Choroid Plexus Cyst

We had a pretty scary doctors appointment yesterday afternoon. The doctor told us he saw a Choroid Plexus Cyst on the baby's brain in the ultrasound. He said this fairly common and he has seen quite a few before. He said that the cyst alone does not cause any harm and usually goes away before delivery. However, he suggested we go to a Maternal and Fetal Specialist to have a more detailed ultrasound because the cyst along with other signs could mean the baby has Trisomy 18. I know one other sign they are looking for are clinched fist which we see in the pictures of the ultrasound but during the ultrasound she had her hand open at times and waving. Trisomy 18 is a chromosome disorder where the baby has two of the 18th chromosome. This usually results in a miscarriage or death soon after birth. My doctor said he has never seen a case where the cyst turns out to be Trisomy 18 and he said with my age we are much lower risk of this happening. He said usually by the time the patient goes to the specialist the cyst has resolved itself and there are no future complications or checks that need to be made. We have an appointment with the specialist next Thursday to hopefully clear all of this up and move on with the happy and exciting pregnancy. I, of course, am a nervous wreck and would like answers right away. All of the research I am doing on the internet has positive results and according to doctors research there is a 99% chance that this is nothing. Many doctors are arguing that they should not even tell patients about this since it causes the parents to stress when it is unnecessary.
Other than the cyst the doctor said she is doing great. Her heart is great. Her heartbeat was 140 yesterday. At the ultrasound she was measuring perfect for 18 weeks (40th percentile). The doctor was very reassuring that the cyst would not be a problem. He is required to tell us about it. And he suggests the follow-up ultrasound just to reassure parents that they should not be concerned.
I'm trying to stay positive and Tommy has been a huge support. I know many parents have to deal with things alot worse then this. We have been blessed so far with a very uneventful and perfect pregnancy. We just hope that we get nothing but good news for the next 4 months!

2010 is going to be a great year!

21 weeks and Christmas

How far along? 21 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 10 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Yep there is no escaping them now.
Stretch marks? Thank goodness there are none yet
Sleep: Pretty good lately. Tommy bought me a preggie pillow for Christmas and it was really helped me sleep lately. The last two nights I haven't even gotten up to pee once.
Best moment this week: Christmas with the family and the first coat of pink paint on the nursery walls.
Movement: Yep
Food cravings: Still strawberries. On Christmas Eve, Tommy made me the best chocolate covered strawberries I have ever eaten. He's the best husband.
Gender: We definitely have pink walls.
Labor Signs: nope
Belly Button in or out? still in but it's definitely not as deep as it was.
What I miss: getting on the scale and seeing the number go down instead of up...but it's all for a good cause!
What I am looking forward to: finishing up the painting in the nursery so we can put together the crib!
Weekly Wisdom: Wow we only have 4 more months to go.
Milestones: We got most of the nursery furniture in. The hutch is still on backorder. But I'm excited to get it placed it in the room and start setting everything up for our new arrival.


Christmas was nice this year. It started off horrible because Tommy got the swine flu on Wednesday and missed Christmas Eve dinner with my family and Christmas day with my grandparents. But he is much better now and well rested. We went to my parents house on Christmas Eve to quickly open up gifts with them. We didn't stay long because Tommy didn't want to pass on the flu and my uncle was having dinner at his house that night. So Tommy headed home and I went get some gumbo and open more gift. Christmas morning Tommy and I exchanged gifts. I gave him a Craftsman tool chest and a few other small things. He gave me a preggie pillow, some PJs, slippers, a craft organizer, a smoothie maker (for yummy strawberry smoothies) and few other things. We had a great Christmas. Then I went to my grandparents for their HUGE Christmas day lunch. Tommy had to miss out on this too. The food was great and I think everyone had a great time. We had Christmas with Tommy's parents and brothers on Sunday at our house. I really enjoyed having everyone over and using some of my serving dishes and wedding gifts that I don't use very often. It was very fun. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and I can't wait for 2010! I know its going to be a very exciting for us with lots of new surprises.

20 weeks

How far along? 20 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: about 9 lbs.
Maternity clothes? My T-shirts are even getting a little tight.
Stretch marks? still none.
Sleep: Great
Best moment this week: Tommy feeling the baby kick.
Movement: Oh yes, and daddy was even able to feel her kick.
Food cravings: strawberries, any with strawberries, strawberry smoothie, strawberry lemonade, or just plain strawberries!
Gender: pink
Labor Signs: We're not ready for that yet.
Belly Button in or out? in
What I miss: being able to move and twist without my body hurting.
What I am looking forward to: painting the nursery. We bought the paint this weekend.
Weekly Wisdom: Time flies!
Milestones: Half way done with the pregnancy. It seems like we just started this journey and we're already 20 weeks into it. I can't wait to see that baby girl but then again I don't want the pregnancy to end.

