Pregnancy Update and Life Changes

Life has been a roller coaster lately, with lots of loops, curves, upside downs, right side ups, small hills and gigantic ones. Andrew and I are struggling to figure out how we can make our income more than our expenses with me quitting one of my jobs. We are also very unsure of what will happen with me working once the baby comes, because even then our income and expenses will be just about equal. It's very hard for me to hear that 1. I may not be staying home with baby even part time, and 2. Not knowing what job I will have and if so how much I will truly enjoy it. I am trying to be as frugal as possible: no eating out, no buying clothes, coupons when grocery shopping (and very much cutting back on how much I spend at the grocery store), making my own cleaning supplies and laundry detergent, turning off lights and taking less showers to lower bills, etc. I honestly don't know what else I can possibly do to help save money and trying to cut things about of our budget seems really difficult right now, mainly because of my student loans. I plan to pay off one of my loans with some bonds and savings I have. That will hopefully lower our monthly payments a little. I am hopefully going to try and have more pampered chef shows and keep my eye out for any small/part time jobs that I could easily do from home. If you have any suggestions please let me know!

On another note, I am 18 weeks pregnant and feeling pretty good. I was having some vomiting issues for a while there when I would randomly get sick when eating so the doctor changed my acid reflux medicine to see if that would help. Baby's heart rate has dropped to the 140's and 150's, but my blood pressure has gone up! I'm trying to eat more protein, drink more water, and I definitely need to exercise more! On June 30th we get to have the ultrasound! Andrew and I have decided that we are going to find out the sex of the baby, however, we plan to wait until baby comes to share the name!!! I am starting to feel the baby move a little bit-no huge kicks or punches yet!

I promise more pictures from vacation will be coming soon-just need to upload them from the camera!

Vacation Part 3

Wow, where did I leave off? So much has happened since I last blogged and our vacation is almost over!

On Tuesday the weather turned out for the better with no rain and bright sunshine! We spent some time at the beach swimming in the ocean, looking for seashells and laying out in the sun. Then Andrew and I headed to downtown Charleston for a Harbor Tour. The boat took us all around the Charleston harbor and gave us lots of history about Charleston and the surrounding islands. I didn't realize there was so much that took place in Charleston, like Fort Sumter and even Pirate attacks. On the tour we also got to see some dolphins! Of course, we both forgot to put on sunscreen so we left the boat completely fried. We then headed back to Market Street for dinner and dessert. We found a really cool coffee shop that had great desserts! It was called Kaminsky's (sp??) and it is literally Andrew's dream coffee shop. For those of you who don't know, my husband is starting his own coffee roasting business out of our home. He plans to roast coffee beans and sell them to help him get started in the coffee business. His future plan is to open up a coffee shop that will be a normal coffee shop during the day and a classy/upscale martini bar by night (using real espresso and coffee in the drinks). This is exactly what Kaminsky's was! He was super excited!

All in all it was a good day (except for one small incident)! I now have a fear of seagulls!! After returning to our hotel we thought we would go out to the beach to sit and read. As soon as we sat down this flock of seagulls flew overtop of us (I bet I can guess what you're thinking, but you are wrong) no, they did not poo on us, instead they charged down and started chasing me around the beach! Andrew was viciously swinging his book around to try and get them away and as I started running, they of course followed! I serioulsy thought I was going to be attacked! I ran back to Andrew crying like a little girl and he got them away. It was both embarrassing and frightening. The rest of the week I spent my time avoiding them as much as possible! So here is your warning, STAY AWAY FROM SEAGULLS AT THE BEACH!


Wednesday Andrew and I headed to the Boone Family Plantation for a morning tour. I don't know much about the Boone Family but they had a really cool house and lots of beautiful land (guess that shows how much I payed attention during the tour!). My favorite part was the ride around the plantation where they showed us all the land (they even had alligators-eek!). What I did learn was that several movies had been filmed on the Plantation, such as "North and South" with Patrick Swayze, "Queen" and most recently "The Notebook." That day Andrew and I also discovered that the pier right outside of our hotel was where they filmed the opening scene of "Dear John" (I love Nicholas Sparks novels!). The rest of the day was spent on the beach (getting even more sunburnt)!

Thursday was our last full day at the Isle of Palms. We took advantage of the beach one more time and then headed to downtown Charleston again to explore Market Street some more. I would highly recommend visiting Charleston some time if you ever get a chance! It's very fun!

