Overwhelmed

Oh my...I'm feeling just a bit overwhelmed at the moment. I'm honestly surprised I haven't felt like this before now.

Sam has done pretty well overall today. I think he really enjoyed getting to hang out with Todd before he had to be at work this evening. However, dinner was a complete and total disaster with Sam being a terror. He threw his veggie lasagna all over the place, threw his fork, and then continued to cry and scream for 10 minutes because he didn't like what he was having for dinner. It was an awful mess and I was beyond frustrated with the amount of cleaning I had to do and with his unwillingness to even eat a little of his meal. I cleaned him up and put him to bed. I don't worry too much if he misses a meal since he eats fairly good for most meals and also has a snack mid day. Missing one meal isn't a big deal. I just feel so rotten that he was so upset and the only thing I could do to calm him down was to put him to bed without getting to spend time enjoying a story before bed (we usually read before bed). I guess I just have to chalk up his rotten behavior to the fact that he was tired. He's fast asleep now and it's only 6:30pm.

So this behavior got me thinking...I must be insane for having another child in about 2 months. Life is complicated and hard already and Sam is about to be 2 and then I'm going to have a newborn too. Oh my! My head is already swimming with all the challenges ahead of me. I'm sure we will be fine, but right now I'm overwhelmed with it all. Plus I feel like there is so much to do before the baby comes and yet I'm not really sure what I need to do.

I'm beyond tired, my back is killing me, and I'm just plain uncomfortable. Oh and I'm emotional mess too. I miss Todd like crazy. He's working 2 jobs and works every day. This Thursday will be the second day off he's had in over 2 weeks. I love him dearly and I appreciate all his hard work, but I miss him. When he is home I sleep or rest. I feel awful that I don't get to enjoy my time with him because I'm so worn out from being pregnant and having to take care of Sam all day. I just wish things were a little different right now for us.

I'm still plugging away at my Pampered Chef business. It overwhelms me too and I'm not even really doing that much right now. I'm doing a wedding shower at the end of the week and I'm overwhelmed with all that I have to do to be ready for that. Don't get me wrong I love having my own business and working my own hours, and I don't usually stress about doing shows and showers since they are so much fun for me. However, this show is stressing me out since I've got so much to do before Friday that I'm feeling like I don't even know where to start. This is where my compulsive list making skills come in handy. lol

I know this feeling will pass I just need to take it easy and take it one day at a time. If you think of us..say a little prayer for me. I could use it right about now.

Naked boy likes to read

These are all taken today. Sam decided after his nap that he no longer wanted to wear his shirt so off it came with a little help from daddy. Since then Sam has been running around playing and doing something else he loves to do which is read.

This is one of his favorite books. The Tooth Book. Notice how it's all chewed up on the top right corner. Pretty funny huh?

Another favorite is Are you My Mother. He looks like he's actually reading it doesn't it? He sat and looked at every page with George right there beside him for the story.

He's on a mission to bring The Tooth Book to daddy who is in the bedroom.

He found daddy and decided he wanted up on the bed to look out the window. He's still holding on to The Tooth Book.

Okay, time to read it daddy.

Sam reading to daddy. It looks like Todd is ready for a nap.

Sam's new favorite game

Sam has several new activities that he likes to do. He loves playing with his cast iron power wheel cars. Loves watching them roll back and forth on the floor and on the table. His other new favorite activity is digging in mommy's purse for goodies. Whenever he's quite and I can't find him I know that he's in my bedroom pulling something out of my purse. Yesterday he brought me a Pampered Chef catalog that I had in my purse and then brought me my wallet later on. What a funny kid. At least he brings everything to me so I'm not hunting for my wallet later on. :)

Dinner

Last night for dinner we made some yummy Tuna Cakes. We are running low on some groceries so I thought that I would try and do something simple with somethings that we already had on hand. I was able to find this recipe for Tuna Cakes using tuna and a box of stuffing. They turned out pretty well and were good and didn't take much time at all to make. We even had enough to send home with a friend so her hubby could eat too. This recipe probably could be modified to make less but we didn't even try to. Maybe next time we will so there isn't so much. Here's the recipe and the link to it as well.

Prep Time:
10 min

Total Time:
26 min

Makes:
6 servings, two tuna cakes each

2 cans (6 oz. each) light tuna in water, drained, flaked

1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken

1 cup KRAFT Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/3 cup KRAFT Mayo Real Mayonnaise

2 Tbsp. CLAUSSEN Sweet Pickle Relish

3/4 cup water

MIX all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate 10 min.

