All apologies

Sorry for the lack of updates this week. It has been one of the worst weeks of my life. My parents home burned down in a fire around 4am Monday morning. Needless to say, it's been a very tiring and trying week. I'm not ready to talk about it too much, just didn't want to lose my readers.

I'll let everyone know what's going on very soon. Just say a prayer for stability and levelheadedness for my family.

I'm so thankful that mama and daddy are alright, but it's gonna be a long couple of months.

TGIF and PAYDAY!

Today was payday....score! Knowing all of that money is going to bills....fail.

Tony and I are working really hard to get caught up/ahead on everything before Peanut's arrival. Out goal is to be 100% debt free on d-day. I think know we can do it!

Work is driving me crazy right now. I don't know if it's because it's Friday, or if I'm just pregnant and hormonal. 99% of the time, I really don't mind my job. When it is bad....it's really bad. Today hasn't had any particular moments that shook me up.... I just need a nap.

All I've heard on Preston is that they are feeding him breast milk (not orally) and he is keeping it down. His fever and blood pressure spiked last night. Last I heard everything was back to normal. JUST KEEP PRAYING! Every time he even crosses my mind, which is often, I say a quick prayer for my adorable cousin. He's got a lot of life left to live.

Tony is having dinner with one of his guy friends tonight. I am going to have a skype date with my BFF ABBY!!! Yeahhhhh! She hasn't seen my bump yet. :)

Pregnancy note- my boobs are freaking killing me! GOOD LORD! It's like someone is holding dry ice on my nipples. They're also getting ridiculously huge. Kill me.

I'm thinking it's about time to share our lil secret (if you can even call it that anymore) on facebook....hmmmmm

Quick update on Preston

Hey y'all. Just got home from the hospital not too long ago. Wanted to let you guys know about the lil guy.  I'm not gonna lie, I hated seeing him hooked up to all those machines and monitors. However, it is comforting to know that they are doing their job.

He is progressing normally, stable condition. He is "pushing breaths" on his own, but the ventilator is carrying out the action of the breath after that point. Olivia said that if they took him off of it, he would "more than likely" be breathing on his own. They just want it to be more stable before they do anything like that.

His pupils have not been responding today, but he is peeing and pooping on his own. His temp is normal, right at 99*. His color looked good! I honestly didn't expect that. They said it could be another 7-10 days before we know anything conclusive.

My cousin Joseph (Preston's uncle) said last night he tickled his foot and his arm twitched! Olivia said she was reading him a book and had her hand under his. She said he grasped at her finger. That brought tears to my eyes.

I almost fainted while I was in there. I think it was a huge influx of emotions to hit me at once. Olivia is being so so so strong, Julian too. If that were Peanut up there.... I just don't know how they are doing it.

The ora of the whole hospital is just amazing! Everyone is so positive and supportive. It's a beautiful thing. The Children's Hospital of Birmingham is just an inspiring place all around. I was very impressed.

Mom and I had a really good talk today about life and whatnot. I am so lucky to have a mom that I also consider a best friend. It fills me with joy.

I also went and saw Tony's dad and step-mom today. I answered a lot of their questions, I think. I feel like they were actually on the same page as us when I left. That is awesome.



Today was a roller coaster of emotions for me. I am just drained. Thank you guys for reading and taking an interest in what I have to say. It means a ton to me, wether you realize it or not. I ask again that everyone please keep praying for our sweet Preston. Every single word that is lifted up is helping him get one step closer to recovery.

Another update on baby Preston

Quick update on Preston. They have stopped warming him medically, and are letting his body do its own thing. 

I heard this morning that his temperature had spiked to near-fever levels, not a good sign. However, Mom says his temp is normal now and he is still stable.

She also said he is beginning to "fight the ventilator." This is great news! He is cognitive enough to know he doesn't want that thing on his face. :)

He is breathing on his own at about 13 breaths a min, so he is still being assisted by the ventilator.

His heart rate is elevated (in the 170s range). That is high, but not awful.

The doctors are slowly taking him off the meds. Today is critical! PLEASE KEEP PRAYING!

