In this wonderful life...

Prego Mego - Week 26

2010-03-10T23:33:00.021-06:00

Hi everyone :)

I turned 26 weeks yesterday. Time is still going by very quickly! I'm feeling pretty good most of the time.

Cohen landed back on my sciatic nerve this morning so I'm having some pretty bad lower back pains. It's worse this time around. It mainly happens when I step with my left leg. OUCH. It just feels like a constant pinching nerve.

LOTS of movement! I can feel him all the time. Mainly after I've been up moving a lot and then sit down. He thinks that becomes the time to party!

My appt went good last Thursday with my normal OB. We got to see our little guy just moving away :) He is still low, but he was breech during our appointment, so his head is what has been giving me pains in my upper belly. My fluid looked good and the doc said the Cohen could flip completely upside down in about two seconds. I informed him I knew all too well. He is dancing around in there and I know he likes to lay his head my my bladder. I did the glucose test at my appointment as well. I did not think the glucose drink was NEAR as bad as I was expecting! I might have just been so thirsty it didn't matter. They will only call if I fail. No call yet! If I fail, I'll have to do the three hour test. If I fail that, I'll have to do the diabetes counseling. He said honestly, he wouldn't be a horrible thing if I had a VERY minor case. This way Cohen could be growing a bit bigger to prepare for his surgeries. Of course, we don't want any major diabetes as it's no good on the mommy. I haven't shown any signs thus far. The rest of the amnio results aren't in yet. Doc assured me he would call as soon as they were. I believe him. He called personally with the first round of results.

Our next appt with our OB here is in 2 weeks. The week after, we go to Houston for an ECHO with a cardiologist and to meet with a surgeon. The same week, we go to Dallas for our second ECHO at TCH (Texas Children's Hospital) with the same cardiologist as our last appointment. We will then meet with the surgeon and high risk OB. So, yes we are picking between Dallas and Houston for those of you have asked. We felt REALLY comfortable with Dallas but since my mother-in-law emailed the Houston surgeon and he called her, we've been pretty interested in having him do an evaluation. As I mentioned before, Houston surgeon helped train the cardiologist we met with in Dallas and feels very comfortable with her. We just figure why not have multiple people check things out.

Along with figuring out doctors, we have to figure out a place to live and many other things! My mind is still racing.

At my Thursday appointment I didn't check my weight stats. I told the nurse not to worry with telling me. She did tell me it was the same as my last weigh in. So that was about 2 or so weeks prior. I feel bigger!

I LOVE the party burritos from Taco Bueno right now. It's just a flour tortilla with beans, cheese and a dab of chili. Sometimes I don't think there is any chili. Either way, they are yummy! I've also been on a Sprite kick. Other than that, it's hard to figure out what I want to eat!

I get thirsty a lot at night which stinks because I try not to drink at night so I'm not up all night going potty.

I've been getting good exercise packing boxes and wrapping things. No, not lifting anything. We are selling our house. I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I do NOT like packing! I do LOVE to unpack though!

I really can't wait to see what Cohen looks like. I wonder if he will have a full head of hair like his daddy and I do.

Well, here I am....

The black pants I have on are some of the yoga type pants I've mentioned before. These are from Forever21 and on the hanger, the top part was folded down. I just fold them up to work with my belly. They were $8.50. I got the cardigan and Forever21 a few years ago and the white tank is one of the ones I mentioned in this post. LOVE it. It's a size large so it has great length and width :)

I think he has gotten a little bit higher this week. I feel him kicking a bit higher and more into my sides. I suppose that is the growing process?

Sleep is still not pleasant. Every time that I catch myself sleeping for a long period of time, I wake up on and I'm on my back! I'm elevated but still on my back. So, I turn over. I've read about sleeping on your back so I certainly try to avoid it. A lot of articles say that you will wake and move if the restriction happens.

I still want to post mine and hubs baby pics. I've come across my stack of them as I've been packing. Maybe next week!

Speaking of, hubs just saw Cohen kick my belly! I see it a lot but they aren' t easy for other people. I try to get Brent to see all the time but then Cohen won't do it. Finally, he did :)

I've had more good days than bad lately. I just keep busy and try not to think about things too much. Just lots of prayers.

I have a LOT of emails to return and I'm so thankful to all of you who have sent them with stories, recommendations, offers, etc.

You all have no idea how much we appreciate your thoughts and prayers! I wish I could tell each and every one of you!

Pretty Hands

2010-03-09T22:08:00.000-06:00

Hi all :) Prego Mego post will come a day late. I've been busy tonight moving my brother's apartment into a storage unit. Lots of moving around going on here. So, I'll do Prego Mego tomorrow. I'm so tired and my feet and body hurt.

I do have something I want you all to check out. I've been wanting to tell you all about the products below.

My friend Tallee had on OPI's Manicurist of Seville and I thought it was SO pretty!

I went to Ulta with a coupon because I don't all too often enjoy spending $8 or so on nail polish. They were actually running a special on a 2nd bottle. So, I got Happy Anniversary....

I know it is probably kind of hard to get a feel for the colors and how they look but trust me, they are pretty! The Manicurist of Seville ends up looking like a deep red and Happy Anniversary is like a sheer/white glitter. I love them both and got a great deal :)

My cousin, Susie, got me this hand lotion for Christmas and I LOVE it. It's Shea Cashmere Hand Cream and it's so extremely soft. I highly recommend it for your hands. The brand says True Blue Spa and I believe it is found at Bath & Body Works.

I need to be finding things to make my feet feel better. I'm not sure there is actually anything I can put on them. I think it probably involves staying off them.

I hope you all had a good day!

Weekend Recap

2010-03-08T20:37:00.001-06:00

Hi all :)

Hope you had a good weekend!

My parents were in town this weekend trying to get a lot of their stuff moved to town and helping us get our house ready to list. We are glad to both have great parents to help us so much:) We also went to two little get-togethers that were quite fun! Pretty busy weekend.

Friday night, our brother-in-law had a birthday party. His wife threw him a surprise party since it was his 30th!

Here were are before going. I couldn't decided if I wanted a full length pic or not, so I had mom take both. Yes, Cohen is GROWING!

At the party
such a yummy cake!
Jessica (friend), Sonya (SIL) & myself
Brent getting ready to take a shot/beer...car bomb?
Kyle..the love their beer
Matt, Kyle & Brent
Sonya & I
Morgan & Curt

Saturday we spent the entire day working around the house and hauling some stuff into a storage unit. We got a lot done but it doesn't exactly look like we did. Scary.

Saturday night, mom cooked a yummy dinner and we laid around. Cohen kicked non-stop from about 8-11. It was pretty neat! I guess I kept him asleep moving around so much all day and he wanted to play!

Sunday, we did more around the house and then for dinner we went to Matt & Sonya's (Family) for Sunday night dinner. Since the Oscars were on, we did heavy appetizers all movie themed!

Here is the table set up... to see the food that was on the table, check out my food blog, Sugar & Spice ~ Cooking in this wonderful life :) I linked to a few recipes and I'm working on others. I LOVED the Pepperoni spread and I thought the Up Cakes by Bakerella turned out SO cute!! (Thanks Erin!)
(all the sunday night pics were given to me by Sonya..thanks:)

Us :)
Kate, Tatum & Cassidy
being silly
Our new family game.... Tom of Finland! hahahaha. Watch out, once the party is over, you might find this picture in your house ;)
Morgan, Mandy, Sonya, Me & Lisa

I think that my favorite lady and look last night was Rachel McAdams. I love her and I thought she looked gorgeous!

Today has been a super rainy day! I've been inside most of the day, thank goodness! I was supposed to meet with Lindsey, Emily(and Cate) & Whitney(Levi) for lunch BUT I got stuck in a meeting!!! :( I WAS SO SAD to have missed them!! Hopefully we can all do lunch or get together again soon! I missed lunch because my boss had a long meeting with me about some changes with my position, which will be very helpful with my pregnancy.

No call today on my glucose test. So maybe I didn't fail :)

Tonight hubs and I will work more on the house and watch The Office from last week. I can't believe we just watched it. I'm recording Molly & Jason's wedding but I don't think Brent is going to go for watching it. Gossip Girl is new and we will be watching it!

I've been saying prayers for Layla Grace and her family today. I hope you will do so as well.

My dad wanted to name me Layla.

Cupcake Photo Shoot

2010-03-06T18:50:00.004-06:00

On Friday I picked my nieces up from school. I decided to take them to a local cupcake place. They love cupcakes. This wanted a picture with their cupcake. I thought I only had my iPhone but luckily had my little Canon Elph in my purse too. These pics were taken with both and I think they are SO funny! The girls are quite the posers! I love all the pics but I think my favorites are towards the end! The older one is the leader in creating the poses, haha.

This was her pose....

HOW FANTASTIC IS THIS ONE!?!?

I hope you all enjoy looking at them as much as I do!!! :) I heart them.

I also hope you all are having a good Saturday! We have been working all day on going through the garage and loading stuff off to a storage unit. Oh, the joys.

Mom is here and cooking something yummy for dinner tonight I'm sure. She keeps asking me what I want and nothing sounds good. I hate that feeling!

Last night, we went to a 30th birthday party for our brother-in-law (the above girl's daddy). Lots of fun and pics to come. Tomorrow night, we are having a family Oscar dinner get together.

More soon.

Necklace LOVE

2010-03-04T22:57:00.002-06:00

Hi all :)

Today I got something super sweet in the mail!

Can you imagine my excitement when the mail lady rang the bell?

I opened the package to find this...
Inside was this......
HOW FREAKING ADORABLE!?!?! I LOVE it so much! :) My sweet sweet friends, Holly & Jill, sent it to me along with a sweet little note. I immediately put it around my neck and it felt good. I love the little heart...great symbolism ladies :)

Here it is on....
yes, I'm a brunette covered in freckles.

The necklace came with some little cloths to polish the silver. Inside the package was the information for Juliethefish Designs! It's an Etsy store and it has PRECIOUS items. Here is a link to it. Etsy is fantastic as are Holly & Jill! Yes ladies, it did bring me a smile..a big smile :) THANK YOU!

Speaking of necklaces, I've racked up lately. My mother-in-law got me a Saint Gerard necklace a few weeks ago :) Saint Gerard is the Patron for expectant mothers. Thank you, MIL! I included the prayer under the necklace....

