How NOT to Avoid Swine Flu

What are Little Boys Made of?

Well, we're about to find out!

Again, taking pictures of these ultrasounds with my camera phone doesn't really do them justice. But meet our baby boy! Let's call him "J". Don't want to reveal the name before it's time...

We received 100% confirmation today that our baby is all about mud, trucks, and dinosaurs. And books of course. And he definitely already loves the dogs. It's amazing the things they can tell you in ultrasounds these days! Technology, sheesh.

Everything is still looking great. I was actually measuring almost a week ahead of schedule which is probably normal. He is already so big - almost 6 oz I think is what she said. About 7 inches long. Which seems really big for a baby I've yet to feel! It's coming though.

Now I have permission to start planning this nursery in full force. Not like I haven't been doing that already. I am currently in the process of convincing my husband why our son needs the CUTEST bedding in the whole wide world. Because we know how much they remember their first bedding. And boys especially will want to pour over the photo albums and show their friends how cute their nurseries were when they were little...

...right?

I'm Such a Teen

There are 2 weeks left in our billing cycle and I've exceeded my text message limit...again.

I thought this only happened to teenagers.

Of course they're probably on the 18 jillion texts a month plan so this never ends up being a problem for most of them. I just love texts for convenience sake. You avoid a long phone conversation and get the quick & dirty answer you're looking for.

Sigh.

So stop texting me and I won't text you? Deal?

This is what it looked like in my neighborhood this morning:

Well, maybe not exactly, but close.

It was one of those mornings where I was so GLAD to have an SUV. Not to dog our precious Civic (may she rest in peace) but there is NO WAY she would've been able to conquer the rushing waters we encountered on the way to work this morning.

Of course that could've worked to my advantage and left me stranded at home. Dang it.

For those of you not in Houston, I promise...it really doesn't rain all the time! It just seems like it.

Schools have closed down, companies have delayed their start times, people are stranded and floating off into the Gulf of Mexico.

(I made the last part up...but I'm sure it's happening)

I'm mostly worried about our poor potted hibiscus plant. We got it Easter weekend and she's had a rough few weeks to say the least. It was finally starting to look healthy again yesterday...until the monsoon came. We brought it in the garage overnight but I have a feeling it's gasping for breath as we speak. Drowning in your own pot...that's gotta be rough. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I don't think the weather we've been having would technically be classified as "tropical".

Hopefully this lets up or else I might be taking our yacht home from work.

You'd Want to Look Good Too...

Tonight when I was in the kitchen...one second I was fine...the next I was doubled over in pain. Pure, gut-wrenching, stabbing pain. It took my breath away and I barely made it to the couch.

Thank you round ligament pains!

Kim is the only person I've heard talk about these...silly me, I thought I'd already been having some ligament pain but not like tonight. It brought me to tears. Which isn't saying a lot but I promise, this was awful. It wrapped around my entire lower abdomen and back...even my right leg was throbbing. It lasted about an hour and finally faded.

This basically means my uterus is growing and the ligaments are stretching and thickening to support it. So I guess it's all for the greater good but MY WORD.

Little Baby A got a talkin' to, don't worry.

There were a few minutes where I was afraid we were going to have to head to the hospital. And you know what my main concern was?

I had just washed my face and taken off all my makeup.

Would I be able to reapply all the makeup and fix my hair before we reached the ER?

Luckily it didn't come to that. But next time I'll know. Just leave the makeup on.

I Need a Drink

This would be the perfect morning for a Bloody Mary.

If I actually drank those.

(And if I wasn't pregnant)

Seth is at the lake for a guy's weekend and the dogs are out of CONTROL. It's like they have this extra sense. The one that says, "Heck yeah! Dad's gone, we can do whatever we want!"

This could also be due to my lack of discipline but that's neither here nor there.

All I wanted to do this morning was sleep in past 6am. 6am is the time in Tucker's internal clock where he's supposed to come over to my side of the bed, lick my face, paw me, etc. So around 6:30 I let both dogs out into the muddy backyard. Fastforward 2 hours where I've been hearing rough housing, growling, barking, running, and the like. I go to let them in and quickly realize that my dogs have been mud wrestling and are nearly unrecognizable.

