We just can't catch a break it seems. Today I got a phone call from a loan office (that we JUST got a letter from a few days ago) wanting us to pay off our loan in full. I laughed at the guy. Seriously? Who has the money just laying around to pay off a loan, and just doesn't? And this comes right when we're trying to figure out how much time we can afford Dusty to take off of work after Emery is born. After my initial freak out (inwardly, of course), I got to number crunching and a few hours later, I think I have a solution. We're going to try to consolidate a few of our loans so we just have one payment that will most likely be less than all the different payments combined, and we should be able to even get a new bed (finally!!!). Oh, and this is on the heels of my $1,000 bill for visiting L&D a few weeks back. When Dusty (tactfully, at 7:30 am) woke me to tell me about that one, my freak out wasn't so inwardly. I distinctly remember crying "Can't I just sleep and not think about money for a while?!" I had spent several hours the day before setting up next year's budget, and spent my evening "me" time trying to juggle the last few months of this year's budget. I was sick of hearing about money, I had been up until 3:30 with Mischa, I was tired, and just done.

But it looks like God's working it all out again. Go figure right? I really need to stop these freak outs and realize He's kinda got things covered, I just need to figure that out.

I went to the dentist yesterday (eeek! <-- new favorite expression), and had my teeth cleaned. After almost having a panic attack listening to the guy on the other side of the divider get a tooth pulled, the dentist got me all cleaned up in about half an hour and on my way. Boy did it hurt, and by the time dinner rolled around, it hurt to chew. Ironically, my numbers still sucked yesterday. Dang. But I'm better today. Just have to figure out these numbers...

Friday is my next OB appointment. It's also October 1st, which is crazy weird, because that means I can start saying I'm due "next month". Reality is sinking in...

My friend Autumn has been a lifesaver and has totally stepped up and is throwing me a "Baby Sprinkle". I'm helping her plan it, and buying the stuff, but she's hosting it, and she's awesome. I really hope this helps ease my anxiety. I ended up returning a few things that I ended up not needing to Walmart yesterday just so I could buy a small package of newborn diapers because I was honestly losing sleep over not having any diapers in the right size. I have a BOX of wipes, but no diapers, and I actually slept like the dead last night. Well, the dead that gets up to pee every few hours, but you get my point. Just knowing that I have some diapers, and I will hopefully get more at the Sprinkle, has already helped my anxiety. Diapers and a baby bath are the only things I really NEED (besides the car seat, but I know that's handled, so I'm mostly ok. I'll be better once that's installed.).

I found the most amazing DIY decorations on YouTube that I've tested out today. They're tissue paper puff flowers and they're so cute! I'm going to try to pick up various colors of tissue paper and make them for the Sprinkle. I tried out a few today with what I had, and they're adorable. I think I might make them as decor over the crib, maybe as a mobile of some sort. I'll try to remember to post a picture of them (they're hanging in Mischa's room now, and she's sleeping thank GOD!!).

Well, that's it for now. I'm going to go try to read in bed for a while. Hopefully I can focus!

Ughhh.... 32 weeks today. :) Is it November yet though?

Ok, I'm going to complain for a while, so feel free to skip this post. <3

I'm so excited and ready for her to be here, but we're so not ready. :( My mom told me Saturday that she won't be able to throw the baby shower because of her brain injury, and she's pretty disappointed too because she had finally decided on an I Love Lucy theme. I totally understand, and I want her to take her time healing. So now I'm freaking out more than before because we just financially can't get anything. My aunts are for sure getting the car seat, but I also need diapers. I'm going to have to make sure I get at least one box before she's born, just so I don't freak out. Although, I already am. I'm so tired of suffering financially because of other people's stupid decisions and other things that are out of my control. (Like Dusty being yanked around at work, etc.)