Tony, my mom, sister and I are going to see Preston and the family tomorrow. I'll be sure to update after seeing this sweet, sweet baby, or if I hear anything else today.

Oh the in-laws...

Well, we told Tony's parents. He went over to their house Monday night while I was still at work.

It went about like we thought it would. They were concerned about the same things my parents were/are concerned about- not being married and no real savings. Figured.

I get it, hell those things concern me too!

Last night, around 10:30, they started texting me. I told them how much I love them and respect everything they have done/continue to do for us. They told me they are excited for us and know that everything will be wonderful.

My heart is overjoyed! It so could have gone the other way.

I sent them the pictures of the ultrasound. I was told some tears were shed. Pops was trying to figure our who peanut looks like. :D

All that, and this BEAUTIFUL Fall day considered, I'm a happy lil mommy to be!

Another update on Preston

Hey everyone, just a quick update on Preston.

They began raising his temperature this morning around 4am. This is going to be a lengthy process because they can only raise it .7 degrees every 4 hours.

So far, everything is looking great! Brain stem is showing lots of activity, no signs of swelling or infection.

The doctors said the cognitive part of his brain (the part that controls fine motor skills such as blinking and talking) is slower to respond than they would like to see. However, they have had him in a coma since Saturday, and they expect that to improve.

Today is very critical for little Preston. Take a few seconds and say a prayer for him, Julian and Olivia. Let God know this child has a lot of people that want him to stick around for a long, long time!

I'll update more as the information comes available.

Update on Preston

Hey everyone, about to hit the sac so I thought I'd give a quick update on baby Preston.

My mom spoke with her aunt (Preston's great grandmother) earlier this evening.

Little man has been stable all day!! Like I said earlier, his pupils are responsive and there has been no swelling thus far. He is in stable condition. He was breathing on his own, but it was erratic at times. They put him on a respirator to regulate that.

The doctors did an EEG today. It showed activity in the brain and no signs of seizure!!! This is great, GREAT news!

Around 4 am they are going to start warming his body back up. It is a long process- can take up to 16 hours.

What they will be watching for are fever spikes, infection and brain swelling.

Up 'til now, all the news has been positive. There is still a long road ahead.

My mom is going to the hospital in the morning. She has promised to keep me informed.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE continue to pray for Preston! His Facebook group has over 2000 members. There is a lot of power behind all those prayers! Yours will certainly help, too.

<3

Prayers for Preston

Sorry for the lack of posting this weekend. It was a bit of a stressful one. I have a favor to ask of all my readers...

My 2 year old cousin Preston was found unresponsive in a pool on Saturday. He had fallen in, and we don't know how long he was underwater.

My family kept him alive until the paramedics arrived. They airlifted him to Children's Hospital in Birmingham, where he remains.

They have him in a medically induced coma, and are keeping his internal temp. below 90*. This is to prevent swelling of the brain. If the brain swells, it can cause serious brain damage.

My brother went to see him yesterday. My family is holding it together the best they can. The doctors are saying he is doing "better than expected."

They will keep him under until Wednesday. At that point, they will gradually begin bringing him off the meds and letting him do his own thing. Then they will assess the brain for damage and go from there.

They are checking his pupils and they are responsive. That's a great sign! Also, he had water in his stomach, but not his lungs. This is another positive sign.


I can't imagine how Julian and Olivia are feeling right now, as parents. Even being pregnant, I can't imagine  what it would do to me (even at this point) if something happened to lil peanut.

I'm asking EVERYONE, no matter what you do or don't believe in, to PLEASE pray for this precious child. Lift up his name and ask for a miracle. We're not ready to send him home, and we believe God has big things in store for little Preston.

If you could, take ten seconds of your time to ask God to place his healing hand on Preston and our family. Every prayer helps! There is also a Facebook group that had been started to keep everyone updated on his condition. Just do a Facebook search for "Prayers for Preston" if you are interested. I will keep everyone updated as I can here in the blog.

Thanks you for your prayers!!!

Gender reveal party ideas!