19 weeks

How far along? 19 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: about 7 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Yep, its either comfy windsuit pants or maternity pants.
Stretch marks? None yet. I hope I can keep it this way.
Sleep: I can't get enough of it. I've been sleeping well and sleeping alot but I always wake up tired.
Best moment this week: shopping for a baby girl, all pink!
Movement: at least twice a day now. And if Tommy would keep his hand there long enough he would be able to feel it.
Food cravings: haha, to be honest I've been craving a margarita or strawberry daiquiri but I can't satisfy those cravings. So a strawberry smoothy had to do the trick.
Gender: pink, pink, and more pink!
Labor Signs: still none. I'm sure I'll feel a few braxton hicks soon. But I can definitely wait a long time for the actual labor signs.
Belly Button in or out? still in
What I miss: eating and drinking whatever I want.
What I am looking forward to: getting the nursery furniture. Supposedly it shipped today.
Weekly Wisdom: I could spend my life savings on little girl clothes. I need to wait until after the shower before I go shopping again.
Milestones: Almost half way through the pregnancy, and it feels like the fun has just begun.

Christmas Decor

Here is some pictures of some our christmas decor.

The tree

Front door

Ornaments on transom

The entry way

above kitchen cabinets

above another kitchen cabinet

Top of the tree

mantle (with a pink polka-dot stocking for baby girl!)

Merry Christmas to all,

18 weeks

How far along? 18 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: up 5.5 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Yep, i have to wear maternity jeans now.
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: Getting better. I actually slept the entire night without a bathroom run on Friday night.
Best moment this week: Finding out we will be having a sweet princess.
Movement: every once in a while. I'm still waiting for it to be strong enough so Tommy can feel it.
Food cravings: carrots
Gender: GIRL!
Labor Signs: none
Belly Button in or out? still in, but i think my belly has finally popped.
What I miss: being independent and being able to lift on things and climb ladders, etc.
What I am looking forward to: Tommy feeling her kick.
Weekly Wisdom: sometime the hormones do take over and you become a little moody.
Milestones: It's a girl!

It's a...

GIRL!

Profile pic

We even got a few 3D pictures. Here is her face with her arms and hands.

This is her butt and legs, it's a girl!

We're so excited. Everyone thought it was going to be a boy, she surprised us all. Tommy is thrilled and just giddy. We both can't wait to meet our beautiful little girl.

17 weeks

How far along? 17 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: up 6 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Still fitting into some of my pre-pregnancy shirts but I either wear comfy pants (sweat pants, PJs) or maternity jeans. My pre-pregnancy jeans just won't cut it anymore.
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: Decent. I still get up multiple times to pee.
Best moment this week: Feeling the little kicks
Movement: Yep
Food cravings: sweets
Gender: only 1 more day to wait. I'm so excited.
Labor Signs: none
Belly Button in or out? still in
What I miss: Being able to wear anything in my closet
What I am looking forward to: Finding out the gender tomorrow!!!
Weekly Wisdom: hummm, I don't know. Just enjoy the moment.
Milestones: Definately feeling kicks.

16 weeks

How far along? 16 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 4.5lbs

Maternity clothes? I think this was the last weekend I will wear my pre-pregnancy jeans.

Stretch marks? Not yet. I did buy some cocoa butter this weekend to try and prevent them.

Sleep: Not so great. Just can't get comfortable.

Best moment this week: Definitely feeling movement.

Movement: I fell it kicking every few days. Usually around 8 or 9 in the morning.

Food cravings: anything

Gender: only 1 more week until we find out. I hope the baby cooperates.

Labor Signs: none

Belly Button in or out? still in, looking a little different though

What I miss: Sleeping through the night

What I am looking forward to: Finding out the gender in a week!!!

Weekly Wisdom: I don't need to make all of the decisions on nursery bedding, baby gear etc right away. We still have 23 more weeks to decide on all of that stuff.

Milestones: We ordered the nursery furniture yesterday!! Here a picture of what we ordered. I really like the dresser with the hutch. And its a convertible crib so hopefully it lasts for many many years.

15 weeks and Arkansas

How far along? 15 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: plus 5lbs total...yes I gained 2 lbs in one week. I was on vacation, okay?
Maternity clothes? even my T-shirts are starting to get a little tight.
Stretch marks? Not yet
Sleep: Horrible lately. I wake up every 2-3 hours to pee and then can't get back to sleep.
Best moment this week: Feeling some movement, I think.
Movement: I think I'm feeling something every few days or so.
Food cravings: Mexican food
Gender: only 2 more weeks
Labor Signs: none
Belly Button in or out? still in
What I miss: getting a good nights sleep
What I am looking forward to: Finding out the gender on December 1st!!!
Weekly Wisdom: My belly is definately growing...I can feel the muscles stretching.
Milestones: Movement


We got back from Arkansas on Saturday. It was great, very relaxing. We just hung around at our cabin and walked around downtown hot springs. We even got a couple's massage on Friday which was awesome. I don't think Tommy enjoyed it as much as I did because he was a little unsure about getting a massage. But it was still very relaxing. But now we're both back at work and back to the real world! Have a great monday...and a great birthday for Tommy!