She's talking about throwing a party after Emery is born, which would be awesome as well... But I'm still freaking out about diapers. I just wish there was more time. I tried to start buying things early, get stocked up, and everyone told me to just hold off and wait until we got closer and see what we get from the baby/diaper shower. Well, it looks like I had the right idea and I should have ignored everyone because now I just have one box of diapers that aren't even the right size.

This week will be super tight, which might make the next couple weeks really tight, but I may try to take some grocery money and buy one thing at a time from my registry, just so I have what I need. My checklist of needs for when she's born is diapers, baby bath, nursing cover, bottles. I think I can do it..

Dusty is helping with Kairos this October (oh my goodness that starts this weekend!), so he's been going to training. I feel like he hasn't had a day off off something in weeks. He works Monday to Thursday/Friday, Kairos training on Saturday, church Sunday. He has an overnight training this weekend (Friday night), then he'll be gone again Saturday evening for "Candlelight" (whatever that really is). The next weekend he's free, but then he has more training the next weekend, and then Kairos the 21st-24th. We just realized today that he'll be missing this year's Blackbird because it's been scheduled for the 23rd, and he may be missing a doctor appointment as well. I had all my biweekly appointments scheduled, and the last one is the 15th, so I'm assuming he'll be having me come in weekly after that, which is Kairos weekend.

Ok, I'm so done thinking about all this. I'm tired. I did our 2011 budget today, and my head hurts!!

We've had a busy day! We watched the Corn Festival parade today, then we headed up to Terre Haute and joined in Lilly's first birthday party :). That girl is adorable! Mischa had a great time.

Then we went over to Babies R Us, because Dusty was in a baby mood after seeing little Lilly and another baby (only 5 weeks!). I'm so glad we did, because after checking out the car seat and stroller we registered for, they're not so great. They're cute! But not practical or as supportive as we originally thought. But we found another set that we really like that we've swapped for on our registry. They fit well together, are easy to manage (move around, install/uninstall, collapse, etc), and they're just plain awesome!

They're from the Graco Laguna Bay collection. They cost a bit more than the others we had planned to get, but hey, you get what you pay for!

I think Emery heard us talking last week, and has finally flipped. Yay!!

I had a list of things I wanted to remember to blog about the next time I got on here, but they're not so interesting in this moment, so I'm not going to go there :).

Today was my 30 week check up. All things considered, it was really good. Dr Y says my glucose numbers look really good, besides the random high ones (but he understands I'm still learning what works and what doesn't), and he says that if they continue to look good at my next appointment then I may get to skip every other day with the poking as long as I keep with the diet! Yay for less button holes! I actually remembered to ask my questions this time, I'm so proud of myself. I told him that I know she's transverse (how could I miss that one - ouch!), so how long do I have for her to flip? He said that generally they like to see them head-down by 36 weeks, and if she doesn't feel like she's in position to him then he'll order an ultrasound to see exactly how she's laying. So Emery has 6 weeks to make up her mind! And it had better be to finish flipping! I also asked him when he planned to start the cervical checks since I was fingertip dilated when I was in L&D. Well, we had to go over again WHY I was in L&D, then the fact that the contractions have slowed but not stopped came up, as well as the fact that I lost part of my plug already. So he said since it's been two weeks, and I'm still having contractions, then he should do another fFn test just to be on the safe side (the results are for the following two weeks). So not only did I get swabbed for that, then he checked my cervix and it hasn't changed. Which is good. She doesn't need to come too early, but I won't be disappointed if she's around for Halloween! I get the results from the fFn tomorrow, but I'm sure it'll be negative again.

My mom fell last week, off of a chair, and hit her head on a metal bed frame. Dad took her to the ER, she had an x-ray and a cat scan done, and they told her that she had a contusion and sent her home to rest. The next day, she read her discharge papers and she actually has a concussion. She went to the doctor today because she's losing brain function (short term memory loss, confusion, fatigue, nausea, etc.), and she has another cat scan in the morning to compare to the one that was done in the ER. If they find anything, she'll be taken into surgery. I'm praying that whatever happens, whatever is found or not found, that she'll heal quickly and not get any worse. She's in pain and miserable, and very frustrated with what's going on. She's a tough cookie, and has been through a lot. I hate that she's going through this too.

