Putting together the nursery

We finally got the crib put together and started setting up the nursery this weekend. We picked up a few packs of baby hangars for the items we've been receiving. We hung those in the closet along with several of my old baby clothes and folded up a few blankets on the shelf. We moved the end table and rocking chair to the other side of the room and made room for the crib and changing table. The crib looks great! It went together very easily and makes it look very official in the room. I put my quilt rack in the room too and hung up a few rag quilts I made along with an old afghan that looks so pretty in there. We will eventually paint the room, and put up shelves, we are just waiting for the sales coming up over labor day to buy the paint. The color will be a soft butter yellow to tie everything together. The shelves are oak planks and we found some great wrought iron brackets to hang the shelves on. It should add to the rustic cowboy look and I cant wait to see it!

We also got a few magazine boxes this weekend and some large storage boxes in bright orange and green for my sewing/crafts room. I am organizing one side of the shelf for a wrapping paper station and so I set up the large boxes on the floor and filled them with all the gift bags and packaging boxes that have been stored in big bins in the back of the closet downstairs that I could never find. I set up the magazine boxes on the shelf and folded up all the tissue paper, flat wrapping paper and tiny gift bags and sorted them each in their own box. I am really happy with it so far. I still have a few roles of wrap to figure out but have put together an elastic band on hooks to stretch over the front of the rolls that also stand on the shelf and holds them in place.

Now I just need to get started on some of the other small projects I have going so that the rooms can start to come together. I am really excited about all of it, and of course as I sit here typing all of this I realize that there is really a lot left to do. It is a bit overwhelming but if I do a bit every week then it should all come together soon enough. well my little eyelids are drooping and Im starting to spell every other word wrong and re- type it, so it looks like beddy-bye time for Ally.

Have a great week, I'll write again soon.

xoxo

Big Project... tired girl

Hi again,

So I have this HUGE project I am working on at work right now. I am doing a personalized email mailing to 200 potential customers per week for the next 4 weeks. It is very time consuming and tedious work and I will be very happy when I get it all finished. It means that I am getting done late most days and not getting much of a chance to get up and move around during the day. My hands a sore from the repeated motion of typing and my eyes are blurry from both the screen and the miniscule print on the directory that I am copying the addresses down from.

I finally was able to book an appt with the specialist for Thursday of next week. It is a long way away, and Im trying very hard to choose the right things to eat and drink without really knowing what that means. I will feel much better after having met and spoken with the doctor and knowing what is best for us for the duration.

The baby is about the size of a turnip this week. Should be about 5 inches from the head to the bum not including the length of the legs, I am curious to know how long the legs are since there is supposedly a lot of movement now. I am not really feeling anything as far as movement goes yet. Maybe a flutter here or there, but it is hard to tell whether it is my tummy digesting or if it is the baby moving. They say that the baby's bones are hardening now so there should be more substance to the kicks soon. I'll keep you posted, as this is something I am really looking forward to!

We got rain again today... everywhere but near our house! It is almost as though we live in this little bubble and the rain comes straight at us then splits, goes around and forms again, just south! I dont know why, but its the craziest thing you've ever seen. Amazing thunder and lightning though, just not nearly long enough.

Well, My eyes have just about had it for today. Have a great night. Ill write more again soon.

xoxo Ally

The results are in :(

Well,

bad news I got my results back today. I am gestationally diabetic. I have to make an appt with a specialist this week and go over my blood sugar levels, a new diet plan, and have the baby checked up on. There will be very regular checks for the baby and for me to be sure the growth rate is not too fast and my levels are in check. This whole thing is very sureal for me, I feel great, I dont feel like there is anything wrong with me at all and that makes it seem like there shouldnt be anything wrong. There are rarely ever symptoms with this however so it makes sense it just seems icky if you ask me!

