So many activities!

Because I have no time, this post and it's counter parts are not going to receive the glory they deserve, but I'll share just a few things.

A few friends and I put our heads together this year and decided to do a 12 Days of Christmas theme for our fellas.
My friend Jessi had originally read about this on a blog and shared the process with us girls - which we all loved and jumped right into.  The idea is to give your husband 12 Christmas's, each day with a theme.  So, for 12 - try a dozen of something.  11, maybe a cd with 11 songs - and so on.  While I didn't follow the number theme very well (my imagination can only go so far) I did have a blast sharing gifts with Jody each day.
We've been so stressed (it's like we're turning into adults or something - gross!) that it was nice to have just a tiny something to cheer each other up with every morning over coffee, or after dinner and under our 'tree'.

Moving on. 

At 19 weeks (pregnant, I mean) I decided to treat myself to a fresh haircut and a day to myself.  After feeling frumpy for the last four months or so, it felt great to have someone cut, curl and spoil me.  On my way home, Jody called me and told me to grab myself a coffee, that he was running errands and I should just relax and enjoy myself.  Wha?! 
So I did.  I explored Target, Michaels and indulged in some Starbucks.  It. Was. Fantastic.  When I came home, I found this:

 

 Ah, my glider!  Jody and I are not planning on getting much for the baby, sorry little one.  We just don't have the space and will be moving shortly after she's born, so it makes no sense to accumulate more furniture.  But, one thing I had asked Jody to bend our rules on was a rocking chair.  I really, really wanted a rocking chair. 

When I mentioned this, he kindly said no and to drop it - it made no sense, and we could get one when we made it back to Montana.  I whined for a bit, then figured that's the way it would be.  But - no!  What a sweet fella.  Here it is nestled in our little living room (there's no room upstairs just yet, we'll have to do some rearranging) and I've been spending every evening rocking away, sometimes knitting, sometimes reading - always growing in excitement for the arrival of our daughter.  I feel overwhelmed with blessings.

Jody and I went to Christmas Town on Wednesday night before leaving for Montana the next morning.  We. Love. Christmas Town.  Almost to the extent of... weird-ness.  We had gone to our 20 week ultrasound that day, had the tech hide the photo in several sealed envelopes, and then opened our 'gift' here, in private.  Before opening, we wrote down our final guesses for the baby's sex - Jody's guess was a girl, I guessed a boy.
 
Guess who was right?  As usual.

 

We had chosen both a boy and a girl name, so after opening the envelope, we tried to get used to switching 'Cluster' to her real name, Cedar.  It's hard.  That's still my little Cluster in there, and I've even caught myself calling her 'him' once or twice since finding out.  Oops.  It's becoming much more real now, as she now has a name and a little personality, too.  I've felt kicks and bumps and body slams and it's one heck of a feeling.  I think I get it now.  Pregnancy is pretty dang cool.

Since arriving in Billings, Jody and I have enjoyed a total of...five (I think) Christmas's.  We had dinners, brunches, movie dates, etc all packed and planned for us the moment we arrived - and we've had a great time.  We even got to see the Schuyler's for a Christmas brunch this year, which is always a blessing.  I don't know how Reese does it, because I was stinking exhausted after hour two with my nephews.  At one point, I fell asleep on the couch but was quickly awakened by Smith saying 'Uh, Kayla?  It is NOT bedtime.'


From left to right, Sawyer, Mason (I think), Gunner, Smith and teeny, tiny little Hamilton.  What handsome fellas!

 

And last, but not least, our wish came true - we had a white Christmas!  It started sprinkling little snowflakes on our way to church on Christmas Eve, and by the time we left the church, there was over an inch on the ground.  It was just beautiful, and so perfect.  It snowed more over night, and Jody was able to happily shovel-shovel-shovel walk after walk early Christmas morning.  What a goof.

Here are some highlights from our week.

Baby Hamilton.  Have I mentioned how much I love him? 

Mom and dad - Mom looking super foxy this year! 

The new family.

Christmas morning.

Beautiful J enjoying some gifts from Santa.  Santa always knows.