Happy Birthday Tommy!

Happy birthday Tommy! You are such an amazing husband. I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing day because you deserve the best. And just remember you will always be older than me :-)

I love you!

14 weeks

How far along? 14 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: plus 3lbs total
Maternity clothes? Still wearing the bella band with my pre-pregnancy pants.
Stretch marks? Not yet
Sleep: Not so great lately, I just can't get comfortable.
Best moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat again.
Movement: I thought I felt something last night but I'm not certain it was the baby.
Food cravings: Gumbo
Gender: about 3 more weeks to wait
Labor Signs: none
Belly Button in or out? still in
What I miss: having normal taste buds. One minute something taste delicious and the next I want to spit it out.
What I am looking forward to: Vacation in Arkansas later this week and finding out the gender on December 1st!!!
Weekly Wisdom: Just waiting and dreaming.
Milestones: Hearing the heartbeat loud and clear.

I finally got over the cold I had last week. Thankfully it was not the flu. All I was able to take was Tylenol cold so luckily that helped and I think I'm back to normal now. We had our monthly doctors appt last Thursday and everything sounded great. The doctor was able to find the heartbeat right away. It was 162 bpm this time. I was able to record it on my phone and let everyone hear it at a birthday party for my cousin Saturday. I'm still waiting for my belly to pop. As of now it just looks like I'm fat rather than pregnanct. I'm sure it will come soon enough though.

13 weeks

How far along? 13 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: plus 1.5lbs total
Maternity clothes? Still wearing the bella band with my pre-pregnancy pants.
Stretch marks? Not yet
Sleep: Not so great. I started to come down with a cold (or early signs of the flu) over the weekend and its hard to breath when your nose is stopped up and your chest is congested so sleeping has been rough since I cough so much.
Best moment this week: Squirt attended his/her first LSU football game!
Movement: getting closer to that time
Food cravings: anything
Gender: only 4 more weeks until we find out.
Labor Signs: none
Belly Button in or out? still in
What I miss: Nothing really, just enjoying the moment.
What I am looking forward to: Our vacation in Arkansas next week.
Weekly Wisdom: There isn't much you can take for the common cold or flu when you are pregnant
Milestones: Done with the 1st trimester

Happy 2nd Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to my Best Friend,

There is no way I can find the words to explain how thankful I am to have you in my life. Thank you not only for the last two years of marriage but for the last 8 years of being a part of my life. You are amazing and I could not ask for anything more. You are kind, compassionate, caring, funny, honest, easy-going, and so much more. I never thought I could love someone so much and you proved me wrong (yes, I said I was wrong!). I never thought I could open myself up to someone and share all of my thoughts and dreams and you proved me wrong yet again. I am so proud of you and all that you have accomplished. You are so determined to help others and make things better that you don't let anything stand in your way. My love for you seems get stronger and stronger every day and just when I think I couldn't possible love you any more than I do already, some struggle or joyful experience makes it way into our life and whether it is good or bad, just experiencing those times with you by my side makes me love you even more the next day.

I am thrilled to be starting a family with you and take on the next adventure of our life. You have been an amazing husband and I can't wait to see you share that compassion and kindness with our child. Thank you for being such a great husband and my best friend. I can not wait to experience the rest of our lives together. I love you!

12 weeks

How far along? 12 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: plus 3 lbs total
Maternity clothes? I wear the bella band most of the time now.
Stretch marks? Not yet
Sleep: Not so great lately. I've been waking up around 2:00 to use the bathroom and then can't go back to sleep.
Best moment this week: Shopping for our babies first furniture. We didn't buy anything but it was just awesome walking through the stores as a mom and dad!
Movement: Nothing yet, still have a few more weeks to go
Food cravings: CHOCOLATE
Gender: I started to think it was a girl for the first time this week.
Labor Signs: none
Belly Button in or out? still in
What I miss: I went out to eat with some friends at a mexican restaurant, those strawberry margaritas looked and smelled sooooo good.
What I am looking forward to: 2nd trimester here we come!!
Weekly Wisdom: Don't rush things...I still have 6 more months to enjoy this baby growing.
Milestones: almost 3 months down!