Between hauling them outside to get them a bath, the dogs freaking out when they realize it's bath time, Georgia showing up with donuts seeing me about to lose my mind, me still wanting to go back to sleep, and my belly feeling really uncomfortable this morning...

...wouldn't I technically deserve that drink??

This is why I'm going to Starbucks. I'm not even putting make up on. And I think I'll go to Barnes & Noble today too. Both things that make me a happier person.

At least when my child wakes up early I won't have to throw him out in the backyard.

15 Weeks and Counting...

Can you believe I am already 15 weeks pregnant??

I had to run to Target today to try and find some clothes. Some of my shirts are getting a little snug and the maternity clothes are still too big (most depressing trip ever...not only are they still big, they are UGLY). So I'm at the awkward fat stage. It stinks. Hopefully in the next month or so my body will commit to some sort of shape so that I can do something besides just wear unbuttoned pants. And I don't understand how there is that dramatic of a difference. I've only gained maybe 3 or 4 pounds...maybe it's just being distributed differently now.

We go back to the doctor on May 1st and are HOPING to see Baby A again. The nausea is mostly gone but I've still been picky with food. And oh my goodness I want soda so bad, but I am trying to restrain myself for the most part and just stick with water. I had to get a pillow for my chair at work because it is so uncomfortable to sit up straight. I almost have to recline. And I've had a lot of lower back pain too. It just keeps on getting better, folks! But I'm not one to complain so.......

:)

We just pray for a healthy pregnancy and a healthy & happy baby! We can't wait until October...it can't get here soon enough!

And We Just Thought We Lived in a Zoo...

Saturday night we were BLESSED to have Gabe, Marla, Olivia, Ava, & Nina stay the night!

Who are these people, you might ask? How do you know them?

Well. We didn't.

You might remember a book giveaway I did a couple of months ago on the blog...From Blushing Bride to Wedded Wife. I loved the book so much that I felt compelled to email the author and let her know how it had impacted our marriage. Lo and behold, she wrote back, and an online friendship began!

Marla is now working on her fifth book called 52 Zoos in 52 Weeks. I didn't even know there were 52 zoos to visit! And surprisingly, as we found out yesterday, there are actually hundreds more zoos than that! Who knew?

So, if you used your context clues, you can probably figure out that their family is traveling to 52 zoos in 52 weeks. The past week or so they have been on their tour of Texas & Oklahoma zoos. All the way from Columbus, Ohio. Instead of finding hotel rooms, they stay with friends, family...maybe even VERY COOL but complete strangers. God has blessed their journey tenfold. They have free tickets to all the zoos...get to meet amazing people along the way...all the while experiencing the breathtaking animals God has created. And I checked...they never get tired of zoos!

So to make a long story short, I had offered our house up when they came to Houston. Obviously, she'd read my blog and knew how much we had to offer (kidding) and that was that.

We had such a FUN time with Marla, Gabe, and the girls! I was worried the girls would be bored since we didn't have any kids or fun toys but that didn't stop anyone. Who knew we had an awesome running track through the living room and hiding places under the coffee table? F-U-N. I was amazed at how well the girls played together...none of the screaming, fighting, and pulling hair that I remember growing up!

After dinner we made some ice cream sundaes and Nina (3 yrs) was especially hilarious...

Nina: I keep bumping into stuff in my ice cream
Marla: Wait, what?
Nina: (Sad face)

Um, folks she was "bumping into" her sprinkles! What a nut!

God has had a hand in each step of their journey and I feel like He definitely had a plan in having us all meet. Marla, we are so thankful we got to meet all of you and can't wait until next time! Because you know I will definitely be coming to Ohio to check out that basement of yours.

Yes, she has a basement. How cool is that??

Me & Marla

Seth, Me, Ava, Nina, & Olivia...with our serious faces

Come see us again soon!

Organized Chaos

Ever since I found out we were pregnant, I went into a panic mode of sorts.

Some of you are smiling knowingly and saying "ah nesting!"

I'm not really sure this is nesting. Like I said, I think it's more of a panic mode. A final countdown of sorts. I have this instinct that I'll never be able to get anything done again after this kid comes. It's not unusual to find me running around thinking, "OMG, only 6 months left to get that greenery to cover the lamp cords!"