That's all!  The Merriest of Christmas's - we've had such a great time being home for the Holidays.

Holiday Heart Melting.

 

A few quick notes.

• Hamilton is perfect.  Perfect, perfect, perfect. 

I especially love his frail little ankles and the way he snuggles his arms up close to his face.  I've witnessed 3 half-sneezes, a few smiles (Hey - I'm his Aunty, I get to claim smiles no matter what kind of gas-bubble-faces they really were!) and I'm reveling in some solid lovin' on this guy.  I just love him.  And my, my - does Jody look great with a baby, or what?

 

• In Cluster-News, Jody and I learned that we will be welcoming girl in May, if you can believe it. 

I'm not sure that I do.  Although I had zero 'feelings' whatsoever of the sex of our baby, I think I truly believed it was a boy, because that's what we Schuyler's do: we make little boys.  Or, so I thought.  I'm ecstatic, though, and a bit hesitant about how to raise a little lady, having watched many fellas being brought up.  But I can't wait for this new chapter, it's beginning to feel very real now.

 

 

That's all for now.  Our 'vacation' is packed to the brim, and thanks to my early-riser status, I've found a few spare moments to myself amidst the craziness. 

 

Happy Holidays!

 

Things that make me smile + The not so pretty

Things that make me smile:

 

• I know I shouldn't be boasting about beer right now (in my oh so delicate condition) but really I'm doing so for Jody.  The guy loves beer, craft beers specifically, and a solid IPA even more specifically.  He's a frequent drinker of Dogfish Head's 60 and 90 minute IPA's, and has been searching for the 120 for quite some time.  He finally found it last week, but was sold only one due to it's special-ness.  He cracked it open last night and allowed a smallish sip for me.  It was pretty tasty, but I'm still desperately missing a good bottle of wine more so than beer.  If you want to know my newest fave, it's Dogfish Head Chicory Stout, although I don't really drink beer anymore, as we all know.  Sad.

• Jody surprised me and taped (er...DVR'd?) Frosty the Snowman and even sat and watched it with me last night!  I may act like a four year old, but Frosty is just one of those special memories I have of growing up.  Next week is Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer, and you can bet your bottom dollar that I won't be the only member from the Schuyler household tuning in.

• My morning routine.  The alarm goes off at 5, and while I used to jump out of bed, hop into my workout gear and speed off to the gym, now I snuggle in bed for, I don't know, 2-10 snoozes.  Mohaha!  It's wonderful.  The weather is cold, and my fitness level is nay...which sort of makes me want to sleep all day.  I'm trying not to feel guilty for not working out as much as before, but am instead embracing slower mornings and good smelling coffee.  I like making breakfast for Jody, and then sitting myself down at the table for oatmeal and devotions.  I  pray 1 Peter 3:8-9 for our little guy/girl every day.  I've chosen this verse for our kiddo, and my commitment is to pray it daily throughout my pregnancy, and to speak and be an example of it's words after he or she comes along.

(Is he/she, him/her, son/daughter getting old to anybody else?  It might be time to find out the sex.)

• My Cluster-Belly.  I'm not quite sure what to do with or make of it yet, but it's still completely intriguing.  I like to poke it, scratch it (I am an itchy, itchy gal) and, well...look at it.  I wish it to grow much more pronounced in the next few weeks, as I'm ready to finally look pregnant, and not just feel like a giant pile of...pregnant.

• This tea.  It makes me happy, and oh, Trader Joe's!  I'm obsessed!  It smells great, and it tastes great!  I was adding honey and a bit of vanilla almond milk during my cold, and I'm convinced it made me feel better.

 

 

 

And,

The not so pretty.

