Um, I'm Going to Be a MOM Soon

Yeah.
I'm going to be a mom soon.
Holy Fried Potatoes.

This is CRAZY! I mean really crazy. Don't get me wrong, I'm stoked. I'm more than stoked, I'm over the moon, excited, and ready for baby girl to get here. Buuut the whole idea of "I am going to be a mom"... is still totally blowing my mind.

As of today (well yesterday since it's after midnight, but you know what I mean... as of Wednesday, k?!) I am full term. So basically... she can decide she's ready any day now. I mean I guess she could have made that decision any time at all during the pregnancy but now it's just so real... there could be a baby. in my arms. any. minute. YIKES!
I'M SO EXCITED!

I just had to get that out, I'm sure it won't be the last time (and I'll probably be complaining she's not here yet in a couple weeks... haha)

Anyway, 37 weeks belly pic as well as one more of the pro-pics a la Kate Bailey (let me remind you to give her a call if you want some photos done, they're free til Spring and even if you don't get them free, they're clearly worth it.)

This Dog Really Annoys Me (And Other Random Unrelated Events)

*I started this post... yesterday? But was too lazy to add the pics and finish, so here it is a lil bit later*

I'm sitting on the couch here at my parents house and my dad's dog, George, is just whining. He won't stop. It's driving me damn near insane. He does this often. He just wants to play, but I do not want to play with you, I want you to shut up. Hence the title of this post, but not the purpose. If he weren't so cute I'd be angry... haha

The last few days have been delightfully busy, thank God, the only thing that seems to make the days not crawl is constantly moving.

Before New Years, I met up with 3 of my sisters for lunch. We had a wonderful time talking and catching up. The three of them are in grad school (well one's in med school!) right now, so it was really awesome hearing about all goings-on of their lives, how different grad school is from undergrad, talking about the changes in my life, and just generally catching up to speed in the happenings of the last month or so since we've seen each other. I love having the kinds of friends that you don't have to see or speak to every day but you still know they're you're friends and when you get back together everything is the same.

The day before yesterday, one of my college friends headed up here to good ol' Harford County (a short but still substantial hike from the greater Baltimore area) to take some maternity photos for me. She is starting up a photography business and wanted some volunteers to do photo shoots free of cost, so of course I happily obliged. We took some really cool "moto" ones, where I was in his camis with the American flag behind me, some with a sheet wrapped around, and some in regular clothes. I'm very very excited to see how they turned out, they looked pretty awesome on her camera, so I'm hoping they look even more awesome in full size. Then we enjoyed lunch together at Panera Bread (I looove Panera Bread) and talked about grown up things like mortgages and married life. So weird, the paths our lives take and the difference a year or two can really make. Feel free to check out her photography (HERE) and if you like what you see and are in the MD area, give her a ring and help her start up her business! *She also said people in the MD area who want photos done she is still doing them free of charge until the spring, so hit that up!*

*Seeing that I wrote this post before she sent me the pics, I can now share one with you. There are a whooole bunch, and I will share more but you're getting only one for now*

Mom and I have been spending a lot of (ok probably even more than a lot, more like too much) time playing Mario Bros Wii. This is just a random side note, as I'm sitting here waiting for the Ravens game to be over so we can get back to business and beat this game! We've had such a great time together since I've been home (who am I kidding, we always have a great time together) and it's cool to be able to just hang out and play games with your momma.

Today after church I went and met another one of my beautiful sisters (and one of my best friends), Shannon, since it had been far too long since I'd seen her. We enjoyed some lunch at the mall and lots of girl talk and more catching up (I love coming home and getting to catch up with all my good friends). Shannon is in law school (my friends are all so motivated, I love it and am so proud of them) so I got to hear more about school after graduation (and wonder if I'll ever head back myself), I think it's so neat hearing people talk about the differences and similarities between undergrad and their graduate studies and I am very proud of all of them for the hard work they put in. We also talked about military stuff (her hubby's a Coastie), married life, and other grown-up things as well as the always lovely gossip. Then we hit up Victoria's Secret for always appreciated SEMI-ANNUAL SALE! We both walked out with bags, I with a night shirt and lotion, Shan with some lip balm and other cosmetics and I think maybe a bra. They had really good deals on bras. I have to say, no offense to any of my other friends, but Shannon is definitely one of my top shopping partners. Had I not had to be home for dinner at 5 (and her hubby wandering around the mall while we were at the girly store) we probably would have shopped for hours.

