremely thorough and I feel like this lady was not.  Brennan's ultrasound tech always checked every. single. thing.  She measured all of his organs, his heart rate, his head circumference, length of arms and legs...everything.  I'm sure that this lady got what she needed for my doctor to feel content, but I wanted more. Also...we were sent home with ONE picture.  Which, as you can see, is just really not that good.  At the end of the ultrasound she actually spoke, but only to tell me that she was having a hard time getting a clear picture of the baby's heart for the doctor.  She said "I can see it on the screen, I just can't seem to get a picture of it."  SO...as it was in Brennan's case, I assumed that she would ask me to come back at a different time to try to get a clearer picture if she was unable to capture it.  I was wrong.  She just basically shrugged her shoulders and said "Eh...I saw it on the screen.  That's good enough."  Not good enough for me, lady.  Not good enough for me. 

So...we are faced with a dilemma.  We had multiple ultrasounds with Brennan because of his size.  My doctor had me in for an ultrasound once a week toward the end of my pregnancy.  We also went to a photo-studio-type place and had a 3D/4D ultrasound when I was pregnant with Brennan and we loved it! My doctor says that we will most likely do at least one more ultrasound closer to the end of this pregnancy to monitor the baby's size since I want to attempt a VBAC.  Since we are waiting to find out the gender for this baby, I had said earlier on that I wanted to fore go the 3D ultrasound this time, lest we be tempted to peek.  HOWEVER, now I am having second thoughts.  I would really like to have some decent pictures to show to this precious child someday.  I hate the idea that they will someday look at Brennan's huge stack of ultrasound photos and then look at their one-measly little picture and think "What the heck, MOM?  Clearly you love Brennan more."  Also...I really do want to just get a more thorough look at the baby and make sure everything is looking a-ok. (Not that anything being less than perfect would CHANGE anything, but it would just be nice to be able to have some preparation if that were the case)  I mean...we could tell the 3D ultrasound tech that we don't want to know the sex of the baby and to stay out of "the area"?  Right?  Or should we just leave this one alone and trust that everything is fine?  Decisions, decisions.  Thoughts??  

30 Months...

My very precious boy is two-and-a-half today.  Where has the time gone??  By the way...this little poem has me in tears today.  Pregnancy hormones??  Probably not.  It's just so true!  I love watching my son grow and learn and become a personable, interactive, funny, sweet BOY!  But man...Sometimes I just want to hold him forever and never let him leave.  We are so blessed by this little guy and I truly don't know how I ever lived without him.  Love you, Brennan!

*Image from Pinterest

Surprise!!

Who remembers the toy called "Puppy Surprise"?

It was an AWESOME toy that I had in the late 80's/early 90's. Basically...Stuffed Mommy dog comes with puppies in a convenient velcro pouch on her abdomen (HAH...if only child birth were so easy!) Anyway...the "SURPRISE" part of the Puppy Surprise was that you didn't know what kinds of puppies would be in there. Also...your Mommy puppy could have three, four, or FIVE puppies. You just didn't know until you birthed the dang things from their velcro womb. Alas, the elusive FIVE puppy litter was a real rarity (so were the four puppy litters) and most kids (like me...typical) wound up with three. Still fun though. OH, the anticipation!!

Also, when my brother was born (in 1992) my Grandma Jodi thought it would be fun for my sister and I to have a birth of our own to wait for. No, No...it wasn't a puppy surprise this time...it was the "Magic Nursery-My Bundle Baby" OH MAN...These were even MORE awesome than Puppy Surprise! The little baby doll came in this sort of "backpack" that you wear on your front (So, a "front-pack", if you will) and there were a couple of buttons that you could push. One button made a heartbeat noise and the other caused two little "nubbins" to move around as if your baby was kicking in there! Now that I think of it...it might have been kind of creepy, but we were impressed. The problem with the scenario was that my Grandma purchased these for us at the BEGINNING of my Mom's actual pregnancy and then expected us to wait (the nerve!!) to open our little baby pouches and find out if we were having a boy or a girl, twins or triplets!! A tall order for a 8 and 5 year old girl. SO...naturally...we didn't wait. We totally peaked. However, my Grandma had very cleverly sewed the top of our baby-bundle-back (but actually front) packs...so we couldn't take our babies OUT (aka...child torture), we could just peak in with one eye and catch a glimpse. We'll just call those moments our "ultrasounds", shall we?? ANYWAY...fast forward to when my brother was born, Mom was in the hospital, and Hilbo Baggins (my sister, Hillary) and I were aloud to have the "stitches" removed so we could finally hold our precious magic nursery babes. A joyous occasion!

