Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along: 39 weeks 4 days
 Size of baby: Between 6 to 8 lbs and 19 to 21 inches long
 Weight gain: 35ish lbs
  Sex: Girl. Charlotte Rose
 Movement: Lots of kicking in my ribs. And I can feel her hiccups in my hips.
   Sleep: Ok-ish. I've been waking up a lot with contractions, or just b/c I'm hot and uncomfortable.
 Symptoms: Well, the baby in my belly :) And contractions and horrible swelling in my feet and hands.
 What I miss: Being able to put my pants on without struggling. It sounds silly, but those of you who have been pregnant know exactly what I'm talking about :)
 Cravings: Sprite. Weird.
 Aversions: White Cheese. Tea. Ranch. Meat. The usual.
  Best moment this week: Hitting the 39 week mark. Almost done!!
 What I am looking forward to: Meeting my baby girl. Ugh I can hardly stand it.
  Milestones: Well I'm dilated 1/2 cm. That's like nothing, so that was a little disappointing to hear. Hopefully my cervix will get it together, and I'll go into labor soon.
39 wks 4 days

39 wks 4 days

So I realized that you couldn't see my belly that well b/c of my sweatshirt, so Keech supervised while I took another one. Joe swears I've dropped even more, but I don't think I'm carrying that low.



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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Thanksgiving: Ft. Benning edition

Thanksgiving this year was a little different. Ever since I was a baby, we've gone to Charlotte, NC to my Nani and Papa's for Thanksgiving. This year, everyone came to us in GA. Can I just say how amazing it was NOT to have to make that drive?! We rented 2 cabins out at Uchee Creek, since I was not having 13 people staying in my house. No way Jose :) My family, Nani and Papa, and Joe's family came down, and it was nice having everyone in the same place for once. My mom made a bomb ass turkey btw :) I don't know what she made that rub out of, but Joe, who doesn't even like turkey, has been going on and on about it for days, and he's been eating all the leftovers. So I'd say dinner was a success. Unfortunately, I didn't go into labor, and therefore I'm still pregnant. Ugh. I'm ready to be un-pregnant. I won't go on and on about that, it'll just bum me out. Back to Thanksgiving! It was nice having everybody come to us. Mom and Dad and the boys and Heather were all able to come to our house for a little bit on the day everybody left, and that was the first time they'd ever been here. I got to show off the nursery, and just hang out with them for awhile which was fantastic. I unfortunately don't have any pictures of the weekend b/c 1. My camera sucks 2. I forgot and 3. I was lazy. At least I'm honest about it. Haha Now that Thanksgiving is over, I'm even more excited for Christmas! Not only did I get all my shopping done yesterday, but I got everything wrapped as well! Be jealous :) I can't wait to get our tree up and get the house all decorated! I hope everyone had an incredible Thanksgiving, and you were able to spend it with your family and sit and reflect on what you are thankful for!
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Monday, November 21, 2011