• Cake w/ pink or blue center
• Cake pops! Pink or blue insides, dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles
• OHHH! I just saw a cute idea! Do the cake pops, but only ONE has the colored center! CUTE!
• Balloons in a box!
• Unwrap an outfit or accessory in front of everyone? Meehhh...
• Having a skype or google hangout of what's going on so people that can't make it can be a part of it.
• A gender reveal word search!
• Cupcakes with a question mark on the top!
• A PINATA! With feathers or candy on the inside! That would be fun for the nieces and nephews!

I found some cute picture ideas! I'll post those when I'm not at work. :)

Gender reveal party

So, I'm thinking about doing a gender reveal party.

Getting both of the families together, and telling them in a cute way all at once. I think it would be a lot of fun! Thoughts?

I thought about doing a cake....inside pink or blue, depending on what lil peanut is. The outside could be white, or pink and blue, and say "It's a...." Then when we cut into it, bingo!

Or we could do cake pops and everyone bites in it at once! That would be fun!

I need more ideas. I'm gonna turn to google for inspiration. Maybe pinterest? Abby gave me a cute idea about bees! "What will it bee?!" That's adorable.

I know I have a lot of readers, but not a lot of commenters. C'mon, folks! Give me some feedback!!!

Don't drink the water...

Okay, I wanna talk about something that pissed me off yesterday. I know that as I tell family members, more and more people will know I’m pregnant. Case in point, my grandmother.

Now, as you would expect, Mimi has a very old school mentality. When I told her I was pregnant, I played the whole “I just don’t want to disappoint anyone” card. It worked just as I thought it would. Of course as soon as she talked to my mom, it was a completely different story.

She couldn’t believe Tony did this to me. She was worried about what people would think. I get all of that, I really do.  What bothers me is that she didn’t say any of this to me! She said it to my mom, brother, sister, and cousins. Everyone (but my sister) set her straight. They told her they are happy about this and she should be to! This will be their 5^th great grandchild! That is a blessing in itself.

She has since got on board and has stopped saying negative things. My cousin whipped out her pack of birth control and said, “If it wasn’t for these, I would have been pregnant a long time ago!” I would have paid to seen the look on Mimi’s face.

That’s not what pissed me off.

What pissed me off was my sister. When I told them, very early on, that we were having a baby, we asked them to keep it quiet. I didn’t want tons of people knowing before I got out of the 1^st trimester. We also thought it unfair that less important people found out before T’s parents (who were in/are in New York).

Apparently my sister took that to mean she could tell whoever she wanted.

I found out yesterday, from my mother, that my sister (whom doesn’t even have a facebook) figured I had put it all over facebook (which I haven’t), so it didn’t matter who she told! So all these random people, some I don’t even know, found out I was pregnant before a lot of people that truly matter in our lives and the life of our child.

This REALLY got me heated.

My sister is a lesbian. When she told me, several years ago, I kept it to myself. I mean, it was no shocker, but still it was/is her business to tell. So why couldn’t she give ME the same respect?! My sister and I have always been tremendously close, and this cut me to the core. This is the biggest news I’ve ever been able to share with people, but that’s okay…you go ahead and tell whoever the hell you feel like telling.

What if it had/has gotten back to T’s family?! How would they feel!? If in fact it has, SHE will be the one apologizing to them, not me. I kept my mouth shut. I respect other people’s feelings.

I told my mom that if she talks to her before I do (which isn’t going to be for a while) to “keep her fucking mouth shut.” I’m pissed.

Heartburn hell...

Okay, I've gotta be an idiot....or incredibly pregnant.

Sunday and Monday all I wanted to eat was boneless wings... the spicier the better. I guess the baby has taste buds like both of us. Anyways, I wasn't really thinking of the repercussions. I was just excited that I could finally eat something I really wanted.

Bad idea.

We went to Buffalo Wild Wings and then Yogurt Mountain for date night last night. We had such a good time. It's amazing how I just fall more and more in love with T every day. It's the greatest blessing.

We got home around 10-10:30. Went to bed sometime around midnight. I woke up around 2am with the worst freaking heartburn I've ever had. I mean, it was AWFUL!

I tried fighting it. T went and got me a big glass of water. I sat up, and started coughing really bad. I went ahead and went to the bathroom. I threw up evvvverything.

