Girl vs. Boy

I'm 100% positive that we are having a GIRL. I will, honestly, be shocked if its a boy. Shocked but not disappointed. Ultimately, I just want to see a healthy baby, whether it be boy or girl, on the screen at our ultrasound (which is in 8 days!)!

But, Aaron and I go back and forth. I don't know if he really thinks we are having a boy, just wants a boy, or says he thinks a boy just to get on my nerves. Whatever the reason, he thinks we're having a boy.

I sent Aaron an e-mail this morning explaining a situation with our credit card. We had around 11 fraudulent charges on our card from someone in Texas shipping overnight packages around the world. Insane. So, I was a little freaked out last night, but I e-mailed Aaron this morning to tell him the latest about the situation. Our conversation went something like this:

Me: yada yada yada about the credit card...

the baby is moving around like crazy this morning :). SHE'S growing so much. i bet you'll be able to feel HER pretty soon :)

Aaron: I want to feel that baby so bad. It's not fair!

Me: you will. i felt HER last night, but then SHE quit moving.

Aaron: HE is a crazy boy isn't HE. HE must love HIS mommy a lot to be moving around that much.

Me: yes SHE does. SHE loves me very much. we are going to have such a fun mother/DAUGHTER relationship. awww, my sweet baby GIRL.

And...you get the point. I think Aaron was getting a little annoyed so the conversation ended there.

So, to reiterate, I think baby is a GIRL and Aaron thinks BOY.

This is what the rest of our family thinks:

GIRL:
mother-in-law
sil, Holly
sil, Whitney
Regan and Riley, my 5-year old nieces

BOY:
mom
dad
my brother
father-in-law
sil, Candice
bil, Jason W.
bil, Jason T.
cousin, Jennifer

I guess we'll see! I can't believe the ultrasound is only 8 DAYS AWAY. I cannot even stand it! But, I am so sure its a girl that I would almost forgo the ultrasound and just stand on my intuition. It is the mother's intuition after all. And, from what I've heard its usually right.

Funny story about my nieces and their gender guesses...my mother-in-law took a poll on the baby's gender, birthday, weight and length with everyone on Aaron's immediate side of the family. Everyone (Aaron's mom, dad, sisters and husbands) all guessed that baby would be born close to my due date and would weigh somewhere between upper 6 lbs and 8 lbs (I believe). She then asked both Regan and Riley their guesses separately and they both said that the baby would be a girl, born 10 days late, would weigh 10.5 pounds, and would be 18" long. I thought that was hilarious. They had no idea what either one answered but their answers were both very bizarre and the exact same. Heaven forbid that I have a 10.5 lb baby born 10 days late! Heaven forbid it right now!

The Dresser

Remember my Labor Day post about the do-it-yourself dresser that Aaron worked on? Well, he finished it (about a week ago). Here are some pictures of the end result:






To be completely honest, I was a little apprehensive going into it. Aaron got the idea from a post he saw on ApartmentTherapy.com (our favorite design blog) and really thought it would go great in our bedroom. Our walls are the exact color of the red drawers...two-toned, red and white. Kind of hard to explain. The top half of the walls are red, then there is a white chair rail and its painted white under the chair rail. And, we accent using the light turquoise blue. Its kind of funky, but that's us! Ha ha! I just wanted something different and cheery! I've always heard not to paint your bedroom red because its an angry color, but the red actually makes me really happy. Maybe because the white half offsets its harshness. Anyway, I think the dresser turned out great!! We are waiting to put it in the room until we decide what we are going to do with the flooring. We are either going to replace the carpets or put down new wood floors, well laminate wood floors. But once the dresser is in the room, I'll post pictures of how that looks!


On a completely different note, I bought the new A Fine Frenzy cd yesterday. It is SO good. I highly recommend it! Alison Sudol has the most amazing voice and writes some genious lyrics. Her music is sweet and melodic. She writes great love songs, not to mention she is to-die-for beautiful. Gah. She is the only person that can pull off that fire-engine red hair with super short bangs. Gorgeous! We would definitely be friends if I were a talented musician living in her world! I just know it!