• I am growing more and more uncomfortable in my own skin as each day passes.  I know, I know...I'm pregnant.  I'm growing.  What's happening inside me is...beautiful, a miracle, natural, temporary...sure.  But right now what's happening inside of me is hormones, heartburn, nausea, and unfamiliarity with my own now slightly bumpy and dimply figure.  These feelings are selfish and wrong, but natural too, I think.  I'm at an awkward phase.  I hadn't gotten to a point in my life where I was dreaming of pregnancy and having a baby with Jody yet, so I'm dealing with a bit of a resistance to the changes occurring

• I'm bummed to have now missed two of Janelle's baby showers, and am now sitting and waiting to miss baby's appearance.  I also missed Jenny coming home from Missoula over Thanksgiving break, and I'm bummed that I'll only be seeing her for a few days during Christmas.  I know I've beat this subject up enough, but I'm homesick.  Missing my family, Casey, coffee shops, Black Otter Trail, and I really stinking want some Z Pizza, too. 

• Colds.  I have been sick for over a week now, and I'm exhausted.  What started out as a simple cough and cold morphed into something nasty over Thanksgiving break.  There was coughing, sneezing, crying, puking, headaches, and near-death.  Yep, all of those things.  Except maybe the last one...

• Winter.  I hate the cold.  I miss the sun.  The end.

Turkey Day 2012

I hope a wonderful Thanksgiving was had by all!

Ours started bright and early for a Turkey Trot out in Colonial Williamsburg.  

It's funny, I'm the one who signed us up for the trot, I'm the one who works out every week, I'm the one who is normally the early riser...

But here's Jody at 6:30 am treating himself to a tasty breakfast biscuit...

 

and here's me, 

coughing.

Thanks for always capturing my most beautiful moments, Jody! 

 I was NOT looking forward to a cold Thanksgiving morning trot.

I've been plagued with a nasty cold for the past few days, so I'm going to use that as half an excuse as to why I first tried to bail by 'accidentally' turning off my alarm clock, then literally did 'trot' my way through the whole race.  

Yikes. 

 I feel like a turkey.

Cute napper.

 Anyway,

moving on.  

Jody napped after our race,and I cooked, cooked, cooked!  Then we headed to Nate and Danielle's for one of the tastiest meals I've ever enjoyed.  There was food GALORE, and Jody fearlessly, but regretfully enjoyed two large platefuls.

The guy is still recovering from his Thanksgiving wounds.

 Oh yes she did!  Looky what Danielle made!  

I thought it was fantastic.

 Little Ayden-Bugger 'enjoyed' some turkey himself, and was even allowed to sit at the grown-up table!

 Before fit hit the shan.

And after. 
I have more napping photos, but honestly, his guy was miserable and it just wasn't pretty.

We are really missing home this Thanksgiving, but are counting, counting, counting the days until we come home to see our friends and family.

This year, I am thankful that deployment is not only over, but was such a huge blessing to Jody and I.  We missed each other deeply, grew stronger, braver and wiser individually and in our relationship, and were so blessed to have had the opportunity to get ourselves out of debt.  Deployment was hard, and I don't want to go through another again, but God has truly blessed us and comforted us along the way.

I'm thankful for great friends, back home and in Virginia.  I'm thankful for an active church and good fellowship.  I'm thankful for new opportunities and our growing baby.  I'm thankful for a strong man who loves me and takes care of me.

We are greatly cared for, and God is good.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jody, 15 Weeks

 

-Frequent Mood Swings.

-Eats lots of sweets,

-Is annoyingly tired.

-Ready for a shopping trip to Fatherhood Paternity.

-Is missing wine. 

(Badly)

 

 

I kid, I kid.

 

 

Jody is generally a nice person,

actually IS eating more of my baked treats than usual, (I like to think he's kindly being pregnant with me).

Poor sucker really is sleepy all the time.  But that's only thanks to our daily 5 am alarm clock.

Jody doesn't shop.  Or get fat,

and beer is still one of the main food groups.

 

 

Today I have my Holiday Cooking/Baking grocery shopping to do, and don't tell anybody...but I'm... excited.

 

  If you remember, last year I decided to build my very own, first Thanksgiving meal.  I cooked the turkey, baked the stuffing from scratch, kneaded my own rolls, cooked cranberry sauce, and attempted a pumpkin pie (which failed).  Jody and I (mostly Jody) ate our way into oblivian, then turned around and did it all over again with some friends the next day...



