A Bad Idea

Since I’m at home with Collin everyday, Devin suggested that we go with him to Orlando this week while he teaches a class. Why not? I can feed Collin, watch TLC and HGTV and be on the internet the same as I can at home, just with a different view. So, that’s what we did. Devin and I packed up a plethora of stuff (taking a baby on a road trip required a lot of stuff!) and came to Orlando.

I actually do more than surf the internet and watch TV when I’m at home, but here in the Orlando hotel room (which is really nice, we have a full kitchen, two rooms, two bathrooms, and a living room with a rollout couch) there isn’t much more to do when Collin is sleeping.

So I got tired of watching TLC (I can only watch so many wedding dresses 4 years after my wedding, and I’ve never been one for the baby shows) and switched to HGTV. I can watch decorating shows all day long! Unfortunately for me, the decorating shows weren’t on, it was the house hunting and house selling shows. This is where the bad idea happened. This week as I’m sitting with the TV and computer on, I have been visiting web sites that aren’t normally on my list of sites I go to. (Meaning, more than Facebook and Woot). Since the computer was on and these house selling shows were on I though, “hmm, I wonder what our house is worth.” Considering we bought our house at the worst possible time right before the housing market crashed, we paid top dollar for our little house, and needless to say with the market as crappy as it is right now, it’s not worth near what we paid for it. 

That’s not the end of the bad idea. So not only did I depress myself with what our house is not worth, I decided since I was already on Zillow.com that I would look for houses that we would want to buy. Devin and I knew when we bought our house that it wasn’t going to be permanent and that within five or six years we would want to move. Preferably before our kids we didn’t have yet started school because I wanted to be in Clay County by that time. We also knew that we liked the area we are in, and if we cross Argyle Forest, we are in Clay County. So like a dummy I started looking for bigger houses in Oakleaf.

It really stinks that we could get a 4 bedroom 2 bathroom house that’s 500-600 square feet bigger than our 1,180 for the same price, or less in some cases, that what we paid for ours.

Here are three that I found:

	3570 Waterford Oaks Drive, Orange Park Price: $137,750 Bed/Bath: 4/2 Sq Ft: 1,768
	3412 Crane Hill Ct, Orange Park Price: $140,000 Bed/Bath: 4/2 Sq Ft: 1,768
	760 Bellshire Dr, Orange Park Price: $133,000 Bed/Bath: 4/2 Sq Ft: 1,762

Remember what our house looked like when we bought it and what it looks like now?

Then: $139,000 and now $124,000

It just makes me sad :(

Conversation Evolution

Angela sent me a text message this morning, and it got me thinking about how our conversations have changed over the last five years.  Lets take a look, shall we?

2005- Devin and I got married in July and started hanging out with Dustin and Angela a lot. Since they got married in December, our conversations consisted of wedding dresses, rehearsal dinners, decorations, bridal showers, and the wedding night.

After we got married conversations went from weddings to, well, wedding night activities. Then Angela started working at my rival bank so we had a plethora of stupid customer stories to share all-the-time. (Both of our husbands were glad when she started working for the city and we didn’t talk bank anymore) We also bought our houses this year so we did a lot of discussing different aspects of the home buying process. Every month we would talk about who would be hosting “The last Saturday of the moth Game Night.” The New Year’s Eve tradition also started this year.

When Angela started working for the city it seemed she became obsessed with People.com, and my work would have on HLN which would have celebrity gossip. Since I would only catch bits and pieces of what was being said, I would have to text Angela to find out what was really going on. New Year’s Eve tradition take 2. (Chris and Ashley were unable to attend because Anekah was just a month old, foreshadowing of things to come maybe?) 

The baby talk begins. We both knew we wanted to have kids and we had been married for several years (which is something we still couldn’t believe) and our friends were having babies. Since we knew our turns were going to be coming soon, we did some traveling. For a while it seemed like I only talked to Angela because her and Dustin were gone most weekends doing something and visiting someone out of town, and Devin and I took our last cruise. Little did we know that our last Hoo-Rahs would be the trip we took to Sea World and of course New Year’s Eve!