My crippled husband

Last weekend Tommy participated in a Black Pot Cookoff in our home town. We had a great time and he won first place in the pork division!! As part of the prize he won a small black pot filled with local seasoning and items. He decided he wanted to “show off” his prize to the guy at the fire station, so Monday morning he brought the pot with him to work. Well as he was taking it out of his truck and placing it on a table he back went out. We had to use the wall to stand back up. He went to the doctor Tuesday and luckily he said it was just a pulled muscle that was hitting a nerve. I was just happy it wasn’t a herniated disk or something worst that required surgery. Poor thing has been home and in pain all week. The first few days he could barely walk or get up from the couch. It has slowly been getting better. He decided last night to try going to work today. I hope he doesn’t hurt it even more. He’s only 25 years old, I told him he’s going to be crippled and need a walker by the time he’s 30. :-)

He’s off the rest of the weekend and hopefully I can convince him to start looking at baby furniture. He thinks we have to wait until we know the gender before we can pick a crib. I want to get the furniture picked out that way once we know the gender I can go crazy with picking out bedding, decorations, etc!! We have a doctor’s appt on November 6th where we will hear the heartbeat again and schedule our appt for the ultrasound sometime in early December…that’s going to make for a wonderful Christmas. Speaking of the Christmas season, I have been so excited about going shopping on Black Friday. We’ve gone the last 3 or 4 years and I can’t wait to do it again. I already signed up on the Black Friday ads website and I’m waiting to receive email when they post new ads! I hope everyone has a great weekend!! GEAUX TIGERS!

11 weeks

How far along? 11 weeks
Total weight gain/loss:plus 2.5 lbs total
Maternity clothes? I went shopping this past weekend and bought 1 pair of jeans and few shirts. None of my normal jeans fit anymore.
Stretch marks? Not yet
Sleep: Very good! I just can't get enough of it.
Best moment this week: Putting our name on the waiting list for a daycare! It was so exciting to list Tommy and I as the mother and father, just surreal.
Movement: Nothing yet, still have a few more weeks to go
Food cravings: Burger King burgers
Gender: I'm thinking blue
Labor Signs: none
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: I'm slowly starting to sleep on my side. I've always slept on my stomach but it's starting to get uncomfortable.
What I am looking forward to: Our second anniversary next Tuesday!!
Weekly Wisdom: It's not fat...it's baby
Milestones: almost 3 months down!

10 weeks and heartbeat

How far along? 10 weeks
Total weight gain/loss:plus 3 lbs total
Maternity clothes? i need to go shopping soon. None of my jeans fit anymore
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: Very good. I only get up once to pee!
Best moment this week: Hearing the heart beat (182 bpm). It was amazing!
Movement: Can't feel it yet, it won't be much longer
Food cravings: CHOCOLATE!
Gender: Everyone thinks it's a boy
Labor Signs: none
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: Having the energy to stay awake with my husband until 9:00pm
What I am looking forward to: finishing up this turnaround at work so I can start shopping and looking at daycares
Weekly Wisdom: Take it one day at a time.
Milestones: We have a heartbeat!

Hearing the heartbeat on Thursday was amazing. I was a little nervous at first because it took about 45 seconds for the doctor to find it but once he did I couldn't stop giggling and smiling. Although I still don't think it has hit me yet that we will have baby in 6.5 months, it does seem more real now that we've heard the heartbeat. Now I know for sure that we actually have something in there. I have been one of the lucky ones and haven't had any morning sickness or major pregnancy symptoms besides fatigue. So hearing the heartbeat confirmed that we actually do have a baby!! I was joking around and said, "We'll since it's one heartbeat I guess it's one baby." And the doctor said not necessarily. He said you can't really tell with the doppler. When we do the ultrasound in December we will know for sure but we are all pretty sure that theres just one in there. He said my uterus would have measured a little larger at the last visit if it was twins. Our next appt is November 6th just a routine check and we hear the heartbeat again. Then four weeks later around December 3rd, we will have the big ultrasound and find out the gender! I'm so excited for that day.

I didn't do an update at 9 weeks. Work has been so busy lately. I work 5am until 6 pm 7 days a week. So by the time I get home I'm exhausted and go straight to bed. I haven't even had much time to spend with Tommy. My poor husband has been handling everything the last few weeks. He is so great. He cooks, cleans, cuts grass, he does everything. So when I get home he has supper ready and the house clean and I just eat, shower and sleep. He is such a great husband and he's going to make a great father!

Hope you have a great Sunday. I'm going back to work :-(

One of the big ones

We get to hear the heartbeat at our appointment this afternoon. I'm so excited and scared!! I've been so nervous these last few weeks because I've been working so much and so stressed out and tired. I just hope it hasn't affected the baby. Hopefully this afternoon all my worries will be laid to rest. We still don't know if its twins or not so I guess we will find that out this afternoon also. SOOO EXCITING!! My mom has twins on both sides of her family so our chances are up. But either way we will be thrilled. We just want a healthy, happy baby (boy or girl, one or two).

My mom is supposed to come with us this afternoon. Hopefully she can make it. We just found out that my little sister has a sis on her ovaries so my mom is trying to get her a doctors appt this afternoon also. Hopefully everything is ok with her. She's been in alot of pain lately.

Anyway, I'll update after the big appointment with the head count and heart rate! Have a great day.