(Thanks again to Danielle for the picture...I'm a picture thief.)

 

Basically, it was awesome.  Both days included good wine, epic naps, laughter, and happy hearts.  It meant a lot to me that we had such wonderful people to spend the Holiday's with while being so far from home.

 

This year, I have not the energy to create a beautiful Thanksgiving meal on my own.

 

Lucky for me, Nate and Danielle will be hosting Jody and I, along with another couple and a few other friends for Thanksgiving.  We're going pot-luck style, and everyone is bringing their favorite Thanksgiving dishes.  I must admit that I am outrageously excited for pumpkin pie, and will not chance screwing it up by baking it myself this year.

Thus,

Costco :)

 

I will, however, be trying out a new stuffing recipe, will bake home made rolls and am changing it up with an ice cream pie for those of us (freaks) who don't like pumpkin.

 

Jody and I also signed up for our first Turkey Trot this year!  Although I'm in horrible shape, I'm pretty pumped to get some fresh (cold) air and release those endorphins before we cook and eat the day away.

 

I promise, pictures are to come!  I've posted about this ahead of time so I would remember to bring my camera to both the Turkey Trot, and also amidst the cooking/eating fun.

 

Maybe it will work.

 

Happy Holidays to you!

 

 

 

 

 

I'm going to be brave and share a 'belly photo' or two.  Feel free to laugh at my awkward faces and poses, friends. 

Just Judge away, Judgers.

This is me at 12 weeks.  I think I was on my way to a super-intense-WALKING-sesh at the gym. 

Taking six weeks off from tough exercise is painful

on the body and

the ego and

the hormones, and thus

the husband.

...I'm working on becoming more of a regular, again

:)

Here I am fondling my boobs,

er...

trying to reveal a belly somewhat at 14 weeks. 

I was again headed to the gym, 

you can see how stoked I am, see? 

 I can now (un)comfortably run for a mile or so, but my knees are really killing me lately (nothing to do with Cluster, my knees just suck) and I'm out of breath pretty quickly, so I've been sticking to walking at an incline and using the bike and stairstepper for my cardio.  I've been a 'flaky-regular' when it comes to lifting for the last few years.  I only use free weights, and light ones.  Really light.  Less than 8 lbs, Light.  So I'm sticking to what I know.

 

As if you're not already sick of hearing about me me me,

I'll keep talking about...me

 

I have convinced myself that I was just acting crazy when I agreed to find out the sex of the baby in December.  Now that we can find out in a few weeks, I'm about ready to put up a fight against it.  I've always imagined myself waiting until delivery, and it makes sense that we can wait this time around since we won't be setting up a nursery or anything of the sort.
As for pink and blue outfits?  No daughter of mine will be swimming in pink frillies 24/7, so clothes don't matter much to me, either.  There's all of that, but deep down, I think it terrifies me that there's a real person in there, and I don't know how to accept that.  Finding out the sex seems to...seal the deal.  Is there anyone out there with experiences on both sides?  Which was more ideal for you?  What did you like/not like about your choice?  Any regrets/Next-time-around's?  Jody has his heart set on finding out soon, so I'm certainly not going to take that from him if that's what he needs.

 

 



It's November!

 

Starbucks Holiday Cups are here!



Beanies.

Cold Noggins must be sheltered by Carhartt. 

Mine especially.

Yes, that's a Christmas wish list hint.

Pumpkin, everything. 

I made some yummy pumpkin bread on Halloween and have my eyes fixed on Ma Sky's old pumpkin bar recipe next.  I also made some home made pumpkin coffee creamer recently, and I can't get enough of anything labeled 'Pumpkin Spice' in reference to my nose.  Something about a spicy smelling house just makes the world a nicer place.

 

Most importantly, November means I'm getting closer and closer to indulging in a little Holiday music following Thanksgiving.

 

(I've already tried convincing Jody the real Holiday music starts post Halloween, not Thanksgiving, but to no avail.)

If you're a Holiday-Music-Scrooge, you can kiss my growing hiney and go eat a brussels sprout.