2009- I’m pretty sure that we didn’t talk about anything but preparing for babies this year. Since we were both pregnant it was a lot of “I pee all the time!” and “my clothes don’t fit” and “I have a doctors appointment today.” We talked about what to register for and how much stuff a baby needs. We had to find furniture, enter Angela’s obsession with Craig’s List, which Angela found for both of us :) Then Dallas and Collin came and conversations shifted to labor and delivery and lack of sleep. Which leads me to the text that started this whole epiphany. Without being too descriptive, we are both breastfeeding and essentially feel like cows. At which point I said to Angela, “Wow…Our conversations have gone from crappy work stories and People magazine, to milk and breast pumps… Does this mean we are old?”

 

Our Wedding

Dustin and Angela’s Wedding

Working on Our House

Working on Dustin and Angela’s House

Game Nights

New Year’s Eve ‘06, ‘07, and ‘08

Pregnancies

and finally… Dallas and Collin

 

A Family Photo Shoot

Yesterday our little family had our first official family pictures done. We went to Portrait Innovations at the Town Center. Collin did so good, I was so proud of him! He didn’t fuss or cry at all. We spent more than we originally intended (of course) but I’m SO HAPPY  with what we got, that I almost don’t even care.

Collin with his Daddy

Collin with his Mommy

     

Collin bein’ Cute Little Collin

 

One Whole Month

I can’t believe that Halloween and Thanksgiving have come and gone and Collin was here for both of them, and he’s a month old already! I’ve posted just about ever picture we’ve taken to my Facebook account but what good is a blog about my little boy’s one month birthday without pictures? I’m going to make that one easy for you, the answer is none. :)

I’m curious, I’m the one that is up, what seems like, all night long, with him, so why does he look happier when Daddy is holding him? I don’t really care, I love both of these guys more than anyone could ever know.

So, what has happened this past month? Well, we’ve been to the doctor four times. One for his first check-up, the day after we brought him home. One to have him circumcised (that was a ROUGH day, thank goodness my mommy loves me and went with me!), and one for his two week check-up. Yes, I am well aware that this is only three trips to the doctor. The forth was just four days after his two week check-up, because we were all in a car accident. The first day we took him out (to a early lunch on Sunday to Moe’s) we were heading to Lake Asbury. Collin and I were going to hang out with my mom while Devin watched the football game with his brother. However, as we are sitting at the stoplight on Argyle Forest at Rampart (yes, the intersection where we live) some moron in a ginormous Avalanche decided he just wasn’t going to pay attention and slammed into the back of us. Under normal car accident circumstances I probably wouldn’t have been too hysterical, but he screwed with a really emotional woman and her two week old! (Devin is currently without the Civic and driving a rental until  at least December 10th.)   In addition to car accidents and doctors appointments, Collin made it though his first Thanksgiving, twice. Once with Devin’s family and once with mine. This in itself is a big deal. Especially if you know our families. Unfortunately, I’m an idiot and left the camera in the car the entire day, so I have to rely on other people to get me pictures of Collin’s first Thanksgiving. He’s been to church, well, Sunday school too. It’s going to be a few more weeks, most likely until after the new year when we make it back. I’m that paranoid first time mom that is afraid to take him around a lot of people in close quarters  before he gets his shots on the 29th. Maybe if it were the summer I wouldn’t be as bad, but seriously I don’t want my baby around a bunch of snot-nosed people who won’t stay home when they are sick. It’s flu season and all the hype about the swine flu, excuse me, H1N1, has freaked me out a little.

   

So what have I learned this last month?

I will never sleep through the night again.

No matter how much little sleep I get, I can look at Collin and smile, even if I am crying because I’m so tired.

I will get peed on frequently, and I will use my hand, without hesitation, to block it.

I will struggle to get anywhere on time (this is REALLY rough for me!).

Just because Collin was awake for three hours in the evening after Devin got home from work, does NOT mean that he will sleep for more than two hours. Two hours is the max. Always.

NB, 0-3, 3-6. All mean CRAP.

I have to eat more to lose weight. (A paradox!)

I used to layer my clothes and wear form fitting things. I now look at an article of clothing and think, “how easy will it be for me to feed Collin in this?”

I no longer have control. Collin does. For now.