8 weeks

How far along? 8 weeks
Total weight gain/loss:plus 2 lbs
Maternity clothes? none yet
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: I've been sleeping very well lately and thank goodness because I could sleep all day long. Just last night though I got up 3 times to pee.
Best moment this week: finding out I don't have to work nights during our plant turnaround (see below)
Movement: The baby is moving now but I can't feel it.
Food cravings: mostly salty foods.
Gender: I'm thinking blue!
Labor Signs: none
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: staying awake
What I am looking forward to: Our appt. next Thursday to hear the heartbeat.
Weekly Wisdom: Just stay awake!
Milestones: 2 months down, 7 more to go!


So the plant I work in is going through a turnaround which requires work 24/7. I originally was scheduled to work 5pm to 5am. Thankfully that was adjusted to 5am to 5pm which is still a very long day but much better than working nights. I have an hour drive to work so that makes my work day 14 hours. It's going to be hard and I'm sure I will be very very tired but it's only for 3 weeks. And after this is over Tommy and I have decided to take a short vacation to Arkansas or San Antonio to relax.

Have a great week,

7 weeks

We had a very relaxing weekend this past weekend. Friday and Sunday we just lounged around the house and rested. Saturday was a long day traveling to Houston and back for Caden's funeral. But next weekend should be another relaxing weekend!

How far along? 7 weeks
Total weight gain/loss:plus 1
Maternity clothes? I bought a maternity shirt for $2 at a JCPenny sale. I can't wear it yet but it was just too cheap to pass up.
Stretch marks? None so far
Sleep: I could sleep all day long
Best moment this week: Telling everyone!
Movement: not for a very long time
Food cravings: any food
Gender: everyone is saying it will be a boy.
Labor Signs: not for a very very long time
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: having energy
What I am looking forward to: still waiting to hear the heartbeat!
Weekly Wisdom: Life is so short.
Milestones: Almost done with month 2.

I started taking belly pictures this week. I haven't uploaded it to my computer but I should have it posted this afternoon. Have a great day!

6 weeks

How far along? 6 weeks
Total weight gain/loss:minus 1
Maternity clothes? I bought a Bella Band last weekend.
Stretch marks? None so far
Sleep: excellent
Best moment this week: Telling our parents. My mom's face was priceless
Movement: not for a very long time
Food cravings: Breakfast food
Gender: Tommy keeps calling it a "him". I think that's just habit though.
Labor Signs: not for a very very long time
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: Having the energy to stay awake past 9 pm.
What I am looking forward to: Hearing the heartbeat on Oct 8th! Tommy thinks there is going to be 2.
Weekly Wisdom: Enjoy it while it last!
Milestones: First OB appt last Friday. Everything went great. I go back in 4 weeks.

5 weeks

How far along? 5 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: even
Maternity clothes? None yet. But I can't wait to go shopping
Stretch marks? None, thank goodness.
Sleep: pretty good, having to pee right before I need to wake up sucks but it's better than waking up multiple times during the night.
Best moment this week: Tommy left me a not saying, "Love, Tommy & Squirt"...It was so cute.
Movement: Nope...not for a very long time
Food cravings: Chinese
Gender: neither one of us even have a gut feeling
Labor Signs: No...not for a very very long time
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: Being able to eat and drink anything I want
What I am looking forward to: Telling our parents next weekend
Weekly Wisdom: Life is very precious
Milestones: One month down, 8 more to go!

Caden

Tommy's brother called us Wednesday and said the baby was born Wednesday morning. The doctors were not able to do anything to sustain life but Randy and Alanna were able to keep the baby in the room with them for a few hours as some closure. This breaks my heart. My heart is hurting so bad for that young baby who never had a chance. I know God has a plan for all of us but sometime I just don't understand His plan. One day we may understand but right now we are all at a loss. Please pray for that little and that his parents parents will have the strength to make it through this.

Don't take life forgranted

Tommy's brother and his girlfriend are 22 weeks pregnant and are in need of some prayers. Last week she lost a bunch of her amniotic fluid. I don't know all of the details yet but they don't think the baby will survive with the little amount of fluid that is left. She will stay in the hospital until 24 weeks (viability) and then deliver. Hopefully the baby has a chance at life. Please pray for the baby, the mom & dad, and the doctors.

Ironically, I found this video from another blog that I follow and it really hit home. You really can not take life forgranted. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToNWquoXqJI. What a beautiful and strong little boy.

4 weeks

So if my calculations are correct I should be a little over 4 weeks. I want to keep a journal of symptoms, etc for the pregnancy so I'll start with 4 weeks.