Mischa wore underwear today :). From about noon until 7ish, she didn't have any accidents at all. But then we were at my parents' house, and I'm sure she was just busy visiting and forgot to hold it and peed all over the floor. She felt TERRIBLE. Not that she did anything wrong, but it was obvious she was upset with herself. She's such an intelligent little girl!

We're being screwed over by our electric company. We signed up our account for the fixed bill thing they sent us a letter about (one fixed amount for a year, and no settle up at the end of the year), and the guy I spoke with made a few mistakes in what he was telling me, such as, he said we owed a certain amount by the end of the month then then next bill would start our fixed billing. Well, it turns out that it was a different amount due September 8th, so now it looks like we didn't pay a bill, and they want us to pay over $300! They want our entire account balance. And they want $200 of it by the 30th. No one will say, yes he made a mistake, they won't take the blame for anything. They just want us to pay up. I'm not so sure how things are going to work out, but I am beyond stressed. I know we'll get out of this eventually, but I hate how everything seems to go horribly wrong financially just before we have a baby!

Off topic real quick, I guess my aunts ARE getting us at least the carseat, but it won't be for a while because they don't have the money right now. But I've been told that I will have it before Emery is born. Thank God.

30 weeks today!!

It's been a crazy few days. And I sit here eating my sugar free jello (because I can have as much as I want, and I want it all!), trying to figure out where to start...

Ok, starting with our first adventure of the weekend, we were getting ready to head out of town to visit Mike and Andrea and the new baby, and the car battery died. Not when we piled in with all our junk, but when Dusty went to restart it after FILLING it at the gas station. It just died. Completely drained. We called another family member to give us a jump, and the dern thing wouldn't even hold a charge. So Mischa and I walked across the street and hung out at Dairy Queen while Dusty went with Kyle and bought a new car battery. There went my gas money for the week, and then some. The battery was seriously almost $100! So, no maternity pics for me (I was supposed to go visit a friend in Evansville, and she was going to do my maternity pictures for free. She's an AWESOME photographer!). But I am very thankful that it was only a battery, and not anything more serious or expensive!

We did get up there safely, although a bit later than we had planned. But that worked out just fine, because they already had company there. I was able to do a quick newborn session with little Evelyn, and here are some of the results:

She really was such a cooperative little model (once she got her belly full!). She's so adorable! And she made me want it to be November sooo badly, haha. But then we got home, reality struck, and we're so totally not ready. I loved visiting with them; we haven't just hung out in what feels like forever. But I am glad we left when we did because it was obvious they were exhausted (they had just got home from the hospital that day!), Emery wasn't too keen on the idea of me being around another baby at times, and dear lord I seriously had let down when Evelyn started crying before we left. So that was a huge flag that it was time to go lol.

Let's see... Well, yesterday we finally went grocery shopping. Although we went over budget, I feel so much better having things in the house that I can eat! Such as the SF Jello... I need a refill...
Anyway, >>TMI ALERT<< I lost part of my mucous plug as we were leaving Walmart. I don't remember that starting so early with Mischa. I'm pretty sure it wasn't until after 35 weeks. But my next appointment is Thursday, so I'll definitely be bringing that one up.

It doesn't look like we'll be getting the carseat and stroller we wanted. At least not anytime soon, and definitely not during the trade in sale at Babies R Us. One of my aunts offered to help pay for them, and my mom told me that my aunt was actually going to be splitting the cost with another aunt. But since I tried to take her up on the offer, I haven't heard from her, and she hasn't mentioned it to my mom. So I'm taking it as she either hasn't gotten my message, or it's a no.