 

I LOVE this Chunky Monkey!!!! He’s ALL MINE!!! (and Devin’s) :)

Because It’s Been A While

I did this back in March (before we announced I was pregnant) and Angela did it recently, and well, since it’s been a while since I blogged and some of my answers have probably changed… here’s for Angela :)

***********FOODOLOGY***************
What is your salad dressing of choice? French or Catalina

What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? Sonny’s or Applebee’s

What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? Cheese

What are your pizza toppings of choice? Cheese, cheese, and the occasional pepperoni

What do you like to put on your toast? Butter and grape jam

***********TECHNOLOGY***************
How many televisions are in your house? 3, the living room, bedroom, and office (the office one isn’t plugged in though, it’s being “stored”)

What color cell phone do you have? Blue (Surprised???)

***************BIOLOGY******************
Are you right-handed or left-handed? Right

Have you ever had anything removed from your body? Nope

What is the last heavy item you lifted? Collin in his car seat

Have you ever been knocked unconscious? No

************BULLCRAPOLOGY**************
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? No

If you could change your name, what would you change it to? I’m partial to Erin now

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? Not a chance!

************DUMBOLOGY******************
How many pairs of flip flops do you own? Too manay

Last time you had a run-in with the cops? A week ago when we got rear ended!

Last person you talked to? My mom

Last person you hugged? Collin

**************FAVORITOLOGY****************
Season? What’s that?

Holiday? New Year’s! 

Day of the week? Saturday

Month? December

***********CURRENTOLOGY*****************
Missing someone? Devin when he’s gone, and my dad

Mood? Pretty good

What are you listening to? The news

Watching? The news

Worry? That I’m not a good mom and that I’m going to totally screw up Collin

***************RANDOMOLOGY*****************
First place you went this morning? To feed Collin

What's the last movie you saw? In theaters? I don’t know, at home? Um, Little Giants?

Do you smile often? How can I not with my sweet little boy with me?

Sleeping Alone Tonight? Nope

***************OTHER-OLOGY*****************
1)Do you always answer your phone? Not with a 4 week old in the house

2) Its four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it? I would say Bradley, but Angela said me, so now every time I’m up at 4 AM feeding Collin, I have the urge to send Angela a “justification” text :)

3) If you could change your eye color what would it be? Na, wouldn’t change it

4) What flavor do you add to your sonic drink? Watermelon Slush

5) Do you own a digital camera? a couple of them

6) Have you ever had a pet fish? Bradley did… does that mean I did?

7) Favorite Christmas song(s)? There are too many to name! I’m looking forward to hearing them FRIDAY!!!!

8) What's on your wish list for your birthday? Post-pregnancy-nursing-friendly clothes

9) Can you do push ups? Barely

10) Can you do a chin up? Not hardly

11) Does the future make you more nervous or excited? Can I be nervously excited?

12) Do you have any saved texts? yes

13) Ever been in a car wreck? unfortunately

14) Do you have an accent? I don’t think so, but apparently I sound like I’m from “up North” according to random strangers

15) What is the last song to make you cry? Just about everything makes me cry now, so there is no telling

16) Plans tonight? Watch the Biggest Loser with Devin and Collin

17) Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? High school was rough….

18) Name 3 things you bought yesterday. I went to lunch with Devin and he bought lunch so… shrimp, fries, and cheese grits :)

19) Have you ever been given roses? Of Course, Devin loves me and knows they are my favorite

20) Current worry? Didn’t I already say that I’m going to be a failure as a mom and really screw up Collin?

21) Current hate right now? The guy that rear ended us and people/strangers that think they are entitled to touch my baby

22) Met someone who changed your life? Devin and now Collin

23) How will you bring in the New Year? Angela and I were just discussing this the other day because it’s become tradition to go to Friendship Fountain and watch the fireworks with Dustin and Angela, however, two infants will most likely alter those plans this year. Sooo… we’ll see

24) What song represents you? The Happy Song?

25) Name three people who might complete this? It took Angela 8 months , and other than that, no one

26) Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? I used to think yes, but that could alter the space time continuum (I’ve been with Devin for a while now…) and I may not end up with my perfect little Collin! 

