A whole lot of nothing.

That's what we have been doing. Well, not really. We've actually been somewhat busy, but nothing big has been going on. 

Monday I had my weekly massage. My back has been very sore, so I am thankful that I get the opportunity to have it worked on. It really does help. Yesterday, I had an eye appointment. I have been out of contact lenses for quite a while, and I was due for some new glasses, too. As I suspected, my astigmatism got worse, causing my prescription to be stronger. I really need to wear my contacts/glasses at all times. I am very guilty of taking advantage of having a big screen TV! I promise that I will be better this year!! Hold me to it!! The optometrist office called today to tell me that my contacts and glasses were ready. I go on Monday morning to pick them up. I am pretty excited because my new specs are pretty awesome!! I will post pics when I get them!

Today we tried to spend the day inside due to the awful weather, but we ended up bundling up because I got a preferred customer coupon for a laptop for Steven. He took his desktop downstairs this week because the only place we could keep it was in the playroom. Carter's wandering hands were constantly all over it. He would take the mouse and hide it from us. He would try his darndest to type on the keyboard, many times pulling it right down off the table. We were very afraid that the monitor or tower would be the next thing to come down. It just wasn't safe for Carter. Now that our finances are in a much better place, Steven and I decided that we would get him a much needed upgrade. So, now his dinosaur desktop is downstairs in the basement. We are trying to sell the 19" monitor, Bose Speakers, and other parts that work well...hopefully!

We have an OB appointment on Monday afternoon. I am very excited to see our little "gummy bear"! I have been having a trace of the brown icky discharge here and there, but I know its no big deal. I had it with Carter. It isn't enough to get distraught over...I just pray that I am not going to have to deal with any more placenta issues. I think the abruption from last time should be my Get Out of Jail Free card for the rest of my pregnancies! I will be sure to post an update on Monday.

I'm going to be an AUNT!

I am so excited!! Steven, Carter, and I went to NY for the weekend and found out yesterday that my brother-in-law and his wonderful wife are expecting their first baby!! She is due 4 weeks after me. I couldn't have asked for a better preggo-buddy! As you can imagine, my mother-in-law is over the moon! She has 2 grandkids on the way!

Our weekend was so much fun! Friday night, we went to the Casting Crowns concert at Roberts Wesleyan College. Our seats were awesome. Caleb and Kutless were the opening acts and they rocked!! Crowns was great...duh!!

While we were rocking all night, Carter spent the night at my dad's. So, Saturday morning after we woke up, we went over there and spent the day. We had chicken wings with my dad's famous buffalo sauce (my fave) and had a bunch of friends and family over to play Wii. 

During our Wii bowling tournament, I noticed that my dad, Steven, and Carter were missing. About 20 minutes later, my dad comes down the stairs and says "Now, don't be mad...because he looks really cool." Steven walked down the stairs with Carter and his new haircut.

After my initial freak-out, I realized that it isn't that bad. I mean, at least now I know none of the other babies will mess with him...because dudes with mohawks are tough! 

Sunday morning before church, we had a little scare. I had a little bit of bleeding...the same bleeding that I had at 7 weeks with Carter. There was no cramping or pain, and it had stopped before I even realized it started. I called my doctor this morning and he told me that it happens sometimes and that he isn't concerned. I just have to take it easy. I have an appointment on Monday so hopefully we can sneak another peek at this little one! I can't wait!!

Best Buddies.

Pick Me To Be Your Valentine!

Exhausted.

There is no other word for the way I have been feeling lately. It seems as though I really haven't been doing much of anything...but I am just so tired. I can't sleep at night, but my eyes are heavy all day. Last night, I went out to celebrate one of my very best friend's birthday. I was out until close to midnight. I normally wouldn't go out late like that, but it was a special circumstance. I did have a little bit of caffeine, which I have had none of since finding out I was pregnant. That little bit had me wide awake until 6am. I finally managed to fall asleep, and I woke up less than 4 hours later. Steven and Carter were awake, which made me feel like I should be, too. So, I dragged myself out of bed. Steven saw me and said, "Why are you awake? Go back to bed." I just couldn't. I was still tired, but my brain just wouldn't let me sleep. Steven made me the most gigantic pancakes I had ever seen, and my day had begun. I have been exhausted ever since.

Carter just went to bed, and Steven and his brother are playing Wii, so I am going to try to go to bed and get some rest. Fingers crossed that I get a full night's sleep.

