A very productive unproductive day!

That title pretty much says it all.  I haven't done much of anything today!  But on a positive note, my blog looks beautiful and all my pictures are updated!  Yay!  It took me a while but I finally figured out how to make my own Blog Banner. . . it's not a perfect match but it's pretty awesome for my first try.  I hope it doesn't take me three hours next time to do.

On a pregnancy note, Jerry finally got to feel the baby move!  I have been able to feel the movement for a while, but the thumps are getting bigger and harder.  I was messing with the kicks and punches this morning and I got the baby really going.  They are still very weak and Jerry was happy to feel it but he thinks that the baby is going to pay me back one of these days.  I got it moving again for Chloe this afternoon, but she said she couldn't feel it - since she doesn't know what she's feeling for, the baby is going to have to pack quite a punch before she feels it.

Well it's already after midnight and I have to work in the morning.  I HATE the fact that I can't sleep anymore. . . I cannot live on a few hours a sleep.  I'm going to shut the computer down for the night and get a load of laundry done and clean the kitchen - that should make me tired!  I hate laundry.

18w2d

**Baby Update - Mommy is 18 weeks and 2 days pregnant. Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements soon. The bones through which sound is passed to the inner ear have hardened and the parts of the brain that receives and processes nerve signals from the ears are developing. This means that your baby can hear now. Your baby will get used to familiar sounds, such as your heart beating, familiar voices, blood rushing through the umbilical cord and other daily routine sounds. Your baby will become startled if he hears a loud sound.**

It's 3am here and I cannot sleep!  I am exhausted and cranky and sleep still will not come to me.  I think this baby is trying to kill me. . . Every time I lay down, and I mean every time, my arms fall asleep.  And not just that funny feeling - I'm talking pins and needles stabbing pain.  And of course, who can sleep feeling like that.  I have tried every sleeping position - back, left side, right side, tummy, on pillows, off pillows, arm hanging off the the bed. . . nothing is working.  I just want to scream. . . I might just fall asleep sitting on the couch like I did last week.  Jerry came home at 5am and thought something was wrong. . . it's the only way I can get some sleep.  Okay enough whining.

It's going to be a busy week for us here.  Hopefully, I can keep everyone updated, but you will have to forgive me if I can't.  Tuesday night is Chloe's back to school night where we get to go and meet the teacher and take her school supplies.  Wednesday is Chloe's first day of school, the school bus will pick her up at 7:32am!  I'm completely terrified - I took the day off of work so I can sit at home anxiously waiting for the bus to bring my 5-year-old back.  Thursday my new bike rack is going in at work, and even though I'm not going to be loading bikes into it, I am going to go into work for a few hours to supervise.  (No one at work knows I'm pregnant yet! lol)  Friday is my doctor's appointment and gender ultrasound!!  Can't wait!  Even though Chloe will be in school we are bring a DVD home to show her and Jacob - maybe I'll even be able to upload it on here!  Jerry also volunteered to work overtime hours Friday afternoon/evening. 

Hopefully, this weekend I will be putting the final touches on Jacob's 3rd Birthday Party.  I can't believe my babies are getting so big!  He is doing awesome with potty training. . . today wasn't perfect but he's getting there.  I can't wait until he's completely potty trained.

And lastly, I have spent the day uploading the last 4 months worth of pictures off my camera. . . be sure to check them out at http://picasaweb.google.com/dailyplanet04 !

This is the nursery blankets that I've picked out this time. . . it's called 'Precious Planet' by Fisher Price

This is a close-up of the comforter. . . isn't it cute!!

17w1d

**Baby Update - Mommy is 17 weeks and 1 day pregnant. Only 160 more days to go!! :o) Don't be too shocked but... baby is EVEN bigger than it was last week, not to mention getting cuter, and smarter every day! As you’ve come to expect, there’s no shortage of growth and development this week: your fantastic little bean stalk has added yet another half inch to their overall height-- making them nearly half a foot long! Their little limbs have reached their relative proportions, and will continue to grow evenly with the rest of the body after this week. Reactive listening has begun for your baby, even though their ears are not yet structurally complete or fully functional. Meanwhile, different parts of their astonishingly complex brain are developing to process your little one’s hearing and other senses. Mind boggling factoid of the week: if you’re having going to have a little girl, her ovaries have already produced millions of primordial egg cells, which, within a few weeks, will develop into actual eggs!**

