Life These Days

Some things I'm loving right now, in no particular order:

--Actually being able to see the little bodies moving around in my very big belly. It's the coolest thing ever, and Jeremy was finally able to catch them in action this weekend. In the evenings, I just sit on the couch with my shirt pulled up over my belly and watch them moving under my skin.


--Six and a half weeks until I meet my girls for real!!


--About five more weeks of work until maternity leave...assuming there's no bed rest or complications between now and then.

--Lime green paint in the nursery (actually "gecko green," by Valspar). I love bright colors...hopefully Addison and Mackenzie will too! The furniture is hopefully on its way and should be here this weekend or next week.

--Sonic ice, Sonic Diet Dr. Pepper, Sonic unsweet tea...get the idea? My current favorite is a large water with lime slices in it. It lasts me a couple of hours, by the time I eat the ice and limes! You can't beat it for 53 cents, and that's not even during happy hour.

--60 degree weather the rest of the week. I have a feeling the flip-flops will make an appearance before the week is over.

--Jeremy's weekends off. This is something we have not been able to enjoy in years, and it's been really nice. We can run errands, work on projects at home, and be lazy together. What a concept! We've watched more movies together (at home, of course...who has the energy to stand in line at the theater? certainly not me!) in the past month than we have in probably the last six months combined.


Okay, so those are a few of the good things (and I promise there are many, many more). Now, for a little balance, I will get out a few of my complaints:

--Feeling like my midsection weighs 40 pounds. I am just beginning to experience the true and constant physical discomfort of carrying two babies, but man, getting up after sitting down for an hour or so is no pleasant experience!

--Tossing and turning at night...lay on right side, right hip goes numb...switch and repeat.

--Getting up approximately 4-5 times per night to go to the bathroom. I have never been one to get up in the night, not even when I was little. I wake up, go to the bathroom, realize I'm extremely thirsty and take a long drink of the ice water that's constantly within reach, then go back to sleep. Two hours or so later, the process begins again. It's a vicious cycle. (In the interest of full disclosure, sometimes I have to have a midnight snack before falling back asleep also!)

--Not being able to eat what I want. I don't have true gestational diabetes, but I do have a slight glucose intolerance. I had to go to a class at the Diabetes Control Center to learn how to balance my meals to keep my glucose level from rising. Truthfully, it has not been that bad...the most important thing I had to do was cut out the Dr. Pepper and fruit juice to make a big difference (and I always thought all the fruit was supposed to be good for you!). That being said, I did have myself a pity party last night because I really wanted to make a pan of brownies. When else besides pregnancy can I give in to those cravings without feeling like a big pig?? I ate a small chocolate marshmallow bunny instead, but it just wasn't the same.

--Swollen ankles...how am I supposed to wear the cute dress I bought for my March shower when my ankles are roughly the size of softballs?!

I will stop the complaints there, and say a prayer of thanks for the blissfully healthy and uncomplicated pregnancy I have had. I am incredibly lucky to be carrying two healthy babies, and as long as they continue to stay that way, and to stay where they are for the next six weeks, all the complaints will be worth it a million times over.

Here's to a life full of blessings that far outweigh the complaints!!

August 12, 2006

Two years ago today, I wore the most beautiful wedding gown I had ever hoped to own. Two years ago today, I marvelled at flower arrangements I would never have dreamed of, and I danced at a wedding reception that topped anything I could have ever imagined. I was not one of those girls who knew exactly how I wanted my wedding to be when I was five years old. I didn't sit around imagining the huge, flowing gown, and I didn't spend hours trying to imagine my future groom. It just wasn't my thing. However, when I went to work at Talk of the Town in 2005, I was suddenly surrounded by weddings. I was newly engaged at that point in time, so I did spend a lot of time identifying the details I would like to see in my own wedding. By the next year, with my own wedding fast approaching, we were so busy at Talk of the Town that I felt like weddings had taken over my life. I was literally working 60 hours a week on other people's events! I had no energy left to obsess over my own. The best thing I ever did (related to my wedding, anyway) was to leave the details to Bruce, the most creative and talented person I know. I had an absolutely stress-free wedding day (power outages and all!), and I trusted in the TOTT team completely to handle everything down to the last detail. And as for that day two years ago, it was without a doubt better than anything I could have hoped for.