New CD cover

Songs from her last cd:






Hope everyone has a great weekend!

P.S. I know you know this by looking at my LilyPie countdown thing, but I am 19 WEEKS PREGNANT! I just cannot even believe how fast time is FLYING by! In 12 days I know will know what gender this sweetie is and I can start shopping, decorating, and planning!

Biker Weekend in the Ozarks

Its time again for BIKES BLUES & BBQ. There are bikes and bikers EVERYWHERE! Last night I fell asleep to the hum of motorcycles. It is a loud, noisy, crazy weekend here in the ozarks. And...I love it! But, I am definitely ready for it all to be over with by the end of the weekend.


Seriously! This is what Dickson St. looks like every day and night for 4 days every fall! If you are a people watcher (like myself) I suggest you parking your hiney on a Dickson St. park bench for several hours. It's a whole other world down there this weekend!

I'm hoping to make it to BB&BBQ at least one time this season. Aaron will be down there everyday. He went last night and said it was fun. I was hoping to hear some crazy biker stories, but he said it was pretty tame! Boring! It always gets really crazy on the weekends!

If I was to hop on the back of my hottie's bike and head downtown, I would wear something like this:

I like to call it sexy biker chic! Ha!

Happy weekend to all. Its sure to be a LOUD and CRAZY one in NWA.

What's Been Going On?

We celebrated Grace's 2nd Birthday! It was her party and she was going to cry if she wanted to...and she did! Ha! She is a little Miss Priss...but sweet to the core! Definitely a hand full for her Momma, I sure do love watching every minute of it! I'm sure if I have a daughter, she will be the exact same way!


Watched the upsetting loss to Georgia on Saturday night. Boo hoo! Hopefully we'll do better this week.



Had our final week of training for the new 10:55 service at our church, FBCS, last Sunday. If you live in the NWA area and currently do not have a church home, you should check us out this Sunday. The service starts at, well, 10:55. You can go to the FBCS 10:55 website, www.fbcs.net/1055, for more information. It's going to be great! Nick Floyd will be preaching most Sundays and he is amazing! Such a gifted speaker! Aaron and I are both VERY excited about this new opportunity for our church to have a later service!

Hmmm. . .what else have we been up to?!?!? Not a whole lot really. My mind is constantly on this little bundle of joy that's growing inside! There is not a second that I'm not thinking of him or her! Two weeks from tomorrow we will now what we are having! I'm getting antsy and ready to start decorating baby's room. I have some ideas brewing for a sweet little baby girl room...my mind has really only been focused on girl right now! There are several different crib sets that I've seen and loved. I still can't decide if I want to go with a traditional set or do something more eclectic. I get lots of ideas from OhDeeDoh. It's a great sight full of creative ideas for anything baby and kiddie. I look at it everyday. The creative juices in my head are constantly flowing and I can't wait to get started! I've also been doing a little shopping. Slowly, but surely, I'm growing out of everything that once fit a mere 5 months ago! I found some great sales yesterday at Old Navy, so I stocked up some basics. I'm still in dyer need of another pair of maternity jeans. Gap looks like they have some great jeans, but they don't carry any maternity in the store and I'm scared to order?!?! Not sure what I'm going to do. Wish I could find another steal like I did with the Paige Premium denim ones I got a couple weeks ago! Those are the best!

Well, hope everyone is having a great week so far! Only two more days! Yippee!

Dan on The Today Show

My friend, Daniel, on The Today Show yesterday! He is the last guy that unscrews a broken lightbulb using a potato. Piers Morgan said that he is the "Susan Boyle of the competition".

Angelina vs. Jen

I love the blog Skinny vs. Curvy. It truly is a blog the celebrates all types of women, whether skinny or curvy! They take polls on different body types. . .and to my surprise most of the polls prefer the curvy woman over the stick-thin types. PTL!! Lately, I have the curves. And, really, I am starting to embrace them! Today on Skinny vs. Curvy, they had articles on both Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston. Poor Angelina just looks so emaciated and well, sorry Ang, but Jen's body is banging! After reading the article, I now know why she has that body. She is super disciplined. Wow!


