10/11 weeks

How far along? 11 weeks

Total weight gain: +1.5lbs...so many Christmas goodies!

 

Maternity clothes? no

Stretch marks? no

Sleep: getting much better

Best moment this week: Appointment 12/22, first time hearing the heartbeat on the doppler! Poor little thing must be high strung like her momma....170 bpm!

Miss Anything? It was my 24th birthday yesterday, and to celebrate my hubby took me out for a nice dinner downtown, followed by Mojo's dueling paino bar--so fun, but I think he felt bad enjoying the craft beers without me. I didn't care though, it was a great night out!

 

Movement: no

Food cravings: Fruit, sweets, cheese, any meat except for chicken. I can finally stomach veggies again this week though!

Anything making you queasy or sick: damn that chicken.

 

Gender: Won't find out til the next ultrasound IF we decide to find out!

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms: This is the best I've felt in a while! Weeks 5.5-9 were rough!

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: SO HAPPY! Finally!

Looking forward to: celebrating New Years with friends!

8/9 weeks

This week, I decided to do my update a little differently...thanks to Little Baby Garvin (I just love her blog, she is so stinkin CUTE!) for the new survey format!

oh, such vanity. goodbye (semi) flat stomach.

How far along? 9 weeks

Total weight gain: down 2 lbs from last week {0 lbs overall}. not sure how that happened because all I do is EAT!

Maternity clothes? not yet!

Stretch marks? no thanks!

Sleep: great, minus the strange dreams. and not even baby dreams...we're talking dreams about playing volleyball again and having my kidneys cut out of me.

Best moment this week: First official appointment with the doctor--he said everything looked great! Scheduled another appointment for 12/22, hopefully we'll be able to hear the heartbeat and share the news with family/friends on {or before} Christmas!

Miss Anything? Energy! I feel sooo drained all the time!

Movement: just gas for now (haaa!)

Food cravings: My appetite comes and goes, but when I am hungry I want anything fruity, deep fried, salty, or made of cheese...I am officially grossed out by myself! Baby loves steak and mashed potatoes...and hates chicken and veggies. Sigh.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Chicken! My now ex-favorite food.  

Gender: Won't find out til the next ultrasound (IF we decide to find out!)

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms: Nausea, tired, feeling crappy ALL DAY LONG.

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On, they seem looser than ever, maybe just because it is cold?

Happy or Moody most of the time: I wish I could say happy, though I am awfully moody!

Looking forward to: revealing our big news & spending time with family/friends during the Holidays!

6/7 weeks

Total Weight Loss/Gain: 2lbs already? What the heck!

Maternity Clothes:  No

Stretch marks: No

Sleep: Ok, although I am experiencing more night-peeing. Which sucks because it means I need to keep my room clean, or on top of being pregnant, I'm also going to suffer a broken leg one of these days. 

Movement: Nope.

Cravings/Aversions: Heard of the See-Food Diet? Notable meals of late include cheeseburger with eggs and taco rice, anything with cheese, half a batch of brownies, half a 9 x 13 of my hubby's fabulous lasanga. And cherry pie with ice cream. Every.single.night. I am SO hungry ALL the time. Mommas gonna get FAT!

Gender: N/A

Symptoms: Working on getting the first round of zits under control. Cramps weren't as bad at 7 weeks as they were at 6. EXTREME HUNGER. And if I don't eat, EXTREME NAUSEA.

What I miss:  Drinks {sheesh, I'm beginning to sound like I have a problem--I swear I don't!} I just never realized how much time we spend drinking hanging out with our friends. First it was putting the giant kibash on wine night. Now, I spend my Saturdays drinking water out of a beer can and having "captain and cokes". Surprisingly, our friends fall for it--every single time--or do they?

What I look forward to:  We're so excited for the first ultrasound on Friday {isn't that early?}. We meet with the doctor for the first official prenatal on 12/12.

Moods: Frustrated for two reasons: 1. I'm already sick of this "hurry up and wait" business and 2. Ross still doesn't believe it. Like really, he legitimately thinks it's not true. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.  Hoping Friday will change his mind!

Milestones:  Just the smallest bit of pinkish discharge. Yes, I know that is wayyyy TMI but I freaked out anyways. Turns out, it's all a pretty normal part of the process. I love my dear friend Stef, but I have a feeling she's going to HATE me when this is all over. I probably call her on a daily basis. What? She's on her second baby--AND she has the same doctor as me! Love you, Stef.