Here are a few pics of Carter being the perfect little model monster I have created!! I took them with my new 35mm lens...it is by far my new fave!!

Introducing Baby #2!!

Steven and I had our 1st OB appointment today. Everything went wonderfully. I was taken aback by how "normal" I was treated. Not that women who do fertility treatments aren't "normal", but at times you almost feel "special". You get multiple betas to ensure that your HCG levels are continuing to rise, ultrasounds whenever you want, and a special doctor that is there before, during, and after you conceive. When you get pregnant without medical intervention, you are just another mom-to-be. No red carpet, no paparazzi, no big deal. Hmm.

Anyway, I am not completely normal. According to my last missed period, I should be 7 weeks and 6 days pregnant. Well, I am only 6 weeks along. Baby looked great...nice strong heartbeat. I cannot even explain how relieved I was when I saw that little flicker on the screen. It was such a beautiful moment. I had my doctor, who has been through so much with me...and I also had my boys. As soon as Steven pointed to the baby's heartbeat on the big TV screen, Carter started giggling and goes "What's that?" He kept asking over and over. We were all just laughing. He is going to be such an amazing big brother.

We talked to the doctor and he put my on low-dose asprin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, more folic acid, and switched me from Ultram to Percoset for spasms and pain. We know that I can get by with less than 10mg of Percoset per day and it keeps everything under control. I did it with Carter and he was born completely unaffected by it. To be honest, I could handle the pain without taking anything, but the spasms pose a huge threat because they have been known to be strong enough to throw me around. If I were to fall out of my chair, myself and the baby are in danger...so I will do exactly what I did with my last pregnancy as far as meds go. The doctor also told us that he will be putting me on progesterone injections starting at 16 weeks to prevent preterm labor. I will go off of it at about 36 weeks, then we will discuss inducing me. We want to be in full control of this delivery so I do not have the same problems as I did with Carter. He is confident that I will do wonderfully with another vaginal delivery, but an epidural is 100% necessary in order to be sure that I do not end up with Autonomic Dysreflexia, causing another seizure, or worse. We are feeling very optimistic about this pregnancy and I feel great! I couldn't be more excited to add another precious life to my family.

Here are the ultrasound pictures. They aren't much to look at, but we are in love already!

2010 Walk for Babies

When Carter was born premature, we were thrown into seeing how the March of Dimes helps babies. Of course, nobody wants to be in that position, but I see it as a blessing in disguise. As a family, we vowed that we would do all we could to contribute to this wonderful foundation. Last year, we suited up and went on our very first Walk for Babies...

We were able to raise over $300 for Team Carter in 2009! Thanks to all of you wonderful bloggers out there that donated. This year, we are upping the ante with a goal of $500! I think we can do it. I know that in this economy, we are all very strapped. If you are in a financial position to donate, any amount helps. It is such a wonderful cause. Please stop by our team page if you would like to find out how you can help.

Thank you all for your support. We truly appreciate it!

Who's Going To Be A Big Brother??

Family Fun!

With all of the excitement, we have not forgotten to take time to remember that we are still a family of 3 and that we need to spend time that way. We have been laughing and playing a lot...and today we spent the day out. First, we headed to BJ's, which we all know that I loathe!! I hate spending money there. Like, I get that I am getting much, much more for my money...but it is always such an expensive trip because I try my best to buy for the entire month so I don't have to be there twice. The thing that we always get there is Carter's PediaSure. With his low weight, his pediatrician wants him to drink one every day. At our local grocery store, a 6 pack is about $11.00. At BJ's, a 24 pack is $32.99. So, there really isn't much rocket science to it...no matter how much I can't stand the store. Luckily, we still have 2 boxes of diapers from when we went to BJ's after we got our tax return, so we didn't have to spend as much as we normally do.

After BJ's, we realized it was lunch time, so Carter got to eat a Happy Meal. He loooooves chicken mcnuggets, fries, and chocolate milk!! He doesn't get it often, but boy can he chow down on McDonald's! Next, we went to Best Buy to look for Turtle Beach headphones for Steven, which they were out of. So, we moved on to the mall to see if any of the stores had jeans for very skinny, very tall little boys. Most jeans are either too big in the waist or too short...never just right. Well, Gymboree has done it!! These pants are perfect!! And we also snagged him a "Big Bro" shirt, that I will be sure to get photos of soon!

After the mall, we went grocery shopping. Carter had pretty much had it at this point, so we were cut short. We ended up with a full cart, but had absolutely no frozen foods. So, tomorrow I will venture back to the grocery store and get the odds and ends that we were unable to get today. 