To my Charlie girl

To my special daughter,

Charlie girl, I've tried writing this letter to you a million times. Every time I try to actually hand write it I break down into a sobbing mess. I'll just blame it on the hormones going crazy. You're not even here yet and you're already making your moma crazy! There are so many things I want for you. First and foremost, I want you to know how much your daddy and I love you. We've loved you from the very second we knew you existed. That Sunday morning, watching the movie "Riding in Cars with Boys", your daddy and I were both floored, totally surprised. We weren't expecting you, but God knows what He's doing, and He decided that He was going to give you to us then and there. This is not a responsibility that either one of us takes lightly. He has intrusted you to us, and I hope we can raise you in a way that makes your Heavenly Father proud. You need to know that God loves you unconditionally. This is hard to say, but He loves you more than your daddy or I can, and we love you more than words can say, so be impressed. God is a pretty impressive guy. I want you to be an open minded and understanding person. I want you to have your beliefs, and be able to defend them if you have to, but I also want you to know that not everybody will share the same views and beliefs as you, and that's ok. Respect others and their opinions. There is no right or wrong answer in many areas of life, and the sooner you understand that, the more open you will be to other people. You don't have to like what somebody believes, but you do have to respect them. I hope that the people you come across will show this same courtesy to you. If they don't, no big deal. Just know that you were the bigger person. I want you to read. A lot. Your moma's favorite thing in the whole wide world, other than you, is to read a book. Your daddy is a book worm too, so be prepared for the pressure we put on you to read. Reading opens your mind up to different worlds, views, and lets you use your imagination like no other thing can. I could go on and on about how important books are, but you'll figure it out. I want you to know its ok to be a dork. I'm not gonna lie, your daddy is a pretty cool guy, but your moma? Oh man, am I a goober. Laffy Taffy jokes are hilarious, no matter what daddy says. If you're convinced your going to get a letter to Hogwarts, then by all means wait for that owl. You want to be in marching band? Do it! I did, and I can say it was my favorite part of high school. Star Wars? So totally cool. Pretending your a lion from The Lion King and wearing a cape and having a contest to see who has the loudest roar? That's cool too. Its ok to make lame jokes and then be the only one laughing at them. If you think its funny, then laugh. If you think something is cool, then it is. If you like something, then don't let anyone tell you its stupid. Knowing its ok to be a silly goober will directly impact your self esteem. The more secure you are in who you are, the less you will suffer as a teenager. Being a teenager is hard, and anything you can do to make it easier is important. This next thing is incredibly important, and we will talk about it when your older, but I'm going to mention it now. I do not want you to ever, ever, ever feel pressured to do drugs, drink, or have sex. You will get pressured at some point, but hopefully you will be strong enough to resist. Drugs of any kind are bad. Period. Sex? Oh boy am I not looking forward to this talk, but we will have it, and it will be ok. You'll most likely feel embarrassed, I did, but that's ok. I'm your moma and we'll figure it out. Drinking? Well this one will most likely be tricky. See your Barge side of the family likes to have a good time, and that's ok! Even I like to have a good time every now and then, but you will not be joining in on the fun until you are of legal drinking age. Period. I feel VERY strongly about this, and as your moma, what I say goes. Others may tell you its not a big deal, or that I won't be that mad, but I promise you this: it is a big freaking deal and I will be pissed, not mad, pissed. This is something else we will talk about later. I want you to always know that the world doesn't, nor anybody else, owe you anything. You are not entitled to anything. I will not do your homework for you. I will help you, but you better believe I will not research for you, write for you, or do it for you. As you get older, it will be your sole responsibility, and if you don't do it? Well, there will be consequences both at home and school. Everything that you do will have consequences, whether they be good or bad, and you should always remember that. You will have chores, you won't get an allowance, you won't get a cell phone until your 16, and whether you get a car or not will be decided at the time. You will hate me, and that's ok. All daughters at one point or another hate their mother. I hated your Gabby when I was a teenager, but then I matured, and she's now my very best friend next to your Aunt Heather. I hope to raise you the way she raised me. I won't be your friend until your an adult. I am your moma, and I will always act like your moma, even when you're a grown up. But you will eventually be a grown up, and we will be friends too. I promise I'll try not to act like a psycho when you start to date. Although, I don't think I'll need to. Between your daddy, your grandfathers, your four uncles, and your other "uncles", I already feel kinda bad for whatever poor boy decides he wants to date you. And oh yeah, you won't be dating until your 16, so don't ask any sooner than that b/c it won't happen. When it comes to friendships, I hope you choose quality over quantity. Don't hang out with "drama" girls, or other people that bring you down or are negative. It took me a long time to figure this out, and my wish for you is that you learn this sooner than I did. I want you to love your sweet baby Keech, and all other animals. Your not even here yet, and this dog already dotes on you. But you don't have to like birds. They're creepy and freaky, so its ok if you don't like them, I don't. Be polite. This is so incredibly important. You will use "yes ma'am" and "no ma'am" and "yes sir" and "no sir", you will put your napkin in your lap, you will try really hard not to interrupt (this can be tricky, its ok to slip up), you will say "thank you" and "please", and you will not act like a crazy person at the dinner table or when we go out. You will go to time out if you cut up, and hopefully I'll never have to spank you. I got spanked maybe like 4 times in my life, and just knowing that was a consequence was enough to make me walk the straight and narrow. Hopefully you'll be a chicken like your moma, and won't try to push the envelope too much. Be nice to people. Sometimes it'll be hard, but its much better, and easier to be a nice person than a hateful one. I'm not going to do everything for you. This will be something we figure out as we go, but just know that it'll happen and I'll decide what I do and don't do. You will learn to be an independent person. I don't want you to always depend on us for everything, that won't help you learn to be a functioning adult. There are so many other things I want you to know, but I don't know everything. I'm still growing up too, and we're going to learn a lot of things together. And daddy? He doesn't know everything either, but he'll pretend like he does. I give you permission to call him out on his crap. I do :) Charlie girl, you are so loved. I want to protect you from everything, and teach you everything. I am so excited for you to arrive, I can barely stand it. I'm going to miss having you in my belly, but I'm also ready for you to not be in my belly. I am so ready to meet you Charlie girl. We already have such a special bond. I'm not sure I'm ready to share you with the world yet. Forgive me for being selfish with you. You have your whole life to get away from me, so while your a baby, your ALLLLLLL mine. And daddy's too, but mostly mine. I hope that when you read this letter when your older it makes you smile, and that you can feel the love I have for you. You think I love you now? Just wait. It just gets better from here baby girl.