I also met with the OB Nurse Brenda this week for a quick health history, etc. She gave me the "What to Expect When You're Expecting" book. I thought it was a joke.

Medical concerns: Where do I start? We're really just praying that this is for keeps, and that we'll both remain healthy.

4/5 weeks

*these posts (up until 11 weeks) have not been edited since their original draft, in order to preserve any or all indications of pure excitement, craziness, and joy.

We're having a baby, people!

So I always read how women wished they would have documented their first pregnancy better...for many reasons such as to keep track of changes, share the excitement, and allow for comparison for themselves down the road (two more times if I'm lucky-but let's not get ahead of ourselves). So that's what I'll do! I apologize in advance for any over-sharing...it comes with the territory. Other than that, I would love to hear your questions, comments, any advice you have for us throughout this journey!

Total Weight Loss/Gain: 0, Praise the Lord! My mom gained 60 lbs with me...60! That would put me at a new low, or high rather. Either way, it's a # I hope to never ever see.

Maternity Clothes:  No

Stretch marks: No

Sleep: Good. Did wake up once to pee though, which is strange for me. I could sleep through natural disasters and now I wake up to pee, are you kidding?

Movement: Nope

Cravings/Aversions: Nothing in particular. Not going to lie-I'm a bit worried about this one, I eat strange things without being pregnant! But, I have been incredibly thirsty all the time, and I've moved my lunch hour up an hour and a half because I need to eat RIGHT NOW!

Gender: Not sure if we'll find out or not. That won't come for a long time anyways, we got plenty of time to change out minds decide.

Symptoms: Fatigue.  I'm so tired! And my face has not seen this many zits since freshman year of high school.

What I miss:  Drinks!  The night after we tested positive {for the third time}, my girlfriends and I were having a freezer meal party. Everytime we get together it involves some concoction of adult beverages, so I was forced to make up the biggest.lie.ever about a blood test the next day {not entirely false} and they fell for it! {I think}.

What I look forward to:  All of it! I can't wait for an ultrasound to confirm this already!

Moods:  Disbelief. Nervous. Happy! Yes, we really are THRILLED!

Milestones:  Positive prenancy test. Do people actually keep them, or is that creepy? That first night I woke up to pee...it doesn't happen every night, but it is definately not my typical behavior.

Medical concerns: Where do I start? We're really just praying that this is for real, and that we'll both remain healthy.

how "IT" happened...

hubby & i decided to quit "not trying" way back in August. we thought it would be easy, i had been on the pill for like 7 years and was blessed with periods i could predict down to the minute. well, when you go off the pill mid-pack, it kind of screws things up. my bod went into freak out mode, and i didn't ovulate that month. when i missed my period, we thought that maybe i was pregnant, just days before my best friend's wedding/me & ross's anniversary. turns out, we weren't. oye.

so, being the high-strung control freak that i am...i did some research and found out that on a normal month, i probably ovulate later than what i thought. it made total sense. however, if i was ever going to get pregnant, i had to fix that. ha, like I have those powers. not.

but, having a degree in health science, i know a thing or two about the human bod-what it's capable of, and how modern science can manipulate it. now, i don't recommend trying this without your doctor's consent...but i decided i wanted to {naturally} balance out my hormones to improve my chances of conceiving. so, for the first week  or so of my next cycle {october}, i took a low dose of the chinese herb dong quai. now, i've used dong quai many times before {my mom has been an herbalife lady for years}, but i usually used it to calm down and balance out after a hectic day. when i read up on it, i realized dong quai also has characteristics that mimick estrogen in the body--which would make me capable to having a stronger/earlier ovulation.  ta daaa! that was the golden ticket for me.  

fast forward to early november when we tested positive for the third time in two weeks. yes, it took that many attempts to convince both myself and my doubting hubby that we indeed were pregnant and that the test was not "lying". {note: all other tests must have been lying, because there's no way i would have used up all my good judgement and went out linedancing with the gal pals if i really was pregnant? or would i?}

anyways...i made a big friggin hint about the {third} BFP here. 

this stunning little discovery was quickly followed by a doctor's appointment and a blood test. however, nobody told me that when you go to these appointments all paranoid that somebody might see you...you will actually run into everyone you know.

all good things confirmed, and they scheduled me an ultrasound for december 2nd. after drinking the required fifty gallons of water for the ultrasound, we were tucked into this dark little room with a tech who looksed no older than myself was wielding a giant lightsaber complete with its own condom. funny, i thought...what's she going to do with that thing? 