I posted and tweeted this necklace...
My sister-in-law gave me the above wish bone necklace a few days ago. We all know what my wish would be. If you don't, click "Cohen's Story" on my sidebar :)

I love the necklaces! I always have something with special meaning for baby Cohen around my neck! Pretty neat they are all different colors too..and all colors I love wearing!

My parent's arrived tonight with a u-haul. They hopefully just have one more trip to make.

My OB appointment went good today. We got to see our lil guy bouncing around :) I'll post details in my "Prego Mego" post Tuesday.

So glad for the weekend coming. We have a lot of house things in store...and a get together with some friends & fam :)

A few pregnancy questions answered & sweet treats

2010-03-03T22:57:00.003-06:00

Hi all!

Thanks so much for your sweet comments on my previous post. I'm glad "Prego Mego" is back, too! You all are really too kind!!

There were a few questions....

Have I gotten any stretch marks? I have not gotten any new ones that I can see! I already had a few on my hips from the whole growing up process. I grew really quickly in junior high and then I just stopped. I was tall in 7th grade and played basketball. I'm the same height I am now as I was then. Not sure if there is anything you can do to prevent stretch marks or not. I've heard just keeping your skin hydrated. I've not done anything except put lotion on after I shower like I always do. I was using some Johnson's baby oil gel with coco & shea butter but it was making my sensitive skin itchy.

Have I been able to workout during pregnancy? Well, I was working out pretty normally a few months before I found out I was pregnant. When I found out I was pregnant, I canceled my gym membership because with the surgery and what not that I had gone through, I was considered a bit high risk. Also, I just knew I wouldn't even care about working out. I'd much rather eat good than workout pregnant or not. I did tell my gym owner that maybe I'd like to start back in March and I'd come and do weights and the treadmill. Sure enough, today I saw on my online banking that I had a transaction pending from the gym. I called and explained briefly what was going on. Still no working out for me. Hubs and I do plan to start going on walks when it warms up. I am also planning to use some arm weights as my arms are becoming noticeably super flab.

Where do I get my maternity clothes? Well, I have a few girlfriends and a sister-in-law who are letting me borrow some super cute things! The things I've purchased have been from the Liz Lange line at Target! They fit pretty good and are holding up great. I usually catch them on sale too, so I've not spent much AT ALL on maternity clothes. For pants, I typically where some yoga type pants where the waist folds down. However, I keep my waist raised up as if they were maternity pants. I HATE any restriction on my lower belly. I should have known right away Cohen was going to stay pretty low because jeans hurt as soon as I got pregnant. Right now, I wear the jeggings I posted about here in a size large. I wore the mediums about a month ago. I have William Rast maternity jeans that I do love! I don't wear them all too often because they require wearing heels and I've found my back aches quicker in heels. I've never been a tight wearing clothes kind of gal, so a lot of the clothes I have, I've been able to wear while pregnant.....cardigans, tanks, etc. Of course now I like tight things on my belly so little Cohen is visable. I'm currently obsessed with these.
They are from Target and I almost have them in every color! They are not maternity but they are long enough that they work perfectly. They aren't ribbed just cotton.The white isn't sheer and that is awesome. They started out about $6.99 but they must have been pretty popular because they are now set at $9.00. When the colors change out, the older colors go on sale. I got my newest two colors for $3.28 each. TRY ONE!

I'm really not sure if I could ever do a QA post because I feel like I ramble when I answer questions! You can always ask and I'll try to answer :)

Thank YOU all for the inspiring & complimenting comments. I definitely don't think of myself as inspiring but that means a lot that I am to some of you. I'm trying to be positive. This pregnancy and situation are both teaching me SO much. And, I've honestly said before, I know my spirits often sound better when I write them then they are when I'm thinking them. That's something I struggle with but I think that's probably normal and okay...for right now. Like I said, good & happy moments and scared moments.

I'm also thankful for the stories you all share and the recommendations as well! Oh, I think I will be getting the pregnancy pillow! Anything is worth a try and it will be a lot more transportable than a recliner I get use to.

In my last Prego Mego post I could NOT think of things I was loving food wise. I failed to mention these things. I have one or the other at least every day...

Peanut M&M's
Nabisco 100 calorie Mister Salty milk chocolate pretzel

I called today to figure out what time my appt is tomorrow. It's not till 10AM!! So, I can't drink anything or eat anything from midnight tonight until after my appointment tomorrow! HOW WILL I DO THAT?! I'm SO hungry when I wake in the morning. I'm having my glucose test and I sure hope it goes well. So, I guess I'll obey the rules :o)

I posted pics and the recipe for the Crawfish Etoufee my mom made on my food blog. She ended up making a different recipe than the one I originally posted!

Prego Mego - Week 25

2010-03-02T23:11:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone :)

I know, I'm a few weeks behind on my Prego Mego posts. We have had quite a bit going on. These posts have probably taken a different turn but I still intend to do them.

If you would like to catch up on baby Cohen, you can click here. The posts will start out with the most recent.

We cannot tell everyone who reads this blog enough how thankful we are for all of your thoughts and prayers.

Cohen is kicking and moving all over the place! He is pretty sneaky though. As soon as I say the words "he's kicking", he will stop. So, I'm trying to indicate to hubs and friends when he is kicking, so hard that they can feel, without actually saying it. haha

I so want to savor each and every movement he makes because I think it's amazing.

I'm not craving anything in particular. Nothing much sounds good. When I was with my girlfriends this past weekend, there was ooey gooey bars. Whitney's mom made them and they were YUMMY! This is the only thing I can think of that I have kept wanting more of! I'm working on getting the recipe :)

I can tell I'm getting fuller quicker but hungry more often. That makes sense to me as le bebe grows.

I have no idea how much weight I've gained and I really don't care. I know I'm starting to look different, but that makes sense. I'm growing another human inside me. I know I'm feeling bigger and well, I have the best reason ever! Maybe I'll talk myself into checking my weight stats at our appointment Thursday.

Cohen hangs out on my bladder probably 80% of the time. He is low, really low!

Some things we are holding off on are the nursery and the showers. We are only holding off on the nursery because we have decided to sell our house. So until that transition is over, I will not work on the nursery. It makes me sad not to be doing a nursery, but I know it's what is best for right now. I'm holding off on the big showers because I think it would just be too much for us. If things don't go as planned, having had a big shower and getting lots of amazing things, I'm certain would make things harder. I think we will be blessed to get the things we will need to have by the time Cohen arrives, and we will enjoy all the little things we get along the way.

The first part of this pregnancy was a perfect and normal. The second part, not so much. However, I'm not going to stop celebrating that our son is in my tummy and doing wonderfully. Though I have some really terrible moments worrying about him and the future, I know that doesn't change things. I'm still pregnant with our son and that makes me happy :)

In the past week things have been stretching! I'm having some pains off and on in my upper tummy but I think that's typical. It looks like my belly button is being pulled every which way. I'm an innie. It's getting harder to lean over which I tried to pretend wouldn't happen.

I'm getting terrible sleep. I don't think it's as much thoughts as it is the fact that I CANNOT get comfy! I'm DRAGGING by 3pm everyday. Tips?

Elton (our pup) has been sniffing my belly. He also isn't acknowledging me quite so much when I say "Cohen". I think he has figured out I'm talking to someone and not trying to change his name.

Cohen is so lucky to have so many people who are thinking about him and praying for him :)

Cohen is going to have THE coolest baby book ever. It will be filled with emails and cards and pictures and so much love. That is one thing I can start working on :)

Well, here I am! I never thought I would post a bare belly prego pic but I figure why not. I'm big enough to tell I'm pregnant, but not big enough to looking like I'm popping just yet.

yes, I do have a itty bitty tattoo courtesy of being sixteen. It is a Chinese symbol and it means "happiness". I didn't think it would be legit if I edited these pics of myself for a prego mego post. Maybe it will be gone in my maternity pics? haha

I did take this picture on Valentine's Day I think. I thought my belly looked huge in that striped shirt. I was almost 23 weeks.

We have so many friends who have sent or brought us little care packages. When we got the news of Cohen's condition, we decided to spend some time just us. We had friends drop all kinds of treats off to us. We've gotten some thoughtful cards and goodies in the mail as well. We appreciate each and everyone one of them. I always have my camera out, as I'm sure you all know, so I've snapped a few pics. These pics will indeed go in Cohen's baby book, along with all the cards...and probably emails and blog comments :o) He will know how many people out there love him.

Our friend Jen dropped these things off on our porch. The Pacifico & Puffs are an inside joke from our trip to Cabo last May. Hubs lived off those two things while in Mexico. The two other items are bread pudding....some of my favorite in town :) Yes, I ate it for two days.
Some of our other friends, Kristen & Judd, put this on our porch the day we met with the first cardiologist. They knew we would benefit from these things for the 24 hours we cuddled in bed. Yes, hubby is a beer connoisseur, as you may have guessed.

Kyle & Jess brought us goodies over.....

cupcakes
pasta with sauce jess' mom made.
My favorite, Better Batter
They also brought pizza, conversation hearts, beer...and well I'm sure there is more. They also brought these adorable Razorback salt & pepper shakers! They know how much we love the Razorbacks and how much I love salt & pepper shakers :)
Sweet Kate sent me Sprinkles cupcake mix and a wonderful prayer book that is quite dear to her.
hugs & kisses from Jamie
One of mine and hub's friends we went to college with, Effie, sent us a sweet card and a book! I'm loving the book so far.

Thanks so much to everyone who has done anything for our family. Prayers, thoughts, cards, goodies, etc. are all SO SO thoughtful! I promise I'll get around to sending thank you notes just as soon as I get around to replying to emails. Hopefully, soon! I'm starting to get a chance to read blogs again, which is nice. I feel out of the loop. I would MUCH rather read blogs that pack up my house...but I am.

Our next appointment is Thursday morning and it with our normal OB here in town. We will have a sonogram and I'll do my glucose test. Hopefully, the second part of the amnio results will be in.

Our next appointments in Dallas are at the end of March.

Cohen's prayer button is on my right sidebar if you would like to post it. The blog world (and really everyone we talk to) has/have been amazing prayer warriors!