My list includes anything from the aforementioned greenery...to a new printer (b/c what if Baby A needs to fax or scan something??)...to getting new soap dispensers for our bathroom (that's what I get for registering for cheap ones at the wedding!)...to finding placemats, armatale serving pieces, curtains, ceiling fans, and more.

(Most of which Seth has veteod. But don't worry, he doesn't understand how important serving pieces will be to our son yet.)

A very important thing on the list was my most dreaded.

Organizing old photos.

Something happened around May of 2006 (perhaps a college graduation?) and my natural instinct to organize pictures must have stayed behind in College Station. I had stacks and stacks and envelopes and more stacks of pictures documenting anything from Bachelorette parties to football games. You name it, I have a picture of it.

(Unfortunately)

So while getting things cleaned up for our visitors tomorrow night (more on this later), I decided, what the heck, let's get those pictures organized! I got a couple photo boxes at Hobby Lobby and went to work. Then, when the entire bedroom floor was covered in pictures, I moved on to Plan B. Which was...try to organize these photos into some sort of timely fashion and just put them in the box.

So I did. I did something so uncharacteristic of me and just started writing labels like "Fall 2004" or "College - Misc" or "Pre-2006" or "More Misc, etc".

And let me tell you folks. It...felt...great!

I realized that 20 years down the road, I wasn't going to care what month and year I ate at Texas Roadhouse with friends...or which Spring Break that was...I'll just think "hey, this was in college." And I'll be happy with that.

And I am so relieved to have this done!!! I thought the day would never come. And thank GOODNESS we're entering the digital age where people hardly even print pictures anymore. Thank goodness for digital scrapbooking, photobooks on Shutterfly, and being able to publish your blog even into a handy dandy bound book. I think it saves us all some of our sanity.

In the meantime, we'll be building our ark here in Spring because the rains are a'comin! The first day of the MS150 was even cancelled because of the weather, which I believe is the first time it's ever happened. We were getting all sorts of email updates today and then by 4pm they flat out cancelled Saturday's ride. And let me tell you...if I was actually getting on the bike this year...I'm not even sure I'd get up to start in La Grange on Sunday morning. So I commend all of you who are still planning to ride!

If you want to show any last minute support, check out Erika or Trisha's blogs to support them in riding for a cure!

All for now.

Cuteness

Is this not stinkin' cute?! I was ordering a baby gift for a friend from Jaime's Etsy Shop and could not RESIST this cute onesie. I know Jaime from SA and she is so very crafty...y'all need to check out the other precious things she makes too! She also threw in an adorable burp cloth to match the outfit.

Baby Anderle's FIRST OUTFIT!

And only outfit...for awhile at least. I am still waiting to buy much for this kid, lest someone should come back and say baby boy is actually a baby girl. But it was kinda fun to get one thing!

Ok two things. But the 2nd is his Halloween costume which I've had for about a year already. Except I looked at it last night and even though it says 0-9 months...I think about 3 newborns could fit into it! Oh well, at least it's a cute picture opportunity! :)

24...3...2...1

This is how I feel right now:


(I am a little excited I figured out how to edit pictures in Paint. Yes, I realize they're probably doing this in 1st grade but I am excited nonetheless)

I am FURIOUS at Tony Almeida! I am so mad I couldn't even calm down to go to bed last night. Seth had to keep reminding me "it's just a TV show" but GOOD GRIEF! I knew Tony had something else up his sleeve but never thought he would still be a full-blown bad guy! I thought he just had some sort of illegal sidejob going on. Unless stealing bio-weapon canisters is a side job. Kids these days. I swear, if we find out the VP is in charge of all of this in one of the last episodes...I'm just going to say I called it.

I think we just have to keep hoping that this is all somehow part of the greater good. But I do know Bill Buchanan would NOT be happy with this. Not at all. Probably not Chloe either but who cares about her.

However, I DO think Jack is onto him. There has been something nagging at the edge of his brain and he hasn't quite been able to wrap his arms around it...but I think we'll see that pretty quickly. Jack will see the light soon enough.