And I don't know what else I was originally going to include in this post, as this is where I left off, So we'll just leave it at that. I'm headed back on the train tomorrow to get back home and wait for lil miss thang to decide she's ready to come out and play. Hope you're all enjoying your first full week of 2010.

For the Love of Smooth Skin (Laser Surgery?) Day 14

Ok first and foremost. I have a stretch mark. I've said it, it's true. GAHHH!!! I think I'm going to have a meltdown.
So, I have had a couple on my hip areas for a lil bit, but those were ok, because they were on the side and seemed easy to hide. But then yesterday I discovered it. One lone stretchmark. On. My. Belly. I'm officially so over this pregnancy thing. I would like my daughter to just be here already and discontinue stretching my poor skin.
I have been told there's not even a way to get rid of these ugly battle wounds. How do celebs do it? You can't tell me Nicole Richie went from skeleton to big ol' watermelon in 9 months flat with out a simple line of stretch. There's gotta be some celebrity secret. And I want it. Now.

Explain this to me. Please.

In other news, it's 2 weeks since Mr. P left. These are the meals I have cooked since he has gone:
* Beef stew and noodles
* Beef stew and rice
* Chicken nuggets and left over mashed potatoes
* Chicken nuggets and noodles.

Noticing any patterns? And yes, that's beef stew from a can, plopped in a pot and heated up on the stove.

Who's happy to be going home to Maryland tomorrow and indulging in mommy's cooking?
Yes, that would be me.

Sad how fast domesticity flies out the window when the hubby leaves...

Hope you all are enjoying your week!

Oh, and if you're wondering how fat I am now...

35 weeks

And yes, the lone trouble maker is in this pic. Please don't try to hunt it/point it out/look at it in any way. Belly pics are not cute anymore. :(

It's the Final Countdown!

Can you believe it? Only 10 More Weeks until Princess P's due date. I'm still on the ever-so-hopeful thoughts that the due date is actually a week late and she'll make an 'early' on-time debut, but who can blame me? That being said, please enjoy this 30 week belly pic along with this little Weekly Check-in Questionnaire Doo-hicky that I yoinked from Katie.


How far along? 30 weeks today, 10 to go, WOO HOO!!!!

Total weight gain: Ugh. Approximately 25 Ell-Bees. So not stoked about the whole "large number popping up on the scale" thing...

Maternity clothes? For the most part. Pants most definitely, but shorts and sweats I still wear "normal people" ones. Shirts are some maternity, some pre-preg, as long as their long. Some dresses are maternity and some are pre-preg, depending, again, on the cut. The most comfy thing is Boyfriend Sweats (Victoria's Secret Pink) and a tee-shirt sans bra or undershirt, but that's clearly not practical for out of the house wearing, so I break down and get dressed... sometimes. Oh, and if you wanna send me a gift, I desperately need new bras. The "larger" one I bought months ago is not comfy so I'm wearing sports bras and one very stretched out BioFit. I need to hit up the maternity boobie section like woah.

Sleep: Yes please! The tireds are back. Boo. I want to sleep all the time. I force myself to try to get up but I usually end up sleeping during the day. Night time is still give and take, sometimes it comes easily sometimes it takes hours.

Best moment this week: The kicks. I just can't get over her moving. And also getting all the furniture put together, everything's getting SO real.

Movement: All the time. They told me from the very beginning we've got a very active baby and now I believe em. I'm pretty sure she's a dancer... or maybe a kickboxer? Her favorite spot, as noted in my last post, is in my ribs. They are sooore. She also likes to hammer away at my left side when I lay down, but no lie - I love that feeling.

Gender: Baby GIRL

Labor Signs: Couple of Braxton Hicks contractions. They're not fun, and they do hurt sometimes. Headed to L&D the other night when they were coming every 15 min for a 2-hour time span, but it was just exhaustion and dehydration the docs said. Cervix is still closed and no word on effacement or any of that gory business.