HEAT large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat. For each tuna cake, shape 1/3 cup lightly packed tuna mixture into patty. Add patties to skillet in batches.

COOK 3 min. on each side or until golden brown on both sides, turning over carefully.

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/recipedetail.htm?recipe_id=109716

There is also a version of this for fish too if anyone is interested.

Saturday night

The above pictures are of Sam last night. He had taken his bath and was waiting for Daddy to get home from work. Todd got out a little earlier than the previous night so we were eager to see him. Sam was very worn out and very tired, but determined nonetheless on staying up to see Todd. No his hair isn't cut again it's just really curly. He gets it from me. Also his PJ's are a bit big, but they are so cozy and he loves wearing them and yes we roll up his pants at his waist so he can wear them. :)

Um...

Here are a few pictures of the little man today playing. Enjoy!

Here Mom here is the zebra.

He's taking his own picture with his fake camera. lol. The kid loves taking pictures.

Flying his airplane.

Hmm...what toy do I want to take out of the toy box?

I found a ball. Yeah!!

One of the joys of being preggers is that sometimes you have random pains for no reason. I've been waking up a lot in the middle of the night with the worst leg cramps I've ever had. I feel like I've run a marathon in my sleep. I'm not running thats for sure. I'm hoping this is going to let up soon since it is very uncomfortable for sure.

Sam is doing well...walking even more than ever. Yeah for progress! He even walked when he was at church in the nursery which was a first for him. He'll walk at home some but never anywhere else. Him walking at church was a good thing and I'm excited about the progress.

I'm wondering about potty training and when I should start to do that. I've been told that when he starts letting you know that he needs to go or tells you he needs to be changed, does his business in secret, and asks to use the potty that those are are all good signs he's ready for potty training. He tells me when he needs to be changed and he does go and hide out to do his business in his diaper. He's pooped in the tub like 5 times during his bath. I'm so tired of cleaning that up (but at least I know the tub is clean right? lol :) ) I'm not sure why he's doing that but I'm wondering if thats a signal for us to try the whole potty training stuff. Those of you have done the potty training thing or are doing it now your input would be greatly appreciated. I'm open to suggestions or even resources to help with this. I'm really sick of cleaning the tub.

Growth

Is it possible for a pregnant belly to just grow on it's on over night? I feel huge today and feel like I've gained 20lbs overnight. I know that I didn't, but man do I feel like it. I guess that's just part of getting closer to the end that and the million braxton hicks contractions that I'm already starting to feel.

Easter Sunday

Here are some pictures of Sam this morning before we left for church this morning. I think he looks adorable, but then again don't I always! :)

Dr's appt and pregnancy update

Okay here's my belly shot for those that are wondering if and when I'd ever put one up. I'm 29 weeks tomorrow. Yes I know this picture makes me look huge, but honestly I think it's the angel in which Todd took this picture.

I had my Dr's appointment today. Did the fun glucose test first things this morning. The drink is orange soda like so it's not that bad. The worst part is that you have to fast before you drink it so you are starving by the time you do this test. As far as I know all is well and I won't have to do this again. In case you don't know the glucose test is to check for gestational diabetes which is common for a lot of women in pregnancy.

Dr. says my blood pressure is textbook. I'm glad since I had the blood pressure problem when I was pregnant with Sam. (But then again there were a lot going on when I was preggers with Sam that could have affected that-like temporarily not having a job, and living with in-laws, money issues...etc.) This time around though everything is going smoothly for me so far with the blood pressure thing.

I've gained 2 lbs. Woo Hoo! I'm up now like 5 lbs. So like I said the above picture is kinda deceiving.

Dr said I'm measuring a little big but didn't tell me how big since she said she didn't want to get me too excited about it since it could be just a growth spurt. She said if I'm still measuring big at my next appointment we will talk about it more then.

I start going to see the doctor every 2 weeks now which is exciting since that means we are getting closer to having baby girl. At the same time though it's kind of a pain since that means thats more appointments I have to keep up amongst everything else that's going on.

Oh and I was able to talk to her about the pinched nerve in my back. She said it was the sacitic nerve and was a combination problem of how the baby is sitting and applying pressure and movements that I'm doing that is causing stress on the nerves. Mostly she was talking about the way I handle carrying extra weight around--like my heavy kiddo Sam.

There it is folks. All in all everything is looking good and I'm feeling pretty good.

(****On a different note Andrea had her baby boy is all is doing well. Thanks everyone for praying for her and her family I know that she appreciates it.****)

The new bed!!