Yesterday (Friday) we headed back to Asheville. We spent the evening watching movies and relaxing at our friend's apartment. Today we went to the Biltmore Estate (the largest single family dwelling in the U.S.). We toured the house and all over the the estate. They even had wine tasting (which I unfortunately couldn't do being 17 weeks pregnant) but Andew did and we ended up buying 4 bottles of wine (my hope is to save some until after the pregnancy so I can try it)! Tomorrow we leave bright and early to head back to Iowa. It's been a really good vacation and it's gone SO FAST! I can't believe Monday I have to go back to the normal routine of work (and looking at the list of things I have to do right away on Monday it makes me wish I didn't work 3 jobs!). Something has to change for us once baby comes and let's just say I can't wait till that day comes!! I will be posting other pictures from our vacation soon!

Vacation Part 2

We have arrived at our destination! The Isle of Palms in South Carolina! I took a picture of the GPS because I think it's so cool how one second you only see land and then all of a sudden BLUE! Meaning, the next piece of land is miles and miles and MILES from where we are now! It's so fascinating!

Andrew and I left Asheville at 8AM this morning, and of course had to stop at Krispie Kreme for breakfast. We arrived at the Isle of Palms around 12:45PM! We were about 3 hours early for check in time so we had to wander for a while. We went shopping and checked out a local coffee shop before checking into our hotel. Once we checked in we headed straight for the beach! The ocean is just gorgeous and very relaxing. However, the weather is kind of crummy with lots of clouds and rain which meant we didn't get to go swimming today. Our hope is that the weather will be better tomorrow for laying on the beach and swimming!

Since it was rainy we decided to go to downtown Charleston to check out the Market and find some dinner. We ate at a lovely Italian place that had live Jazz (very cool)! Afterward we wandered the shops and then headed back to the hotel to relax for the night. It was very cool heading into Charleston because we got to drive over the huge bridge that goes over the harbor! Unfortunately, when going over the bridge you can't get a good view out over the side so I got what I could while going up the bridge and then (of course) the GPS with all the water surrounding us! Check out the pictures from today!

The GPS as we were going over the bridge to go to downtown Charleston!

The bridge going into Charleston!

The view of the beach from our hotel room!

A view of a ship from our beach front!

The view of the ocean as we were going over the bridge that brought us into the Isle of Palms!

Beginning Vacation

Day 1: Friday

Andrew and I started our vacation at about 12PM on Friday! We had been spending most of the week trying to get the house picked up and packing for our trip since we had a dog sitter staying in our house to watch Zara for the week. We left for Cedar Rapids/Marion around 3:30PM and headed to the Irish Democrat (restaurant) to meet up with some friends from college! It was so great to see them and meet their little one for the first time (plus I got some pregnancy tips)! After eating, Andrew and I headed to Coffeesmiths (coffee shop) until it was time to head to our other friend's home for the night. I had a strawberry smoothie at the coffee shop (even though I was super full from dinner) and ended up getting sick. Sometimes when I cough too hard when I am full I end up getting sick and have to throw up (just one unfortunate side effect of being pregnant!).

Day 2: Saturday

Saturday was a VERY LONG day and was spent mostly in the car on the way to Asheville, NC-a total of 14 hours! We left Marion at 6:10AM (after having a wonderful breakfast with french toast, strawberries, kiwi, and sausage)! I drove for the first 2-3 hours and then started getting sleepy so I had to switch with Andrew (who ended up driving the rest of the day)! I slept most of the car ride until we started getting into the Smoky Mountains! I tried to get some pictures of the mountains but we ran into lots of storms along the way so I only got a few good pictures. The rain got so bad at times that we had to pull over to the side and wait till in lightened up before getting back on the road. Here are some pictures that I got:



We arrived in Asheville, NC at 8:45PM at the apartment where our other college friends live. We ate some really yummy brownies with strawberries, whip cream and ice cream and chatting away before finally heading to bed around 11! So, obviously it was a long day!

Day 3: Sunday

We headed to church with our friends this morning and came home to a very ymmy brunch (obvioulsy food is a big deal for me, as I am pretty much always hungry and food just tastes so darn good!). After eating we decided to head out to explore the town of Asheville! Asheville is so cool and has tons of little shops, art districts, downtown music, and great food! We explored the Folk Arts Center to see some art and even though Andrew and I found several items that we loved, we definitely don't have the money to buy anything. After that we headed to the Wayside Cafe (an old train depot) where I had a grilled cheese sandwich with white cheddar and cream cheese (rather interesting but it was good!). Then, we headed downtown to the Grove Arcade to walk around the shops. Andrew and I got a cute little book called "What To Do with the Boo-Hoo Baby." It was such a cute book that I couldn't resist getting it (I guess the motherly instinct is kicking in)! We also stocked up on some candy from the general store in town and heard some good musicians on the streets. After the long day (so far) I had to lay down and put up my swollen feet.