More soon :)

Fab Fun

2010-03-01T21:20:00.002-06:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I went to Texas to spend some time with my bestest girlfriends. We call ourselves the "fab five" :) We had a very low key weekend but it was very fun! We hadn't been all together in quite some time so it was great to spend time together.

Here are a few pics! Actually, a lot of pics...and not even all of them. My blog would prob take forever to load if I posted them all :0) I did make a slide show of some fun ones.

Sweet Molly came over to play for a bit on Saturday.

I believe this was on the way to lunch. Whitney, me & Amy
Allison & Katie
@ lunch

this is a few senior pics ;)

The five of us went to see one of our favorite bloggers and t-towners, Jill! We were sad to miss Sophie but maybe next time! (I think as I get wider, I get shorter?)

During our car time, I set my camera to take 10 pics on auto and this is what I got.. I did it a few times actually :)

We went to one of our favorite Mexican food restaurants for dinner and all of our moms joined us!

:)

the group shot was a bit difficult to get!
Us :)
and yes, my comment on facebook read "gosh, it sure does look like a few things are growing under my shirt" goodness! hahaha

Whitney brought some sweet goodies for baby Cohen :) Aren't the precious?

I've decided that sometimes being around people helps take my mind off things. So, I'm VERY thankful for all the my wonderful friends!

Happy March :)

Sunday Randoms

2010-02-28T11:23:00.004-06:00

Hi everyone :)

Hope you are having a good weekend. I've been in Texas this weekend having "fab five" time with my girlfriends. I'm at my parents now and hubs is helping my dad get things packed for them to move and my mom is cooking lunch. I'm not doing much of anything except thinking about taking a nap! I stayed up late both Friday and Saturday nights.

In the mean time, I thought I'd post a few random things that I was thinking...

My mom got the "shake weight".

I think she ordered it off TV after she saw it on the Ellen Show. I also think that I thought it was battery operated. It's not. Once you get it moving, it's supposed to move on it's own and take the weight of your arms to work them out. On the slip that came with the weight, there is something that reads, "IMPORTANT! HOW TO USE SHAKE WEIGHT"... well, it lists about 5 sentences of info. The last sentence reads "the faster you move it, the more intense the workout will become". Isn't that how most exercise workouts work? haha. That made me laugh. Oh, it comes with a DVD to watch as well, hmm.

I think I should try it. My arms have become quite plump with pregnancy. Fat storage.

My parents have things spread all over the house as the are moving. In my room, I came across this little guy....It was the first thing I ever sewed. No, I don't remember how to sew though I do want to learn again. I had thing for cute froggy stuff when I was younger. I think he will belong to Cohen. He had a name..but I'll have to think to remember what it was.

When hubs and I were leaving town Friday, I checked the mail and my sister in law left me this necklace...
Isn't is cute? Can you guess what my wish will be? That's probably an easy question.

When I was getting the necklace picture off my phone, this one was next to it. Last week, I ran into Hobby Lobby to grab some goodie bags for work. These cute oversized polka dota mugs caught my eye. I was thinking, you know I'll probably need to be drinking coffee of something that size once Cohen arrives as I prepare myself to live in at hospital 24/7...but I mostly thought how cute would he be photographed in one of them..... I might purchase one.

My mom is making some yummy sounding things for lunch. I'm not sure how hungry I am as I ate NON stop all weekend. When dinner time rolled around, I was still full from lunch. Talk about stuffing yourself. Yesterday, I got to to eat at two places I love and had not been in a while.

After dinner last night, my mom ran to the store to get some crawfish. She wanted to make Crawfish Etouffee today. Well, since she is packing her recipes are already in boxes. So, she came across one online she is going to try...

Crawfish Etouffee

Ingredients:
1/2 cup roux
*1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper
1 small can diced rotel tomatoes
2 cups water
3 lbs of cleaned crawfish meat
1 tsp. each salt, pepper, garlic powder
dash of cayenne
1 cup finely chopped green onion tops for garnish

Directions:
Make a roux by browning "slowly" in a small iron skillet ...1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup flour until it is dark brown. Do not rush this. Add chopped white onions and bell pepper. Next add rotel tomatoes, water and seasoning. Stir very well over medium high heat. Cover and reduce to low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add crawfish tail meat.... and raise heat to a slow boil. Cook for about 5 to 10 minutes. Take off the heat , Cover and let set while you cook a pot of white rice. (About 3 cups of raw rice, 6 cups water, salt, and butter )Serve over the 'cooked' white rice and garnish each bowl with green onion. This is so good with garlic bread and potato salad or cole slaw. I like to offer hush puppies also. A lemon pie makes a good desert with this dish. Ohhhh yiyi!

Created By:
Mawmaw, Annie Ledet

She got the recipe here. I don't know if I'll be eating it but if I do, I'll let you know what I think and perhaps post a pic.

Oh, lovely, my friend Whitney just called to let me know I had left my purse. Hubs came to pick me up this morning from my girlfriend's house after "girl's weekend". I was just CERTAIN I had everything. Really, Megan?! Your purse?

I will do a weekend post soon. The fab five loves to take pictures so we tried to take the majority with one camera because we knew we could all have the picture. Once, I get the pics, I will post :) It was so nice to be with my girls and try to keep my mind off things! It was a happier time!

happy sunday :)

TGIF

2010-02-26T16:01:00.003-06:00

hi all - thank you for all the comments and emails! I cannot tell you how much we appreciate all your thoughts and prayers!

I haven't gotten to one day at a time. I've figured out I'm still on "one moment at a time".

Last night I went to a networking event for work. I do marketing. So, I went to a wine & cheese where there were a bunch of marketers gathering to do what marketers do, talk. Some I had not seen in quite some time. Some know I am expecting and some did not know until they saw me. You can't imagine those first few questions and my thoughts of "how do I answer that?".."what do I say?" Well, I played as though things were peachy. I just couldn't think of another way in that very moment. I was there for work and I couldn't lose it and I didn't want people throwing me a pitty party. This is a great pregnancy and I have a great baby in my belly. I've had a healthy and pleasant pregnancy thus far. True, two weeks ago our world was turned upside down. That does not change the fact how super duper happy I am to be pregnant with baby Cohen! So, I let the non-stop talkers talk and ask non-stop questions and just took a bunch of deep breaths.

Once I left, I may have asked myself if I was doing the right thing by not telling them our situation. I thought it was the right thing for the time.

You all can read the comments. If it were okay etiquette, I would probably post all the emails. I've been sent so many stories. I have hope. There have been babies and situations that ended up being MUCH better than doctors expected. There have been cases where things have turned out worse. But the women that email, WOW! I know their emails are after the fact, but they simply want me to keep my faith and know God is in control.

I came across this earlier today.

For you formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them. How precious are Your thoughts on me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. ~Psalm 139:13-18

I'm super duper happy to be spending the weekend with this group of girls....
Allison, Amy, Whitney, Me & Katie :)

Hubs is driving and he and Elton will spend the weekend with my parents helping them pack.

I posted a yummy treat you all should definitely try on Sugar & Spice!

Hope you all have a good weekend!

PRAYER BUTTON UPDATED!

2010-02-25T09:00:00.008-06:00

Hi guys! There was an issue with the prayer button I posted in my previous post so we have made an update!

We realized that the button wasn't linking back to my blog. For all of you who grabbed the button prior to 9 am this morning (Thursday), you can either

1) go into the gadget and add http:// before the www.inthiswonderfullife.com

2) simply copy the update code that is up now!

It just won't work unless http:// BEFORE the my website!

So Sorry!!!!!!

If you find that it is wrong on someone else's(which you can tell by clicking and it not taking you to my blog), you can let them know if you would like!

If you have any questions! PLEASE let me know :)

Thanks!

My amnio results are in previous post.

Also, I put a link on my sidebar that will take you to the few posts so far regarding what is going on with our sweet baby, Cohen.

Results from amnio & Prayer button!

2010-02-24T20:50:00.007-06:00

So, if you read my post yesterday you will know I had an amniocentesis done yesterday morning. Though it was probably one of the most unpleasant experiences I've ever had (if not the most), it had EXTREMELY pleasant results...thus far!

My doctor had surgeries today and called from his car about 4:30. He said round one of the amnio results looked "normal as a nail" :) HUGE relief!!! We are thrilled to have gotten past this first hurdle. Cohen loves being in my belly and I hope he stays there just as long as possible!

I had the first round of results expressed but not all of them can be calculated that quickly. The major ones though can be detected and praise God, there are no major defects. This is good in our situation because as I've mentioned previously, with Cohen's heart condition, doctor's were certain his life with any chromosomal genetic defects would not be compatible with the heart.

If you are catching up, you can read about Cohen's diagnoses here and here.

Doctor did ask me how I was feeling after yesterday. He said that vein thing isn't typical and sorry. I feel MUCH better today. Still a bit sore but not NEAR like yesterday!

For the rest of the results from the amnio, it will take about one to two weeks. Doctor said he would call just as soon as they were in and we would probably come in. The rest of the results will give us a lot more insight as to where and perhaps what happened causing the heart defects. It will also tell us a little bit more maybe about future pregnancies. We go in for a normal appointment next Thursday. I'll also have my glucose test done then. So, maybe results by then.

We are just so glad that these results are giving Cohen more hope!

Our major prayer is for the pulmonary veins to exist!

Next up...(some probably aren't in any particular order of taking place)
-appointment next week with OB
-rest of amnio results arriving
-put our house for sale
-help my parents move into their house here
-sale our house
-move into different house
-meet with cardiologist and and surgeon at Texas Children's in Houstin - March 29th(tentative)
-meet with cardiologist, surgeon & high risk OB at Texas Children's in Dallas on March 31st
~Find place to live in Dallas...or wherever we decide feels like a good fit for Cohen to be born and have his heart surgeries.

Man on Man! One day at a time.. lots of deep breaths!

Several of you had emailed and commented about a blog button. My bf & blog designer, Allison, designed Cohen a button! Isn't it precious! If you would like to take and post, go right ahead! You can go to her personal blog to grab the button or off my sidebar. You can also check out her work on her design blog.

To add the button to your page, simply copy the code underneath the picture at the right hand corner of my blog, and insert it into a new html gadget in the layout section of your dashboard.