My mom and sister are still trying to figure out what theme to go with for my baby shower (which I guess is on for next month... they might want to jump on a few things..). They're torn between just sticking with their original plan of a diaper shower (which is fine by me), or going Famous Hollywood Moms themed. I asked her how in the world do you plan a theme like that (in my mind, I'm picturing life size cutouts of Angelina Jolie and Madonna strategically placed around the room), and she starts listing things like trivia and some game I don't even remember. I know that whatever they plan, it will be hilariously fun, at least to us. I'm just not sure if everyone else would get our humor... But we'd be having an awesome time ;).

Ummm... I think that brings me up to date... Need more Jello...

So the gestational diabetes is little more stressful than I anticipated. I ended up going to the nutritionist/dietician yesterday (they didn't want to wait until today), so I took Mischa with me. She actually was very good, and I'm very proud of her. She loved playing with all the fake food.

I have to check my blood sugar 4 times a day. Fasting, then 2 hours after every meal. So far all my numbers have been coming back great, but I know that if I bring this up they'll tell me that it's just because the new diet is working wonderfully. Whatever. It's just a few more weeks, then I should be done.

The worst part is trying to figure out what to eat. I'm only allowed 12 carb counts a day, which one count equals 15 grams. So it's not a whole lot, but I'm figuring it out:

YESTERDAY:

• Lunch: Double bacon, egg, and cheese on an English Muffin from Subway = 1 count
• Snack: 3 cookies = 2 counts
• Dinner: 3/4 cup spaghetti w/ sauce, 1 slice of garlic bread, 1 cup of milk = 4 counts
• Bedtime Snack: One packet of instant oatmeal = 2 counts (only supposed to have 1, but I only had 1 at lunch)

TODAY

• Breakfast: Two pieces of wheat toast, one with butter, one with cheese and an egg (over easy), 1/2 cup of milk, 2 slices of peaches = 2 counts
• Lunch: Peanut butter and honey butter sandwich on wheat bread, 1/2 cup of milk = 3 counts
• Snack: Not there yet, but I'm only allotted 2 counts
• Dinner: No idea what I'm making, but I get 4 counts
• Bedtime Snack: One measly count.

I might waste away.

Ok, so it's not really that horrible, but it's hard to figure out what to eat. It almost takes longer preparing anything and figuring out how many counts things are, than it does to finally eat! But it's obviously working, because, like I said, all my numbers are coming back fine. My fasting is supposed to be less than 94, and after meals is supposed to be under 120. I've only been over 100 once, and that was after dinner last night, and it was only 106.

I think we're going to attempt walking again tonight, but at a more leisurely pace. I think we were walking too fast last time, and that's why I started having contractions.

Well, I haven't posted any pictures lately, so I'll leave you with one of my growing belly, and one of my cuter munchkin.

28 wks, 6 dys

Sitting in my desk :)

Well, I failed my 3 hour glucose test, so I officially have gestational diabetes. I have an appointment Thursday morning with the diabetes specialist to go over my new diet and get my testing kit. I found this out right after I finished off a small Chocolate X-treme Blizzard. I'm horrible.

I'm still having irregular contractions and cramping, but I can function. I've noticed that I'm getting worn out quicker. I had to take two breaks while I did dishes today, and that was just one sink load of dishes! Ugh...

I'm pretty sure Emery is trying to flip herself over. She's been kicking the left side of my pelvis and squirming a bit lower under my right side. And today she feels like she's a bit more transverse. I hope she gets this flip over with, because this is so uncomfortable.

Evelyn Mae was born at 9:25 this morning! She was 7lbs 4oz, and 20 1/4 inches long. She's so cute! All I've seen is pictures, but we're hoping to go up and visit Friday, so I can't wait to see her! I'm loving seeing all the pictures and updates about her, but it's making me want my little girl so badly!!

Mischa just woke up. It's 10 pm, and she's been asleep since about 6:30. I'm not sure if I'm going to get any sleep tonight...