Xoxo,
 Your moma
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Pregnancy Highlights

How far along: 38 weeks 1 day
 Size of baby: Between 6 and 8 lbs and she's between 19 and 21 inches long.
 Weight gain: 35 lbs? Dr. Holdaway said on Wednesday he wasn't worried about it, so I'm not either.
    Sex: Girl. Charlotte Rose
  Movement: All the time! I wake up in the mornings with her little booty sticking out on my right side, and I have to push on her to get her to readjust b/c it kinda hurts :)
   Sleep: Eh. It's hard to get comfortable enough to sleep, so it's back to hit or miss.
 Symptoms: Contractions! Omg they're awful! Lower back pain, and lots of swelling in my hands and feet :(
   What I miss: Not being hot all the time! And being able to bend over or put my pants on without struggling.
  Cravings: Back to sweets.
  Aversions: Meat. Tea. Ranch. White cheese. My aversions have stayed consistent.
  Best moment this week: Just knowing that I could potentially go into labor anytime.
What I am looking forward to: Meeting my baby girl! I get more excited about who she's going to be every day.
38 weeks 1 day

38 weeks 1 day
 Milestones: She's fully cooked! And we know for sure she's head down. We had an ultrasound on Wednesday just to double check :)


I'm not sure how the picture placement got all jacked up, I tried fixing it, but it didn't work. I'll get better at this blog thing as time goes on, promise :)

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Friday, November 18, 2011

Nursery Artwork

Remember that artwork I mentioned I had to finish? Well.... I finished it! And it is super stinking cute, I must say. Now, I must preface this by saying this was not my idea. I stole this little gem of a project from a blog I follow, the workaholic momma. If you haven't checked out her blog, you should. I love reading about her super adorable family, and she leaves me comments. So that makes me like her more :) So anyway. A few weeks ago she did a post about this fantastic idea for an art project with crayons. I loved it immediately! It's so cute, and who doesn't love crayons?! So I decided that this would be the art I displayed above Charlotte's crib. And without further adieu, I give you my masterpiece:




So, how did I created this amazing piece of art? Well, I'll tell you! And then you can make one for yourself!