How far along? 4 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: even

Maternity clothes? None yet...hopefully not for a while

Stretch marks? None

Sleep: Great, I'm so tired lately so I'm glad my sleeping hasn't been interrupted

Best moment this week: The positive test result

Movement: Nope...not for a very long time

Food cravings: sweets

Gender: not a clue, I couldn't even guess right now

Labor Signs: No...not for a very very long time

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Nothing

What I am looking forward to: First OB appt. in 2 weeks

Weekly Wisdom: Stop worrying and start enjoying

Milestones: Getting pregnant

On another note, I just found out my sister made homecoming court. She is amazing, she's a star athlete in softball and volleyball, great personality, decent grades and she still is very grounded. She's not stuck up or selfish, she's very friendly and we're very proud of her. So congrats Leighann! We love you!

Can it be true?

Tommy and I have been trying to get preganant since May. It has been really hard on me since we decided not to tell anyone until it happened. So every month when it didn't happen it was so disappointing and I didn't want to overwhelm him by talking about having kids ALL the time. And last month I really thought it was it. It just felt like that would be the month...I was wrong. So this month I wasn't very optimistic and guess what...I took a pregnancy test this morning and it was positive!!! We are so excited, cautious but excited. I called the doctor and our appointment for a check-up and to confirm the pregnancy is Sept 11th. Tommy doesn't want to tell our parents until then so it's going to be really hard to keep the secret. Especially since my dad's birthday is tomorrow and we're going to be around the whole family. I agree that we should wait too, we're just worried that this may be a false positive and we want to be certain before we tell everyone. But I'm posting it here...so if any of you know our families please keep it quite. Thanks! I guess our journey has begun.

Summer Rewind

Tommy and I have been really busy doing a makeover on our backyard but we have had some time to vacation and enjoy the summer. In May we went to Gulf Shores in May for our good friend, Nick's, birthday. We only went for a quick weekend but it was nice to get away and relax on the beach. On our way we stopped at the USS Alabama which was pretty awesome. It's such a huge ship. We stayed at a condo a few blocks down from a new restaurant/bar/nightclub called the Handout. It was a really awesome place. It's right on the beach and it has lots of activities for kids. It also has 3 different bars, a band stage, and even little speciality shops all in the restaurant. It alot of fun. And their bartenders know how to make the best pineapple juice and malibu, yum! Here's a picture Nick as the captain of the USS Alabama and a picture of our last morning on the beach. It was a great weekend and much needed relaxation!

In July we went on the annual family Toledo Bend trip. Last year was such a blast and we couldn't wait to go this year. The Toledo Bend trip has been an annual tradition for my family for about the last 10 years. The ENTIRE family goes and we all sleep in one HUGE lodge. We have about 40-50 people attend each year. Unfortuanately this is probably the last year for the trip since my grandparents' health is getting worst and the 3 hour trip to Toledo Bend is probably not great for them. We always have a great time on the trip and this time was no different. 13 of us went on a chartered fishing trip the first day and we caught over 180 sac-a-lait. Not to shabby. That was plenty to feed the whole crew that night. The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and tubing behind the boat.

The following weekend was the girls weekend in Foley, AL, Fairhope, and Biloxi.

And next weekend we're going to VEGAS! Neither one of us have ever been so it should be a great time. We aren't big gamblers but I think just seeing everything in Vegas, the hotels, the shows, the casinos, will be alot of fun. We also plan to rent a car a go to the Hoover Dam which should be interesting. Well I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures of vegas to post next weekend. Hope you have a great week.

Stop and smell the roses

We finally got around to completing the flower beds around our new patio. Well we did complete all the beds. We still need to purchase everything for the pond and complete that corner. But everything else is complete. And it looks amazing. Everything around the hammock looks so tropical and peaceful. Tommy and I laid on the hammock yesterday afternoon and it was awesome. We both kept saying how great everything looked and how if felt good because we did it ourselves. There's just something in Do-It-Yourself work that makes it turn out even better. Below are a few pics. I don't have a picture with the hammock hanging. We have to take it down because our "lovely" dog does not think it belongs there and will try to rip it to shreads if we leave him alone with it.

And our pond is still left to be done. We like to call it "Phase 3" coming soon.

Other than that not too much has been going on around the Heidbrink household. My mother in law, sister in law and I went to Foley Alabama a few weekends ago to shop at the outlet mall. I didn't find any great deals. We also went to Fairhope, AL which was a pretty cool small town with little speciality downtown shops. It was a very pretty place. And finally we went to Biloxi and spent our left over money at the Hard Rock Casino. I need to catch up the blog on all of our summer activities.

Stay cool,

It's raining, it's pouring (ok maybe not pouring)

But it finally rained a little at our house yesterday afternoon. It hasn't rained since June 2nd. So we went 3 weeks without any rain. And it's been over 100 degrees every day so we were in desperate need of a little water. It didn't rain long but we got about a 1/2" of rain. I'll take anything at this point. I cut the grass last Friday and it was nothing but dust. I could barely see as I was cutting. Anyway, we were very excited about the rain last night. We just need it to rain a few more times and we can start working on our landscaping around the new patio. The ground is so hard right now that we can't even plant anything.