Thanks SO much for all your thoughts and prayers! I'm still working to reply to emails!

coming to you from my bed

2010-02-23T17:55:00.000-06:00

So, I was supposed to have my amnio yesterday but doc had lots going on and it was moved to this morning. This could be painful...just to warn you. I'll try to rephrase it nicely. Why post this? Well, I have nothing better to talk about and I'm pretty bored! And, I might as well journal everything, right?

I'm not sure if I mentioned this in my last post update on Cohen, but when we were at Texas Children's Hospital in Dallas last week, he put on quite a show. He was moving all over the place. When the doctors would finally get a good angle of his heart, he would try to take his arm and COVER IT.

Well, today I really wasn't too nervous going into the amnio. I know there are risks and they are bad ones, but God has a plan and I was just going along with things we have been lead to do. I wasn't concerned with pain. The nurse walked us to the room we normally go to but this time there were more things surrounding us. There was a little tray with wrapped packages of "medical stuff" on it and also on the counter close by. When we went in yesterday, I asked about the prices of getting the results expressed. I just can't wait another week or two. So, she came in with a sheet going over all the costs.

Before the doctor came in, I had left the room twice to go to the bathroom. Cohen hangs out on my bladder. Doctor came in talking and upbeat as usual. He asked us who we met with last week and how it went. He went over some things with us and he and the nurse got their gear ready. I was laying back and he said just to pick a place for my hands and try to keep them there. A few seconds later, without notice (which was probably smart), he inserted the needle. I previously thought the needle went in the belly button but when explaining things and cleaning my belly with that smugly yellow goo, he informed me the needle goes in the lower part of the tummy.

So, as soon a the needle is in, OUCH. I'm thinking, okay, grab the fluid and exit. No, not so much. They have the ultrasound going so they can see where Cohen is. Well, he was where they would have liked him to be....until the needle went in. Then, he thought he would like to play by the needle. No, Cohen, needles are not your friend. So, doctor starts moving needle around and trying to move Cohen. I keep thinking OKAY PULL IT OUT! SHOULDN'T THIS BE OVER!? No folks, this isn't quite the same as getting your blood taken. I thought I was being smart by not doing research on the internet. Well, imagine a blood vial and it's size. I had to fill up something about 3x that size..and not just one of them but 3 of them. So they did some moving and making sure he was out of the way. Since they were having to move the needle from Cohen, a little vein under my skin got nicked and you know what appears after that. I'll give you a hint, it's red and it was on my belly. FINALLY, it was over. I may have felt the needle but I NEVER saw it, I never even looked. I wasn't sure if it hurt worse with the needle in or trying to get up and walk after!

Doctor told hubby and I with both did great! I might have yelled sh*t once. And it does not appear that I broke hub's hand. Doctor & nurse told me to "bed rest" all day because I was going to be pretty sore. Hubby walked me out and I drove home almost in tears. He asked if he should drive me home but since we live pretty close they told me to go ahead. I can sometimes be a wimp but physically, I've experienced a lot of pain. This was just not pleasant! I came home and got in bed.

My friend Cameron came over and brought me some lunch and movies. The first few times I had to get up, Cameron had to give me a swift pull haha. It's started to feel a bit better each hour as long as I stay laying on my back. Speaking of laying on my back, I can now see my belly move when Cohen kicks! Pretty neat. I can't see any distinct things poking out but whichever side is kicked, you can just see it shake.

I would post a picture of the belly today but I don't have the desire to get up and hubby is stuck in traffic on his way home as they closed the highway.

I don't know if every amnio is as unpleasant but I certainly pray I never have to have another! I don't want to scare those of you who may be having to have one someday. I'm sure every situation is different. I certainly don't blame Cohen for any extra pain. He is just a curious and active little guy ;)

Yesterday, my mother-in-law emailed a cardiologist in Houston at Texas Children's. We had several people contact us and tell us about him. Well, about 7 last night he called her! He also sent her an email. He actually helped train the doctor we saw last week in Dallas. He said he felt very comfortable with her but would certainly be glad to do an evaluation as well. So, we may be taking a trip to Houston soon.

Speaking of Texas Children's & Houston. I've been watching The Little Couple for the past few hours and I just love this show! Maybe I can see her (Dr.Jen Arnold) if I go to TCH in Houston?

I've also watched several hours of the Real Housewives of Orange County re-runs today. I'm not sure which season it was but they are a hoot. I can't wait for the housewives of New York to start next week.

Cameron brought me When Harry Met Sally and Julie & Julia.

Today was my first time to watch Julie & Julia and I thought it was pretty cute! I like cooking & blogging and it was to do with both!

I'm going to go now as the hubs just got home.

I will share the amnio results with my readers. The nurse said they would call as soon as they got them and it would be 24-48 hours. We will be praying for good results and peace with whatever comes!

Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers! And for wanting to read my blog :)

Sweetly Spoiled

2010-02-21T21:50:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone :) That for all the sweet comments on my most recent update on baby Cohen. (For any new readers, I bold links. So, if something is bold, you can probably click it to link back to a post or other website.)

I'm proud to bring you a much more upbeat post, finally :)

The Mentzel's have been spoiling us quite a bit lately! When I say us, I mean myself, hubby, Cohen & Elton. Not only have they sent us goodies, they brought us their presence...the ladies anyway! Molly & Katie came to visit yesterday morning and left this morning. We went to lunch, played, laid around & chatted, watched movies, etc. It was certainly nice to have something take my mind off everything going on for a bit. Hubby was able to get some rest yesterday while Katie and Molly entertained me.

Katie brought us a little care package! Lots of fun goodies :) I didn't think about it at the time quick enough to tell Katie, but Brent had been talking about making Cohen a mixed cd to play to him. He wanted to do some classical music and music we enjoy. The the iTunes card works perfectly for that!
they brought me a pretty purple bouquet of flowers :)
We went to lunch at a Mexican food place and Molly seemed to enjoy herself..we all did!
her and brent were pretty cute playing together

Katie caught Brent mid chip
Me & Katie

After lunch, we played and relaxed

A few weeks ago, the Mentzel's sent us some of their favorite baby things :) I say "us"..but technically, Cohen! I liked seeing his name on the package.

These are the goodies that came! Sophie, Itzbeen Baby Care Timer, Baby Giggles book by Rachael Hale & Trumpette Skipper socks that look like lil sneakers.
On all the packing slips, there were little notes as to why they liked each -

These are so fun & came in 6 different colors.

Thank you Mentzel's for all the the thoughtfulness! We love you guys!

We have such amazing friends and family. I've snapped pictures of a few other goodies we've gotten as care packages. It definitely has been bringing us some smiles and full tummies. So another pleasant post coming soon.

I have the amnio in the morning and hopefully will know the results in the next few days.

We've been doing a bit better the past few days. Just trying to wait for more news, as patiently as possible. I've had some ironic things happen and a few interesting dreams. Perhaps I'll do a post on those soon.

I hope you guys had a good weekend.

A few updates on baby Cohen

2010-02-18T21:40:00.006-06:00

Hi everyone. Sorry to have left you all hanging for a few days. We've had probably the busiest and worst week. I can't believe it's only been a week.

The good news, at this very moment, there is still some good hope for baby Cohen!

Today(Thursday), I am 23 weeks and 2 days pregnant.

We have had two appointments since my last post. On Tuesday morning, we met with our OB. He did not get a good vibe from the cardiologist we met with last week. He told us, at this point in time, he did not feel much optimism and really wanted us to be prepared for what could be reality. He is an upfront and straight forward kind of guy, and we knew that ahead of time. He said things would be a lot more hopeful if it were one or two defects that would be much easier to repair. Right then, there were what we believed was 4 defects and they are as bad as they can be. Some babies have these defects but perhaps not to the extent the cardiologist believes Cohen's are. The majority of the heart is not good. Therefore, it being fixable is going to much harder, if even possible. Our OB did agree with us going for second opinions and trying to find out what was out there as far as solutions.

When we left the OB's office Tuesday, we did not feel good. We felt quite hopeless just as we had leaving the first cardiologist office last Thursday. Luckily, I was able to get into a cardiologist at Texas Children's Hopsital (TCH I will refer to) in Dallas the very next day(Wednesday). Hubs, his mom and myself drove to Dallas and met with the Cardiologist.

I had an ECHO done right away once we arrived. It lasted probably about 30 or 45 minutes. Cohen is kind of a ninja! He was moving, kicking and doing flips. He would be shy too and try to cover himself up when they were looking at certain places. It was nice to see him and his activeness. A cardiologist in training did the first half of the ECHO and then the cardiologist we were meeting with came in for the second part and did the ECHO with her. We met with them right after to go over their findings.

Overall, they (the two docs at TCH) agree with what Cardi 1 (who we met with last week) found defect wise. However, they were able to go in so much more detail and they really didn't focus on all the problems so much. They went right into talking about the solutions. They specialize in these solutions and believe in themselves. The newest and possibly worst concern is the pulmonary veins. The blood flow pattern seen on the ECHO leaves the docs to believe there are some location issues with the pulmonary veins. This is not a good thing because with the veins in the wrong places, they can not function properly and therefore create a muscular type condition in which the veins tend to contract and cause blockages. This is specific prayer. There is a surgery they can do for these veins to put and connect them where they need to be, but this must be determined post arrival.

However, the vein situation is not a common thing, so they've only seen two babies with this at TCH. One did not make it after surgery and one is doing good at this point (no details on age or anything). The cardiologist could not see the veins good enough yesterday to make a complete decision about their whereabouts or function, but she did say she was worried. She said at my 28 week appointment, she will see if she can see them any better but she doesn't really feel as though she will. She will check the ECHO on this blood flow situation to see if the veins are still indicating something isn't right. They MUST be there to be repaired and in which that case that we probably won't know till birth as well.

As far making repairs on the heart, they have a series of 3 open-heart surgeries they are going to aim to do. To start out with, there is a "short cut" in the heart that allows oxygenated blood to get pumped back into the body while Cohen is inside me. This shortcut is called the PDA. It is open in womb because his lungs haven't developed. A few days after birth, it typically closes. They will give him an IV in his belly button of a particular medication to help keep it open. The side effect of this medication is the baby forgets to breath and they have to put them on a ventilator. I believe this happens quite a bit. We will pray it does not.