 

 

I don't know how the time is flying by so quickly, but I'm in no mood to complain, as I've now entered my second trimester, feel about 90% back to normal in regards to pregnant-psycho-itis, and am counting down the days until we fly home for Christmas, and get to meet baby Dubs.

Jody and I are staying busy with work, church, friends, quality COD time and many knitting hours. 

 

I am almost finished with my final projects, and just need to finish editing them before I review, print, package, and send far, far away to be graded. 
I don't feel like I've done my best work, but I do feel that I've learned a lot along the way, and that was the entire purpose of this program.  Firstly, it was paid for by the military, and secondly, it was interesting to me, so why the heck not? 
  I'm excited to put into practice what I've been learning.  I really am a good source of information in regards to vitamins, supplements, weight loss and lifestyle management and I could talk about this stuff for hours...try me sometime!

 

Work is really beginning to pick up for Jody again, so we're anticipating more late nights and a few underways coming up. 

Which,
is gross.

 

But, alas, I think back to this time last year, and remember how frustrated we both were with...life.  Last November, Jody was still on Joint Warrior, I was lonely as heck, and we had another long deployment to look forward to in the next year.

 

Now?  Deployment is finished, The holidays are upon us, we have just 8 more months of military life, and my, my!  There's a Cluster growing in my belly!

 

A year certainly does change things.

 

That's it for now,
but here are a few recipes to help cheer up the freezies in MT,

I do not miss the bitter cold up there.

Apple Cinnamon Butternut Squash Soup - I like to dunk waffles in mine.  I know that's weird, but that's what I do.  I've also had sweet potato and ham biscuits with this - very yummy!
 

 Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer - Janelle told me she made some of her own coffee creamer and I copied her.  I'm not sure which recipe she used, but I used something like this.  I have never really been someone to use cream or sugar in my coffee, but with the cold weather, a body demanding to grow chubbier, and the Holidays coming up, why not ruin a perfectly good cup of black coffee with sweetened condensed milk?  Mmm.




 

 



Oh Sandy!

Since the nervous calls and texts from back home (pertaining to our Sandy-safety) are still quite persistent,

Here's an update:

We.
Are.
Fine. 

Relax, dudes.

The news likes to tape the most dramatic and icky scenes, and although it's pretty wet, windy and grey here, we're not getting the worst of the storm, a lot of it is going up and over us, and we're just fine.  In fact, Jody and I both have the day off because of the weather, so he's huddled on the couch playing video games, and I'm running around doing whatever it is that I do.

This morning, Jody and I slept in, (does 7:30 count as sleeping in?) had a delicious breakfast together, then loaded up with beanies and rain jackets and headed into the storm to explore.  We drove around for about an hour and found that most of the flooding was happening right outside our door, or fairly close by.  We've had a bit of flooding on our carpets so far, but nothing worth fretting over.

We even drove down to Buckroe Beach where we saw people out there surfing!  Surfing!  In the freaking cold!  They were catching some pretty sweet waves, though, and I admire them for their adventurous spirits.  Me?  I'd rather sit in the passenger side and take pictures from my window.  Speaking of which...

 

This poor car was stuck right outside of our house.  Jody had to pull out two trucks in this same area yesterday afternoon.

 Not a good day for a picnic.

 

 

Burr!

Updates

 

On Baby:

• We had our first appointment with a midwife last Thursday, where we were lucky enough to get another shot of our handso-beautiful little...person.  We weren't supposed to get an ultrasound that day, but since they couldn't quite find the heartbeat with a dopplar, we got our wish and I got me some jelly-on-the-belly.  Seeing Cluster wasn't the heart-stopping, tear-inducing experience that I've watched on tv so many times before.  Actually, the jelly was cold, and I had a giggle fit part way through, which made Cluster dissapear momentarily, and made my midwife scold me for laughing.  They didn't print any pictures for us, but my Handsome took a shot with his iphone.  

 Little Gummy-Bear-Baby.