Not much is going on around this home front. Just working and taking care of kids. This week I am overnights working to reset the Toy Department for Christmas. I know, you all think it's early but really it's not. . . I'm not going to hang Christmas decorations and make you listen to Jingle Bells, but my department will get things like musical instruments and bulk furniture and get rid of the Summer toys like goggles and kites. I for one am happy that I'm overnights this week, this weekend is Missouri's No-Tax-Holiday and Walmart will be PACKED!! We drove by this afternoon and I needed milk but I wasn't going in, we can do with out or hit the gas station in the morning. LOL

We did our No-tax shopping Thursday night. I took the family to Applebee's for a late dinner and then to Walmart to shop for clothes. We got to Walmart about 10pm and it really did take us until after midnight to finish up. And everyone got new stuff - including the unborn one! With no tax weekend it's a perfect opportunity to stock up on Diapers because they to are tax free - AND I still get to use my Walmart employee discount. So basically I save 20% on my no tax purchases. Chloe got school clothes, Jacob got winter clothes (he really has NOTHING to wear this winter. . . he's grown so much!), Jerry got blue jeans and work boots, I got shoes and socks, and the unborn got 2 packages of diapers (Newborn and Size 1) and 6 outfits (Really I bought 5 boy outfits and 5 girl outfits and a either/or outfit - either way I'll take back or gift out the outfits I don't need). And since this is the baby's site, there are pictures of the outfits and crib bedding that I have bought the unborn baby. I can't wait - only 2 weeks and we will know whether to keep buying blue or pink. But even not knowing it was nice to get some things started.

Another BIG decision that we've made is that we are going to cold turkey Jacob on his diapers and pullups - except at night of course. He knows how and when to go to the bathroom but is absolutly refusing to actually do it all the time. So since I am overnights this week and Jerry will be home fully awake and willing. . . LOL. . . Jacob will spend the week in regular underwear. Wish us lots of luck, he can be totally stubborn! But Jerry and I are seriously wanting the diaper phase to be over with - when it comes to him! He's a few weeks from 3 and he's old enough to do this (with Mommy and Daddy's support). Even though I spent more money on diapers for him this weekend - I'm putting them with the baby stuff so that they aren't handy for mommy and daddy to grab when we are having a ruff moment. LOL Plus the newest addition will EVENTUALLY need them - right?!?!

This weekend I'm also planning on cleaning out my master closet so that I can get a fresh coat of paint and the carpets cleaned. This is were the nursery is going to be - don't worry it's a huge walk in closet and it's only used to hang Jerry's clothes and collect junk. The new baby will be in there until it's old enough to sleep through the night and join Chloe or Jacob in their rooms. . . depending on the sex of the baby. Because if this is another boy we will have to switch the bedrooms around and have the boys upstairs since that room is bigger. . . Chloe will have to move downstairs where she will have a door to keep out the boys. If it's another girl, she will just join Chloe upstairs when she's moved into the toddler bed (that Jacob is STILL in . . . that's another story all together. But if someone has a twin bed that they want to get rid of keep me in mind!!!)

Well the laundry is calling my name and I'm sure at any moment a child will be beggin' for dinner (they are both endless pits lately)! Hope everyone is doing good. Until next time!

15w1d

**Baby Update - Mommy is 15 weeks and 1 day pregnant. Your baby's crown-to-rump length is approximately 4 inches and she now weighs approximately 1.75 ounces. Your baby is close to the size of a softball and you can easily tell that you are pregnant now! Your baby is growing at an amazing rate and looking more like a human every day. Because your baby's skin is so thin, you are able to see blood vessels through the skin. Lanugo hair covers your baby's body, but it will be gone when your baby is born. The hair on the eyebrows and head continues to grow. Some babies are born with little or no hair and others have a head full of hair! If you have an ultrasound at this point, you might be able to see your baby sucking its thumb. Even though the eyes continue to move to the front of the face, they are still widely separated. Your baby's ears look like normal ears and continue to develop externally. The bones that have already formed continue to get harder and retain calcium. The baby is very mobile and flexible at this point. She can bend her arms at the elbows and wrists and she can also make a fist with her hands. **