The first surgery will be done probably in the first 3-4 days of life. This is called a BT Shunt. The purpose of the this shunt is to get the blood flowing where it should and to allow the lungs to develop a certain pressure if they can. The second surgery will occur 4-6 months. This is known as the Bidirectional Glenn Shunt. I believe this shunt re-routes the blood flow from the pulmonary arteries directly to the lungs. During the second surgery, they will remove the BT Shunt from the PDA and allow that close naturally. The third surgery will probably occur close to 2 years old and is called the Fontan. This surgery will help the 1 ventricle to pump blood out to the body while blood returning from the body passively flows into the lungs (with help from a little suction from the single ventricle).

Instead of 2 pumping chambers with a left and right atrium and ventricle, he will have a single pumping chamber with a top atrium and bottom ventricle.

They did speak more about the transplant but they want to keep that "in their back pocket" as a last option.

Because of the heart condition, Cohen has Heterotaxy Syndrome. This basically means his stomach is on the left side and it should be on the right. That will be another surgery to try to move it to where they are supposed to be in the abdominal cavity. We will have to keep a very close eye on him to make sure nothing inside begins to twist. They will not be able to do this surgery until he is pretty stable. When they do this surgery, the will also remove his appendix. They do that because if he ever were to need it out, doctors might get confused with things not being exactly where they expect. There are also complications with this because he could have a spleen issue which will lead to him needing to be on antibiotics for a few years. His risks of viral infections are much higher.

At 28 weeks, the cardiologist wants to see me back for an ECHO and to meet with the surgeron. I will also meet with the high risk OB I will start seeing in Dallas. The appointment is tentatively schedule for the 31st of March. I will actually be 29 weeks at that point. We didn't do the tour yesterday so we will do that then and speak with many other people. I will tell you, we were SO very pleased with the people we met with at TCH (Texas Children's Hospital). They were SO nice and helpful! They were amazing to have gotten me in so quickly. As soon as we arrived, the lady I spoke with on the phone greeted us and took us right back for the ECHO. I have the direct phone number for the two ladies I will be in constant contact with and they will be setting up all the appointments and everything when needed. Much less stress with their help!

The doctor wants me to start living in Dallas a month before I have Cohen. I will still have c-section but it has not been scheduled just yet. As I probably said in the last post, the longer he is in me, the better. I will be in Dallas a month before in case I go into early labor.

Every doctor hubby and I have met with has informed us they are certain that with the degree of Cohen's heart condition, it would not be compatible with life IF he has any chromosomal genetic defect. With that being said, we have decided to get an amniocentesis. We did contemplate this for many reasons but overall, our doctors and our hearts tell us it would be best for multiple reasons. We feel it will answer many of our questions. Every doctor tells us in their first sentence, "this is nothing either of you did"..."this is not your fault"... and we do believe them. In doing the amnio, maybe we can find peace with maybe what caused this. We also know that our chances for another baby with a CHD (congenital heart defect) has increased by 5% and the amino can tell us more on that as well.

No, I would not normally have an amnio but at this point doctors are thinking it is best in our situation and will help us all in many ways. I know there are risks, but no matter what, God is has a plan and that I just have to trust. We know God has a plan for Baby Cohen and we are just trying to follow what we are lead to do.

If Cohen does not have a clean amino, I will carry him as long as I normally would but I would have him here and not in Dallas. He will live with God blessed him with and between now and then, we will try to start working on peace with that. No matter what happens, he is our son and we will enjoy the seconds, minutes, days or years we are blessed to have him..in and out of the womb.

After leaving Dallas yesterday, we briefly thought we would continue looking for other opinions. We may still, but right now we feel comfortable with what TCH has to offer and the doctors attitudes. We may see about some other doctors around the country looking at the ECHO, we may not.

I won't lie to you, I KNOW that I sound a lot stronger in writing than I probably do if you were to talk to me in person or on the phone but I'm working on it. I look like I got run over by a train and I am indeed struggling with my emotions and questions I want answered. I know most questions can't feasibly answered right now. I am a mess BUT I know I have to keep it together for myself and hubby..and most importantly Cohen. I just take lots of deep breaths and try to stay busy. Some moments I feel a lot of peace come over me and the next minute I will lose it. I think hubby is the same way. I've been praying for God to show us his plan. I highly believe he is working through the doctors. Well, last night I had two dreams and I was in labor in both. In one, I birthed Cohen and in one I did not. I don't know what either of those mean. No matter what, I will still be giving birth to him. God just isn't revealing anything just yet. I just thought they were very interesting dreams. I don't remember much detail as I immediately woke up after each ...at the same part.

Waiting, of course, is the hardest part and that probably won't stop for quite some time.

Hubby and I are getting lots of support in many ways. We have AMAZING family and friends. People are being SO kind and helpful to us! I seriously don't know what we would do without our support system. And the internet/blogging community, oh my goodness! You guys have also been wonderful, too. All the prayer requests being spread, emails, comments and gifts are SO thoughtful of you all. I know I'm so behind on emails. I will work on them in the close future. Just know, I appreciate them all!

As I type this, Cohen has been kicking me non-stop! Just wanted you to know. I think he is thinking about you all, too.

I am going to try to get back to blogging regularly. I just only have one thing in mind and one thing going on! Maybe I'll just start cooking a bunch and posting recipes on sugar and spice? :)

I'm getting to see some of my best friends, that I don't see too often, very soon and that excites me. One of my besties who lives in Dallas came to see Hubby and I at dinner before we left town last night so that was nice.

I have turned the option off to comment anonymously. I should have done it a while back but simply forgot. If you want to remain anonymous to the blog community but yet want to leave me a comment, please just email me. Do not get me wrong, in the last post, I had some WONDERFUL and helpful comments that were left as anonymous but then the commenter would leave their name and email. That was great. do believe you can enter your name and not have a Google account or anything. I won't acknowledge any negative comments but I do look forward to the uplifting ones as this is the situation we are in.

HERE is the first post on Cohen's heart. It is also the previous before this one so you can click "older posts".

Love to you all!

My Sweet's Heart

2010-02-13T14:57:00.004-06:00

Hi everyone. So, I've been avoiding blogger for a few days now. Not really. I've just not gotten on the computer in the past few days. I've had my iphone and that's about it. There is no way around this post so I've finally made myself sit down and do it.

Thanks to you all for your thoughts and prayers. We will need the prayers more than ever from here on out.

As I told you all, last Thursday, our regular doctor referred us to a Pediatric Cardiologist. We had the cardiologist appointment this past Thursday morning. It was pretty bad. It took about 3 hours and we walked out devastated.

There are 4 defects the cardiologist believes she found.

1.Atrio Ventricular Canal Type Defect
2.Ventricular Septal Defect
3.Transposed Great Vessels
4.Hypoplastic Pulmonary Artery

These are the two pics the cardiologist reviewed with us.

Normal Heart

Cohen's Heart?

I will tell you I'm not good with the human anatomy and overall, I was just sick. So, as far as explaining it ALL, I can't be the person to do that. I lost it as soon as she had the look and said the fist sentence. I was in and out but tried my best to listen to what she said. Hubby picked up more as he knows more about the heart.

When she sat down, she immediately said there was nothing hubby or I had done to cause this. It happened on it's own and there not sure where or when it happened just yet. She said more than likely it was between weeks 7-12. She asked us if I had an amniocentesis done because heart related issues are often related to genetic disorders. We did not have an amnio done but I did have a blood screening done and everything on it looked good.

Many of these defects are common. She (being cardiologist 1) said if we looked them up for research, we would definitely understand and learn more about them. However, she told us that all four of them together, are not common. She said the thing is, nothing or no one, besides a doctor, can explain to us how they are working together and/or against each other.

She (cardiologist 1) does not believe there is anything we can do right now to help any of the defects. She said we must wait until he arrives to see what is going on. She said it may require surgery immediately or it may be a few weeks. If he has to be stabilized then they would do that and get him to where he needs to be to have surgery. It will involve open heart surgery and just a series of other surgeries. We are unsure about a transplant because the cardiologist says it opens a whole different can of worms. He could reject the heart. The life is only 10-15 years on them. They don't do many neonatal transplants as they aren't able to save many of the hearts because some causes of infant deaths are so unknown. We are going to try to fix the heart he has first.

We were told so much it's hard to process. And of course we are sick about it. We've immediately began to pray specifically and take it one minute at a time.

I tried to ask all my "why" and "how" and "maybe" questions. I asked if he maybe was just underdeveloped in the heart and still had some developing to do. She didn't act like that was the case. She acted like what it was, it what it is going to be. His heart is currently the size of a quarter, which is portioned correctly with where he is gestational wise.

She said she didn't think things would get better at this point but could get worse. There could be other issues/defects because of this. And the quality of life isn't known yet. Instead of saying "she" I'm going to abbreviate and make her "Cardi 1"..sorry if that's unprofessional, I certainly do not mean it to be. I'll explain more below. Anyways, Cardi 1 said it gets harder to see the heart the further along I get. She said my regular doctor would monitor me and be able to detect any major changes. Well, I asked her why I wouldn't just have an ECHO done every week. She said she would work with my doctor in coming up with a plan.

If things get worse, they will have to take him early. This would not be good because he needs to be at a certain stage (in many ways) to have the surgeries. The longer he is in me, the better because I am, essentially, his best lifeline.

Cardi 1 seemed very impressed hubby and I had no known issues. She also liked the fact how active Cohen is and how right-on track he is physically. She asked me about my pregnancy thus far and when I told her everything had been good she simply said "hmmm". Cohen was moving around a ton in the ECHO. He was moving around so much that they had to take a break to see if he would be still. Sure enough, when they tech stopped pushing on my belly. He would be calm. The tech did say his head was DIRECTLY on top of my bladder. I certainly could have told her that!!! I feel the need to tinkle non-stop. So, these things to me are good. He is doing his best and we want to do ours.

We go to our normal doctor Tuesday morning at 8:20. At that time, he will go over with us more of a plan and what he wants me to do to help keep this pregnancy stable and at it's best. Cardi 1 could not really tell me those things as pregnancy isn't her specialty. She works on hearts of unborn babies, babies & kiddos.

