Tired of Waiting... this gave me peace this morning...

I receive this literally...

Romans 8: 24 That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother (I will not be diminished by the waiting). We are enlarged in the waiting (Enlarge me, O God, in the spirit, as in the obvious-lol). We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. (we can now through the amazing technology of 4-d!!) 25 But the longer we wait, the larger we become- (yep!), and the more joyful our expectancy (I receive that in faith that I become MORE joyful in the expectancy...).
26 Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. (I LOVE THIS!!! I have been sighing and groaning a lot lately!!!) 27 He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God.- (Thank you Holy Spirit! I need this and rely on this at this time when I am so tired, I can't get much done, when my hormones are raging so strong, that I do that which I hate- as though watching someone else do it, and when lack of sleep has led me to the edge of what I think I can handle.)

I receive it, and I pass it along to you...

:)

God is good, all the time. And I have always felt that there is an extra portion of grace for those of us in this particular season of life, now I REALLY believe it!

Barriga Shots... 30wks and 32wks

Week 30 and week 32 side-by-side.
Can you tell a difference? No Mucho.
Sporting the Isa.Oliver tops, teGusta?

Sooo Cute, wall murals.

Where do they find this gorgeous stuff?
You can pay $700 - $1300 to buy this wall mural and paste it to your wall, or you can just hire me to come do it, and paint it! Love it!

Can't help it, Thrift Stores are still the BEST!!!

When we were little, my parents were really poor. Like, government cheese poor. My mom HAD to shop at thrift stores to keep up with all the growth that 3 children under 4 demanded. And now that I have my own children to provide for, God has blessed us so that I don't have to shop there, but I STILL LOVE TO!!!
I know some people, would avoid a thrift store like the plague, but I crave those days where I know I can just go and spend the time I want to!
Something about digging through tons of Junk to find that one jewel, that one diamond in the rough is therapeutic for me. I can't really do it all that much anymore because Vivia doesn't have the patience to sit through all the sifting that is all part of the process. I really do love finding that pair of Diesel Jeans, knowing I only paid $5. Or that shirt from Anthropologie that retails $98 and I paid under 10.
When you add it all up, you can argue that it does not make sense but here's my math:

Hourly rate that I charge clients (that I could be making if I chose to work that day) (Not telling, but I know it in my head...) $$$
Babysitter, $15
Gas to Drive across town to the best/cheapest one, $10,
Ann Taylor Kids dress (as seen on Vivia here) $1.91,
Afternoon at the Thrift Store... PRiceless.

Blue wall Blues...

I love it, but not sure it is as dark as I was hoping. The blue totally lightened up in the natural lighting of this room compared to the swatch we had. I LOVE the color. But again, not the color I thought it would be. BUT anyway, here are some pics of the work in progress... Still have to apply the birds to the wall, hang some stuff, and mi madre is working on slipcovering the glider with this awesome green corderoy I got on sale at JoAnne's yesterday. LOVE JOANNE's! I also bought a buttload of new canvases so I can PAINT some more! Gotta RUn- off to church!
More later...

I want this... Fawn and Forest

I want this...
<--------

From HERE...
One is for baby and one is for mom- so cute!
Fawn and Forest- one of my favorite websites for cool baby stuff! To quote the wise old sages, The Beastie Boys...
"Check it, check it OUT."






I did get this ----------->
For PRCM from F&F. It is sooo cute and goes with the whole wild horse theme/thing. (See painting I did for him.)
Description below, Nope, I am not getting paid to endorse, just really love this product!

Little Lark's super-soft onesies are made with 100% organic cotton. So soft you won’t want to put anything else on your baby! Features 2 loving horses. Printed in brown ink on a natural color organic onesie. You don't have to be a horse to love this design!

Little Lark's apparel is sweatshop free, 100% cotton, American made, and individually silk-screened by hand. Little Lark onesies are made with the softest, organic cotton available. Fabric labels are hand printed on recycled cloth and ironed to the inside of each garnmet. Clothing items are printed in small batches and ink colors are hand mixed, so subtle variations exist from shirt to shirt. Each garment has its own unique touch of individuality, just like the little characters wearing them.

Each onesie comes with a printed muslin bag.

PRCM's room~ my project for this weekend...

I have an army of girls coming to my house this weekend to help me paint "baby brother's" room.
I am so excited!
Will post pics when done.

JUST say "NO" to Ambien!