once i was enlightened of her intentions, the horror was permanently erased from my memory as i watched our little bean dancing on the screen. "shhh...." the tech said, "hear that?" it was my baby's heartbeat! 7.5 weeks old and our baby's heart was beating all on it's own at a steady 143 bpm. 

we couldn't handle it any longer. it was 8am and we needed to tell the entire world that we really were having a baby! but we waited {ok, I waited. Ross went back to the jobsite and told his workers all about it. that little stinker.}

i knew right away that i wanted to incorporate our big announcement into the holidays. after all, Christmas is all about preparing our hearts for the greatest gift, the One who was sent to us to give His life so that we may have ours. saturday morning, i found the most adorable little ornaments complete with the whole "i love grandma/grandpa" insignia at hobby lobby. i couldn't resist, so i got two sets. our families were putting up their trees this weekend and it was the perfect opportunity to share the news!

that's just what we did. saturday night, we first stopped over at his parents', and then my parents' and handed them the new ornaments for their trees. they were shocked! ok, not completely shocked. they knew we wanted to start a family right away, but they were so excited! you see, baby S is the first grandbaby for both sides. spoiled from the start.

that's IT! luckily, i started this blog just in time so i was able to document all the fun and exciting changes from the beginning. there will be lots more to share in the coming months, and your advice and comments are welcomed and appreciated! i promise not to go 100% cutesy mommyblogger on you...but you already know that.

Elvis can't wait to be a big brother!

 

Some BIG news & a Christmas Recap



So it's the last installment of "Show Me Christmas" over at From Mrs to Mama.

If you want to hear all about what the Schutter household did for Christmas this year, read your merry little way on over here {because it really did go exactly as planned...cue angels singing}.

On a similar note, some highlights from the weekend:

1. I finished shopping on Saturday {by noon!} so I had all kinds of time to wrap gifts & clean the house before we headed out to grandma & grandpa's. It was the most excellent gift I could give myself. There is nothing I love more than relaxing in a clean house.

 

2. It snowed! ...and then melted before Christmas Day. But, alas it did snow here!

 

3. I won some slick BINGO gifts on Christmas Eve. Cousin Missy even wrapped them in Justin Bieber wrapping paper. Love.

4. I fell asleep after lunch on Christmas. My littlest cousins Sam & Madison took every opportunity to use their new cameras Santa brought them on my seemingly lifeless body. Let's just say it was a good thing my aunt doesn't let them use facebook.

 

5. We got some awesome pressies! Some of my favorites--in no particular order...

a luxe new robe & VS jammies

a sweet leather jacket for our motorcycle rides next Summer Fall

gift cards & ca$h

memory foam pillows & sheets for our new bed {the bed was our christmas gift to ourselves}

windshield wipers...seriously, I was so excited about these

tools {Ross}

the basics: socks, underwear, hats/gloves

and....

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

this cute little guy/gal!!!

Yes, our family is growing! We're thrilled to announce that Baby Schutter will be joining us in July 2012!

We had such a fun time announcing this to our friends & families this holiday season!

You can expect all kinds of details a little later. {I did something so not typical of myself and have actually documented this from the very beginning! It really was a lot of fun!}

Merry Christmas lovies, hope your holidays were fabulous!

let me just tell you about Christmas {subtitled the post with no pictures...}

This is the third week I'm linking up with Becky @ From Mrs. to Mama for Show Me Christmas!

Miss it last time? Read about last week's decorations, and the first week's wish list.

This week, I was lazy again and have zero pics to share {sorry...again}

BUT! Allow me to TELL you about all the fun and exciting traditions I love about the holidays!

This year, I decorated the house by myself-about a week and a half after Thanksgiving, and it only took me about a half hour. This goes against everything I've ever believed in [we MUST decorate as a family, immediately after Thanksgiving, whilst blaring Christmassy jams, sipping cocoa in our pjs-followed by a Home Alone marathon and plenty of oohing and ahhing at the pretty lights]. Better luck next year? I hope so!

Then there's always cookie/treat baking with my mom & sister [minus the fact that this year I fell asleep on my parents bed instead of manning the sprinkles and M & Ms].