The new bed is here and it's amazing. It's huge and plush and looks like it belongs in a fancy resort!!

ramblings

Sam is sleeping right now. Isn't he cute? He's cuddled with his favorite George (in the red shirt) and was probably on his way to get out of bed to bring me yellow shirt George and fell asleep. I'm hoping tomorrow night I'll sleep as hard as he is now since our new mattress will be here. Yeah!! They are suppose to deliver tomorrow so I'm hoping they do it while I'm at my doctors appointment so Todd can be the one to tell them where it goes and all that.

Speaking of appointments I go tomorrow for my 29 week check up. I get to do the fun glucose drink. I'm glad I called to verify my appointment tomorrow because they said I can't eat after midnight tonight until after they do my blood work at 9:30am. Ugh..that's going to be hard since I'm starving in the morning. I guess I'll just have to pack a snack for myself in my purse so I'll have something to eat as soon as the blood work is done. At least I'm one of the first appointments of the day so hopefully I won't have to wait forever and will get done quickly. Besides the glucose test it's just routine stuff--weight check, blood pressure, etc. I'm sure I've gained some weight, how much I don't know.

Oh and got to love the weird pregnancy dreams..last night I had a dream a lady wanted to kill me to take my baby. Crazy weird..glad that's just a dream. You might think it's a reflection of something I watched on tv before bed but it's not. I watched Dancing with the Stars before calling it a night last night. lol. Too bad I didn't dream about dancing because that would have been a lot more pleasant. Oh well...I'm trying to keep my mind busy by doing something that's good for me instead of watching tv. I've found my word search puzzle book and have decided to finish the remaining puzzles in the book. I hadn't touched the book since before Sam was born.

Told you I was rambling and I guess that's about it.

Please don't stop the music

There are some fun things going on.

We found a mattress. Yeah!! We looked at only one store, found the bed we wanted, got an awesome deal, and are having it delivered on Thursday. We've been talking about getting a new mattress for a long time so it's really exciting that we are finally going to have it.

To celebrate we went to Saul Good for dinner. Yeah I know it seems like all l ever talk about is eating, but it's not true. ;) Here is a picture of my two favorite guys in the whole world at dinner. Aren't they cute?



Other fun stuff going on is that Sam has another cd that he loves to dance to. He loves the Rihanna Good girl gone bad cd. He especially loved 'Please don't stop the music'. It's too cute to watch him dance and get so excited about the music. Again it's one of those things that I can't capture on film which is sad because it's funny.

He's also decided he's wanting to walk more already. Yeah!! let's home this pace keeps up. Thanks for the prayers everyone.

Speaking of prayers..please say a quick prayer for my friend Andrea. She is due to be induced tomorrow with her second child. Pray for the family as I'm sure this is going to be an exciting but stressful time for them.

Determination

I love Sam and I love his determination to do something when he wants to. However, it can be the most frustrating thing in the whole world when he's determined that he doesn't want to do something. Sam has PT every Monday and for some reason he was determined today that he wasn't going to walk no matter what we did to motivate him. 40 minutes into his hour session he actually took a few steps. Yeah!! The goal is to have Sam walking all on his own fully by the time the baby comes in June. So pray for my little man's stubbornness and willingness to start walking regularly. It is really taxing for me to carry him around all the time since he is so big and so heavy. He's now happy the therapist left and is watching cartoons on the couch and is happy as can be. Go figure! :)

Tagged

(This Picture is from summer 2007. This is as recent as it gets since I don't get my picture taken a lot when I'm the one holding the camera all the time).

Marissa tagged me so here it is.

10 Years ago:
I was 16. Living in Uvalde and planning my escape to Asbury College in KY. I had just accepted Christ and watched one of my best friends move out of state. I was also preparing to graduate high school and thinking about prom and the other usual stuff that teen girls have to deal with.

5 things on my to do list:
1. Buy a new mattress-but first figure out what makes a mattress a good brand
2. Finish planning Pampered Chef Bridal shower with host for next month
3. Call property manager and request new screens for windows
4. Order Pampered Chef supplies needed
5. Finish list of names/addresses for baby shower invites

5 Snacks I enjoy:
1. White corn tortilla chips and avocado
2. Life cereal
3. Ice cream (not really particular at this time about what kind it is)
4. Strawberries
5. Barqs Root Beer (I know it's a drink but I really like it)

What I would do if I were suddenly a billionaire:
Pay off student loans, buy another car, buy a house, set up a series of investments, pay off my mom's house, go back to school, and move somewhere fun. Oh and of course have Todd quit working so he can write a novel like he's always wanted to. I might keep doing Pampered Chef..I love it so I don't know if I would quit.