I told my Doc. that I was not sleeping at night due to the fact that I have another living being inside of me who likes to do his kung-fu the moment I lay down to sleep.

She prescribed me Ambien- told me to take it as-needed.
So I took it. Did I sleep well? Extremely. Did I feel well rested? At first.
About 5 days into it, I began to feel an anxiety attack come on, Anxious thoughts, trouble breathing, trouble concentrating, sweating, - which, I have only had one in my whole life- about 6 years ago- but I remember what it feels like! I was also experiencing extreme drowsiness during the day, like I was awake but maybe sleep-walking. All with a hangover-type headache...

I was happy, and myself one minute, and extremely angry and pissy the next- for no apparent reason. (I also am reminded of feeling this way back in 2001 or 2 when I decided to try depo-provera and turned into a water-retaining, moody, psycho! God bless Gabriel, my sweet, understanding, compassionate Hubbs!) I hated that feeling then, and here I was watching myself -outside myself- again.

I called a good friend and asked her to pray for me, because I felt this anxiety attack coming on, all's I got was a voice mail. So I prayed for peace and the HS to come upon me so I could calm down. And then I was prompted to read the "side affects" of the drug, which I just happened to have in the car beside me.

It read like a check list of my symptoms...

"Tell your doctor immediately if any of these unlikely but serious side effects occur: fast/pounding heartbeat, unusual tiredness, mental/mood changes (e.g., new or worsening depression, rare thoughts of suicide, hallucinations, aggressive behavior, anxiety), memory loss, unsteadiness."

This didn't happen to me, but look at this:

"Rarely, after taking this drug, people have gotten out of bed and driven vehicles while not fully awake ("sleep-driving"). People have also sleepwalked, prepared/eaten food, made phone calls, or had sex while not fully awake. Often, these people do not remember these events. If you discover that you have experienced any of these events, tell your doctor immediately."

Lions and tigers and bears- OH MY!!!!

Hmmmmm...
Connecting the dots, I realized it was a chemical thing- thank God! Not even a pregnancy thing.
I immediately discontinued the stuff, although it took several days to get out of my system.

I can't find a doc anywhere that will tell me I can take Melatonin (a natural sleep aid that I normally take when I have this problem). So until then, I guess I am just now destined to warm showers, sleepytime tea, reading, and laying awake for hours until I finally drift off.

UGH.

But he's worth it!!! Can't wait to meet him in person- 8 weeks and counting!

:)

CHUBBY baby legs, I LOVE BABY LEGS

I love this product! I was a huge fan of legwarmers back in he eighties, when I was 5! And they've made a comeback just in time again for my little family! But OH, the possibilities! They can be worn in so many different ways, and not just for girls either!
One of these shots is of Vivia in her Baby Legs when she was almost a year old at Christmastime. She wore them again recently at age 2.
I just stocked up on some more for PRCM and actually, Vivia can wear some of them first, this winter/fall too!
They make an outfit out of any Onesie and are too cute for words!
Buy them here.

Does a two-year-old really understand???

I went to the bookstore a little while back in order to find a book that would help Vivia understand that there really was a "baby in there." And not just a "soccer ball" as she called it one day. This book was the best one I found that was not too informative (if you know what I mean) but also had the perfect explanation of what was going on.
SHE LOVED IT and it has become her favorite book, she wants to read it all the time.
At the conclusion of the book, the baby is born, but each page is a drawing of mommy and the baby growing inside. With explanations of what baby can see/do/hear at each stage of the game. Still told in story-like fashion. Like a window into the belly. Not too cheesy, not too grown up, not too graphic. I really do believe that she does understand what is going on. However, she has no clue how much her world is about to be ROCKED! :) But all for good. CLICK HERE: This link will work for a while until Amazon decides to change it

Need to feel Beautiful at XXXXL?

My Isabella Oliver tops came in today, and I couldn't be more thrilled! I LOVE them! Super Pricey, But I got them on EBAy (used) and cheaper. As another Maternity Wardrobe FIND. I HIGHLY recommend this line. And especially this shirt.
<----------- It is so fun, and dainty, and beautiful. Is really good to have a couple of things that make you feel beautiful, especially when you are in a season of not feeling it very often! This is a great piece to have throughout all the trimesters, including the fourth, because of the way it is made, it will fit at any point along the way.
http://www.isabellaoliver.com/maternity-clothes
They are having a sale right now, too!