Belly Button in or out? In still, but weird. It's kinda... I don't know... hard?? It's opened up like a big ol' mouth and the top is hard. I hope that doesn't mean it's getting ready to pop out, I'd be fine keeping my belly button on the inside, thanks. (I had a horrible dream about it popping out and being really gross, so I'd rather just keep it in for now...)

What I miss: My favorite jeans, although maternity jeans and the freedom they bring, have really grown on me. I also miss being able to have a cocktail (what can I say, I enjoy my nights out), exciting sex (I feel like I can only do it in one position and I'm afraid I might bore my husband to death, although he doesn't seem to have a problem, at least I've still got a libido!), my energy, and feeling in control of my emotions (for the most part.)

Weekly Wisdom: Go to the classes! Yesterday was a breastfeeding class, Mondays are childbirth/lamaze, and in December I'll be going to New Parents class... they help you prepare and know what to expect to a tiny extent. They've helped ease my fears, make me more confident, and feel like I know what's going on. I am no longer terrified to attempt drug-free labor or breastfeeding, but we'll see how my tune changes when the time gets here...

Milestones: 10 Week COUNTDOWN. Holy toledo, we're in the single digits starting tomorrow... How INSANE.

Photo-Op!

A few updates, in photos.

-Weekend-
These pictures are from when we went to the Memorial park in Jacksonville and saw the Beirut, Vietnam, and World Trade Center memorials.

As I said in the last post, our visit was really moving and pretty emotional. It was such a beautiful area. If you're ever in the Jacksonville NC area, I suggest you check it out.


-Yesterday-
We carved our punkins yesterday! Strangely enough, NC punkins are different and kind of fell apart rather easily, there are about 5 toothpicks holding mine together and when I got home from work, her face was basically toast, meaning it had all sunken in...

-Today-
My belly photo shoot. The last week of my second trimester, then I'll be in month 7 and the third and final trimester! She'll be here soooo soon!

Hope everyone is having a good week!

The Spirit of Growth

I am such a procrastinator. I've had things I've been wanting to write about for quite some time but I slack. And once again, I missed Wishful Wednesday. I fail at blogging :( Ok, journey of self-pity over, what's been up?

First, fall has hit! Woo hoo!! It's is finally cool in NC. Now of course, the minute I hit "publish post" and this becomes official, the temperature will suddenly increase back to the sweltering 90 degrees it was this weekend. Hopefully not. For real though. I'm starting to get to that "private summers" stage in the pregnancy where I am always Hot (well hotter than usual, because I'm naturally always warm). With the arrival of that good ol' fall feelin, I've been in a more fall-y mood. I have been wanting to just bake. So the other night... I baked! I made muffins with two of my favorite fall ingredients - apples and cinammon! Mmm. They were delicious too. I only made 6 because we only had one apple and it was 11pm and I wasn't about to make a WalMart run. Mr. P. certainly enjoyed them (I left him a note and told him he must take the biggest ones, have one for breakfast and one for lunch because I loved him that much. Aren't I sweet? bahaha).
We have decided to resume our house hunting in full force. We've been doing great at budgeting. In all honesty, our salary isn't anything to write home about, something I was prepared for marrying an enlisted Marine, however, with a little attention not only can we survive but we can thrive (yeah, how cheesy was that?! I'm in a good mood, let me be). Seriously though, we haven't really cut out all that much (ok so I can't buy expensive makeup and bags the way I enjoyed in college) but just paying attention and being conscientious of what you're spending money on makes a big difference. Oh, and turning out the lights when you're not in a room (now who sounds like a mom?) I am very proud of how responsible with finances I have become, especially anyone who knew my spending habits before marriage could tell you I was anything but frugal. That being said, Mr. P assures me that if we continue this budgeting deal, we really can afford our very own house. Something I really, really desire especially with Little Miss Buttons on the way. I want to paint and have a dog and a yard and a swing set and... all the other fun stuff home owners get. Of course, this is all dependent of finding the house, I refuse to settle. Our rental is great now, I just wish it had a bit more space and we could do what we want with it. But it's in a great area and it's livable, so if we don't find our dream home (in our price range) right now, it won't be the end of the world. Wish us luck on our hunt though, we sure could use it!