Every year, we adopt a family. This year, our family included a 29 year old mother of three kids, ages 9, 10 & 11 who is currently being cared for by Hospice as she is losing her battle with lung cancer. Her story just breaks my heart and I pray for her family everyday-for peace and comfort during this difficult time. On the upside, I had a blast shopping for them!

There's always parties with friends. Our pals Josh n' Jen put on a massive feast every year. Jen [bless her heart, she's a way better woman than me] makes all the food for everybody and then we just sit around, eating, drinking & being merry.

One of my favorite things to do is driving around and looking at all the lights. [I will note that I prefer doing this activity in the fluffy white snow, from the comfort of hubby's plow truck...but West Michigan put the big kibash on that this year as it is severely lacking in the snow department]

On Christmas Eve, we go to my husband's paternal grandparents house for dinner & BINGO with the extended family! Bingo turns into a white-elephant sort of gift exchange and it's always a good time.

Then, [usually during the fifth or sixth showing of Home Alone] my hubby and I exchange gifts in the peace & quiet of our own home. We snuggle & enjoy quiet time before tomorrow's chaos.

On Christmas Day we go to church at 9:30, followed by breakfast quiche and opening presents at my parents' house. At noon, the rest of family comes over for lunch and more gifts. I just love hanging out and playing games with my little cousins.

Christmas night, we head over to Ross's parents for dinner with our brother & sister-in-law for....well, more food, booze & gifts.

Finally, the day after Christmas is spent with my hubby's maternal grandparents & extended family for dinner. Aunts/Uncles/Cousins come up from Illinois, Iowa & Kansas and stay with my in-laws for a few days.

So, in a nutshell...I love family, friends, food, and presents.

Basically we still celebrate Christmas like we did as kids, instead of building new traditions as the established family that we are. SO, I'm looking forward to stalking the rest of you to expand my list of holiday activities. Maybe even some that involve kids and warm & fuzzy things like that.

Happy Holidays lovies!

a day in the life of my husband...

This guy has got it made today...

No, it's not his birthday. We're already married, so it's not his wedding day. And we got some time yet before he starts looking like this:

so presh!

Today is (yet another installment of ) "Ross's Day."

Although he started celebrating already last night.

It started when we went for groceries last night. Together. This doesn't happen often. Mainly, because the shit he buys is never on sale I don't like the shit he buys. However, I figured since he did take my ass out for dinner (mid-week, gasp!) when I whined about wanting Logan's steak and mashed potatoes, I could grant him one wish and let him man the cart.

Big mistake.

We check out at Meijers, our bill is like a bazillion dollars, and our cart resembles that of the frantic mother of five small children behind us.

For some ungodly reason or another, he thought it was completely necessary to stock up on the "essentials":  cereal, LUNCHABLES (he's 26), string cheese, mass amounts of canned peaches, bacon (we already have half a pig in our freezer), and a package of "hot hands" for the homeless guy we saw on the way in. (I made him put those back, because said homeless man used to frequent the ER where I volunteered in college and believe me, he's so liquored up he doesn't feel the cold. Sure, go ahead and call me a terrible person).

We check out and he asked me how much we "saved", so I tell him $26.47. He replies "well damn, you better start clipping them coupons again...I liked it better when we had more money.

Yea hunny, well so did I.

Fast forward to this morning, when he insisted I give up what "I promised" and I insisted that he needed to brush his teeth first. Then he tells me...

"Hey, so yea, I forgot to tell you but we're throwing our work Christmas party tonight." (please note: hubby and brother-in-law are self employed with a few guys working for them).

"Yea?" I ask. "What are we doing?"

"Well, me and the guys are getting off work at 2:30, and going down to Cristo's." Surprised, I tell him, "but Papi, I work til 3 and after that Jes is going to cut my hair".

"That's perfect," he says, "because I'll need you to come pick us up later."

Who died and made this man king?!

Shizz, another week already? I'm not ready for this!

Luckily, I was trying out my new camera last week (just a $99 Black Friday Nikon steal, nothing fancy) and managed to snap a few (please note: I do not know how to take pictures--of myself, my home, or otherwise) and save them to my work computer...

Here goes nothing...

Fa La La La La, La La La LA!

Pretty craptastic, huh? At least my tree has ornaments this year! (Remember last week?) Listen folks, things are crazy in the Schutter household and according to the calendar, I still got like 12 days left to decorate.

So THERE!

Show Me Christmas *List* Link Up! {week 1}

My Christmas List:

1.  a new boss. mine is out of state at a "conference" (read: disneyland) this week and with the amount of work he's tied me down with, i couldn't think of a better time to jump ship.