Angelina "Close to 100 Pounds". . .YIKES!


Jennifer Aniston is a runner.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. Aaron and I are sitting at home watching the very close Arkansas vs. Georgia game. Its a nail-biter :)

Dreaming of All Things Fabulous Friday: Pregnancy Style

I am 18 weeks "with child" today! I am almost halfway through my pregnancy. It is SO hard to believe. In 18 more weeks I could deliver a perfectly healthy, full term baby. 3 weeks from today I will know what I am having. I just know its a girl. You know, I will be shocked, but happy, if its a boy, but I just have a gut feeling its a sweet little baby girl!
Along with being 18 weeks pregnant, comes the bump. It is there in full force. I currently have two pair of pre-pregnancy jeans that I can wear with my BeBand. But, I know those days are limited. I have only 2 pair of maternity jeans and LOTS of leggings! Leggings are much more comfortable these days, so I think I'm going to get some good use out of them. I am so thankful I am pregnant during the cold winter months. Hopefully, it will be easy to dress and cover my "softness". And, maybe the swelling will be limited. I guess we'll see.

This picture was taken on Wendseday after dinner. I really think I need to start taking my pictures in the morning when I am dressed cute and have on makeup! Ha! But, you get an idea of what I'm working with these days :).
I have yet to buy a maternity top. Well, I take that back. I bought a long sleeve tee at Target. It is AWESOME! I think I would have bought it even if I wasn't pregnant. It is so soft and long. Comes in handy for a long torso'd gal like myself. I am definitely keeping Forever21 in business these days. They have the BEST clothes for pregnant women! Whether I'll feel that way at 30-weeks is to be determined. Anyway, there are a few celebrities whose pregnancy style I admire. They keep is simple and comfortable. Which is a necessity these days.

Nicole Richie is my ALL-TIME favorite pregnant gal. Is she not gorgeous? And, she has great style. . .pregnant or not. She's come a long way baby! I know she has an advantage because she is so petite and skinny, but she makes everything she puts on look amazing! Her pregnancy style is so sleak, classic, and put together. Her outfits don't ever look too thought out but she always looks like she made an effort to look nice. I know there are some days that I just want to wear a t-shirt and jeans and leave the makeup at home. But, it makes me feel pretty to actually get dressed! So, I try. I know I don't pull it off like Nicole though!

I don't know if there is anyone is this world more beautiful than Heidi Klum. She is just gorgeous, so obviously she looks good in everything! I just love her effortless style. She always looks confident and comfortable in everything she wears!

I love Ashlee Simpson's edgy rock look. I bought a royal leopard cardigan at F21 on Tuesday and I was definitely channeling Ashlee when I tried it on. Her edge is just enough, in my opinion. She keeps it very well balanced.

TGIF! I actually have a kind of jam-packed weekend planned. It will be good to actually do something this weekend! Tonight we are eating pizza with friends and tomorrow I have a baby shower to attend for a friend and then a birthday party for my sweet cousin, Grace, who turned 2 yesterday!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Never Thought I Would See The Day

photo courtesy of US Magazine

WOW! Kate Gosselin sports a new hairstyle on The View yesterday! So much better than the reverse mullet! I really like.

Click here to read the article that accompanies the photo.

4 Weeks to Race Shape

Definitely won't be doing any race training at the moment. Current circumstances (a.k.a. growing a human) are very limiting to the types of exercise you can and can't do. Although, I've heard many doctors say its okay to run when you're pregnant, my doctor highly recommended me NOT to. His exact words were, "do you not know how BAD running is for you?". Ha! I love to run. I miss running everytime I see someone on the road or on the trail. I miss it when Aaron heads out the door for a run or I hear the treadmill in the back room. I miss it when I read running blogs. My favorite being SkinnyRunner. No, I don't exercise now. I even cancelled our gym membership. Yikes! I try to walk with my cousin some and I've done a prenatal workout dvd one time, but that's about it. I'm going on two weeks of NO physical activity and I'm starting to feel a little worthless. Maybe one day the weather will clear up and I can get back to my evening walks.