Jamie being wonderful as ever printed up some new recipes for me just for this so that I can try new things and be healthy. I think that is going to be the hardest part for me, cooking and amazing food are such a huge part of my life that I cant imagine giving up some of the things I love best. my greatest fear is not being able to eat fruit, or at least not when Im craving it or just a snack any time I feel like it. I know it is natural sugar, but it can add up quickly.

There is not much I can do right now until I meet with the doctor and find a plan that is right for me. I have done some reading but there really is not a lot of detailed info because it is a case by case basis. As I said before it is just another challenge, I just worry so much that the baby will be at risk. I can deal with me, but knowing that something I am or am not doing might hurt our baby just makes me miserable. I hope that when we meet with the doctor we will be able to have a better understanding of how the baby is so far and what steps to take to keep things in the green.

This has just been one of those weeks again, I hope things start looking up as the week continues.

Until I know more, have a great night. I hope you all are well and happy.

Much love,

Ally and baby

Photos to Share

Hi,

Just thought before I did my daily blog that I'd share a few photos with you of the items Ive been writing about. First the shower curtain in the nursery bathroom. This is the top strip with two of the cute duckie hangers and the super cute fabric. There is an identical strip at the bottom of the curtain. There is also a picture of my first tomato from my new plant. it is the tiny one in the middle. It has a great flavor, but since it is soooo hot here it had to ripen off the vine and

also has tough skin. I am hoping that there are more this fall that are a bit better, but it is so cute, I just had to share. I'll send more soon. ttyl.

Just catching up

Sorry I missed a few days. I wanted to give an update on how my test went.

No results yet, but I made it through without getting sick so I feel it was as successful as it could have been. I got quite dizzy at about the first hour and needed to lie down, but being super hungry, only having sugary syrup in your tummy and then having blood taken out will do that to a person. Once I was able to lie down I felt a bit better, Jamie got quite worried as I looked very pale. I got to at least close my eyes and try to rest a bit. As well as you can in a doctors office anyways.

Jamie was amazing though, the whole time. Not that I expected any less, but after I let him know I was getting cold, he went to the car to find a blanket or something, and after thinking that he had gotten lost he'd been gone so long, in he walked with a brand new blankee for the baby from our registry at Target, for me to cuddle up in plus a pair of snuggly lounge pants and a pair of super soft slippers with grippies on the bottom so if I wanted to get up to walk around, Id be safe. If that is not enough to make a preggie woman feel totally care free I dont know what is! He is so wonderful and thoughtful and it makes me so happy!

We finally got through all four vampire bites, the last one was super painful, not sure why but it was. Then it was all, ok you're good to go, call you in a few days. It seemed a bit abrupt after lying there for so long and having all my blood taken and everything, but then after sitting for a minute waiting for the pain to subside, I realized, I can go eat now, and then I was starving!! We went to a little fresh mexican place just across the street that is soo good. It was nice because the food had a lot of protein and fresh veggies so it felt like I was getting some good nourishment after all that yuck!

The rest of the day I was kind of out of it. I never thought that I would be so tired after that but really was. and my arms hurt like crazy from the pokes and prods. Jamie did take me to a movie for a bit of a treat that night after work. We saw GI Joe. very fun movie, action packed! Not so great for me though, was the theatre we went to, Alamo draft house. Neat concept, but the greatness stopped there. They are a full service restaurant while you watch your movie. A whole menu of lots of good options, but I thought the food was not great, at least not mine. Add that to a theatre that is mostly flat and pretty much all near the screen, which was huge and the sound being up WAY too loud even for an action flick and you might understand where the migraine came from. things moved across that screen way too fast and trying to eat anything but finger food, just proved too much for me. But I did enjoy the show so that was a plus and after a relaxing car ride home with a beautiful lightning show, I felt totally better, headache gone! yeah.

Yesterday, I felt much better all around and was able to get a few things done around the house. I finished the shower curtain in the nursery bathroom, it looks soooo cute! and makes the room so much brighter! I also got to start clearing out the closet in the nursery of all of our winter clothes and found a few things that will fit me a while longer. I hung up a few of the baby's layette pieces and was able to stack up the blankets and afghans in the top of the closet so we can start to see what we have. Still a lot of work left, but any progress is good!