I say "Cardi 1" because there will probably be many Cardiologist in which we visit with. Thus far, we are looking at San Francisco, Boston & Dallas for more evaluations. Cohen's grandparents will be sending us wherever we need to go. They asked us to let them handle finding the best and figure that part out. I'm certain our doctor will help us with this as well. They figure that will just be more stress if hubby and I are trying to figure it out all alone. Of course, we are TOTALLY open to hearing any stories and opinions from anyone as far as situations and doctors. Some of the evaluations can be done by sending the ECHO video/pictures to doctors at those places that we have found. If they can take the case, we will go meet with them. Whoever we feel most comfortable with is hopefully who can fix our son's heart. I will have Cohen wherever the doctor is.

We will of course, be working with our doctor here as we are truly thankful for him. Cardi 1 told us first off how lucky we were our OB even picked up on this and sent us to a cardiologist. She said had we not known anything, when Cohen arrived it would probably have been a 48 hour scramble trying to save him..... with no sleep, trying to figure out things and find someone to fix it. With that being said, I thank God but I also wonder about my strength for the next 4-5 months. I'm just scared.

We are very curious to hear what Cardi 1 told our doctor after meeting with us. Cardi 1 seems like a fantastic doctor but overall, it was hard to get a feeling from her. We didn't FEEL her confidence that she should be the one to take our case. She does seem like a very smart lady. She said she is 100% for second opinions and evaluations. She even began to tell us doctor's names. If she doesn't feel all 4 of these defects are common together then perhaps she hasn't worked on all 4 defects on the same baby. Ideally, we would like to find someone who has.

Word around town (and many other places) has spread quickly. We've gotten calls, emails, texts & care packages. We are so appreciative God is surrounding us with great people. We are trying not to lock ourselves inside and snuggle in bed like we probably could for at least few more days. We did for about 15 about 20 hours just to process everything and have time together. We won't give up and we know God has a plan and that's the way it is going to be. We are tying to be optimistic and strong for one another. It doesn't take much for us both to have a very terrible moment. We are praying that gets better every day. I think once we have a plan, we will feel more at ease. We won't know the outcome but all we can do is give it our best. It's just a LOT to think about and handle and it's just scary. We want to go on with this pregnancy as we were before. We don't know what will happen but giving up little pieces of life we were living and planning, just feels like we would giving up on pieces of Cohen.

I've also emailed quite a few of you who had contacted me to check in or asked me to follow up. Thanks so much to everyone that comments, contacts me and just plain reads this blog!

I've also had people give me contact information for people they know that have had a little one with heart issues. I'll hope to be speaking to some people soon who may have been in similar situations. Last night at midnight, my sister in law emailed me a link to a little girls Caring Bridge page. She lives in the same town we do! In Feb 0f 2008 the mom was about where I am gestationally and her baby was diagnosed with SIX heart defects and 3 of them are 3 of the same ones Cardi 1 believes Cohen has! The baby girl was born in June of 2008 in Dallas and that's where she had her doctors and surgeries. They spent weeks at a time there. She found out early like we did and found the right doctors and got everything set up prior to and everyone was all ready to go when the baby girl arrived. I spend a few hours reading the journal the mom wrote as everything was happening. It gave me a lot of hope and I was just amazed with the mom's strength . I have strength but I'm certainly having to find more. Anyways, I think the little girls first surgery was about 10 days after birth and the next one was a few months later. The little girl has done amazingly and doctor's have certainly called her a miracle. While reading the journal, I found out the cardiologist that she uses here is the same lady we went to Thursday. So, Cardi 1 does the little girl's monitoring. She did it every 2 weeks for a while and I believe she is only having to go in monthly for her checks. I'm not sure when the next surgery will be. I'm hoping hubby and I can meet with her parents soon. I'm not sure if the mom meant the Caring Bridge site to be friends and family but I would like to ask her if I can post it.

We certainly pray that the next cardiologist doesn't find ALL four defects or perhaps seems a bit more confident about them. We have no idea. It will kind of be a waiting game until we start seeing more doctors.

I will certainly ask for everyone's prayers and thank God for everyone, everyday. It feels like a bad dream but God won't put us to it if he won't pull us through it, right?

I will keep you all updated and I promise to try to keep this blog up and going. I can't tell you how I'll be feeling from day to day but that's life.

love to you all!

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit ~ Romans 15:13

Prego Mego - Week 22 & What baby stuff do you like?

2010-02-09T22:11:00.005-06:00

I’m 22 weeks today!

Our last appointment was on Thursday of last week. If you didn’t read how that went, you can here. We will be going to the Pediatric Cardiologist on Thursday morning. They were not able to get me in any quicker for the fetal ECHO.

I’ve done pretty good the past few days trying not to worry how the ECHO will turn out, as I know what’s meant to happen, will. God is in control and my worrying isn’t going to change things. I just pray. I certainly appreciate all the kind words I’ve gotten from you all.

Cohen is growing! He was 14oz and my last week and will probably reach 1 pound soon! I had a few other ultrasound pics and one was all the stats. The longest measurement was 11.5 inches so I'm guessing that's how long he is. A lot of what was said at our appointment I stopped comprehending at a certain point. Doctor said he had long legs and feet. That is funny because his mommy and daddy do not.

(the majority of these pics were taken with iphone)

Here he is at 21 weeks & 2 days...

maybe he will be a thumb sucker?
lil feetsy
Here I am today.....
I wore red this week for Valentine's. I haven't worn short sleeves in quite some time. Puffy & pale, haha. I pulled my pants lower as I felt like they showed the current belly shape a bit better. No, I don't wear black yoga pants and a tee everyday. I put something of the sort on when I get home from work though. If I have pajama pants on, I'll switch for the pic if it's a Tuesday, for my belly pic :o)

The past few days, I feel like he has moved/kicked pretty steadily from about 12:30-1:30. Perhaps he wakes up for lunch. It's still crazy he is inside me! He hasn't woke me from sleeping with kicks yet. I'm still having a miserable time sleeping. I know it's evident when I wake in the morning.

This past Saturday, we registered! We registered at Babies R Us, Target & a local boutique (which I did a few weeks back)! We decided not to do Pottery Barn Kids because there wasn't anything we just needed from there. Most of the nursery stuff will be custom(bedding), bought online or done with my lil hands. We aren't finished registering though. We have some adjustments to make as decisions were hard! My question to you all that are mommies or those of may have heard about certain things..... WHAT DO YOU LIKE!? What are your must haves, necessities, favorites? If you have a link to a post you have done, will you post it with your comment for me? Email me? Anything you would like really! I would GREATLY appreciate it!

Babies R Us was PACKED and my back starting hurting walking around. Don't let the gun in my hand confuse you, hubs was ALL about scanning things!
We took hub's sister with us to Babies R Us as she is quite knowledgeable in the baby department after 3 babies. She also brought this little guy along....
He got a pair of jeans. You can see those on him in my previous post. Let me just tell you that the size of his new jeans are 9 months and he is currently 12 weeks! haha!

Oh, by the way, yall's comments regarding "expecting mommy parking" were great! Yes, we do have a few here. Just not NEARLY enough. The only places I've seen the parking spots are Babies R Us & Church. So, I'm jealous of locations where there are more!

Not too much sounds good to eat lately. I don't have any major cravings. I love ice cream & frozen yogurt. I often feel like I'm eating just to eat. I'm trying to stop that. For instance, I ate a pretty decent size breakfast last Sunday about 10am. At 11am, hubs had to run an errand and said he would pick up lunch. He asked me what I wanted. Well, nothing? I just wasn't hungry yet. I placed my order anyway. Something I do really like right now is bacon, egg & cheese on an English muffin! We eat the double fiber English muffin and love it. We also use turkey bacon.
I must show you the inside...the heart :)
hubs has been using this to keep a shape that fits the muffin. We have been doing over easy lately.

Hubby has been SUPER good about cooking dinner for me :) By the time I get home, I want to crash! I feel like my energy is fading a bit. Either that, or I'm just on my feet a bit more in the day. By the time I get home, it's hard for me to do anything.

I've switched to ankle socks only. The others are getting too tight.

I'm forgetful. It's bad.

I have a warrant out for my arrest. Classy, huh? I got a speeding ticket in January. Mind you, it was my first spending ticket in like 10 years. Well, I had only about 10 days to go in and pay it. I got the minimum ticket. I COMPLETELY forgot. I remembered the other day and thought "oh crap". So, now I have to go to court :( However, I'm not on the "docket" so that is no good. That basically means, I don't have a court date/time and I would just have to go in and wait until EVERYONE'S name had been called and then try to get mine settled. Luckily, my father-in-law is a lawyer and set me up with one of is law world friends. She will walk me through court. Once the judge sees her, she said we will getting right on through. Hopefully shortening the process to just an hour. Oops. I won't make that mistake again.

Guess what else I did. FORGOT TO PAY THE ELECTRIC BILL! (This was last Wednesday) I know you are thinking, well that's okay, just pay it now. Well, it was too late. I forgot to pay last months. So, when I remembered last week, I called. I paid. Well the next day I got home and NO POWER. What the heck? I paid the bill! Well, they decided they wanted me to pay the newest bill. Well, I didn't have the newest bill with me when I called the day before and I did the automatic system. So, they cut our power off for $63!!! I was SO SO SO upset. Mostly because the people were rude. It was cold and I just wanted to be snuggled at home. I got home about 5:20 that day and called. Two women were rude and I finally asked for the supervisor. He had to call me back. He finally told me they don't do re-connects until 8am. The women acted like they could re-connect any time within 24 hours. They only do them from 8am-5pm! WHAT?! That is insanity. First of all, if they were going to cut our power off, they should have told me the day before when I WAS ON THE PHONE with them!! I paid the bill. It wasn't expensive! I would have paid the other $63 had I known it was ready to be paid! Anyways, we stayed at hubby's sisters. They turned the power on the very next morning. Yes, I told them it was just wrong. The cable company freaking works past 5, why can't the electric. What is more important? And I mean don't they know that pregnant women are FORGETFUL! Oh yes, I certainly told them I was pregnant. They could have cared less. I kept thinking what about the families out there with new babies or kids in the middle of winter. I thought about those that were forgetful and those that simply didn't have the money. I honestly think electricity should be a common courtesy, of the world. I'm still debating writing a letter.

We are giving our current "child" lots of loving as always. He is the sweetest dog. We tell Cohen his big brother is a dog, hahaha. Sick, I know.