And the last bit of exciting news I have for the day is...

I GOT A JOB!

A great follow up to the budgeting discussion above, we will soon be pulling in extra money because I will finally be working again. (Maybe only for a few months before time off but working now is better than working never, right?) A few weeks ago, I attended a "career fair" on base for Child Development Center positions, which is the same job I had back in MD before the move. They called literally not even an hour ago and let me know that I was selected for the position and I start with paperwork/training on Mon, Tue and Wed and go from there. It is a flex position, which means I will be working "not set" hours, but at home I was flex as well and after being there a while I was pretty set with my hours, so hopefully it will follow a similar pattern. I'm making about a dollar less an hour than I was at home, but NC is also cheaper than MD so that's not such a big deal either. I'm just really happy to finally contribute. I was starting to feel kind of like a bump on a log. Even though I do volunteer and do things during the day, not bringing in any extra money when we could use it had me feeling a bit guilty and well... useless. Not a feeling I'm very fond of, so I'm really really stoked to be a contributing member of the P family. Hahaha.

And last but certainly not least... baby girl is doing fantastically as far as making mommy grow. I had my doctor's appointment on Wednesday - 25 weeks. I have gained about 20 lbs (EEK!!!) during the whole pregnancy which they say is good (I'd hate too see what too much looks like, I feel like a cow) and my belly is measuring at a perfect 25cm. Her heart sounded great and she was a brat as usual, kicking at the doppler and moving away so we had to keep hunting her down to listen. She's so awesome :)

I still don't think it looks that large in person...

Mr. P loves "his" belly

PAC (It's a Heart Thing...)

I'd like to begin this post with a belly pic...

22 weeks, not much change from 20, just a little rounder :)
Please excuse my rough appearance, house work days are
not "get pretty" days :-P

Yesterday was our 20 week anatomy scan - to make sure all of baby girl's parts are developing appropriately. As hubs just got back from training there is so much for him to do at work, so my friend Lori came with me to the scan. Thank goodness for good friends :)

Everything seemed to be going well. We watched her little heart beating, her little legs and arms kicking, her whirling all about. Found her little nose and lips and saw her brain development. Her heart rate was at 150 and she weighs somewhere around 1lb 3oz, where the tech told me we've got a big baby girl growing in there!

The tech said she had to have the doc sign off and she'd be right back, so I assumed this was just standard - doc says A-Ok before you head on your way. The thing she forgot to mention (which I don't think she is allowed being only an ultrasound tech and not a doctor) is that she had noticed something a little "abnormal" and that is what the doc had to sign off on.

Apparently our baby girl has a PAC, Premature Atrial Contraction. Basically what it is, is a little extra beat before her regular thump-thump. It doesn't occur every single time her heart beats, just sometimes it goes thump thump-thump, like a little stutter. The doctor didn't seem too worried about it, but we now have to go see a Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist (who should be calling me today or tomorrow and may be the reason I haven't left the house today). He said the next step is up to the specialist but it usually includes possible weekly monitoring of the heart rate and a nonstress test. He also said the specialist is going to further and more closely look at baby's heart to make sure there are no structural abnormalities they missed in the ultrasound. He said they didn't see anything that would indicate something structural but it needs to be double checked just in case they didn't catch it.

Of course, needing to be prepared for the worst, I had to ask him Worst Case Scenario. He said worst case scenario in this case would be her heart rate going way high (above 160 bpm) and overworking her little body, in which case she would have to come out early for medicinal intervention (as the medicine they give her would take effect on me too and they don't really wanna slow my heart down...). But, he said, this is very rare, and PAC in babies this age is, while not the "norm," fairly common. It's just something that needs to be watched and monitored to make sure nothing comes from it.