And on anther note, how 'bout them Tigers? If you missed the LSU vs. Texas game last night then you missed a great game. The Tigers pulled it off in the 11th inning (7-6). GEAUX TIGERS! I can't wait to see this after we stomp Texas again tonight and take home the world series championship.

Until next time. GEAUX TIGERS!!!

New patio

Tommy and I both woke up Sunday, Monday and Tuesday with sore backs. Why? you ask...well I had this bright idea to lay a paver patio in out back yard. Yeah, bright idea Stacey. Never, ever put your self (or your spouse) through this. We started out a with a nice grassy area

Then we tore it to pieces with huge machines

Whats that tall mountain in the back??? Well it's a soon to be pond with a waterfall.

We then packed the sand down, and packed it again, and then packed it once more

All the while, our dog was sleeping.

And then we leveled everything with more sand.

And that was only Friday. But thanks to our neighbor and one of Tommy's friends, Fontenot we were able to complete quite a bit in only one day. However, we still have over 3000 pavers to lay down.

The next morning I woke up early and started laying pavers while Tommy worked on the border.

And thanks to Fontenot, Tommy's dad, Nick P, and Dontrell we "thought" we were halfway complete by noon.

We didn't make much progress after lunch. I think we were all tired and hurting. We worked until about 4:00 and then called it a day. Tommy and I woke up Sunday morning and went to church. Our backs and thighs were hurting throughout the entire mass. After mass we rushed home to finish laying the bricks. My Uncle Matt even showed up to help. Much to our surprise as we got close to the end we started to realize that we may not enough of the rectangle pavers. Great, just great. We were left with about a 6' by 9' section and we had no rectangle pavers. We could have finish by noon on Sunday. So we did everything we could and called it a day until Monday morning since the stone place where we got the pavers was closed until 8:00 Monday morning. So at 7:30 we were sitting in the parking lot and trying to look through the fence at their inventory to see if we could see any rectangle pavers in the same color. Luckily they had some. We rushed home to finish so we could return the rental equipment by 1:00 and came home and passed out. I would never do this again but I do have to say that I am very happy with the result. We will definately get alot of use out of this space. Thanks to everyone that helped out! We owe them a BBQ or crawfish boil so we can party on the patio.

But I may need to get more patio furniture before then because I have alot more room to fill in.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Memorial Day weekend

We had a blast last weekend and enjoyed the long weekend off from work. Friday we worked until early afternoon and then went shopping and out to watch Night at the Museum II. It was great, not quite as good as the first one but still enjoyable. Before the movie we went to Sear's and bought a patio set for our back patio. I've always wanted a casual set and I love the sofa with 2 chairs sets. So this is one we got. I love it (especially since it was on sale)!!

Tommy had to work Saturday so I did more shopping and cleaned the house from top to bottom. Sunday we had a few friends and neighbors over for a crawfish boil. I think everyone had a great time. The crawfish were great and I got to play with 2 twin 6 month old boys. My neighbors daughters had twins in late November and they are so adorable...it definitely gave me baby fever. Anyway, Monday we lounged around and watched Taken which was also a great movie. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would now.

And now Tommy and I are both fighting off a terrible cough. He went to doctor Tuesday and was told he had bronchitis. So I went to the doctor Wednesday and lucky I do not have it also but I have a upper respiratory infection...so I think we're mostly going to recuperate this coming weekend.

More Disney and Universal Pics

I don't remember if I mentioned it in my last post but we were also able to spend a day at Universal Studios: Island of Adventures park during our trip to Disney. IoA had more adult type rides. They were faster, flipped upside down, and just scarier than all of the ones at Disney. The Hulk and Dueling Dragons at IoA was the best. On Dueling Dragons there are 2 different tracks, one for Fire and one for Ice. Both tracks operate at the same time and there are times when the two coasters come within 12 inches (YES 12 INCHES!!) of each other. So needless to say, you better keep your hands and feet inside the coaster at all times. Here's a picture of the Hulk coaster.

I've always been a huge fan of Jurasic park so when I walked into the IoA and saw this

I was so exicted. They even had a Jurassic Park boat ride where you enter Jurassic Park and almost get attacked by dinosaurs. It was awesome.

Although I mentioned IoA was more for adults or older kids, they still had some great rides for younger kids or like us, younger at heart. They had an entire Cat In the Hat section.

We had a blast at Universal. It definately wasn't has detailed as Disney (no hidden Mickeys) but it was just as enjoyable.

Here are a few other pics from Disney, for some reason I didn't post any pics from Magic Kingdom last time but here's the infamous Cinderella's Castle.

Just kidding, thats a blown glass replica of the castle that you can purchase for $25000. I'm sorry, but if I had $25000 to spend I definately would not spend it on a glass version of the Castle. Here's the real deal...