So...that was our day in a nutshell...here are a couple photos I took at home last night. I just love these boys!!

I'm Pregnant.

It is just so weird to say!

Now that we have had some time to sort through our emotions, I can tell you all more about what went on here yesterday. I was just kinda speechless at first, and needed to let everything sink in before I could really say anything at all.

For the past few days, Mandy had been picking on how bloated I have been. She kept asking when I was supposed to get my period, but since they aren't regular anyway, I wasn't really concerned. She was right, though...all week I was really really bloated and uncomfortable. I just figured my period was on its way or something. We started talking about how Steven and I got a sitter for this weekend and how I would hate myself if I drank and it turned out I was pregnant. We have not been doing the Clomid or anything since Steven lost his job, but we haven't been "not trying". We have been infertile for so long, that we just assumed that we couldn't possibly get pregnant ourselves. We figured that is how it would always be...and we were beginning to be OK with it.

So, I grabbed a leftover test that I had from our round of Clomid in September. I dropped the urine into the little hole and tossed the test onto the counter like I always do...I am very used to this process. Pee, wait, look, throw away. It is almost automatic. About 30 seconds later, Mandy goes, "Candi? Candi?! Candi!!" I had already began preparing to straighten my hair, so I wasn't looking. I looked over and saw two lines on the test. My first reaction was, "Nope. Its a false positive...it has to be because I am infertile!" Meanwhile, Mandy was shaking! She started running around, then hugged me, then asked if she could go get Steven, who had just put Carter down for his nap. I told her to go ahead. Steven came in and I flashed him the test. His response?? "Isn't that test from the Dollar Store?" Oh, my dear jaded infertile husband...I love him! We asked Mandy to run to Walgreens and grab a digital CBE. She of course, ran out the door and was back before we could turn around! I took the digital test and it came up "Pregnant" right away. We were shocked and speechless! Steven was as far from me as possible...his face was white as a ghost. All he could say was, "How did this happen? I don't have a job." I reassured him that everything would be ok. We have a lot of time to prepare for this baby. And we have saved everything of Carter's so we could use it again.

After the initial shock, we were absolutely ecstatic! Once again, we have beaten the odds!! God has been so good to us. We have a wonderful marriage and friendship, a beautiful little boy that we couldn't possibly love any more, and now we have been blessed with this miracle!! Once again, I am honored that He thinks I am worthy of this job. And I couldn't be more excited to become a family of 4!!

No Snappy Title Necessary.

No fertility treatments. No Clomid. No temping. No idea.

Wow.

Master Bedroom Makeover

Two Christmases ago, my mom gave us a "bedroom makeover" coupon. She bought us a comforter set and curtains, and made us a headboard. Since she works so much, she has not had a week's vacation to do this since she gave it to us. This week, she is off of work and she finally finished our room today. I wish I had before pictures, but the state of our room up until today was not something I would've ever taken pictures of. It had only primer on the wall with many scrapes and scratches. Nothing matched and there was no color scheme what-so-ever. It was the only room that we hadn't redone since we moved in...even our bathrooms have been made over in the past 3 years. We are just the kind of people who worry about ourselves last. I tried my best just to keep the door closed when company came over and not show it on the "house tour" when we showed friends and family our home. Now, I no longer have to do that...

My mom is the best!

Playroom 2.0

Easy Come, Easy Go.

Our tax return has pretty much came and went. About 3/4 of it went to bills, which we feel wonderful to be caught up on. Then we went to BJ's and stocked up on diapers, wipes, Tylenol/Motrin, Pediasure, and other baby necessities. We will be good for close to 2 and a half months. With Steven being out of work for 3 months, we were more behind on bills than ever before. Like, I'm talking shut-off notices. Since SSI still has not added Carter into the mix, my monthly disability hasn't gone up, let alone the fact that they are still paying me as if Steven is working. Funny how they can go 15 months without paying me for something, but they know right away when they should be lowering my payment. I brought them Carter's Social Security card and birth certificate shortly after he was born, but they said with Steven's job, a 3rd family member wouldn't affect my payment...which was fine. When Steven lost his job, I began hounding them every day, faxing them all the info they'd need. Steven is 3 months out of work and I just got an appointment for this Tuesday.