Mom and I have both done a little research since, and mom found an article that said this is relatively common (as I said above), usually has no impact on the baby, and if the baby is born with the PAC it is usually gone within one month of life, but it is typically gone before baby's grand arrival. I also found a forum on it, where the other moms who heard the news didn't seem so worried, which is always a comfort.

So for now, I could just really use your prayers that it really is "nothing to worry about" and everything is fine with our baby girl. Hearing that something may not be right with your baby is definitely a feeling that floors you and all I can do right now is wait and pray that every thing is good to go.

Labor Day Weekend (Last Weekend of the Summer?)

I love 96s. They're pretty much my favorite kind of weekend. A 96 means 96 hours no working. 96 hours I get Hubs to myself. 96 Hours of uninterrupted together time. Definitely my favorite weekend.

For Labor Day, Mr. P. got off at noon on Friday and didn't have to return to the battalion until 1800 Tuesday (and that was only for formation which lasts less than an hour). Fantastic. During this particular 96 Holiday, one of my favorite people from home, JP, and his girlfriend Liz, came to visit. Our first non-family company! Woohoo!! Friday I spent picking up the house and getting the spare bedroom ready for our guests. They arrived around 2am Saturday morning. We spent some time catching up and chatting and then headed to bed.

Saturday we woke up and headed to Onslow Beach for some much needed sun time. This was after I finished making potato salad for our little get together that was to take place later on in the day. We got a nice spot on the beach and while Liz and I soaked up the rays (me with my 50 SPF on, learned the hard way that pregnant skin is much more sensitive skin!) the boys splashed around. Liz and I joined them and while the days are still much hotter than fall days should be (hey this ain't Maryland anymore!) the water seemed to be a bit chilly! (Strange because I thought the water got warmer even when the temperature "dropped") After fun sun and surf, we headed back to prepare for our little Cook Out (or grill-out as I've heard them referred to here...) While JP and Liz ran to Walmart, Mr. P started on the burgers and I perfected the tae-ta salad and cleaned the house a bit. That's when the texts started... the guys from Hubs' work that he'd invited, with their stories, most saying they already had plans. I'd asked for people to let us know by the morning but of course they let us know an hour before we told them to be here (Don't ya just love when people can't give you a solid definite yes or no?!) So it ended up being Me and Hubs, JP and Liz, Bacon, and my friend Caitlin and her husband Christian. It was a decent number of people, and they were all people I like so we ended up having a really nice little cook out, no pressure!

Sunday we woke up and were not sure what we wanted to do. At around 1pm we finally decided we'd head down to Myrtle Beach (which is only about 2 hours from our house). We get down there and head to Broadway Beach but it was raining for the majority of the time so we had fun stoppin in shops, playing mini golf, and enjoying $7 ice cream cones. All of course with some time for goofing off in between.
After a not so up-to-par dinner at hooters (and a waitress with really bad hair extensions) we began the journey back home. JP and Liz left the next morning (took me a while to wake up) and the husband and I enjoyed a lovely day of nothingness. We laid on the couch and watched movies and played video games all day. It was kind of fantastic, no lie.

Tuesday was a day we wanted to get up and get things done. Since I'm not so great at the whole "get up" thing, we ended up leaving around... Oh 1 in the afternoon. Oops. We went over to housing to talk about getting on the list for base housing but needed a billion other forms and of course when we went to the place to get the forms they had just closed (I love government hours... gr) We saw no point in going all the way home just to come back to base for formation (trying to save gas money) so we decided to travel around and check out base.

We found a little off-road trail and decided to throw the truck into four-wheel drive and check it out. At the end of the trail there was a beautiful water hole of some sort (we're assuming it's the old quarry), a ton of neat views, and a perfect place for hubs to take a pee (Hahaha).

Afterwards we headed over to the Battalion to get ready for Mr. P's formation, to check in, let them know he's still here and ready to report to work on Wednesday. We had some time to burn so we went for a walk, down to the dock at the end of the road (yeah, he works right near the water and gets no time to go look at it, sad!) And of course we sat and took tons of photos (ok, ok, I took the photos... haha)

After formation, we went to Camp Geiger to pick up Bacon because Ballyhoo! was in Wilmington and we were goin down to ROCK OUT. Hubs finally decided he was gonna come too, since he didn't have to open the armory, which made me super happy. So we traveled down to Wilmington to catch one of my favorite bands who also happens to be from my home town.