And we visted the fire station on Main Street USA in Magic Kingdom. Tommy even brought a fire dept patch from his dept to put on the wall. We got see where Mickey sleeps

And where Minnie lives

Magic Kingdom is a little kids dream come true and a parents nightmare. Little kids will love the fairytale atmosphere and seeing all of the things there read about in books. Yet parents will be bombared with THOUSANDS of kids running and screaming through the park. We choose to arrive very early and leave at about noon, which was perfect. The lines were shorter and we were able to get out right when the crowd was getting very large. The light show parade and fireworks at MK are amazing. That was my favorite part of the entire week. They played the song, "When you wish upon a star" while the fireworks went off behind Cinderella's Castle and Tinkerbell flew through the sky. It was just perfect. And the lights on the castle changed color ever few minutes.

The last day of our trip Tommy and I took it easy and walked around Downtown Disney. He stopped at a candy store and bought this...

It's a rice krispy treat in the shape of a Mickey Mouse head dipped in chocolate with oreo crumbs on the edges, M&Ms on one side, Butterfinger pieces on the other, and drizzled with white chocolate and caramel. It was abot 3 pounds of solid sugar. And he loved it! I think that was his favorite part of the entire week. Although he only ate one ear and then had to save the rest for later because it was so sweet.

We had a great time and Tommy and I have already said that we will back again in a few years. And we definately have to bring our kids here one day. If you are visiting Disney world soon and have any questions just let me know. I read the Unofficial guide to Disney world 2009 from cover to cover and I think that book as every detail you would ever want to know about the park. It even details which Disney resort hotel rooms have more noise and which have more lighting in the rooms, etc etc. I'm telling you it has every detail. So if you have questions just ask.

Disney 2009

It's been a while...actually a long while. I've been busy with my new job and Tommy's been on vacation from the fire department so I don't get my computer time in the afternoon to blog. He's back at work tonight so I took advantage of that time to update you on the highlight of the year, we went to DISNEY WORLD! It was awesome! I've never been to Disney before and I've been saying since I was little girl that I wanted to go before I had kids (no, that does not mean we are having kids anytime soon). So needless to say, I was soooo excited! We saw Mickey, Goofy, Minnie, and so so many more. We had a blast. We stayed in a 5 bedroom house with 2 of my aunts, and a few of my cousins. We visited each of the 4 Disney parks and also went to Universal Studios Island of Adventure. Everything was amazing. Seeing Cinderella's Castle and watching the fireworks show was my favorite part. Thats what I always dreamed about when I thought of Disney world so when we walked into Magic Kingdom I lost my breath. Cinderella's castle was beautiful. Below are just a few of the pictures from the week. I hope you enjoy.

Disney's Hollywood studios

Flower and Garden festival at Epcot, this was Timon and Pumba in flowers

Epcot

Ole Rafiki from Lion King

Entering Africa in the Animal Kingdom

Ok, thats enough for now. I'm off to bed. I promise to post more about Disney within the next month. :-)

Prince Charming

I woke up at 3:30 Saturday morning because Cajun was barking right next to the back door. I opened the door to this...

That sucker was HUGE!!! That sure would be some good eatin'...yummy, fried frog legs. But we let him escape to the ditch. So long buddy.

Catching up - Part Deux: Mardi Gras

Laissez Les bon Temp Rouler
Show me something mister…

Yuck, That definitely didn’t get us many beads. But we did have a great time at the parades this year. We missed our old hang out spot on the lot that Tommy’s parents owned. But it has been sold so we were forced to claim our territory in a different spot. Needless to say, I think we scared everyone off.

Tommy trying to “do the stanky legg”

The annual slip & slide in the ditch/pond event after the parade

At the after party

Dione’s birthday shot

Everyone had a great time and we can't wait until next year.
Don't forget to check out my catching up - part one posted earlier. Yep, two post in less than 1 hour!

Catching up - part one: Valentines Day & 10K run

Hey everyone! I’m so behind on my blog posting. I like to keep track of holidays and “special” events on the blog and well I have a very special event to tell you about. Tommy and I actually ran a 10K…yep that’s 6.2 miles! We couldn’t speak, and could barely stand after it was over but we finished!! It was the Mardi Gras Mambo on Valentines Day. It was a lot of fun and it felt great to actually finish.
The rest of Valentines Day was even better. I got beautiful roses, some monogrammed wine glasses and a fabulous dinner. Tommy received a heart attack on his bathroom mirror, a new watch, and some chocolates.

Here is a picture of his “heart attack”. I saw it on a website and thought it was something nice I could do for him. I know…I’m cheesy.
We went to dinner at Zea’s and it was amazing. Their food is just awesome. After Zea’s we got ice cream and watched “He’s just not that into you” which is just not that good. I didn’t really like it very much. I was expecting much more since there were numerous great actors in the movie. Oh well, we had a great time and I love my valentine!!