Happy 15 weeks to me! Lately time really seems to be flying by. A new baby seems right around the corner. I'm really wanting to get all the baby stuff out of the attic and start taking inventory for what I need to get. I have a feeling I'm going to need more than I did for Jacob because he was so hard on things and I ended up throwing stuff away. I know he broke the baby swing and most if not all of the baby bottles weren't holding a seal anymore. We have been looking at yard sales and consigment shops for baby gear. I got a lovely diaper changing table complete with the changing pad and covers yesturday for only $15! Of course, we didn't use a diaper changing table with the other two but we also didn't have a 5 year old and a soon to be 3 year old running around the house. . . along with dogs, cats, birds, etc. Plus this time I have a lot of other stuff I have to buy to accommadate my growning family. Like I'll need a new kitchen table and chairs because it only seats 5, I have to buy Jacob a big boy bed because I'll need him off the crib mattress before the baby arrives, I have to get a new carseat/stroller combo because even though there is nothing wrong with the one we have - the carseat is expired. Plus, most of the things I was able to pass down to Jacob because Chloe had doubles (like toy boxes / dresser / bookshelf) we don't have triples of, so that means we'll have to get a new dresser for the baby. So it's nice that we are starting early. . .

My doctor's appointment was yesturday and I gained an entire pound! Woot! Woot! The appointment was so fast and easy it was almost boring. Basically all that happened was I got to leave a urine sample, seen the doctor - she said everything looked good, heard the baby's heartbeat, I had no questions and we left. However, next time it will be exciting! We get to have our gender ultrasound, to find out if we are adding pink or blue! Chloe will be in school and I believe Susan is going to watch Jacob - otherwise he will be the only child with us. But unlike all the other times I've gotten an ultrasound - this one they will record for me!! All I have to do is bring a recordable DVD!! That will be nice to show Chloe when she gets home from school! Although she will be devastated if it's a boy. . . lol!

Other things that we did yesturday, since I was feeling so good, were. . . We shopped for Chloe's school supplies! I believe I have two or three more things to buy her and she is 100% ready to start Kindergarten next month! Yay! I am nervous about sending her on the school bus, but excited that she gets to go back to school. It will be good for her and Jacob to be back on the school routine. . . plus it will give me the time I need to get things ready for a baby around here and finish potty training Jacob. He's doing great, and has no accidents if we are out and about or at Grandma's house. But when we are home he dosen't always tell me when he needs to go! But I put no fault on him, I think it's mommy and daddy who have to try harder to remember to ask. . . it will be nice to have to only buy diapers for one child. . . not two.

Well we are going to be getting some storms this afternoon, so I need to get out and get the yard stuff done before it rains cats and dogs. Hopefully, I'll be able to post a few more pictures tonight.

14w2d

**Baby Update - Mommy is 14 weeks and 2 days pregnant. Only 180 days left! Now that you are into your second trimester, you may be starting the best part of your pregnancy. You will probably start to feel more energetic and you may get the `pregnancy glow`. Your uterus is beginning to swell week by week and maternity clothes are probably necessary now. Baby's face is becoming more developed. The cheeks and bridge of his nose appear and the ears move from the sides of his neck to much higher on his head. The eyes continue to come closer together. A big development from this week onward is the development of lanugo. Lanugo is the fine hair that grows over almost your entire baby. The hairs grow in whirled patterns that follow the grain of his skin. These patterns later give way to your baby's fingerprints. The lanugo will be shed before birth and replaced by thicker, coarser hairs. Your baby's thyroid gland has matured and starts to produce hormones. If your baby is a boy, the prostate will appear and the ovaries descend from the abdomen into the pelvis in baby girls. **

I'm begining to hate Missouri weather! This heat is really, really starting to get to me. Just a few short minutes out in the sun and heat and I spend the next couple of hours sick! Today's heat index was 113. . . not an ideal day for a pregnant woman! I'm wishing for fall and 70 degree days! LOL.

Even with the heat and summer sun, I am still getting my weekly exercise by mowing the grass! LOL, I know. . . most of you are thinking that Jerry should be doing that. But really, I don't mind. I actually prefer to mow the grass and I only do it after the sun is down, which means after 8pm. Tonight after I mowed the grass and took the trash to the curb. . . Chloe and Jacob took turns spraying me with the garden hose. It was so refreashing and fun. . . we must have been a funny sight to see as the town folks drove by. . . to kids chasing mommy with the hose! I wish Jerry was here to take some pictures of the fun we had tonight.