*disclaimer: I really do love my job

2. or maybe just jump ship altogether. as in jump off a ship into the crystal clear waters of the caribbean. this girl NEEDS a vacation, and who better to supply good times than the jolly old elf himself, right? THANKS SANTA ;)

 

3. a REAL christmas tree. growing up, real was all my family had. we'd pile everyone and the dog into my dad's pickup and drive around for hours looking for the perfect tree. they were always way too tall for the house, but full of "character". since being married, ours is a fake hand-me-down that was finally adorned with ornaments for the first time in three years. yes, we went three years with a lights-only tree (read: we are lazy and/or cheap).

here she is in all her sparse-plasticy glory. (look at those new shiny red bulbs!)

here's the "look" i was going for.

complete with one night at the Plaza Hotel, please.

4. #4 is easy. I want Santa to fix my kitchen ceiling! we swapped out the fluorescents in favor of can lights this summer, but never got around to finishing it. I would ask Santa for a builder, but seeing as my husband is already that-I'd say I'm doing ok in that department.

5. another easy one:

diamonds, baby. any diamonds will do. this girl ain't picky.

6. I'm a little hesitant about asking for this one:

Last time I did, I ended up with these:

He got the "Uggs" part right...but seriously, who spends $150 on a pair of gloves for man-handed woman!?! I am SO careful not to lose, stretch out, or god forbid-crease these babies.

Now for the more realistic options:

7.

8.

if you're feeling generous, Santa, feel free to replace standard "new robe & slippers" with "robe and slippers at an actual spa and/or resort". your choice. for the record, I've been real good this year!

9. I need a new one of these

So i can look like this:

Everyday. Too much to ask?

10. Lastly...

Mama has been DYING to get a pink Matthews Passion for quite some time now! Santa, don't you want me to get one of these big guys next year?

I'll need to start practicing soon!  

 Thanks Santa!

 

 

 

 



Thankful, even after Thanksgiving

Bah, did you get enough turkey last week--cuz I sure did! Everyone always talks about being thankful for this and that during the holiday season, but my brain doesn't work that fast. I need some time. Time to chill out and really think about the things I'm thankful for. So I made a list:

1. Papi.  Despite his November (and now December) hairyness, he is just the greatest guy. He has been so sweet and helpful lately. Love it.

2. Family and friends {always}

3. Work. It's always around this time of year that I find myself thankful for having a great job, that's flexible and challenging. Breaks my heart for all the families out of work during the holidays. Thankfully, we will be adopting a family again this year. I love shopping, and even more when it's for someone else that I get to surprise!

4. Whitney Cummings and Chelsea Handler. You gotta watch this.  It's the only way I spend my Thursday nights.

5.  Working from HOME. Like today. You can't experience true bliss like this. I have time to make lunch (whatever I want. read: egg & cheese sandwich), watch TV (whatever I want), and work (all at the same time!). I needed this.

6. A new bed! It comes between 4:15 & 6:15 today to be exact. Our current love nest has been serving the Schutters since 1981. Yes, that's 30 years. My dad says Ross's twins are probably stuck to the mattress somewhere. Sickening.

7. No conflicting Christmas parties for 2011. It's like the stars have aligned.

8. A roof over my head, shoes on my feet, and food in the fridge. Lots and lots of food. Happy.

9. It's the weekend! Muzzleloading season starts today. Guess we know how I'll be spending the weekend. Wish me luck!

10. Is a secret.

Happy Friday :)

What THE . . .

Seriously?! Thursday happened over at From Mrs. to Mama and I missed it so today I'm inventing WTF Friday. That's it, you heard it here first...WTF!

What am I doing, you say? I'm BLOGGING, when I need to be WORKING. Meh. Work can wait for a few minutes. I need some SANITY here.   Things are getting hairy and I need a break.