Man, I thought I was out of this whole puking phase. Bullllllll shit. I mean, it is my own fault...but I had gone a week without any of this mess.


Ughhhhh.



Now I feel like complete dog crap. I still have awful heartburn. I hope it goes away so I can actually work today.

It's gameday in Tuscaloosa!

Happy Saturday, guys.

Today is our home opener against Western Kentucky! Here in a little bit, we're gonna head to moms for breakfast, then head to the game in Bryant Denny Stadium!

Best place in the whole, wide world.

Last night, my nephew Cade spent the night. We picked him up so he could go to the game with us today. We got dinner then decided to go to a late night movie! Raiders of the Lost Arc was re-released in IMAX, so we caught that.

It was awesome! Tony and Cade were like 2 kids in a candy store. Bonding. :) 

After the movie let out (which was right a midnight), we took Cade to cruise The Strip (which is where everyone parties before and after games). We let him ride in the front seat. He tried to look so grown-up to everyone we passed by. I hope it was one of those cool aunt things that he'll remember for a long time.

Anyways, time to get up and moving for the day! I hope everyone has an amazing weekend! Enjoy gameday, and as always....ROLL TIDE!!

Unintentional Weird Photos

This is my last post for the day (more than likey). I hope it makes you laugh as much as it did me. Enjoy! <3

My 16 week appointment!

I had my 16 week checkup with my OBGYN yesterday. Well, I didn't actually see her but I went to the office for blood work and to check on the heartbeat.

Tony went with me this time. He heard the heartbeat for the 1st time. It tripped him out. It was adorable. :)

Heartbeat was 145. Right on track! You could hear the lil peanut moving around. It was so cute!

I had blood drawn to check for certain birth defects like down syndrome and spinal defects. Fingers crossed and prayers sent that everything comes back clear!

Next month we FINALLY find out if it's tutus or footballs. I can't freaking wait! I want to start buying baby stuff! IT'S KILLING ME!!!! Not that I necessarily care what we're having. I know everyone says this, but I just want our lil one to be healthy. I'm anxious to make a registry. :)

I also had a dentist appointment. I have a freaking cavity. I've only had one other one in my whole life. Stupid.

Things that really grind my gears...

I'm in the mood to complain. The following entry is going to contain things that piss me off. Enjoy!

People that don't use their blinkers.

Not having my car while I'm working.

People who join Mary Kay/ Avon/ 31 gifts/ etc and post about it nonstop on Facebook and Pinterest.

The color orange.

The smell of steamed cabbage.

Tuna.

When people say "let me ax you a question..."

When people say any variation of "we fixin go over my grandmama house..." Nouns, pronouns and verbs are interchangeable.

Dying highlighters.

People blaming everything on government conspiracies.

Political bashing on Facebook.

People making me repeat myself more than once.

People who don't tip.

Fax machines.

People playing loud music through a cell phone.

People who have loud songs on their phones as their text tones, and they don't stop the music once they have received and recognized the text.

Pennies.

B. O.

Excessive body hair.

Bitches.

Get over it!

Okay I need to vent here for a second. I'm typically a positive, glass-half-full kinda girl. I do have an issue with other people's bad moods. When an abundance of people around me are in the shittiest of shitty moods, IT PISSES ME OFF!

I'm at work right now, and I'm still dealing with the guest Internet being down. Issue one, pissed off guests.

I had a guest ask me to give him quarters in exchange for charging his debit card. Can't do that. He then got pissed off and went off on me about how "y'all need a damn ATM in this place." issue two, overly rude guest.

I have an appointment with the obgyn tomorrow. T took off so he could come and hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. Mom text me this morning and asked me what time the appointment is. I told her 9am, but tony was going with me. She took that to mean that I didn't need or want her there. Issue three, pissed off mom.

And finally, t calls me and tells me he's having "the worst day ever" because of difficult guests and bitchy fellow employees. Now he wants to apply for other jobs on his lunch break and complain like it's the worst thing ever. Issue number four, pissed off boyfriend.

I get how all these things can be a nuisance, even really annoying (especially the pissed off customer on t's behalf) but my god.... Is all of this really necessary? Did everyone wake up today and decide to be in a bad mood?