Family Photo

Here we are... You can't see PRCM because it is not a full-body shot. But he's there!

TOP FIFTEEN things NOT to say to a pregnant woman!

KEY:
White not to be said by a man or a woman
Red not to be said by a man, especially the husband
Green not to be said by a woman, especially the mother, or even worse, the mother-in-law

15. "You're not going to eat all that are you?" or
14. "Didn't you just eat two hours ago?" (or ANY comment about your diet for that matter...)
13. "Well, what did you do all day?"
12. "WOW, you're getting so... (insert synonym for "LARGE" here)! ie. big, huge, enormous, gargantuan, whale-like,
11. "That baby still hasn't come yet?
10. "I was in labor for 48 hours, uphill, barefoot, in both directions"...(Insert personal birth horror/sob story here)
9. "We need to keep the thermostat set at 78 degrees"
8. "I hear (anything) helps with the nausea"
7. " I think you should try to do it (fill in birth preference here)" ie, natural, with pain meds, at home
6. "When you gonna push that thing out?"
5. "We didn't have epidurals back in my day."
4. "When are you/we having another one?"
3. "I understand"
2. "Well my mom..." followed by some Oedipus-loaded comment

And the number one thing you never say to a pregnant woman...

1. "No".

Sharing some of my research with you...

In the interest of passing along really great information- I am going to write now about some really amazing finds I have made in my attempts at being the coolest mom on the block! Which is ridiculous...
First off- some really great Maternity Tees are found here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5330645
I personally purchased from them, and LOVE them!
All handmade, and so you know the girls down the block won't be wearing them... Unless you live down the block from me. This is the one I bought and I LOVE it!



K. now Secondly- a web site with some really cool Wall Decals:
http://ellynelly.com/
Here are the ones I got for PRCM's room (aha, did you catch that??? a little hint to Baby Brother's name... Guess if you dare...) I am painting the walls a combo of Navy and Turquoise with these in White.



K now Thirdly- I found the perfect solution to the registry problem. Not wanting to register at 50 million sites for the different tastes you have...
U can manage ONE list, in ONE spot to include ANYTHING you want. http://www.myregistry.com/Visitors/Welcome.aspx?sid=41ef8969-f4d7-4844-9f74-a74eff1a8367
I hope that link works. It's to my registry so you can see what I mean.
I combined my registries from Target, BabiesRus, PotteryBarnKids, Fawnand Forest, lots of others. They also have a "fund" that you can set up, so people can just give you cash online too.
We allocated ours to be PRCM's college fund.
But you could do a "diaper fund" a "stroller fund", a "mother's helper fund" Whatever!
Cool huh! You can do alll sorts of registries here too. Wedding, Housewarming- etc.


K- now fourthly, I found my favorite Maternity tee of all time, I probably will not buy it because I only have 2 mos to go, but OMG! I LOVE IT!!! ROTFLMAO!~
HEre it is~












It can be purchased HERE: http://www.bellyflirt.com/Natural-childbirth.html


Ok- tha's all for now, FOLKS!
Love and Peace and Joy and, of course... FREEDOM

MORE OhBoy pics...

Ok- so the sleepless nights...

Well, pregnancy is not easy on my neurons that are in desperate need of a full night's sleep, but I do have to say, it can be great for the creative 'inspiration' portion of my brain...
These are some photos I doctored on an almost-all-nighter last week.

By the way, if you want to see some majorly-amazing kid-photograpy, check out http://www.amysmithphoto.com/
she also has a blog at http://amysmithphoto.typepad.com/


She's local here in Orlando, and I love her Editorial style! I really want to use her, and when I got her pricelist, realized I am going to have to "register" for her b/c- man!- you def. get what you pay for! She'd be worth every penny though!

Getting more and more excited with each passing uncomfortable day. My mantra right now is... "but you're worth it!, but you're worth it!" "you" being "him".
"Him" being... "(insert name here)".

We are decided on a name ~ like, 96.75% so I will post as soon as we are more like 99.99% sure.
I don't know why Gabriel is so hesitant and hush-hush about it this time, but I will respect his wishes and make sure we don't go public with it until he has given his blessing.


Here's "him" ----->

What's that, you say? He looks just like Vivia? "Why yes, yes he does, thank you for pointing that out!" And so my hopes of resembling someone I am related to go unfulfilled yet again. Oh well. Nothing to complain about except that I am the one housing this little person for 9 months of my life. Too much to ask? I think not!
LOL!