 

• Cluster is growing just fine and dandy, apparently.  I'm 11.5 weeks now, which makes C the size of a large plum.  Still no belly, unless you're Jody or myself and knew the likes of my belly before Cluster started making up camp in there.  Mostly I feel like I've eaten a few too many pancakes, and, honestly, I have.
• Jody keeps telling me to quit calling our baby Cluster, as it's no longer a cluster of baby-cells, but rather, a sort of chicken-like, borderline alienish human baby.  But I can't help it.  I don't like referring to our kid as 'it', and I swore I'd never call it my little 'bean' or whatever annoying names people give their littles.  (if you've given birth to several precious 'beans', I'm not judging you, I love your bean, too!  But I myself am not carrying a bean.) I've grown to love Cluster (the name and the kid) and that will be his/her name until he or she makes it's grand entrance.  (Although, we're quite positive we'll be finding out the sex come December, so perhaps Cluster will receive it's name beforehand)

On Jody:

• He's a saint. 
• Around week eight, I came home one day to a silly husband with a bottle of peach sparkling cider, two gigantic giradelli dark chocolate bars and a sweet card on the coffee table.  The guy smooched me and we toasted as he welcomed me to my 'third month'!  Who-da thought?  It was a pleasant, sweet surprise and I love knowing that he's keeping better track of the days than I am.
• He's a know-it-all, in a good way.  Every new and weird little thing my body does, he has the answer to why it's happening, what's causing it, whether it's normal and how long it should last.  I'm usually just looking for someone to complain to, but I should know by now that will never work with Jody.
• Jody has very thoroughly cleaned out my car twice now in the last month.  What the heck?  He's awesome.
• We have come to a very promising conclusion that we will be moving home with the baby, come June of next year.  Jody has done his research.  He is checking out job opportunities in Montana, the housing market, and has even considered re enlistment.  I'm so proud of the way he has handled himself and the way he treats me along the way.  He is always respectful, informative and easy to talk to.  No matter where we end up, I know that it will be a struggle either way, but change and growth are good.  Right?

On Kayla:

• Hi!  I'm Kayla McNapsAlot, but you can call me Hungry, for short.
• I've now had dreams starring ground beef, marshmallows, waffles and mac n' cheese.  Beef and waffles are a bit odd for me, but normal-ish, considering my outrageous hunger level.  But marshmallows and macaroni?  I will never eat a marshmallow (unless it's safely melted into a mug of hot cocoa) because they are absolutely disgusting and I've never been much of a noodle gal, so it'll be interesting if I choose to indulge in the classic cheesey-goodness. 
• I'm thinking that yes, yes I will.
• Like I said, there really is no physical evidence of Cluster yet, but I feel quite uncomfortable, regardless.  Most of my jeans were a bit big to start with, so I have some room to grow, although I feel as if the only thing growing right now is my hiney.  I guess that's where I carry my babies, and might, maybe, sort of be blamed on my obsession with maple syrup and dark chocolate.
• I've finished three of six of my final papers.  Slowly. Getting. There.
• I've been unusually homesick.  I think part of it has been that I've felt so sick and crummy for the last month, and I wouldn't hate to snuggle under one of my mom's electric blankets with a bowl of her broccoli-cheese soup and take a trip to Target together, like Deployment Times.  Maybe part of it is that Janelle is now just a month and a half from meeting baby Dubya, and I'm longing to touch her tummy and feel his kicks.  I'm also sad that I won't be there for Baby's birth.  It breaks my heart, actually, although I know Janelle won't need me there.  But that's my sister, man!  I need to be there and I need to love and kiss on my sweet fifth nephew as soon as he's here.  But, alas, I shall wait for all of this until Chrismas, and I will remain grateful that we even get to come home for Christmas this year!