So you see, surprises, as it turns out...are SO fun! I love to give and receive surprises. Which is why, my dear friends...we will WAIT to find out the sex of this dear baby.

**gasp**

I know. Several people have mentioned that they think we are nuts for waiting. We have also received lots of "Way to go!"'s and a few "Good for you! The way it should be!"'s. Or as a dear friend of mine says "If God wanted you to know he would have made your stomach see-through!" I suppose I can see both sides of the spectrum here, after all...we found out with Brennan and it was wonderful. Although I can't say that I see how anyone could be truly upset that we are waiting to find out. I promise you...this baby will be a BABY, one way or the other! There are only two options :) It seems that some folks think that by waiting to find out, we run the risk of the possibility of me giving birth to a litter of puppies! (Puppy Surprise!) Anyway, all of that to say...we are waiting. I am terribly sorry if you are disappointed by this news, but just think of how completely awesome it will be to hear the news when our baby is here and we can introduce him or her to you with a name and a picture!

So now a poll...leave me a comment with your vote! Baby BOY Hulsey or Baby GIRL Hulsey?? What will the baby be??!

16 Weeks and a Silly Survey!

How far along? 16 Weeks

Total weight gain: So far I am down about 5 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Kind of...they are certainly much more comfortable, however...my lack of "business professional" maternity clothes has forced me to be "clever" for work. Long shirts and rubber bands on the button loop of my normal pants have been sufficient (Ghetto...I know.)

Stretch marks? Nope! I didn't get any until about the week before Brennan was born and even then they were minimal. I am using lotion after every shower now, so hopefully I can keep them away again!!

Sleep: Ugh. I have never really been good at sleeping peacefully, but it is especially bad now. My poor husband. I'm lucky if I can keep my eyes open past 9pm and then I just thrash around all night and wake up exhausted! Naps seem to help, but those only happen on the weekends!

Best moment this week: I have been feeling the baby move (I think?) for a couple weeks now...but now I KNOW I am feeling that little baby move!

Miss Anything? Not really. I guess maybe being able to take medication for allergies/headaches, etc. But I am ok with that if it means having a healthy little baby!

Movement: Yes! Not anything crazy like it will be soon, but I definitely feel those little kicks and punches from time to time. At my last appointment when the measured baby's heart rate my doctor said she could HEAR the baby kicking and assured me that I am was most likely feeling those kicks too!

Food cravings: Eh...food shmood...I eat, but I haven't really had any serious cravings at this point and actually I have found myself eating less that normal just because my appetite isn't what it used to be. I definitely don't "snack" as much.

Anything making you queasy or sick: certain smells are pretty bad, but thank God most of the "morning(noon, and night) sickness" has gone away!

Gender: Is it a boy? Is it a girl? No one knows! :)

Labor Signs: No.

Symptoms: just super tired and a little "sore", but mostly feeling good.

Belly Button in or out? Still in.

Wedding rings on or off? ON!

Happy or Moody most of the time: I have to admit that I am somewhat of an emotional basket case some times. It's quite frustrating. I find myself apologizing frequently for my grumpiness. Especially to my two-year-old. Poor Buddy :(

Looking forward to: As crazy as it sounds...looking forward to my belly getting bigger and for Derek and Brennan to be able to feel the baby move!

The Most Wonderful Thing About Tiggers is...

Well folks...it's official...I'm pregnant. Actually, this is old news. I am QUITE pregnant at this point, not even just a little bit pregnant, but being that this is my first blog post about this...SURPRISE!! I'm pregnant!

So far this pregnancy has been fairly similar to my pregnancy with Brennan. I feel pretty miserable most of the time. Although if this go-around truly IS like Brennan's time in the womb that means I will begin to feel awesome in the next week or so. Come on, baby! Be good to me!