Tomorrow we head to Charleston, SC to the Isle of Palms! I can't wait!!!

15 Weeks

Well, I am officially 15 weeks! Apparently the baby is growing in that tiny little baby bump of mine! I guess my mom didn't really start to look pregnant until the 5th month so I guess we'll see if I really start to show next month. I was able to find some cheap maternity pants this week from a friend's garage sale. I got about 5 pairs of pants that can work as capris for me since she is quite a bit shorter than me. I also got a cheap swimsuit from Walmart that will work well next week when Andrew and I are in South Carolina on vacation! I also had a friend from church give me some shirts that worked for her when she was pregnant and I think they will be alright towards the end of pregnancy when I am bigger (again, that is if I actually start growing!)

I went to the chiropractor for the first time in over a year today. It was really good to go and the man is super nice and he went to Wartburg where both my husband and I went. He was also my hubby's, cousin's roomate at Wartburg so it's cool to have those little connections. He was shocked at how many pops I had, especially in my hips, and I'm going to start seeing him every 2-3 weeks. He's going to try and help me maintain and hopefully phase out a lot of my digestion and sinus problems. He also works with babies and children! I plan to take my baby there when he or she pops out! I don't know if you know how great chiropractors can be but because your body functions around your spine it's so important to keep everything aligned so your body can heal and function the way it's supposed to!

On Friday Andrew and I head out for vacation! I can't wait! I'm already dreading having to come home after our 10 days of vacation because I know how great it's going to be! Here's our plan:

Friday night: Head to Marion to see some friends and stay then night
Saturday: Drive 13ish hours to Asheville, NC to see our other friends and stay 2 nights with them!
Saturday-Sunday: Hang out with friends in Asheville!
Monday morning: Drive 4-5 hours to the Isle of Palms, South Carolina!!
Monday-Thursday: Chilling on the beach at the Isle of Palms
Friday morning: Drive 4-5ish hours back to Asheville, NC!
Saturday: Hanging out in Asheville (even though I friends won't be there, maybe tour the Biltmore Estate)
Sunday morning: Drive 15ish hours back home to Ames (this day is also my birthday, what a joy that will be sitting in the car that long, while pregnant, on my birthday!)

I hope to do a few blogs with pictures while we are on vacation! So keep your eye out for those blogs!

To All the Stay At Home Mom's!

Hubby and I are trying to figure out how it is financially possible for me to stay home when the baby comes and still make some money to help pay for our finances-I have LOTS of student loans to pay off! Any suggestions? I am currently a Pampered Chef consultant and hope to grow my business more once baby comes but I would still need something else to bring in an extra $700-$800 a month but still allows me to NOT send my baby to a daycare or spend lots of money on a nanny. Please let me know of ANY suggestions-really!

My Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day!

Let me just say that yesterday was by far one of the worst days ever! This story goes along with the last post of just how "spacey" I really am-especially when driving. But honestly, I don't know if I am able to blame this one on pregnancy!

I was all packed up and ready to go to DSM (about an hour away) and even had my dog in the back seat to drop off at my parents. I had just merged onto the interstate and was behind a really slow construction truck going 40mph. I looked to change lanes and didn't see anyone, but apparently there WAS another car and I totally ran them off the road and into the median. We all pulled over to make sure we were fine and THANK GOD everyone was fine and our cars were good too! The guys were really nice and as I was apologizing a million times they told me that it's alright-at this time my heart rate was up quite a bit and honestly I was freaking out a little bit. Well, we exchanged information and got back in our cars, however, my car was stuck in the MUD! The guys were so nice and tried to push me out but I was completely stuck and digging a deeper hole every time I pushed on the gas-remember we are in the median on the interstate and cars aren't moving over for us (very scary!)! The guys were so nice to take me and my dog to a towing place in town. So my dog and I jumped trucks into the tow truck and went to get my car towed. Well, THEN the tow people had to call the police to come control traffic so they could pull me out of the mud-which then meant I stupidly had to explain why I was stuck in the mud to the police. All in all, I was pulled out and spent $82 bucks and was late getting to DSM. I held it together until after I was back in the car and calling hubby to let him know what happened.

This situation wasn't all...State showed up at the Preschool in the morning and so not only was I running around trying to take care of kids but I was constantly having to stop and answer questions-in hopes that I would actually answer it correctly!

I also had so much to do to get ready for our church fundraiser today that I didn't get to bed until 11PM and it is currently 5:30AM! Let's just say, I hope today starts new and fresh!!! It needs to be good!!!