On other 'Stuff's':

• Jody and I have joined another Community Group with our church that starts tonight.  I am overly excited to meet another great group of people, as we met some incredible life-long friends in our last group.  I've also gotten back into volunteering (this year I'm with the four year olds) at our church every other Sunday.  I love the eagerness and innocence of this age.  They love to sing, dance and play, and they think I'm stinking awesome.  Which, is stinking awesome.
• Thanks to my good friend Danielle, there is some photographic evidence that we do get to have some fun out here :)  I'm so grateful that Nate and Danielle are good about having us over for games, fire pit nights and pumpkin-carving parties.  Plus, Danielle always has her camera.  For those of you who haven't seen Jody in 10+ months, here are a few photos of what we've been doing.  Thanks, Danielle!

 Out for dinner and drinks for Nate's birthday.  Jody ordered 'the boot';  a 64 ish oz of beer in a glass boot with several others and a pile of German-slop.  Not his finest hour.

 Jody and Nate, loving up on Hookah and the firepit...and of course, each other.  Aw.

Nate and Danille hosted a pumpkin carving party.  I ate lots of candy corn and failed at baking pumpkin seeds I'm not going to tell you which is mine and which is Jody's.  If you know us, you'll figure it out.



We went to a hockey game last weekend and had a blast! Again, Nate and Danielle scored us awesome seats and I got to see my first real hockey-brawl.  I want to go again.

 

I am going to work on remembering my camera and taking more photos.

Among other things.

 

Happy Tuesday!

 
 
 

 

 



I have had zero motivation to complete my final projects for my CNC program.  Can someone slap me across the face?  Send me a threatening letter?  Threaten to take away my baking privilages?  C'mon, people!

Okay, okay.  I have finished one of my papers. 

confession:  The 'paper' only had to be 1-2 pages.  Mohaha!

The good news?  Since I'm not doing my homework, I'm getting some quality Pinterest time in!  Alllllright!

A few of my fave recent pinterest 'accomplishments':

• Making this Ice Cream.  It really is that amazing -- even Jody approved!  We've been mixing it with cocoa, peanut butter, and eating it plain.  It tastes just like soft serve!
• Since I'm currently obsessed with waffles/pancakes/anything swimming in real maple syrup, I made this blueberry syrup to go with my duty-night-waffle-dinners.  Yum.
• This isn't off of pinterest, but in my feed-me-beef-now craze, I made The Pioneer Woman's meatloaf for dinner last week.  It. Is. That. Good.  I should have shared this favorite recipe long ago, really.  Just remember, you have to add the bacon.  I used to make half with bacon/half without so Jody and I could both be satisfied, but now that I can truly appreciate slimy, greasy pig meat resting atop a cow, I recommend that you just eat the damn bacon.
• I know, I don't recognize myself either.
• Moving on:  I found this and thought it had some really fun ideas.  Just worthy of sharing!
• I made this scrub.  It was not that great, and it got moldy in my shower.  I don't recommend.

Feeling sick and tired for the past month is only partially to blame for my lack of school motivation, as I've been feeling much more chipper this last week or two.  With the exception of a few random tummy upsets throughout the day, I've been mostly reduced to some headaches and a severe case of the sleepies.  I've been wanting coffee more and more now, which is a good sign to me that Kayla is emerging again from deep beneath the first-trimester-shadows.  I've also consumed several servings of vegetables this week (Go me!) and began lovingly accepting yogurt into my life again - another huge triumph in the appetite department. 
I still have little interest in all of those KIND bars I'm usually obsessed with (which sucks because I order in them in bulk online) and most veggies are still a green-faced no-no for me.  Basically, cheese and waffles (not together!) are good, french fries are better, and I could eat a pound of beef for an afternoon snack if we could afford it.

On Tuesday, Jody and I went to an open house at the DePaul Midwifery Center in Norfolk.  We met some fun couples expecting right around the time I'm due (April/May-ish; We're still waiting on a confirmed due date) and got the run-down on the (program?  Is that the word I'm looking for?).  I was very impressed with the building, the people, and the...um, program.  I'll be meeting with a midwife in two weeks so see if Jody and I are a good fit, to check that I'm a low-risk pregnancy, and to do all the fun stuff pertaining to the baby - hearing a heartbeat, measuring him/her (I'm reluctant to call him a 'her'...I don't think Schuyler children are capable of making females) and getting another good look at Cluster.  We're very excited!  Today, Cluster is the size of a green olive, working his way towards a prune, I think.  Please keep up your prayers for the little babe in there, we're so excited to learn more about him!