Have you ever felt like you could literally just fall asleep at any moment? Standing? In the Shower? Cooking dinner? Mid-Conversation? Yep. I could sleep. SO. TIRED. ALL. THE. TIME. I miss having even a smidgen of energy. This is especially difficult when I have a very vivacious little 2-and-a-half-year-old that would love it if I would play dump trucks and legos 24/7. I have also managed to LOSE weight (again, like with Brennan) so far. I won't go into exact numbers because well...I don't want to...but lets just say that this isn't necessarily a "woohoo! I am losing weight!" type of deal...it's more like "Man...I just wish I could have a reprieve from the nausea so I could eat something for pleasure again." I will say, I have been able to start eating more now than a couple weeks ago, which again...is a good sign! I can see the light at the end of this queezy tunnel!!

Of course, as they say...this is ALL worth it. I just want a healthy little baby and if feeling this way is allowing my child to thrive in there...then so be it. After all, women WERE designed for this, eh? (PS...I hate it when people say that because it's true and it doesn't make it any more pleasant. Thanks.)

Brennan is so precious and very excited when it comes to this baby. We involved him very early on (even though some people say NOT to do that in case something goes awry...we took our chances) and he is thrilled. He asks to listen to the baby and will hold his ear to my belly and just grin (Note: I will need to tell him someday that what he was actually hearing was Mommy's digestive process!) From the very beginning Brennan has said (without coaxing) that the baby is a "DIRL BABY!" (Dirl=Girl) Which, of course, would be wonderful. However...if Brennan has a little Brother we will be just as excited! We have asked Brennan what he thinks the baby's name should be and after some deep thought he has decided the baby should be called "Tigger" So...whilst in utero...this little bundle of joy shall hereby be called Tigger.

We had a doctors appointment this morning and Brennan was able to attend. It was a quick appointment, but we heard that sweet heart beat loud and clear. This time the heart rate was in the 140's. At 8 weeks when we had our first ultrasound the baby had a heart rate of 168. Brennan's heart rate at 8 weeks was just over 150. Maybe this little Tigger IS a girl?? Only time will tell.

TTFN (Get it?? Because Tigger says that? So clever...)

Wife AND Mom

Brennan has definitely come into the "MINE" phase of his life. He is having a really difficult time with the concept of sharing right now and he makes it very clear that he is not at all interested in learning. Poor guy...he has been spending quite a bit of time in "time-out" and crying about his toys being in someone else's (Mommy or Daddy) hands. Since we don't have a whole lot of other kids to interact with we try to play with him and teach him about sharing as best we can. Sometimes it goes well. Other times...not so much.

This is one for the books...

Last night when Derek got home we were all hanging out in the living room. Derek was playing with Brennan and I was laying on the couch observing. Derek took a break to lay down next to me on the couch and put his arm around me and what happened next was all at once hilarious, completely pitiful, and alarming...

Brennan screams..."MY MOMMY!!!!! MY MOMMY!!!" Derek and I just looked at each other and chuckled. Don't underestimate Brennan's reaction though...I want you to picture a hysterical, crocodile tears streaming, completely distraught baby boy...clawing at Derek's back to try to get him off of me. Derek started to move and I said "No, stay right here." I calmly told Brennan..."Hey, listen...you can come up and cuddle with us, ok?" So, after some coaxing, he finally climbed over Derek and came to lay on my belly. So all three of us were cuddled on the couch and he continued to cry "Myyyyyyyy Mommy!" I explained to him that yes, I was HIS Mommy, but that I am also Daddy's WIFE. Derek chimed in "This is my wife." At which point the waterworks and hysterics began again and Brennan shouted (quite angrily, might I add) "NO!!! MY WIFE!"

Ahh...oh the hilarity. I must admit (even at the risk of sounding completely nuts) it was slightly gratifying that Brennan wanted me all to himself. Moments like these are so precious. Naturally we can't let him hold to this illusion, but hey...if my two year old son gets jealous that I am Daddy's wife...I am just going to take that as a compliment :) In the months to come we will be exercising our "sharing" muscles and teaching Brennan that it's ok for his Mommy to also be Daddy's Wife...in fact, it's awesome. I hope someday he is as good a Husband AND Dad as Derek is.