Well not much else is happening here on the home front. I only have 2 days of work this week then I am on another 6 day vacation. Yay! I think Wednesday or Thursday we are going to Cole Camp to go on a boat ride with Grandpa. Friday is my next doctor's appointment so I am positive that next week will bring an exciting update! Let's hope this time they find the heartbeat and don't scare me into another ultrasound!

Until next time, happiness!!

13w3d

**Baby Update - Mommy is 13 weeks and 3 days pregnant. Welcome to the second trimester!!! :o) The crown-to-rump length of your growing baby is 2.6 to 3.1 inches. Your baby is now about the size of a peach. Fetal growth is amazing from now through about the 24th week of pregnancy. Tissue that will form your baby's bones is being laid down, especially around the head and limbs. The nose and chin are becoming more prominent. Your baby's eyelids meet and fuse together and they will not open again for nearly four months. The eyes started out on the side of your baby's head and they are now moving closer together on the face. The ears come to lie in their normal position on the sides of the head. The sockets for all twenty teeth are formed in the gums, and vocal cords are beginning to form.**

It's very exciting for me now that I am in the second trimester. Already the morning sickness and nausea have let up and hopefully gone forever! With the milestone of the second trimester; tonight I took my first belly shot. Some days I don't look pregnant at all, and then other days (like today) I feel like I already look pretty far along. Funny thing is that still the only people that know of this baby is my close friends and family. Still no one at work knows - okay, only 2 of my close friends that I work with know, but absolutely no one else. I just don't feel the need to spread the word through the Walmart Social Network, because quite frankly no one really needs to know until I get fat enought to have lifting restrictions, and even then no one is going to tell me what I can't do. I'm pretty stubbord when it comes to people thinking that they can baby me just because I'm pregnant. I will do what I want to do and when I want to do it!

With my entrance to the second trimester, I have began feeling a lot of stretching - at least that's what I think it is. It's quite painful on my side and lower abdomen. It feels a lot better when I lay down and get my feet up for a little while. So maybe I should institute a mandatory nap time when I get home from work! LOL.

12w3d

**Baby Update - Mommy is 12 weeks and 3 days pregnant!! Your baby's crown-to-rump length is almost 2.5 inches and now weighs between 8 and 14 grams! In just three weeks, your baby's size has more than doubled and begins to look a lot more human. Even though you won't be able to feel your baby moving at this time, you can stimulate him and he will squint, open his mouth and move his fingers or toes. Your baby's skeletal system now has centers of bone formation in most of the bones. The digestive system is capable of making contractions that push food through the bowels and it is also able to absorb sugar. The pituitary gland beginning to make hormones. The baby develops reflexes and the skin is very sensitive. The brain is fully formed, and the child can feel pain. The baby may even suck his thumb. The eyelids now cover the eyes, and will remain shut until the seventh month to protect the delicate optical nerve fibers. You will probably be able to hear your baby's heartbeat with a Doppler at this time! By the end of this week, your uterus is too large to remain completely in your pelvis. And this week may be the first week that you begin to feel better! Morning sickness often tends to improve or diminish at this time. You may begin to show slightly, especially if this is not your first pregnancy.**

Happy 4th of July!! Okay, I'm a day late, but I spent all weekend at Mom and Dad's house. The only thing that could of made the weekend better, was if Jerry was able to be there - unfortunately, he had to work all weekend. As much fun as the kids and I had, I am so happy to be home. I just wish the laundry/cleaning fairy would come and clean my house.

I was able to finally see some of my family face-to-face to tell them our awesome news about Baby #3. I think the only one that doesn't officially know is Grandma Kay, because so far we've just been able to play phone tag. I am begining to notice that the shocking excitment of announcing a pregnancy wears off when you get to #3. Oh well, I'm sure it will be total excitment once they get a new little baby in their arms.

On a positive note, the morning (afternoon & night) sickess seems to of gone away. . . Thank Goodness! That was starting to get really annoying! Now if only I could get some energy back! Pregnancy really stinks in it's early stages, but Friday is my official move into the 2nd Trimester. Woot Woot!