I can't wait to start running again. I will never (never say never) run marathons. Highly doubtful. But I will start running again as quickly as allowed. If just 4 miles a day, a few days a week. I just can't wait. I have never seen so much improvement in my mind, soul, and body as when I ran. Actually, my running anniversary is next month. I started running October 2008. Quit June 2009 when I found out I was pregnant. Hopefully I will be able to start back again in March 2010. Runner's World daily e-mails sent me a GREAT race training program. 4 Weeks to Race Shape. My goal is to run in the The Cancer Challenge 5K June 2010! It's 3.1 miles. I can do it!

Happy Hump Day!

***Edited to add: Okay Tara and The New Black. . .my doctor just thinks that running in general is horrible for women. He thinks it is horrible on our joints and it messes with our menstrual cycle. And, when you have an irregular period or no period it makes it really hard to get pregnant. My doctor is very sweet and is not overly cautious about much, but he just does not recommend running while pregnant. That is his opinion. I quit running before I even met with him for the first time after finding out that I was pregnant. I just didn't think that I was an experienced enough runner, like with my breathing and other techniques, to run while being pregnant. Although, my doctor advised against running the prenatal nurse that I met with at 8-weeks recommenced doing any type of exercise that I was doing prior to getting pregnant. Everything but ab exercises. She also advised keeping my heart rate under a certain number. That number I can't remember, but I don't think I've pushed it any :). Sorry if I freaked you out. One thing you will learn when you get pregnant is that EVERY DOCTOR is sooooooooooooo different! I think the best thing is to just do what you think is right for you!

Dreaming of all Things Fabulous Friday: Target brings the accessories!

In my world of fashion, fall is all about accessories. When you have the perfect accessory you have the perfect outfit. Its so easy to take an everyday, mundane American Apparel tee, pair it with some chunky jewelry, awesome handbag and a great shoe to get that perfect outfit. That perfectly, un-thought-out, outfit! Since, fall and winter consist of long sleeves and sweaters I try to stay away from too much print, because its just that, TOO MUCH. In my opinion, of course. Although, I did buy a printed chiffon dress at Target yesterday that is long sleeve and to my knee. Why? I guess I really didn't think that out. I might look really large in that when I'm 8 months pregnant. Oh. Well. Anyway, scarves are the best accessory for a boring colorless outfit. During the fall and winter months you will see a scarf on me everyday! They are my favorite!

Here are some other fun accessories that I found at Target this week:


Square Antique Plaid Scarf-pretty sure I saw this in black, not brown, but I couldn't find it online. The brown is great too!




Hollywood Intuition Tote
I actually saw a girl carrying this across her chest at the mall the other day. She had purple. I seriously thought it was something that would cost way too much for me to afford and then I spotted it at Target yesterday! In the words of Rachel Zoe, "bananas"! Got. To. Own. Just didn't buy because my tab was already up to $125. Why, Target, why? I know, its because you are so darn AWESOME!




Mossimo Kaylen Shootie (or they say peep-toe bootie, but I like shootie)


Mossimo Katy boots
I purchased these last night and LOVE them! You might think they would look cheap in person since they are only $35, but they really look and feel nice. I saw a pair EXACTLY like these at a local boutique for $160. Seems silly to spend that when you can get these!



Hollywood Intuition Rouched Scarf



Hollywood Intuition Glamour Necklace

It's FRIDAY! Woo hoo! We have a pretty low-key weekend planned. We have a friend that is a football coach at a HS in town so we are going to watch him coach and his team play tonight. I'm sure I'll probably spend my time chatting it up with his wife and other friends. and not catch much of the game! Not that I ever know what's going on anyway! Ha! But, other than that, not much planned. Pretty excited about that!