Ballyhoo! rocked out (as per usual) and because the lead singer from Badfish was sick, Howi sang some Sublime songs as well as Ballyhoo! songs, so it was pretty freaking rad. After the show (and before lol I'm such a dork) I chatted with the band for a little bit, it's great that I got two Maryland "visitors" in one long weekend! The boys had a great time and Hubs and Bacon both got a little drunk.
So my "last weekend of summer" was all-in-all pretty fantastic. Although it doesn't feel like the last weekend of summer at all, because it certainly doesn't feel like Maryland fall. I see all these entries on the welcoming of fall, but I just feel like summer lasts a lot longer in North Carolina than Maryland, so I can't really celebrate the welcoming of fall until I feel fall-y. Although I did see some fall decorations up at a house on base the other day and it made me a little excited for fall, but I'll let you know when I actually feel the fall coming on haha.

And because it is Wednesday, a picture celebrating the halfway point of my pregnancy!

20 weeks, 20 to go!

I Tend to Weep Often (The Pregnant Lady Blues)

Anyone who has been pregnant, or known someone close to them pregnant, knows of the emotional roller coaster that is pregnancy. When I was in my first trimester, I was literally an emotional mess. Looking back, I feel really bad for Mr. P, as he received the brunt of my anger/hostility/sadness/general moodiness. As the pregnancy has progressed, the mood swings have subsided, but they have not ceased to exist.

I will now give you a few examples of my nonsensical crying jags, as laughing at myself is one of my favorite things.

1. I cooked dinner the other night. Seasoned, baked chicken, and noodles (the kind that come in the package, you dump them in the boiling water and they cook themselves). I was very worried the chicken wouldn't turn out good, as I am not well stocked in the seasoning department. To my great surprise however, it was not the chicken I needed to worry about. I sat down on the internet and forgot to turn the noodles down. When I went back into the kitchen, the noodles had started to burn! Of course this was an end of the world catastrophe. I took the pot off the stove, slammed it on the counter and proclaimed that DINNER IS RUIINED! I ran to the bedroom, locked the door, and wailed (I'm not joking here, real tears and real sobbing) for a good 15 minutes. Meanwhile my faithful husband, God bless him, was at the door telling me that I do not fail at life (something I proclaimed in my wailing), that dinner is still very much edible, and that I should come out and enjoy it with him.

2. After exiting the bedroom from the above scenario, I went out into the kitchen to enjoy what I could of my pitiful dinner. The chicken was actually really good and he was right, only the bottom was burnt so the noodles were still semi-edible. It was then that I realized this was not my fault. This was all his fault. Because he answered the phone when I had seen it was a call I didn't want to take, which in turn means he never listens to me. Insert pouting on the couch for another good 15 or so minutes. Thankfully, that mood ended without much flair.

3. While doing laundry, I walked in to husbands/baby's room (spare for now, to be nursery in a matter of weeks). After moving some things around, collecting some things, etc. I started looking through the enormous pile of clothes my parents bought (more on that in a little) and just got teary-eyed from looking at the baby clothes. I'm going to be a mom, how phenomenal and cry-worthy!

4. Just tonight I was sitting on the couch having a discussion with husband. I don't remember why but I ended up in a mood, and off I went to the bedroom. As I'm laying there under the covers, I realize that I really want, no need, chocolate chip cookies. As we are (were) currently out of chocolate chip cookies, this prompts yet another crying spell. I JUST WANT COOOOOOKIES, sob sob sob. Thankfully I somehow landed the most amazing man in the whole Universe and he swiftly headed out to grab me a bag of cookies. And man they were delicious!

5. A bout of hysteria struck me a few nights back. Hubs and I were sitting on the couch and all of a sudden everything is funny to me. As this is not uncommon to my un-pregnant self, I did not double think it. I started acting like a goof and doing silly things and just laughing. However, when my husband didn't find it as funny as I did (he did find it funny, he was just joking around by saying things like, "What's gotten into you, crazy" and such) I broke down. YOU DON'T THINK I'M FUNNY? YOU CAN'T BE HAPPY THAT FOR ONCE I FEEL GOOD? sob sob sob.