27) Have you ever dated someone longer than a year? Yup

28) Do you have any tattoos/piercings? I have two piercings in each ear, but I only use one 

29) Will you be in a relationship 4 months from now? I’m pretty sure

30) Does anyone love you? Yes…

31) Would you be a pirate? No, the pirate and vampire craze are two things I never understood

32) What songs do you sing in the shower? It depends on what is stuck in my head at the time

33) Ever had someone sing to you? yup

34) When did you last cry? somewhere around 9 AM yesterday when Collin hadn’t slept more than an hour and a half at a time, and fussed and cried for an hour

36) Do you like to cuddle? only with Devin and now Collin

37) Have you held hands with anyone today? I held Collins little hand while I nursed him earlier

38) Who was the last person you took a picture of? Collin, I generally take at least one a day of him

39) What kind of music did you listen to in elementary school? Whatever kids praise songs my mom let me listen to

40) Do you believe in staying close with your ex's/prospects? It depends on the circumstance, I wouldn’t have my best friend today if I didn’t

41) Are most of the friends in your life new or old? I have a few old friends, but most of them are new, as in within the last 2 years

42) Do you like pulpy orange juice? EW! I’m going to second Angela’s “I don’t like to chew my drinks”

On a side note… we took Collin to church for the first time this week. Well, technically it was only Sunday school, but nonetheless. I couldn’t pass up posting these awesome pictures. I love the one of Devin and Collin, you can just see the love and awe in Devin’s eyes :)

7lb 4oz Bundle of LOVE!

I’m not even sure where to start! The last week has been anything but dull. My new found job as a mommy is even more amazing than I ever could have imagined.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 2:02 AM 7lb 4 oz, 21 inches

Alright, so here’s the quick, rundown of how things went:

• Tuesday 2:00 AM – started having contractions about 5 minutes apart
• 6:00 AM – left for the hospital
• 10:00 AM – left the hospital for home because things weren’t moving fast enough.
• Devin worked from home, I spent the day in labor, in bed and walking the hallway
• 9:30 PM – decided to take a warm bath, told Devin to try and sleep
• 10:30 PM – got out of the bath, Devin really didn’t get to sleep. We were wondering how much longer we should wait before going back to the hospital because my contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart, and getting really painful
• 10:45 PM – MY WATER BROKE! I told Devin “Um, we need to go NOW!”
• From that point on the contractions were almost unbearable. We got to the hospital and they gave me an IV with antibiotics (for the Group B Strep) and said I had to have two bags of fluids before I could get an epidural.
• I lost track of time once we got to the hospital, but I do know that I was in A LOT of pain, and the time, now, seems to have gone by fairly quickly.
• By the time I had enough fluid to get the epidural, it was too late, somewhere around 1:45 AM Wednesday morning. Collin was on his way, fast. From the time I realized he was coming to the time he actually got here, it was only about 10 minutes, and my doctor hadn’t gotten to the hospital yet. So the nurses and hospital doctor were in the room.
• Luckily my doctor did get there, just-in-time. Like, less than 5 minutes, in time.
• 2:02 AM Wednesday Collin was born!

So after 24 hours of labor, natural labor, that I hadn’t planned on, Devin and I have an amazing little boy! Everyone tells you that you forget about all the pain when it’s all over and I never really understood. But the second Collin was placed on my chest, I really and truly did forget about all the pain. I honestly can’t believe that I had a natural childbirth. When I look at his sweet little face, none of it seems to matter.

38 Weeks Recap

Saturday night was, well, lets just say, the roughest night of my pregnancy. I’m considering my self VERY lucky. I was up the entire night throwing up everything I think I’d eaten for the entire pregnancy, and then some. That meant that Sunday was rough also. I slept on and off Sunday (really trying hard not to so I would be able to sleep through the night) and didn’t really eat anything. The only think I was able to keep down was Gatorade. Monday I felt like I wanted to eat something, but didn’t feel like if I did eat that was going to be a good experience. So Tuesday was the first day that I ate more than a banana. I think I ate a bowl of oatmeal and half of a hot dog. By Wednesday I was completely drained of any energy. I was completely out of breath and tired from showering, drying my hair, doing my make-up, and getting dressed to go to the doctor. I drank an entire bottle of water on my way there because I was so tired and thirsty. It really makes me feel like a lazy couch potato. The nurse that takes my blood pressure and weighs me told me I had lost 2 pounds since last week. That really wasn’t all that surprising considering I hadn’t eaten in about 4 days. I was actually surprised that it was only 2 pounds.When I got to see my doctor she informed me that she was going to be out of town taking her office to Disney on Saturday, so wait to have Collin until she got back. Well, that made me freak out a little bit, and the more I think about it, the more I freak out. I was also grossed out a little bit when she checked and informed me I was at 1cm (yes, I’m FULLY aware that being 1cm doesn’t necessarily mean anything and I could remain that way for weeks, so PLEASE refrain for telling me again! THANKS!) and she could feel Collin’s head. I can handle the being checked part and her telling me I was 1cm, it was the whole, “OH! There’s Collin’s head!” part that got me. Moving on, from there she had this and that to say and that at my appointment next Wednesday, she’d set a time to induce me on Thursday (if he doesn’t come before then) so we’ll have us a Collin by Friday! NOT on Halloween!!!! WOO HOO! So instead of having a November baby, we’ll have an October baby. Instead of having a Halloween baby unexpectedly, we’ll have a NOT Halloween baby expectedly! Instead of being pregnant for 13 more days, it will only be SEVEN MORE DAYS!!!!