Other thoughts:

-I wanted to slug Kim Bauer if she said "daddy" one more time. For real. Has she EVER called him daddy in the history of the show? Doubt it.

-When is someone going to shoot Olivia Taylor???

-During the beginning of the show I was already beginning to formulate a blog post in my mind about how Agent Moss was FINALLY cool! So it made me even more angry when Tony outed him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-This is by far the best season since season 3. Without a doubt.

There is no way I can wait 6 more episodes to find out the ending. I'm going to have to start checking my websites for spoilers. This is just ridiculous!

Monday Musings

- Is it just me or does that new Hannah Montana movie actually look KINDA good???

- I am the proud owner of NKOTB tickets when they come to The Woods in July!

- Do the above two make me sound 13?

- I think it's about time to break out the belly band. I think I heard my pants snap when I leaned forward this morning...

- It seems like we have something going on every weekend through July. This stresses me out!

- I HAVE SO MANY BOOKS TO READ!

- I am actually starting to enjoy watching golf on TV. What is happening to me??

- We had crunchy tacos last night and I thought they were disgusting...when do I get to start liking Mexican food again??

- Is anyone else so excited for SYTYCD to start?!?!

- I'm a little sad but pretty relieved I won't be heading to Austin on my bike this weekend. Sorry guys. But good luck to Team Anadarko!

Ok, that's all for now :)

The Meaning of Easter

One morning this week during the Focus on the Family segment on KSBJ, they were talking about the meaning of Easter. And I think so many times it gets blown off, misunderstood, or just taken lightly.

I get frustrated when people tend to focus year-round on the DEATH of Christ. They mourn pictures of Him on the cross, weep over his pain, and have a general guilt over His sufferings. While it is critical to remember to sacrifice Christ made for our sins, this is NOT what God wants us to focus on! During the segment they mentioned, "Without the resurrection, Christ's life is meaningless." And that is so true. Everything He came to earth to represent, teach, or rebuke becomes meaningless if we forget that He is alive in all of us. Jesus dying on the cross is not the miracle...but the empty tomb is! I think God wants us to feel the same joy Mary Magdalene felt when she saw that stone rolled away and Christ's body missing!

Today is what we call Maundy Thursday...the day to commerorate Jesus' Last Supper with the Apostles. We remember several significant events including Jesus' washing the disciples feet, the institution of the last supper, the agony of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the ultimate betrayal by Judas Iscariot.

It's funny that tomorrow is considered "Good" Friday considering it is the day to remember the crucifixion of Christ! I think these two important days often get overlooked in the hype of the Easter bunny, egg hunts, and baskets. I can't even imagine how difficult it could be to try and teach your children all these important things about Christ's life when they're running around trying to find the best eggs! And we talked about this last night at Bible study...where in the world did the Easter bunny come from anyway? And eggs?? Why not the Easter chicken?

Anyway :)

I feel like I'm writing this post into a brick wall, but I think that the older I get, the more I realize just how important and SPECIAL this Easter holiday is to all of us. We are so incredibly blessed to have a Savior full of grace, forgiveness, and love no matter what we do or how bad we screw up.

Take time over the next few days to really thank God for his sacrifice. HE IS ALIVE! I hope you can experience the same JOY I do in knowing that, because of what we celebrate this weekend, I have a first-class reservation in Heaven.

Right next to Seth, a Marble Slab, and a Barnes & Noble.

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die"

John 11:25-26

Dancing Queen...and King

We're crossing our fingers that Baby A has moves as good as these!

p.s. And to my family...who does this little boy remind you of???

Wedding? What Wedding?

The day has finally come. Or maybe it's been here and I never realized it. But what people say is true...you just don't remember much about your wedding!

Yeah I remember what I wore...what the wedding party wore...what I ate. But everything else is kinda a blur.

This is why I think people make WAY too big a deal about weddings and getting every last detail perfect and spending horrific amounts of cash for nice invitations.

Because you don't remember it anyway.

And it's the memories you make from there on out that really count. It's not about the G's you drop to make the day perfect...it's about making sure you're standing at the altar with the person God chose for you to live your life with. It's about meaning those vows with your whole heart and not breaking them. It's about beginning a life with your best friend!