Hope you have a good weekend!

8 Years Ago Today

photo courtesy of Google Images

I was a freshmen at The University of Arkansas. I decided to skip my 8:00 a.m. class (I did that often) and I had just woken up and turned on Regis & Kelly and saw the devastating news. I remember feelings of fear, sadness, and confusion. Come to think of it, those are the feelings I experience today thinking of our nation's current condition.

To all who lost a loved on 9/11/01, I think of you today. And, those serving, who have served, or with a loved on serving overseas, I thank you and I honor you!

Adopting a baby!

I haven't been a huge fan of Katie lately. She just seems so smug in interviews. Like she is not grateful for the many blessings in her life. But, on Ellen that airs tomorrow she talks about adopting a special needs baby from Korea. She is naming her Naleigh, Nancy Leigh, after her mother and sister (who is also Korean). Too sweet. Too sweet.

Here is the People.com article:
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20303399,00.html

So, I have a softer heart for Katie today and I've never stopped loving her hubby's music!

I forgot. . .

I was so wrapped up in Tori's choice ensemble that I forgot to mention my doctor's appointment.

Well. . .

It went GREAT! We heard our baby's heartbeat. It was 149 bpm this time. Last time it was 160 bpm. Not sure what that means. The doctor assured me that the heartbeat has nothing to do with the sex. So, I'm still convinced its a girl. We scheduled the ultrasound appointment for the first of October. I'm so excited to find out what is growing inside me and to see a sweet face, hands, legs, fingers and toes!

That will be a fun day!

WHY?

Don't get me wrong, I love Tori Spelling! We are friends, well would be if I was a D-list celebrity and lived in Hollywood. But, seriously Tori, if you are SO SICK of the media bashing you about your weight every five seconds, why IN THE WORLD do you wear such an outfit. Its a cute outfit, yes and it would look good on someone like Hayden Paniettere or Megan Fox, but not on 95lb Tori Spelling. Eat a cheeseburger or two. Or come to NWA in the next five months and I'll show you how to EAT! How to eat like a real woman! Because Lord knows that I know how to eat! Ha!

Labor Day Weekend

This Labor Day weekend we have been extremely lazy and it has been very nice. I know I previously mentioned that we were taking a weekend trip to STL, but plans changed and we stayed home. Once we figured out we weren't going we decided to tackle some projects at our house. Refinish dresser, clean out spare bedrooms, and paint spare bedrooms. Currently Aaron is working on the dresser and the rooms remain untouched. Big plans! Ha!


Here is the dresser before. Well, just the drawers.


My good hubby working on the dresser!


Dresser during. As we speak (type), still not finished. Maybe one day our dream dresser will be done!

So, with all the extra time on my hands this weekend I decided that it was time for Aaron and I to STOP eating out so much. This is disgusting, and I can't believe that I'm even going to confess it, but we ate out EVERY night last week. On top of that I ate out lunch pretty much everyday, not to mention a couple of breakfast stops. Its horrible. Here goes my excuse. . .before I got pregnant we ate at home often, more times than not. We ate good too. Healthy I mean. Grilled chicken or fish and veggies usually. But during my first trimester I have had no desire to cook so we eat out. And, now that I have more energy I want to cook but I need substantial meals. Hearty meals. Grilled chicken and veggies is not going to cut it for me right now. Those will come in handy AFTER I have this baby! I decided to make a menu! Just a little guide. I made the menu and then we went grocery shopping! This is my goal for a while, to at least eat at home on week nights and then we can have our weekends out! We'll see how it goes. I am hoping it goes well!


Here it is, folks! The menu! I'm making POT ROAST on Wednesday! Yummy! Mine and Aaron's favorite!

Tomorrow is my 16-week checkup. I am excited to hear that strong heartbeat again and to schedule my ultrasound appointment in 4 SHORT WEEKS!

Hope everyone had a good Labor Day weekend!