This week I'm saying WTF to...

my cousin. for making her facebook status all about her health insurance company made her get a physical for her husband's (the insurance carrier) work. Much to her surprise, she has high cholesterol. For cripes sake you're 30 with no job and 5 kids. Play with them. Pick yourself up the couch, quit eating their mcnuggets and go for a damn walk! Do some crunches. Fish oil. SOMETHING! Just don't air that shit out on facebook.  **note: now i get to send you nice packets educating you how to manage your chronic condition because that's what i do for a living...and you're insured with my company! On the other hand, fat/sick people = job security.

my boss. too many reasons, too little time. (not to mention I don't want to screw up my annual review next tuesday). Crap.

my body. This is a WTF in a good way. I didn't know it was capable of such things. Nice work, body.

my mom. If she asks me again if I'm having Thanksgiving at my house this year, I'm going to scream. my husband thought it would be fun to host it and went ahead and told everyone we would do the honors. Without asking his wife. Obviously he doesn't want me to work then, because I can't work and get ready for a feast at the same time.

this is the second time he appears on here...

my husband. again (sorry). He came home with a cradle this week. First, I didn't know they still made those, or even still called them that. Apparently one of his clients gave it to him because his dad made it. Ross said he took it by his dad's who said "I didn't make that." Great, now I have a hunk of firewood in my house that serves no purpose at the current time, and belongs to some stranger. Cool.

the clock. Father time just isn't moving fast enough for me this week.

my ex-bestie.  Who STILL hasn't sent us a wedding invite and she's getting married in less than a month. After a deep sermon last Sunday about turning the other cheek, I decided to let it go and sent her a nice note asking for her new address so I can at least send a gift. I doubt she'll respond, but no address = no gift. Your choice I'm just trying to do the white thing.

11.11.11

Anything particularly special  happen to you on 11.11.11?  I heard it's supposed to bring good luck and great fortune.

One numerologist says, "Eleven is a number of illumination and enlightenment, a number of insight, blinding flashes of the obvious, and a number of transformation."

Now--I don't know if I believe all that hocus pocus, as much of it doesn't mesh with my Chrisitian beliefs, but...something crazy happened to me today, and I think it's a good thing.

We will just have to wait and see what becomes of it.

Just in case, I'm crossing my fingers and keeping a four-leaf clover in one pocket and a rabbit's foot in the other. Ok, I'm totally kidding about that part. 

Veterans Day 2011

Happy Veterans Day!

I just wanted to take a timeout and thank those who have served, are currently serving, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could enjoy our many freedoms. I am so thankful for each and every one of you! THIS is what makes America great!

To my beloved husband Ross: I will always admire your courage, strength, and loyalty. I am thankful for those 3 years, 9 months and howevermanyodd days you spent away from family and friends. I'm thankful for your 2 tours in Iraq, but I'm more thankful for your safe return home. I'm also grateful for the 4 years that followed without another call of duty. That time wrapped up  this summer when you were honorably discharged on July 29, 2011.

I will never forget running into you in your dress blues in 2006, when I was teacher-assisting at the school. You were home on leave and going to surprise your mom at work. We had grown up together, but it had been a while since I'd last seen you. For weeks after that, I kept telling her..."he's so...amazing." Little did we know things were just getting started.

Fast-forward a year and you were home for good. April 7th, I won't forget. We had a party for you, and at some point in the night you came over and talked to me. You told me about that day at the school. About how you had thought about me in Iraq. You remembered.

Time passed and we became close friends. Then we dated. On 8/26/09 we were engaged. We married 9/18/10. Hands down, the best days of my life.

The war will always be a part of you, nontheless a part of you I admire and respect. You talk about it every once in a while, but I've learned to listen without asking too many questions.  "There's a time and a place for everything," you say. It's not that it was hard, or bad. It was just different. And it's done now--it's in the past. You've got such a humility about the subject. But you're a HERO.  

You're my hero. 

And I'm thankful for you.

No Shave November

Finally, a way to describe how I feel in words about No Shave November.

We're only 7 days into this horrific season and I've just about had enough. Forget losing my hubby to deer camp in a few weeks, I've already lost him to a contest with his buddy Zeb that involves connecting his goatee to what he calls his "neck hair."  WTF is NECK HAIR?

I sometimes forget about Ross's certain natural hairyness, and then comes November when all things intimate go out the window and I forget what it's like to even kiss his lips let alone see his face.

Can I tell you how lucky I am to get to claim this good lookin papi as mine?

...that is, until he ends up resembling this guy.



I promise {ok,  maybe not promise } but i'll try to get some pics up before all the festivities come to an end.  Don't be upset, it's just that I don't take many pictures period. No real reason, I just have a crappy camera and not enough time to edit & upload them.

In the meantime, here's some fun things to do with beards.