My unborn, the drama queen. Already. I spent about 4-5 hours in labor and delivery last Thursday night because of cramping and contractions. I feel like I have to explain this every time I say cramping because I know it sounds petty. But when I say cramping, I mean laying on the couch, rocking back and forth, trying not to cry because it hurts so bad period cramps. I called my doctor's office, and they told me to go right in to the hospital. When I got there, they had me pee in a cup, then hooked me up to the monitors to track Emery's heartbeat and my contractions. They also did the fFN test. Both that and the UTI test came back negative. So since those were negative, my contractions were irregular, and my cervix hadn't changed while I was there (which, by the way, I'm dilated a fingertip! They said it's expected since I've had a baby before, but COME ON!), they sent me home.

We're all assuming it's dehydration. I had to drink two large cups of water while we waited on my test results, and it helped the cramping some, but I was still contracting. And I still am. And the cramping came back today. So, I'm trying to drink as much water as possible, but -of course- it aggravates my heartburn. Woot.

My activities are restricted as tolerated, which means I'm not allowed to push myself to do so much anymore. So it'll just be laundry and dishes for a while. Dusty's been pretty helpful. He's made dinner the past few nights so I don't have to. :) And whenever I mention something sounds good, he usually ends up bringing it home from the store at some point. The most recent being m&m cookies! Yum!

Tuesday, Andrea has her baby girl (:D). Friday, we're hoping to go visit (!!). Saturday, I'm hoping to make a day trip to Evansville to visit a friend. She's a pretty awesome photographer and wants to experiment with my belly :). I REALLY hope it works out!

Ok, so I never got around to the crocheting in front of the TV, but my shower was fabulous :). I ended up in bed by 10, and lights out just before 11. Which NEVER happens to me. I'm ALWAYS up after midnight, especially when Dusty is on nights. But I'm getting farther along, Emery is having more growth spurts and taking more out of me, so I'm absolutely exhausted. Even though I went to bed early, I didn't get a whole lot of extra sleep. Mischa had me up at 2:30 crying, I never found out why because she settled right down once I got in there. She had me hold her for a while, then I laid her down after she was passed out, and was back in bed around 3:20. But then she woke up ticked off that I left the room and was screaming at/for me at 3:30. Since she obviously wasn't in any danger, wasn't sick or hurt, just mad, I let her cry. She ended up joining me in bed after a few minutes. So then I got to sleep until Dusty got home, which was around 7:20ish. She woke up after he had been home for a little while, which I expected. I thought I would get better rest letting her sleep with me and getting up when Dusty got home, rather than sitting in her room for who knows how long, who knows how many times then MAYBE sleeping in.

She was, thankfully, in a good mood this morning, and she even let me crash on the couch for a couple hours after breakfast. She insisted on eating breakfast outside, which was easy to allow since she wanted waffles. If it were cereal, that would be a different story (especially since between bites, she would run circles around the patio!). She likes to travel with her food, and her cereal would have been spilled somehow and she probably would have had a meltdown.

It was a sweet few moments, and she actually finished her food. She's not been eating well lately for some reason, and I even stocked up on Pediasure and other snacks that would guarantee her nutrients without her knowing that Mommy really wanted her to eat them. She even asked for more waffles for lunch, so we had waffles with peanut butter, and she finished her lunch as well. I don't think I've ever been so happy to see that girl eat! She didn't eat her dinner very well though, which is surprising. We had spaghetti and garlic bread, and it's usually guaranteed that she'll finish off the bread and try to sneak another, but she barely made a dent in it.

Normally, I try to wait until around 10 to bring the dog in, but he's being really obnoxious and loud and barking and anything and nothing, so I think I'm going to bring him in, force myself to get some crocheting done (I swear I couldn't STOP crocheting things in the first trimester!), then probably go to bed early again.

Oh, I found out today that I failed my glucose test, by TWO POINTS!!! The cut off with my doctor is 135, and I got 137. So I go in Friday morning (I have to be there at 8!) to do the 3 hour test. I'll be walking out the door as soon as Dusty walks in from work. It's going to be a long day for both of us. * sigh *