Or her.


My time is up.  To the books, I go! 

I'm one of them

 

I've always thought pregnant women were just a bit completely ridiculous.

 

When Janelle announced her pregnancy, she posted a silly video of two women singing of the 'smug-ness' of pregnant women.
 

Another friend suggested pregnancy to be 'The Ultimate Excuse', while
 

I've always thought pregnant women carried a certain entitlement above the rest of us, the mere mortals not growing a human inside our bodies, that plain drove me nuts.

 

 

Well, I now raise my white flag and admit that I was a clueless-mean-headed-jerk.

 

In my smug-excuse-ridden-entitlement, I'd like to inform you all that I
 

 am sick as a dog,
 

cry over everything,
from Rob and Kristen's breakup to an over-buttered slice of toast.

I 

Need. More. Sleep.

And 

BM's? 
I don't remember those.

 

Every day is different.  On Sunday, I woke Jody in a rage and informed him that he needed to make an appoinment to get himself snipped almost immediately, and then proceeded to spend the day on the couch eating box after box of saltines while feeling sorry for myself.

 

Yesterday, I woke up ready to conquer the world (and I did).  I sucked on a B-Natal Preggo-Pop for breakfast, cleaned the house, grocery shopped, played with Ayden and made a fantastic dinner for Jody and I.  (Okay, well I thought it was fantastic)

 

Jody and I are marveling  at the strange turn of events our lives have taken. 

Our talks have turned from hiking and vacations to babies and houses. 

Date nights used to be sushi and drinks, now my poor husband is lucky if he gets a slice of cheese on his ham sandwich and a mountain dew for dinner.

 

Jody has been so good to me.  Very patient and full of unnecessry empathy and grace, as I am a tad dramatic.  He takes care of me, cuddles me, buys me peanut M&M's (you can earn my love with these) and even tolerated a somewhat expensive shopping spree I went on this weekend in a fit of Awkward-Body-Blues.  I am so grateful to have a not only supportive, but excited partner 'doing this' with me.  He's in it, and he's fearless.

He's also quite handsome.

 Here he is not enjoying a preggo-pop.  Hey!  Husband's get morning sickness, too!

 

But anyway, 

I just wanted to chat a bit about the weirdandgoodandreal things happening to me/us.

I know reading this is probably somewhat annoying (after all, nobody likes a whiner) but despite the awkwardness of pregnancy so far,

I feel so blessed.  I can't believe there is a heart beating inside me
Reading about Baby Cluster's size, growing body parts and functions amazes me every day.

I mean, really, growing a baby is incredible.  It's absolutely mind boggling, and is the clearest evidence to me that my God is good and faithful and strong...not to mention he's a freakin' genius.


 

 

+

 

+

 

=

 

Yep, it's happening!

 

If you thought my posts were whiney and dramatic before, then brace yourselves or remove me from your blog list, because now I'm pregnant and crazy.

 

We're...shocked, excited, terrified, ecstatic and everything in between.  We found out just over two weeks ago, and after agreeing to let things 'settle' between us for a while before sharing the news with our friends and loved ones, we discovered several days later that we were both dying to tell somebody, and apparently we can't keep our own secrets.

 

I, of course, wanted/needed to start asking questions.

 

Jody is just very pleased with his man parts.

 

So, here it is.  This is certainly a time for prayer and celebration!  It feels surreal, and I am so very blessed.  Please pray for the health of the little monster (who for the last week seems to be eating me alive from the inside out) and also for me, for said 'issue'.

 

There will be updates to come, as things move along.  This is all still very fresh and new, so gentle support and big prayers for now, please.

 

Isaiah 43:1 has been giving me great peace in the past few weeks, as I've experienced some fear and doubts about my ability to carry and then raise a child.  The Lord says...

 

 

 

'I have summoned you by name; you are mine.'

 

He's got me, and I've got this.

 

Oh Happy Day!