I think that is about it for this week. I will probably post soon after my doctor's appointment which is on Thursday morning. My next regularly scheduled appointment is March 4th and I'll do glucose test then.

Don't forget to link me or send me those baby related things you can't live without!!

Super Bowl 2010

2010-02-08T19:41:00.004-06:00

Thank you all SO SO much for all the comments. It really means so much to know we are in so many people's thoughts and prayers! I did pretty good this weekend stressing and worrying. I only had about a moment and a half when I broke down worrying. My appointment is still scheduled for Thursday morning.

We had a great time at the Super Bowl party we went to. I think the Super Bowl is a fun time to get together and just hang out and snack! We went to hub's sisters house. They decided to have a few people over instead of dragging the kiddos out! You will probably notice I have a few more pics of the young ones. They are just too funny.

I did hear that last nights Super Bowl was the most watched TV even of ALL TIME. The previous number one was the final episode of Mash.

I had fun making two dishes for the get together. I made cupcakes and a buffalo chicken dip that I posted here here .

Here are some pics I snapped....

I made these cute football cupcakes!

Tatum & Natalie (Tatum is our niece)
sweet Lucy ...she was running from me!
Baby Beaux ..the chunk! (nephew)
Kyle & Brent
baby Penny!!! :)

Brent and Lucy

Taylor was SUPER interested in Baby Penny

We had so much fun!! :)

Hope you had a good weekend! More soon :)

This & That

2010-02-05T16:24:00.005-06:00

Hi blogland :)

Happy Friday! I wish today was next Friday. The next 7 days would be over.

I'm not sure how to post about anything when I only have one thing on my mind.

I was hesitant to post anything just yet, until we know anything for certain. However, nothing else is really on my mind.

Yesterday, we got to see our SWEET baby, Cohen :) While almost everything looked great, our doctor has a bit of concern with the LOOK of the left side of his heart. Yes, my immediate reaction was to break down. The doctor didn't seem super scared or concerned. He was calm and just told us he isn't certain if anything is wrong but he said he didn't like the way the left side looked. He said he hopes that he is just having a hard time picking up the angle he wants to see but he has concern it could be developmental. I won't go into too much more detail as we don't really know much more. The more I talk and think about it, the more I break down. His heart was beating and that's what counts. If the left side weren't working at all, it wouldn't be beating. However, yesterday it seemed as though the right side was compensating some for the left side. We are going to a Pediatric Cardiologist next week. Our appointment is scheduled for next Thursday morning. Of course hours after leaving the doctor I called to see if I couldn't get in ANY quicker. Well, I have to be 22 weeks for the sonogram thing they are doing so, Tuesday would be the earliest I can go. They will look first thing Tuesday morning to see if there are any openings.

The heart was the last thing he checked so the first part of the ultrasound was very pleasant. Cohen was moving around and measuring right on track. Doctor said he had long legs & big feet! There was also a student in with our doctor so he did and showed us all kinds of neat things :) We got a few pics I'll post in my Prego Mego post Tuesday.

I know this will be a stressful waiting period but I certainly have faith that God has a plan. No matter how many tears I cry, there are going to turn out they way they are supposed to. I hope next week, I can look back and think these were silly tears of worry. I'm not going to call it something possibly being "wrong"...I'm going to call is a possible "issue". While I hope there is no issue with Cohen's heart, I know there is so much medical technology out there. Of course, he is also in His good hands.

I would also like to note, I have total faith in my doctor. He takes what he does very seriously and I know his is super cautious. I know a lot of girls that go to him. He checked twice in one day to get the neck measurements for my nephew. He also sent one of my pretty close friends to a Pediatric Cardiologist when she was pregnant because he wanted to someone to take a second look at her baby's heart. Luckily, there was no alarming issue. There was a small hole and a little thickness but the Specialist didn't have concerns after having the long ECHO done to check. While I do think it's sometimes it stinks to have to worry, I much rather be prepared than under prepared. If it were any other doctor, I might not have even had an ultrasound yesterday for him to look. Thank God for an ultrasound every appointment. I know babies were and are born all the time with few if any ultrasounds. They can be helped at birth if an issue arises. Our doctor said if there is any issue, we would just start or create a plan of action.

Please keep us in your prayers and I will keep you all updated.

I know it isn't realistic for me to ask you to refrain from commenting any scary issues on this subject but to please share the good comments or situations. However, just consider it. This momma doesn't probably need any more stress currently :o)

I didn't want this post strictly to be about the above because I really hesitated to post about it at all. I hate to worry if there may be no issue but how can I not. SO, let me see what else I have going today.....

I ordered the crib this morning! Here is it :)

Hopefully next weekend I can take the bedding to get made. That will take about two weeks. The crib may take a few weeks to arrive as well. I'll be ordering the other furniture probably in the next few weeks.

Today, I'm getting to see some cuties!

(she LOVES lipstick) (pics taken with iphone)

I also got to see Jessica & Lucy!

I'm hoping this weekend hubby will take me to see this.....

We are still unsure our Super Bowl plans quite yet but I'm sure it will involve football, food, friends & family :)

I'm thinking of attempting this delicious sounding recipe this weekend ....

Hope you all have a good weekend.

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them - Psalms 145:18-19

Sweet & Sad

2010-02-03T21:41:00.003-06:00

Hiiiiii :) Thanks for the sweet Prego Mego comments :) You guys are too much! Thanks for the advice and what not as well!

Today I helped my sister-in-law take her sweet kiddos to the doctor. My nieces are sick :( They started coughing yesterday and running fevers in the night last night. Their flu & strep tests came back negative. Doctor said they showed signs of mild RSV. The RSV machine was on order but the doctor was excellent and got them set up to do breathing treatments and on some meds. Luckily, they have the machine at home. I couldn't help but to snap some pics of their beautiful but pitiful faces....

they were kissing through their masks...yes, if one gets something..the other more than likely will.....

this lil guy seemed to be doing just fine!
After the doctor, we took the girls to get slushes so they would have something cold on their throats. I noticed Sonic has their famous "Sweetheart Shake" right now and I couldn't turn it down. They started these when I was in high school and I feel in love. I love chocolate and cherries mixed. Clearly, this baby is making me want cold and frozen things. They are worth the pounds and surely that includes some calcium? haha
I posted the recipe for these yummies here.

Hope you all had a good day!! We get to see Baby Cohen in the morning :)

Prego Mego - Week 21

2010-02-02T23:29:00.004-06:00

Hi all! Thanks for the wreath comments! It was a fun project!

I'm 21 weeks pregnant today!

Time is starting to fly.

I'm feeling great.

Cohen is starting to wiggle! He is doing soft & swift kicks but I can feel them. I have to be sitting pretty still, but I feel them. I can tell when he shifts and moves up higher. It's just so crazy to have this precious little baby inside me.

Studies say starting at 21 weeks a baby can start to recognize voices. Therefore, he should know mine and hubby's voices and recognize them once he is born :)

Cohen may be about 10 1/2 inches long! That is about the size of a carrot. That seems long! I can sure tell he is growing.

I'm getting a lot more hungry I'm afraid. I say I'm afraid because it involves this...

MAGGIE MOO'S HAS RED VELVET ICE CREAM!! It is super duper AMAZING! I think it may be on special. It is similar to better batter in the batter sense..but red velvet batter :)
Don't worry, if it is just a special, I will find out and I will buy like 10 of these....
yes, I discovered the red velvet when I was going to buy a quart of Better Batter. Hubby and I were stuck in the house all weekend wishing we had ice cream. Well, this solves that problem :) Oh, and don't you worry, if I have to stock up on red velvet, we have two freezers :)

Oh, I WILL enjoy :)

I will also tell you I tried of of Braum's breakfast burritos for the first time this week. HEAVEN! My bf, Katie, raved about them and loved them while she was pregnant. A few weeks ago, another friend also mentioned how she had a Braum's breakfast burrito and a chocolate shake every morning for breakfast while she was pregnant. I immediately decided I MUST try it. Well it was fresh. The eggs were fluffy. The bacon was cooked just right. I was very impressed. AND it was only like $1.65! Probably a month ago, I got a Sonic breakfast burrito and spit the first bite out and threw the rest away. Something about the taste of the bacon was just not right that morning.

Do you think Cohen will be okay with Maggio Moo's ice cream, Braum's breakfast burritos and prenatals?? haha!

DON'T HATE! I'm hungry and just not many things sound great! I'm feeding a boy. He could be a big boy. I guess I hope he is for multiple reasons. Not too big, of course. Hubby was almost 10 pounds! I was 7.5.

Hubby and I did cook some normal and somewhat healthy food items this weekend. He pretty much cooked me dinner for 3 nights in a row :) Our new favorite thing is egg, turkey bacon and cheese on a double fiber English muffin. YUM! He also made quesadillas one night and one night poppy seed chicken.

I've had some itchy skin issues going on. I went to the dermo yesterday. I've ALWAYS had sensitive skin. Well, my belly, hips and boobs have itchy-ness on them right now. I've switched to Dreft detergent and a very mild soap. I can't rub myself dry...I have to pat myself dry. Dermo said this is very typical in first pregnancy and more common when it's a boy. They gave me a mild steroid cream but I thought I'd give myself a day or two to see if the other adjustments helped. I can tell you, that the Johnson's Baby Oil cocoa & shea butter (I previously posted about) seemed to make me itch more. I wasn't really itching yesterday afternoon until I took a shower and but it on. Needless to say, I took another shower to wash it out. It is probably too potent. I go to the doctor for Cohen on Thursday so I may found out more on this issue then.

Sleep still isn't great. I don't think it will get any better. If anything, perhaps worse. I might be adjusting....to the lack there of. I feel like by the time I stop tossing and turning, it is time to wake :(

I'm feeling more hot-natured all the time.ickish.

I've decided two great inventions for a pregnant person would be - designated pregnant/mommy parking spots & a catheter. We've had icy weather. I will admit, I now waddle. Waddling 50 parking spaces on ice probably isn't the smartest idea. No, I'm not serious about the catheter. I wouldn't wish one of those upon anyone but the going tinkle so often gets a bit annoying. I tease hubby about getting a bedside potty. Of course I'm more thirsty at night so that doesn't help. We are discussing building or buying some steps for our bed...for Elton (our dog). We think he is getting some arthritis and our bed is quite high. He seems to be struggling a bit to jump up it and its a hard high jump down. Hubby said if we do get the steps, he will have to put lights in them like they have at the movies so I won't fall.