6. As hubs left for work this morning at 0100 (to be in at 0130, see previous post), I was left to go to bed by myself, since I never go to bed at a normal hour. As I get into bed by myself I realize that I am extremely lonely, the bed is cold, and I miss him. He'd been gone approximately 1 hour. I of course call him and explain to him how sad I am without him. He tells me that he misses me too and wishes he could be home. Thankfully after a few calmly shed tears that one dissolved quite peacefully!


My poor husband is the brunt of all my erratic emotions, and yet he sticks by me. How did I end up with such an awesome man. Let me stop, before I start crying again.

Before I end and head to bed, I want to share some happy things, however. First is how spoiled Princess and I both are. Along with my parents endless love, well-wishes, awesomeness, and excitedness, they also spoil us with frequent visits and tons of gifts. Getting packages is one of the most exciting things about living far away from the people you miss, even when they are addressed to your unborn daughter instead of you (hehehe). This week, a box came (straight to the house, the mail lady honked and pointed at my house which I found strange but that's a whole-nother story) loaded with gifts for baby girl.
How freaking cute are those outfits? I am so blessed to have such excited grandparents to be, and such an awesome family in general, man I miss them. Stopping again before tears (haha just kidding)

And lastly, I leave you with my big ol' 19 week belly. I am officially getting fat. And I love it.

We've Got a Wing-Wing (That's as Opposed to a Ding-Ding)

Well, the news is out...

WE'VE GOT A GIRL!!!

My impatience got the best of me. Yesterday, while hanging out with my mom in Wilmington shopping (where I got tons of fantastic new maternity clothes), I called one of the 3D ultrasound places in the area. I asked the lady when her nearest appointment was, she said she had some this week and I asked Any Saturday ones? She said no, Friday during the day, which wouldn't work. I of course explained to her the main reason I want to do this was so my husband can find out with me, as he leaves before our scheduled doctor ultrasound. She said she'd work with me and let me know on Friday if she could squeeze me in on Saturday. Realizing that when husband came out of the field he'd have all of Wednesday (today) off, I decided to call her back a couple hours later and see if there were any appointments for Wednesday, the next day. Of course, there weren't. She promised that we'd get in on Saturday, though.

SO. Husband came home today from the field. (hehehe) and we took a nap. At 1:46pm (that's 1346 for all you military buffs), we were awakened by my cell ringing. I noticed the number and screamed ANSWER IT, ANSWER IT! He handed it to me and I then hear that there is indeed room for us tonight. SO EXCITING. So, we get up, eat some delicious potato salad, go get things straightened out at the bank, stop by the housing office (which turned out to be the wrong office, long story) and then head down to Wilmington.

After sitting and goofing off in the waiting room for about an hour, it was finally our turn. We were so excited we were giddy. And I mean dorky, OMG YAY giddy. A pile of goo was squirted on my belly and we began watching our little miracle wiggle around my still tiny uterus. It was even more breathtaking seeing her in 3D than it was on the regular ultrasound, you could see her features so clearly.

We began looking for the goods in order to determine the "him" or "her" of the situation. And of course, she decided to be difficult. Someone that is born from me MODEST!? Can you believe it? I couldn't, but she sure wanted to keep her legs crossed and the cord close to her, as if to cover up (MOM get out of here, NO peeking!) What a brat! Finally we got the right angle and saw the "three distinct lines" of girls, according to the tech. Those lines, according to the tech were "labia, clitoris, labia" So there ya have it, baby girl, in the flesh.

As you can imagine I am over the moon! Not only did I want a little girl, I mean either way I am happy, healthy baby girl or boy, hooray. But a little girl! Girls are so cute. Now I'm not even trying to think about my little girl 12-14 years down the road and beyond. Right now I'm just focusing on birth - 2 years (haha short span that will fly by, I know) but HOW FUN is it going to be having a little tiny girl?! Eeeeee!!!