I realize that I have only talked about our wedding up to this point, saying little about our actual marriage. And I have learned that although the wedding is the beginning of the marriage, they are two completely different topics. The wedding was an event (an amazing one) that took months of planning, but was over within a few hours. The marriage, however, is a process. It continues to evolve and progress as Jeremy and I evolve, both as a couple and individually. In the next couple of days, I will explore our first two years in that process a little more. But for now, a few of my favorite pictures from the beginning of our marriage...

...haha...okay, pictures to come when I get them off the other computer! : ) I wanted to go ahead and get this posted before it was too far past our anniversary!

Simple Pleasures

This weekend, I am vowing to take time to notice and be thankful for the simple pleasures in my life. I have been reading some of the heart-wrenching stories of others in the blogging world this week, such as the one found here, and I can't help but wonder if I would be as strong if tragedy struck in my life. I have really been struck the past few days by how fortunate I am, and again, I have decided to take notice and be appreciative this weekend. Some of the good things from the past day or so have included:
---An unexpected weeknight dinner with my best friend Kelly, something that doesn't happen nearly often enough.
---Spending my lunch hour today just catching up on the week with my mom.
---A phone call from my sister yesterday afternoon...another rarity!
---The mandarin chicken salad I had from Wendy's yesterday. I have been wanting to try it for awhile, and it was every bit worth the $5.00 I grudgingly handed over at a fast-food restaurant.
---Sitting outside last night, on my freshly-painted patio furniture, watching the dogs play in the yard. I am especially thankful they were not hurt during Sunday's escapade, and that the fence provisions seem to be working to keep the little criminals inside the yard!

This is my first totally free weekend in awhile, and I plan to thoroughly enjoy it. Oh, and Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

Good Things

A few good things I am excited about right now:
1. It's baseball season! Baseball is definitely my favorite sport. I enjoy watching college football also, but I've always been more of a baseball girl. The Braves have been my team since I learned what a baseball was, though I consistently support the Red Sox when the Braves don't make it to the postseason (which is often in recent years). Jeremy and I have been going to more games in the past few years, and Turner Field is a place I just can't get enough of.
2. Car shopping. Jeremy and I have decided that before we start talking about the baby thing, we will have to have a family-ready car. The two-door Honda Civic just won't cut it with a carseat in the back. It's paid for, which is fabulous, but we have started looking for something four-door. If I weren't driving 40 miles (one way) to work every day, I would trade with my sister for the Trailblazer (again). Instead, we are going to sell the Civic and probably buy either a Honda Accord or an Altima, sticking with a 4-cylinder model so I can afford to buy gas. I am leaning toward the Accord, and I found a great deal on one, so I am hoping my car sells quickly.
3. Spring weather. I am so excited to trade closed-toe shoes and sweaters for flip-flops and capris! Mom bought me some Reef sandals this weekend, and though I was skeptical of spending $40.00 on what are basically flip flops (I usually stick with the always-economical Old Navy ones for $2.50!), I am absolutely in love with them. I imagine I will quickly get $40.00 worth of wear out of them.
4. Vacation-planning. Jeremy and I didn't really take much of a vacation last year, so I am trying to find us a couple of good, relatively cheap trips for this year. At the top of my list right now is Savannah, GA, so I am trying to convince Jeremy that he will actually enjoy it. I can waste a significant amount of time on expedia just looking at hotel reviews, so planning is half the fun anyway. Also, my sister is spending the summer at the beach doing mission work with a group from her college, so we will be heading down there with my mom.
5. Landscaping. Now that it is getting warmer, it is time to start thinking about our yard. We moved into the house in November, so we were stuck with the yard for the winter, but Jeremy has been making big plans for lots of changes this spring. I am excited to get started, and even more excited to enjoy the finished product. The yard is the only thing we haven't really touched, so when it's done I think it will feel like the house is truly ours.
6. Economic stimulus package, because anytime the government wants to hand me money to boost the economy, I'm all for it! We have big plans for our $1,200.00, mostly related to number 5, above.

Those are just a few things on my list, but on this drab Tuesday, I needed to remind myself of some of the things I am looking forward to! It has made the day slightly better.