Yes, I leaned over to take my shoes off today and I fell.

Still getting ideas on the nursery. Not much progress from last week. Crib is being ordered! Still working on one fabric for the bedding. There are lots of little things to think about! I do believe I found the light and a chair!

I think my shower dates are all set and I'm SUPER excited!!! Hubby and I plan to go register this weekend!

Here I am.... (the shirt is a hand-me-down from my sister-in-law)
I know, you can't get the belly feel from this pic wearing black, but I wanted you to see the shirt :)

I had a fun night tonight at Kitchen Queens! I missed Idol. Hubs went to his parents for dinner so we didn't set it to record. Funny thing happened...well, I thought it was funny. Him, not so much. He sent me a text says "Record Shows-Idol, etc, etc, etc, etc." Well, I glanced at it and thought he was jut saying like a bunch of good shows on in one night.... like "record list line-up"..yeah, I dunno. I got home and realized what he had meant when none were recorded. OOPS!

Well, that is all for now! I think I may post baby pics of hubby and I next week! :)

Hope you are having a good week!

I made a Valentine wreath!

2010-02-01T21:26:00.001-06:00

Happy February!!! :)

Thank you all for the comments on my blog makeover! Allison deserves ALL the credit!

So, as you may have read in the post before my makeover post, we had quite a bit of frozen weather this weekend! Hubby and I stayed home ALL weekend. I'm really not sure that we even changed out of our pj's! We did lots of cooking, watched TV and worked on a few things. I decided I would make a Valentine wreath! I LOVE THE MONTH OF LOVE :)

I first saw this wreath on Tatertots & Jello. Jen is AMAZING and SO crafty! She made a similar wreath with gumdrops and then she spotlighted another blogger who made a wreath such as the one I have.

Conversation hearts are so fun! What I bought for this project was large marshmallows, small marshmallows, an undecorated wreath, conversation hearts and glue! I already had the wreath in a closet and the glue around the house. i used super glue until I ran out. I just figured it would be quick! I think just used craft glue! I will tell you that I had to go through about 3 bags of conversation hearts in order to get ones that were visible with good print.
I first put a layer of big marshmallows on....
I filled in with small marshmallows and then more big, I then glued the hearts throughout.

There were a few hearts I found amusing.... oh the world of technology!

The wreath :) Let's not talk about my crackle looking front door. That's another project in itself! (or a new front door that I'd ultimately like)
I added the pink ribbon I had in my ribbon collection!

I didn't leave this wreath on the front door. I didn't know how it would do being food outside and we have a storm door that would bang into the candies! I hung the wreath on an entryway wall into my kitchen :)

I may have a few more Valentine's projects I'm thinking about doing!

Do you do anything for Valentines decor?

Happy Monday!

xoxo ~ Megan

My blog got a makeover :)

2010-01-31T21:46:00.000-06:00

So my blog got a makeover! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!! I've been thinking about changing up my blog for a while now. The one or two layouts I had previously were just pre-mades that I got off websites and did some tweaking on.

For a while I thought I would have The Design Girl, Danielle do me blog. She is easy to work with and we had spoken about it several times. I think she is fabulous and does great work.

Well, then my best friend started designing blogs! She is a graphic designer and decided it would be a fun job! She also does announcements, invitations and anything you need! Her design service is called Sylvia Rose Design and her website can be found HERE and on my left sidebar. She did EXACTLY what I had envisioned! I sent her one thing and described the rest, and she put it together so wonderfully :) I WILL tell you that the design has a little bit to do with Baby Cohen :) that is the only hint I can give you but you will find out soon.

In honor of Allison doing this blog, I thought I would post some pictures of her and I. Let's just hope this blog layout is still up and going after she sees these first few pictures hehehehe. Allison and I have been besties for many years. It all started in about 1st grade. Yes, you heard me FIRST GRADE. Then, it started progressing in 2nd grade. We graduated high school and headed to college where we shared the same dorm room. She also lived with hubby and I(while we were dating) for a semester (I think?) in college :) Here are a few pics. No, not all. I have hundreds and hundreds. These were just the first few I could get my hands on. Yes, some of them are pictures of pictures. There are really in no order...but you can probably figure out which we are in elementary school, middle school, high school, college, and post college :)

Us with my new puppies. Only one is still alive and she is 17!
Halloween one year...
This was before a Y-Teens dance
At the beach on a church trip
Memphis in May
Close to high school graduation
Our door room....
Two Stepin' & Neckin'
Deb Ball

us with our mean
this might have been Allisons birthday one year?
When I asked Allison to be my MOH
New Years in OKC one year
Whitney's Bridal Luncheon
Whitney's Wedding
Amy's Wedding
At a wedding in 2008 I believe

THANK YOU, ALLISON!!! I highly recommend contacting Allison for some custom design goodies! She can do it all!

Friday Night Randoms!

2010-01-29T20:35:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone :) Happy Friday!

I successfully stayed warm today! We woke up to quite an icy day. Hubs had to work but I did not. I watched Teen Mom most of the morning. Love that show. Between about 9am and NOW, it has snowed NON-STOP. I've not paid attention to the news as to how much has accumulated. About 3pm hubs came and picked me up so we could go pick up a few things at Super Target. One of the nicest things about where we live is we live RIGHT next to a Super Target! It is less than a mile from our house. We can go on a main road or connect through a few neighborhoods. I needed some milk, water, detergent, etc. I snapped a few pics...

Tree in our yard

Elton LOVES the snow SO much!!!!!
As soon as we let him in, he cried wanting to go BACK outside!!
Speaking of Elton, he cuddled with me this morning...well, every morning but i snapped a pic of his cuteness on my lap!
He really is my shadow. He wanted to help me put this shelf together...I mean he is pretty much sitting ON the parts!

While at Target, we picked up these things for Cohen! I decided to go ahead and get his clothes washed while we are in doors for a few days. The Who t-shirt was on sale for $3.24 and we thought it was super cute!

I will be catching up on these this weekend! The magazines have arrived over the past week or two and I've not opened one of them. I plan to start filling in some dates in my planner. I thought we had a lot of weddings last year, um no. This year might put up competition. The only difference, we probably won't make too many of the weddings this year as a large majority of them are out of town and I will either be largely pregnant or we will have a newborn!

I will also be catching up on these. It is the 2008 & 2009 edition but I've not gone through either! You guys should see my stack of magazines I must sort through!

Lindsey posted about "jeggings" the other day and I just wanted to kind of promote them as well! I bought a pair a few weeks ago while I was in TJ Maxx. They caught my eye and then I realized they were not real jeans. They look like jeans but the zipper and pockets aren't there, though they look like they are there! There is a button. This is the only picture I have in them but they worked great tucking them into boots! Mine are pretty long on me, so I can't wear them with flats unless I get them hemmed. They are no particular brand that I or you have probably heard of. If you want me to look at the tag, let me know. I'm comfy under my blanket right now :) They are soft and comfy and work great on this pregnant belly (I think I was 18 1/2 weeks in this pic.)

Every time I want to post about this, I forget! I've always been a big lotion person. I put it on every time I get out of the shower and have since I was probably in junior high. I picked Johnson's Baby Oil Gel in shea & cocoa butter up at the store a few weeks ago and I LOVE IT! It is so soft and makes my skin feel great! I put it where things tend to be dry sometimes. I've also been putting it on my hips and belly as I know they are stretching out!

Told you this was random! :o)

Tonight we had Mexican food for dinner! We made ground turkey enchiladas & nachos with cheese, re-fried beans and jalapenos. YUM! We have good shows to watch tonight. Ghost Whisperer (not by hubby's choice but I've been watching off and on for years), 20/20 & Dateline. We are currently watching Shark Tank. It is pretty interesting to see and hear about people's inventions! Oh, on the Ghost Whisperer, they played "Where I stood" by Missy Higgins. I LOVE that song. I love when I hear it on a show. If you don't have it or don't know it, get it!

Hope you all have a good weekend!

xoxo ~ Megan

Welcome, Penny Lane!!

2010-01-28T22:21:00.001-06:00

Today, one of my besties, Jessica, had her baby!

Penny Lane came into the world around 3pm weight 6lbs 3oz & was 20 inches long.

I was able to spend some time at the hospital for a few hours before Jess started pushing earlier today. She decided to get some rest and the weather started getting bad, so I headed home. I got word when I was thawing the car that she had started pushing! I went ahead and drove home and then hubby and I went back up to the hospital when he got home from work and took the new mommy & daddy dinner. Lucy (Penny's 13 month old sister) stayed tucked in at home with her nanny because of the weather. I bet it will be an exciting moment when they meet!

I snapped a few pictures! We didn't stay too long as we had concerns about the darn weather! I'm sure there will be many more pictures to come! I didn't get one of both parents with Penny as there were some "female" things happening while I was there so hubby and daddy hung outside the room for a bit.

Penny is JUST beautiful! I got to hold her some and she is precious! I know a lot of the pics aren't centered as I was trying to get the silver bed IV bar out of the pictures from where I was sitting!

I love this pic. This was pre-pushing..Kyle was holding the mirror so Jess could do some touch-ups to her hair :)

proud grandparents!

I was pretty amazed!
I made Kyle and Jess some red velvet cupcakes per their hints :) hehe.. I took a variety when Lucy was born and I think there was a war over the red velvet!
I even managed not to smash them in route!
It was a fun day! I think it was very surreal for hubby and I to see the brand new baby. See them move from a labor/delivery room to a new room with a baby! That will be us before we know it! When I was holding Penny, I told her that she was super close to her friend (or boyfriend), Cohen :)

This weather, bleeeeh! I'm so sick of cold wet weather! We've gotten quite a bit of ice today. Hopefully it slows down! My friend coming from Dallas had to cancel her trip :( We have no problem sitting at home when we want to but it's also nice to just get out when we want to. Ice doesn't really allow that! Of course, I want to go see miss Penny tomorrow so ice..GO AWAY. Snow, you can come, if you are fluffy and that's it. Hopefully hubs work is canceled tomorrow! This waddling prego won't be tempting the ice!

More soon! :)

xoxo ~ Megan