Not So Sure About This Anymore…

Courtesy of the Bump: http://pregnant.thebump.com/pregnancy/third-trimester/articles/your-pregnancy-week-38.aspx

Baby is now the size of a watermelon!

The last bits of vernix caseosa (the white goo keeping baby's skin moist) and lanugo (downy hair) are slowly shedding into your amniotic fluid. Baby's head is about the same circumference as his abdomen, and his head could be covered in an inch or so of hair.

The Repo Man

I backing out of the garage last night to meet Bradley at Steak-n-Shake for dinner. I had to wait for a toe truck to turn around in the cul-de-sac. I followed him to the stop sign at the end of the street where I saw him put the truck in park and get out of the truck. The driver, a younger guy, not really creepy looking, got out and walked close enough to the car so that I knew he wanted to talk but didn’t want to scare me. I rolled down the window and he asked me if I knew if our neighbors had a silver Chevy Equinox SUV. When I asked him which neighbor he said the ones to our right,with the Mustang. They have a bunch of cars, kind of older models, some with broken windows. The same neighbors that haven’t fixed their fence in years, (longer than ours went unfixed for) and painted a portion of their red house a peachy-pinky-orange color. I thought about it for a second because there are so many cars that are parked there and that come and go, before I asked what year the Chevy was. When he said a newer model I kinda smirked and said no, because the cars the neighbors have are not what what I would describe as “newer” models. So that’s what I told him. He laughed it off and informed me that they moved the car here from Palatka without telling them. The same older cars are in the yard but not the Chevy. By this point I’ve figured out he’s a repo man. And told him sorry. He said thanks anyway and got back in his truck.

When I got to Steak-n-Shake and enjoyed impeccable service ::cough cough:: (I mean, it is Steak-n-Shake after all) I told Bradley about the repo man. We laughed about it and enjoyed the food. As we were driving home (Bradley behind me in his car) when I got into the turn lane for Rampart I glanced at the neighbors yard, you know, since they still have no fence. Well, what do I see hidden from the view from the cul-de-sac, tucked  nicely between the house and what is left of their fence and tree rubbish? YES! The silver Chevy Equinox SUV!!! Bradley got out of his car, and I said LOOK! He turned around and was like what? When he realized what I was telling him to look at we both laughed and but didn’t really know what to think.

Now, on one hand I feel sorry for the neighbors, but on the other hand I wish there had been a name or number on the toe truck so I could let them know the Chevy is there! Such a moral dilemma! But since the toe truck was, I guess unmarked? There isn’t a whole lot I can do about it even if I wanted to!

 

19 More Days!!!

36 Weeks Nursery Progression

• Crib
• Changing Table
• Dresser (Took it out to make room for the rocking chair)
• Rocking Chair (Was delivered Thursday, and put together Friday!)
• Paint  (FINALLY made a decision!)
• Bedding (Liked it a lot better after the paint debacle was solved)
• Diapers (Can never have too many)
• Clothes (Hope he fits in some of them!)
• Other odds and ends (have a feeling that we’ll always be working on it)

First we got the crib and changing table from Craig’s List, and found the bedding online

 

Somehow, I was convinced that brown/tan would be a good wall color

Ummm… yeah, not so much. I would walk in and want to cry.

SO! It was changed to BLUE. Imagine that right?

 

Then Mom added the dark blue stripe at the top :) I LOVE IT! (and yes, this is a different shade of blue (maybe not a big difference) from the original wall color, before the brown as seen in the first picture with the blue and brown stripes!)

 

After a few showers, we’ve got STUFF!!!

And a way to get him home!

I wasn’t embarrassed to have people over to see the nursery anymore!

Only 24 more days!