Naturally right after finding out, I had to buy something pink. To celebrate the end of the not-knowing-days and the beginning of the I'M HAVING A GIRL! Days. We headed over to the Jacksonville WalMart (after picking me up some Burger King nuggets, a weird craving, I know) and browsed the girl baby aisle. It was so difficult to pick something! After much deliberation we agreed on a pink and grey zip-up sweatshirt with matching pink sweat pants. Her birthday is set to be in late January, so we agreed that something warm would be best (Although the summer outfits were REALLY, REALLY hard to walk away from).

Now I am at home enjoying my midnight meal of potato salad before hitting the sack. I am just sitting here reeling over seeing my baby again and realizing that there is a real baby in there and that baby happens to be a girl.

18 weeks today

I still can't get over all the miracles of life.

I Love Storms and I'm Getting A Bit Round (Randomness)

This blog was written before the weekend, my computer has just been very uncooperative!

So usually I try to keep my blogs cohesive on one subject. But since nothing big and exciting is going on for me to really blog about, we'll talk about a few things today, mmk? K.

First, I love storms. They are sooo beautiful and powerful and when it storms I get excited. I open all the windows and just love sitting there and watching. It has been storming here since I woke up this morning. It's been loud, and dark, and moody! It looks like it's finally lightening up a bit, but for a while it was really going at it! And man it was loud, almost scary. Almost.

I do not, however, enjoy driving through storms. The only driving I really prefer would be clear, sunny (or a nice moon-filled sky) driving. That's the best kind. Speaking of driving, I'm making the trek up to good ol' Maryland tonight. My high school reunion is tomorrow! I'm pretty excited, lots of people I haven't seen in years, only talked to via facebook and/or myspace. It's at Magerks, my favorite bar in Bel Air (AND Federal Hill, yes, there are TWO!) and while I won't be drinking (duh) it will be a great time spent in one of my favorite places in my home town.

Lastly for today, I'm getting mega round! My belly is starting to look less like a goobly shaky fat area and more like an actual pregnant belly! Haha, ok so the only one who ever said it looked goobly, shaky, or fat was me, but I'm the only one that matters in this situation haha. We had our 17 week check up (ok I was 16 weeks and 6 days) last Tuesday. The heartbeat was 160 bpm, we heard lots of movement (wooosh woooooosh!) and all is well. The ultrasound is scheduled for Sept 17 and you better believe I am more than excited to find out the sex (pleeeease cooperate baby!) It is so fun to document the growth, look how much has changed in only a matter of weeks!

A couple weeks after we got the positive test so... 5 weeks, possibly? Still flat tummy, lookin hot!

"16 weeks," only about 11 weeks after above photo!
"17 weeks," just one week later, look how round I've gotten!

Just Another New Thing In A World of... Well... New.

*Takes a deep breath* Ok, here goes nothing. As I'm known to be quite spontaneous and apt to jumping into new things, here goes something new, yet again. I suppose I should introduce myself to anyone that might venture across this. Hi, I'm Mrs. P.

And well, this is my blog. Please excuse the messiness for now. I chose to blog here because I have seen some very pretty blogs come from here, and I'm working on making my blog be one of those very pretty ones.
This, is Lance Corporal Mr. P.

Somehow, I put him under my spell and he vowed to love me forever on May 2, 2009. Right after the wedding, we took a "honeymoon" to Camp Lejeune where he is stationed. We stayed in a cabin on the beach. At the end of the honeymoon...

we found out there will be a new addition to our little family!
So now, I'm a bit on the round side, and I'm only going to get rounder.
(That's me, 4 days shy of 12 weeks pregnant.)

So now that you know who I am and why I am here, you may be curious of the basics. Basically, I'm due January 27th, 2010. That makes me 15 weeks pregnant on Wednesday. I still think the doctor was wrong about the due date, but oh well, it's just an approximation anyway. I am 22 years old and although I am a Maryland girl at heart, I am stationed in North Carolina at the moment. I have uprooted my whole life at home to be the best wife I know how to my Marine. As it is 2 o'clock in the morning, I'm going to head for sleepy land, but be on the lookout for more from this Marine Wife Mommy-To-Be!