I think we all need to go back to bed, wake up, and try it again.

Blogging after dark

Hey readers! A little late on this entry, but we were busy today.

I was pretty irritable at work today. Our guest internet service was down and it seemed like every five freaking seconds someone was calling, "yeah uhmmm my interrrrrnet is uhhh doooown and I uhhh...." "Let me stop you there. Everyone's service is down. They're working on it. No, I don't know when service will be restored. I apologize. No, there's nothing else I can do." It got old, quick. By the time we closed shift I was ready to smack the next person that asked about it upside the freaking head!

T came to work at close so we could do a (free of charge) middle of the week laundry load. That has to be the best perk of my job. I can use the house laundry to wash my clothes (after hours) all I want. It has saved us tremendous amounts of money, and time. Those washers are huge! We can do two weeks worth of washing in three loads! One for colors, one for whites, one for towels and sheets. Score.

After we started the wash, we went to Publix to grab some stuff for dinner. I was in the mood to cook, so we grabbed stuff for spagetti, meat sauce, salad (which is currently bogo!) and strawberry shortcake. We dropped the stuff off at home, went back to work and put the clothes in the dryer, then came home and I started cooking.

Everything was delicious, I must say. I think T and I both needed a good home cooked meal (and so did peanut)! After dinner, T went and picked up our laundry. He's the best!

We watched a movie (Nothing but Trouble, a 90s flick with Chevy Chase and Demi Moore. Hilarious), and had a little fun time, if ya know what I mean. ;) ;)

I don't know what it is, but sex is even better when you're pregnant. I don't get it. I think we both thought it would be weird, but once we got used to the whole "there's a baby in there" thing, and I assured T that there was no way the kid was being hurt or affected by it, sex is like a whole different ballgame! Who knows how it will be when I'm as big as a house.

So I think I mentioned this in one of my earlier blog posts. I have been taking the gummy prenatal vitamins since the beginning of the pregnancy. I opted for those because I read that they are a lot easier on the tummy than the regular horse-pill type.

They were much easier for me to take. The issue now is the taste. I haven't puked in three days (knock on wood), but I'm starting to taste things differently. It's strange. Now I just about gag when I'm chewing my vitamins. I'm about 85% done with the bottle. I think once these are gone I'm gonna try the pills. I can't take these much longer.


My mom was texting me earlier. She is getting wayyyy too excited about the baby! She told me she already bought it something. She wouldn't tell me what it is. The only issue with that is we don't know what it is yet. I don't want her to buy something gender specific and it not be the right one.

Ma is pretty sure it's a girl. She told me she did look at Alabama cheerleader outfits.....and tricycles, swing sets, and floaties. I think she's getting just a little ahead of herself. Oh well...as the old saying goes, "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy."

I'm back!

Sorry about the lack of posting this weekend. We were super busy!

In case you live under a rock, my Alabama Crimson Tide beat the hell out of Michigan this weekend. Roll tide to that! It was a great game and I am very impressed with the way our team played. Just an outright stellar performance. I could blog about the game for hours and hours, but that's not what this blog is about so....moving on...

Like I said, busy busy weekend. T's new job is craaaaazy stressful during football weekends, home or away. It really got to him Saturday. I think it's just because it's new and he doesn't quite know the roads and apartment complexes quite yet. He'll get there.

The best and worst thing about T is that he is a perfectionist. Once he's got something down, he's the absolute best at it. Better than all the rest.

However, when he's trying to learn new things, he gets frustrated too easily. He lets the stress overcome him. That was the case this weekend.

Come Sunday, we had a good system in place. Once we got him all organized, things started coming to him more easily. He has to learn that he can't control the entire business. If things are backed up, that is not his fault.

He just wants everything to be great so he gets good tips. Who can blame him? I feel the same way.

I know, now more than ever, to just be patient with him and let him figure everything out. I can't push him. It has to come in its own time. I have to remember not to let his frustration frustrate me. If I can stay calm, I can keep him calm.

We're a team, we have to support and uplift each other.

I think that is a good lesson to remember when we have a frustrated child. I'm absolutely sure those moments will arise.



Well, the weather is getting dicey. I'll update more later.

<3