Well Im just about to make pancakes for breakfast so I should get headed out. Hopefully you are all caught up now. Have a wonderful weekend!

Ally

Anticipation

Tomorrow is the big glucose test and so far Im doing ok with the waiting. Im sure things will be fine, it will hurt yes and be gross yes, but its only a few hours. It's not really any of that, it is just the though that there is a great possibility that I will have the gestational diabetes and to be totally honest, that scares me to death.

I dont really know anyone close anyway that has diabetes and so I hear things about how bad it can be and going into shock and having to carry shots around for emergencies. I dont tend to do so well in situations where from one minute to the next things can change so quickly. And too with the exception of during the pregnancy, I have not always been so great about eating on a regular schedule, some days I would be out running errands and look up at 4pm and realize I hadnt eaten all day and end up with a migraine. What happens if I have a day like that especially with my extremely forgetful preggie brain, will I be ok, what will hapen??

So many things that I really just dont know. I know its a lot of years ago but I always think of that scene with julia roberts in Steele Magnolias where she has these terrible episodes and doesnt know who she is or what terrible things she is doing, and then she get so sick and dies and its just awful! Again I know, Im sure its not as bad as all that anymore and it was an extreme case, but still extremes of fears right?

Well now that I have managed to depress everyone including myself, I really must move on to other things. There are some things I am looking forward to getting done this weekend, hopefully finishing the shower curtain for the nursery bathroom and the black out curtains for the nursery to go behind the cowboys on the range cafe curtains that grandma and I made earlier this year. There are so many things I am working on it will just be a matter of time and weekends of little chores to get them all done. I really am so excited to be doing all of this. It means so much to me that I can come from a family that is so creative. Nani taught me so many things growing up and now I get to put them all to good use making things for our baby to enjoy or use. Being able to fill our home with things made from my hands and my heart is so important to me. I cant wait till I actually get a few things done so I can share them with you!

I'll sign off for now. A very exciting episode of Gilmore awaits and Im already getting sleepy :)

Have a great night, and wish me luck tomorrow!

Strange Week

So far this has just been one of those weeks. All the little things see to pile up, things get thrown at you that you don't expect and everything else just seems to be a blur of craziness.

I am working with my boss regarding my work up until the baby and the maternity leave after. He is of course very supportive but it is still a topic that is difficult for me. I am such a people pleaser that when it comes time to let someone down it makes me stressed and flustered. I know that it will mean a lot of work and searching to find someone that meshes well with him and can live up to his expectations. Not that I think Im super great, but there is a very specific personality type that can guide him just the way that's needed as well as anticipate needs and do most things before him, as he tends to put too much on his plate at once.

We talked for quite some time today about some of the things I want to accomplish before I cut my hours back in November and what that will entail. By the end of the conversation of course I felt much better, but I am still wary of the few months ahead. I do not want my leave to cause more work or problems so most of the time I shoulder that burden and take it on myself to do everything for everyone.

Typically I would not consider stepping back my hours but I feel it is the best for me and the baby and our family in general. I am working very hard to not stress myself out too much and to not internalize things that go on as my fault or issue, when they may just be the result of miscommunication or someone else's way of handling things in their life. This is a very important time for me and I don't want to make things difficult or miss anything that is important to me.

Jamie and I took a few minutes out today when we got home to sit in our Favorite chair together, and just be. We talked a bit and snuggled a bit, but just really slowed down and spent some time together. We try to slow down at the end of the day, but its not always possible. The phone rings or dinner's on the table. But every few days things just come together and we get to take a moment out from everything else and focus on each other. To focus on how much we love each other, how happy we are and how excited we are about the baby. Sometimes even for just a second forgetting the rest of the world. Its our magic time and nothing in the world is better. Especially when he puts his ear to my tummy to see if he can hear the baby's heartbeat. These are the moments I wouldnt trade for anything else, or give up for anything at all.