What you'll need:
  • Box of 120 count crayons. This is what I used so I would have extras.
  • Hot glue gun.
  • Blank canvas. I used a 16x20, but you can go smaller or bigger if you want.
  • Hair dryer.
  • Black trash bags & tape. 
Step 1: Start by gluing your crayons across the top in a straight line. I used the ROY G BIV pattern, but backwards. The backwards part was an accident, but I like how it turned out :)
Step 2: Tape up your black trash bags to the wall. The hairdryer will blow the melted crayon around and get EVERYWHERE so the trash bags will save your walls, carpet, etc.
Step 3: Put your hairdryer on the highest heat setting, but lowest strength setting. Again, melted crayon=big mess.
Step 4: Turn on your hair dryer, and melt the tips of your crayons. Gravity will pull the melted crayon down, and it'll create it's own little pattern. You can use the hairdryer to manipulate the dripping crayon, but be careful.
Step 5: Let the melted crayon dry for about 5 mins, seriously that's all it needs.
Step 6: Voila! You've created a masterpiece and everyone you know will be jealous!

Have fun! I had a blast making this thing, and it was SOOOO easy! It's something Charlotte will have in her room forever, and hopefully it'll be something she treasures when she's older. I plan on making one for each kid in the future.

Crayons and hot glue gun.

Hair dryer. Any basic hair dryer will work. Mine obviously isn't fancy, and it was perfect.

Blank canvas, any size.


Step 1.

Steps 2 & 3

Steps 4, 5, & 6






If my instructions don't make sense, check out the link to the original poster. Her instructions made perfect sense :)
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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Wedding Business

So my mom called me this afternoon and informed me that the contract for our wedding has been signed. I was like wtf? She is so on it! I had totally forgotten that we hadn't done that! Ok that may sound a little to strange to some people, so I'll clarify. Yes, Joe and I are married, legally. We got married before we moved down here to Ft. Benning, BUT we haven't had our wedding yet. Our wedding day is May 12th, 2012. So, if you were to look me up on Facebook, you would need my maiden name b/c I haven't changed my name yet, and we haven't "updated" yet b/c we haven't had our wedding yet. Yeah, I know, it's kinda confusing. We got married b/c I was moving to GA with Joe, but I was not comfortable moving out of state without us being married. The Army wouldn't see things they way we did, I wouldn't have any of the benefits, etc. It just made sense. The original plan was to just not tell anybody, but then I got pregnant. And b/c I didn't want my entire extended family to have a stroke or die of a heart attack at the thought of me being an "un-wed mother", we fessed up. I also felt funny about people not knowing we were married, but that I was pregnant. Not a judgmental thing on my part, just my personal preference. I am a good southern girl after all :) So back to our wedding! We call it getting "God married". We got the legal part down, we just need the church ceremony and then it's legit. Mom went to see Tammy at the club today and got things squared away. With baby stuff pretty much taking over my life, I had totally forgotten we hadn't done our contract yet. So now that's all that's left to do is hire cake people, get the menu set, make up my mind about table decor, and decide on a dress. It's really not that much to do believe it or not! I have the dress thing narrowed down to 2 or 3, I have the decor pretty much decided, Tammy and I just have to make some final decisions, and the cake should be easy peesy. Joe is helping of course, but everyone knows the groom doesn't really care as much as the bride. Haha. The only thing he has had strong opinions on is the cake. He keeps suggesting cupcakes, but I dunno. I'm not entirely sold on the idea. So yeah. That's where we are on THAT. But once Charlotte is here, we'll be able to focus more on the wedding. Psshhhh riiight. B/c having a baby is soooo easy :)
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The Nursery is FINISHED!!

Woo! Charlotte's nursery is finally complete!! I can't believe it's done. Like, done done. Other than the art work that I'm finishing up today, her room is complete. It's crazy to think that she has her own bedroom, that she could be here any day and she'll be in that room before we know it. I'm excited and freaked out, all at the same time. Haha
Pottery Barn bedding. LOVE.

Every baby needs a night light. And this one makes sounds like in the womb. I think it's creepy, but she'll probably love it.

Baby monitor of course.

Oh hey Keech! Get in the picture with the books.

I made the curtains around the changing table :)

We've decided our first family picture will go in this frame. Hand painted and made by my Ms. Julie <3

There are tons of diapers and wipes stashed under those FABULOUS curtains.

Right above her crib. So important that she knows her Heavenly Father loves her.

Her bathroom.

Picture from cousin Alison.