And I am so thankful I did.

So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.

Matthew 19:6

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:12-17

Two Times the Fun!

This past Saturday we had a shower to help Kim prepare for Blake and Jackson! It's hard to believe these little boys will be here before we know it. They got tons of cute clothes and toys...it's just a good thing these two won't be spoiled rotten!

Our yummy Lindy's cake

Look at those tiny outfits!Hostesses & Kim

(Me, Tanya, Kim, & Kedra)

Thanks to Kedra for opening her house and to Kim for letting us share in this exciting time!!! We can't wait to meet the boys and I know Baby A can't wait to meet them either!

More Pictures

Some of you want to see these...some of you don't. Gosh, it's hard to please everyone!

There hasn't been a dramatic change yet in the belly department. Still wearing my same clothes. Seth keeps asking when I'm going to start showing so he can talk to the baby. I thought that was cute of him!

I wish it would be noticeable sorta soon though (famous last words, right?). I had a dermatologist appointment today and when I mentioned that I was pregnant the nurse seemed a little doubtful and gave me a strange look. I want people to believe me when we eventually go to register and get furniture!!

So here I am at 12 weeks...


And here I am at 13 weeks...

Is this pregnancy taking forever for all of you or just me???

Money Shots

Perhaps it's a violation of our babies privacy to post these pictures. But I feel it's a necessary violation. And really, since he's not here yet to argue with me, I think I can do what I want.

Here's our first between the legs shot. I'm not going to use any arrows because I think you all know what 2 legs look like (but for the newbies to ultrasounds, the 2 legs are sticking up in the air) As you can see, the picture is already bent because so many people have been studying and giving their own opinions! Sorry for the bad quality but I've been having to take pictures of these with my camera and it just doesn't turn out that well.

Here's a side shot. If you focus on the left side you will see some more evidence...
And here's just another picture of the baby. I thought this one was neat because you can see the hemispheres of the brain. It's amazing what technology can do these days.

And yes, because of the outpouring of emails I've received, we DO realize this could still possibly be a girl! But it is fun to have a good guess and nice to call our baby something other than "it" or "that kid we're having in October" :)

And speaking of that kid we're having in October. Man. We've been going through our extra bedrooms today and I cannot understand how we have accumulated so much junk. I was going through boxes of old books earlier and it was just heartbreaking to have to move some up into the attic. Seth told me I could pick my favorites to leave out on the bookshelf but that we couldn't possibly store 500 books in the baby's closet. And I guess if this is a boy, he definitely won't want to read my chic flicks...

Hopefully not at least!!!

It's A...

YEA!

At least we're about 80% sure it is. I made Angie (the best U/S tech in the world) promise that she would make a guess at our appointment yesterday. And this girl has an excellent track record of being right and being right early! She told me to consume lots of sugar or caffeine beforehand to make sure Baby Anderle would be moving around. So fruit juice and gummy bears in tow, we headed in the room. But there was no denying what we all saw on that computer screen. And it was definitely NOT a girl!

Unfortunately I don't have the money shots at work with me but I will share the few I have. We were so blessed to get a billion pictures yesterday (or only 20ish) plus a DVD of the ultrasound which wasn't quite as exciting when we watched it at home but still very cool nonetheless. (It needed some elevator music or something in the background...)

Here's baby boy sucking on his thumb

This one looks like he's smiling!

I promise to add the other ones soon and we're also going to see if we can somehow upload what's on the DVD. It's about 25 minutes so I doubt anyone would watch the whole thing but still...just in case!

Angie promised she would be able to make a 100% call at our next appointment. Which is still several weeks off. So don't worry, we're not painting any rooms (why do people keep asking us that??) or buying any bedding, but it's at least exciting to have a good guess!

Why So Cold??

It feels like this everyday in my office.

WHY?!

I wear my sweater...I use my illegal work heater...and still my teeth chatter.

I also feel like this at home. And I think we keep the A/C on 74! But it never fails, I always have pants, socks, and a blanket wrapped around me on the couch.

Aren't most pregnant people normally hot? Apparently I don't fit the mold (yet, anyway). Maybe I'm part-reptile...