5 places I have lived:
1. Saint Petersburg, FL
2. Boston, MA
3. Greenwood, IN
4. Uvalde, TX
5. Lexington and Wilmore, KY

5 Jobs I have had:
1. Product Demonstrator
2. Video Store Employee
3. Customer Service Rep at Best Buy
4. Manager for RadioShack
5. Youth Counselor at Methodist Home (worst job ever, but I did learn a lot)

3 Things you probably don't know about me:
1. I refuse to watch horror movies because I think they are too gory and gross. I prefer a good psychological thriller any day
2. I love finding good deals on things in store, online, and in fun places like Peddlers Malls.
3. I prefer to have older furniture that has character than to own something new and fancy out of a catalog. Though I wouldn't mind having a new bedroom set of furniture..but it would have to be a good deal. :)

Oh okay so there it is. Hope you all learned something about me.

Today

Today Sam is 21 months. I can't believe it. He's such a blessing and it's so hard to believe that he is that much closer to being 2 years old. He keeps me busy and entertained that's for sure. Today we played with his airplane and train for hours on end and then had dinner before a bath. This kid loves his bath and being silly. I'm so thankful for him and love that he loves to give me kisses all the time. I'd love to capture that on film for all to see, but I just don't think I could manage that. :)

On a different note I am officially in the 3rd trimester. In less than 3 months baby girl will be here. I'm excited and am starting to feel like I've pregnant for ages. I'm looking forward to the end.

Stolen

I took these off of my friends blog because Sam is adorable and well...he just doesn't pose for me like he did for her. :)

Sam's first haircut

This morning I decided to go and run some errands before meeting my friend Jon for lunch. It was a very fast paced morning and full of good bargains. I was able to get Sam several new pieces of clothing really cheap. I'm excited because I hate spending tons of money on clothes he will only wear for a few months before he outgrows them. Anyways before lunch we went to Fantastic Sam's where Sam had his first haircut. Sniff Sniff. I didn't want to do it, but his long hair needed a little bit of a trim. He did pretty well especially after they let him play with one of the many combs. I wasn't able to get a picture of the end result since as soon as they were done he wanted up in my arms. I'll have to try and get one later. Here are the few pictures I was able to snap of him during this process.

Lunch

Sam and I had lunch today with Marissa and Jos two of the prettiest girls we know. :) We met at Saul Good and had some yummy food and enjoyed the kiddos. We also had a pretty cute server too so that made the experience all the better. :) In case you're wondering it was Todd. He's there working a double today and yes we had to pay for our food even though he's my husband. The above pictures show Sam and Jos meeting for the first time. Both of them were so intrigued by each other. It was neat to see them together. After lunch we hung out at Marissa's house where we got to visit a little bit more which is fun since we hardly see each other. Marissa is a friend of Todd's from high school and was one of the first people that I met when Todd and I started dating and has always been really nice to me so it was great to get to see her and her beautiful little girl for a little bit today.

Male model

Sam is a nut. He loves to pull out the umbrellas and winter scarfs and hats out of the trunk near the door. We let him since he usually has so much fun throwing stuff around. Tonight though he's decided he wants to model one of my pink knit winter hats. He actually wore it for like 10 minutes which is record time since he never wears hats for more than 3 seconds. Here are the pictures. Enjoy!

I love this kid.

Sam loves his baths. In fact immediately after dinner he starts chanting "bath, bath, bath" until you go and start running his bath water. He loves the water and could spend hours playing in there if we let him. Despite how cold it is and how drafty our home is he had to have his bath tonight like usual. He had such a great time that I had to get pictures of it up for everyone to see. It's moments like these that I feel like the luckiest mom in the whole world and want to share that joy with everyone. Hope everyone is staying warm and having fun like we are. :)

Winter finally showed up

This KY weather is a bit crazy. Yesterday it was cold and rainy and then it started sleeting and eventually turned into snow. This morning I opened the blinds to see that we finally had some accumulation of snow. Here are some pictures I took from just inside the front door looking out to the road and the neighborhood. I think it's currently like 26 degrees out and it's still snowing so there is no telling how much more snow is going to come down.

This is just outside the front door. It looks like about 3 1/2 inches of snow.

Here's a closer look. Almost 3 1/2 inches of snow.

Sam checking the measurements. He's impressed we got snow too.

My front yard and the neighborhood.

Front yard and the neighborhood.

Front yard and the cars.