I LOVE this car seat and stroller! Joe's parents hooked us up. I had dreams about this thing. And my super cute diaper bag. It's no Coach, but it's ok.

Rocking chair from my mom,"Gabby". And Keech again. You'd think this used to be his room or something :)

You can't see it from the picture, but every bath or grooming goody she'll ever need is in that bucket.

Just in case she forgets her name. Her Aunt Jessica had to make sure she had something super cute to remind her.

Bathtub. Her daddy likes ducks, obviously.

You can't tell from this picture, but each one of those drawers is so full, you can barely open and close them. And of course I labeled each drawer. Duh. This is me we're talking about here.

We have a total of 54,000 wipes. No joke. We counted.

My unborn child has more clothing than both her parents put together. Its ridiculous.




So some of the pictures are a little out of order, but that's ok. You can still get the idea :) Oh and I forgot to take a picture of her bassinet, but its super cute and in our room. Which is kinda messy, so it was more I didn't take the picture on purpose as opposed to forgot :) I can't wait to have pictures of her in her nursery! I really just can't wait for her to be here. Now it's just a waiting game. But I have been having a bunch of contractions the last 2 weeks so hopefully we'll get told I'm already dilated some when we go to the doctor's tomorrow, or that labor isn't too far off. We can only hope :)
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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along: 37 weeks 2 days
 Size of baby: A little more than 6 lbs. and around 20 inches long
 Weight gain: This is still up for debate. I'm guessing around 35 lbs. FML
   Sex: Still a girl :) Charlotte Rose
  Movement: She's very strong! She's not as active as she has been in the past, but that's normal the closer we get to her due date. She is cramped after all.
   Sleep: Better! I'm only up once or twice, and it's much easier to fall asleep.
  Symptoms: Lots of swelling, and contractions. Every time I have a contraction I get a little excited, but then they go away :(
  What I miss: Not being so big. My balance is all thrown off and I'm not as flexible as I was pre-pregnancy, so simple things like putting on pants takes 15 mins.
 Cravings: Mashed potatoes. OMG I could eat them morning, noon, and night.
  Aversions: Meat. Tea. Ranch. White cheese.
 Best moment this week: Everyone telling me I don't look 9 months pregnant. It's definitely a self esteem booster, and it always seems to come when I need it most. They may or may not be lying, but I appreciate the deception :)
  What I am looking forward to: Meeting my baby girl! I can't wait to see what she looks like, and her personality. She already has such a personality in the womb, I'm really looking forward to meeting her.
 Milestones: She's now considered full term! Woo! She's done such a good job at cooking. All that's left for her to do is get even fatter. Oh and she's dropped. My belly is kind of pointy now. Haha

  
37 wks 2 days


I thought I had pictures of 35 and 36 weeks, in fact I know I have them. I just can't seem to find them. Oops. So when I find them, I'll post them.

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Monday, November 14, 2011

Busy Busy

So I haven't posted anything is 2 weeks. I am such a slacker! I have good reasons though, promise :) Week before last I was sick. Some of the privates had some crud which Joe in turn brought home to me. He's so thoughtful. NOT. Stuffy nose, draining sinuses, sore throat, hacking cough, headache, you name the symptom, I had it. The cough has stuck around, but it has cleared up a little in the last day. And last week, well I was just lazy and didn't fee like posting. Last week was so busy! We had graduation and family day, and then a change of command ceremony. So I was swamped all week with one thing or another. I didn't get to do my pregnancy highlights, but I'll include pictures for 35 and 36 weeks when I do my 37 weeks update :) I'll get that done in the next day or so. I'm also going to be doing a post about the nursery b/c its practically done! Woo! I have to finish one more art project, and then get the bookshelf up, and we will officially have a nursery for Charlotte! I can't believe she'll be here in 3 weeks. Well hopefully 3 weeks. She'll probably be like both her parents and take her sweet time getting here. Her daddy was 30 days late and her moma was 2 weeks late sooooo..... It's not looking good for me. Haha. But I just wanted to do a quick update, and let y'all know that yes we are alive, and give you an idea of what what was coming up. I'll update again tomorrow.
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