So What Wednesday

I always see people "linking up" to other pages. I liken it to those silly feather extensions everyone had about 6 months ago. You did it because everyone else was doing it too. So, in an effort to fit in on bloggyland, I'm linking up to So What Wednesday.  It just so happens to be one of the more popular posts of the many blogs I stalk read. And, I kind of enjoy reading what others have to say...

So What if...

You got kids older than me. {I hear this at work alllllll the time}. I haven't heard you braggin' about your kids lately. Bet they're more worthless than me too.  Listen mister, my age is not a reason for you to ignore my ideas.

So What if...

I call my hubby "Poppy" and he calls me "Poppy" too. It's obvious why I picked it for him. Why he picked it for me, I'm not quite sure. Maybe he thinks he's talking to Poppy Montgomery. {Don't we BOTH wish}. I would give you a link so you could see who she is, but you see...I'm on my lunch break and they would call the helpdesk security on me if I googled it. But really. Any endearing nickname is a good enough one for me.

So What if...

I enjoy a nice little nic stick every once in a while. Meaning, once on the way to work & once on the way home. Ok, not really that often but my life is crazy and I don't want to die from stressing out too much.  

So What if...

I am mildly obsessed with making sure I have enough food in the house to last until 2020. With blogs like Saving Addiction I found that you can cut grocery bills in half. Which only means one thing...more groceries! We also purchased a 1/2 pig and 1/4 cow for the winter. I might emerge 30 lbs heavier this spring, but hey....stockpiling is the new black.

So What if...

I CAN'T WAIT to get home and take a nap. It's got to be this weather that is making me sooo sleepy. Thankfully I'm in the nearby office today, so there might be time to catch a few zzzz's before I have to go shake my ass at Zumba later.  

So What if...

My ex-best friend is getting married in exactly 8 weeks and I still haven't gotten an invitation to her wedding. That bia stood up for me last year, we should at least be invited to the wedding! Really?!

Alright. That's enough for one day.

facts & stats

My hubby will tell you that my entire life revolves around what is fact. "You ALWAYS gotta know the facts" he'll say. Well, that's not entirely true--a lot of it has to do with figures too! What better thread to start than about my two favorite things? {sarcasm intended}.

1. Please don't be mad at me for this, I couldn't resist: Things that Lasted Longer than Kim K's marriage .  #7 is my favorite.

2. In two days, I had 9 friends (ok, facebook friends--& 10 if you include Jessica Simpson) that announced the impending arrival of 11 babies. TWO DAYS! What kind of water are you guys drinking?!

3. Harold Camping quit predicting the end of the world. Here I thought we'd have to wait until the end of the world for that to happen. I just feel sorry for the bloke from tulip time that sold everything he had just to ride around in a raper van telling everyone about it.

4. I have ingested close to 938,500 calories today from all my coworkers bringing in their extra Halloween candy to pass out. I don't have a problem with this, but who really shares their "extras" --not to mention good extras like twix & sour skittles. Mental note: make sure to visit coworkers' homes for Halloween 2012.

5. We had a total of 3 trick-or-treaters last night. Three!!! That's three more than there were last year! One of which was our godbaby, Bethany. How stinkin CUTE is she?!

 

What did WE do last night? Watched exorcism movies...and I about peed my pants...20 times.

stuck between whore-o-ween and babyween

Oh, was that offensive? Try being in my shoes.

I will say that Halloween is great--candy, parties, dressing up--all things I enjoy doing. For a while, I even loved Halloween...but that was back in college. Forget the one day pass for it to be perfectly acceptable, or rather encouraged, to dress like a complete skankwad, we celebrated all week long. A look back on a few of my favorites:


{my lovely roommates -minus my sister with the boobs  on the left}


{golddigger}

...which I borrowed from my UK exchange sister Hannah, who obviously did it much better than myself....



I didn't even think England celebrated Halloween.


{Bob the Builder}


{motocross racer}
....oops, that one wasn't even for Halloween---my bad!

Sadly, all Halloween fun came to a halt last year when I realized that old married women don't dress up unless they are 1. Hosting some ridiculous costume party, 2. Going to said costume party, or 3. Toting your adorable babies dressed as a herd of fluffy, white sheep. I just happen to have witnessed #3 waltz through my office yesterday and it was so damn cute I could have cried.

But, since I am not doing any of those 3 things I think it's best Ross & I lay low for the night. Or go out--which might be a better option so I don't have to feel all bad when #3 shows up on my doorstep to find us watching a movie in the dark with the door locked.

Happy Halloween ya'll!