Steven heard a good word on one of the applications he put in!! We are hoping he will be back to work within the next couple of weeks. Praise God. I will miss having him around during the daytime, but I know how bad he feels about himself that he isn't financially providing for us. It is very hard on him. He is such a great help around the house and with Carter, what he doesn't realize is how proud and appreciative I am of him. This time with him has been a blessing to me, Carter, our home, and our marriage.

We did have a little fun with our return...well, Carter did! We got him a small flat-screen TV and a DVD player for the playroom. We also went today and picked up a DVR/Cable box for him...do you know what that means!?! No more Yo Gabba Gabba in the living room 24/7! So, maybe it was a little for us, LOL! We also got a futon for the playroom so we can go in there with him and lounge. We were at Walmart and I grabbed him some Mega Blox because he plays with them when we are at our BFF's house and he loves them. Steven got him Rocky the Robot Truck...OMG cutest toy ever!! I could watch him dance all day!! Carter likes to put his sippy in the back so Rocky can dump it. So cute. I will post pics of our revamped playroom when it is 100% finished. As for Steven and I, we treated ourselves a bit. I got a 1TB external hard drive and a 28-135mm lens...which I am beyond excited to receive. Steven got some video game stuff...but he would rather spoil us more than himself. It's just the kind of husband and father he is. Don't worry...I have a big surprise in store for him!! One he will never see coming!!

Carter has been a very bad boy at bedtime lately. He is on a sleep strike all of a sudden and will not go to sleep when we put him to bed. He isn't napping any more or any less that usual...just 1 nap per day. When we put him in bed, he screams and cries for about an hour before we go in there. I am all for the CIO method, but I will not leave him to cry for over an hour. I think he may have a slight ear infection. He occasionally rubs his ear...but other than that, he seems ok. But my mommy instinct says something is up, so he will be going to the pedi this week. She wants to see him anyway to check his weight. Last time we were there, she was a little concerned since he was only in the 3rd percentile with weight, but in the 75th percentile with height. He loves his Pediasure and drinks it every day, so I think he will be just fine. He is just so active. He is walking everywhere now, and if he isn't eating or sleeping, he is playing. He spends most of his time taking each toy out of his toybox, walking over to the other side of the room, and putting said toy in his basketball hoop...then going "Oooohh!" He will repeat this over and over until just about every toy is out of the toybox. It is hilarious to watch.

I am so sorry there are no pictures to post...we have been so busy. Steven is getting ready to put the futon together, so I will take pics before and after Carter wakes up in the morning and empties the toybox into the basketball hoop! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

Same Old, Same Old

Nothing new has been going on. Steven's brother and cousin stayed with us for a week, which was fun. We did lots of 4-wheeling, sledding, and general goofing off. Now, we are just taking the weekend to wind down and get our house back in order. I was able to borrow Angie for a photo shoot before she left. Here are a few photos from that...

Speaking of photos, I had a total idiot moment the other day and deleted all of my photos. I thought I was just deleting client photos that I had backed up onto a flash drive, but I somehow deleted every picture I had on my laptop. Thankfully, I have only had this computer for about 6 months, so most of the pics of Carter's 1st year were not lost. Between facebook and my blog, I am OK, but I am taking extra precautions from now on. Tomorrow, I am buying a Time Capsule. I looked at other external hard drives, but the thought of having to plug it in and backup all my files every time I upload pictures made me nervous. What if I forget? I have a MacBook Pro, so its not like I'd be leaving it plugged in at all times. I would have to remember to do it every day...not happening. The Time Capsule is wireless and works with Apple Time Machine, which automatically backs up your files for you. Perfect for someone as scatter brained as me. Its on my agenda for this week.

Last night, we went to our friends' house and had dinner with our pastor Ken and his wife, Shelley. It was very nice. Lots of great food and fellowship. It is so fun to go over there and watch Carter interact with their girls. I can't believe that he now goes off and plays with other kids...it seems like just yesterday that he would stay in my arms for hours. Now I can't keep him near me for more that a few seconds if other kids are around. He is so grown up!!

We filed our taxes and should be getting our return tomorrow. It seems like it is already gone. We have to catch up on our bills, pay off our TV, get a new TV stand, get a new bed, get Steven a cell phone that works (he dropped his and has a huge crack on the screen.)...and a million other things. With Steven being unemployed, we have to use this money carefully. Paying off our TV will be a big help because that is $150 more per month that we will have for other bills. We have been in dire need of a new bed for a long time now, but it just isn't a priority...so I am very excited. A good night's sleep will be very nice! I may not want to wake up!

I forgot to post this, but Carter has a new obsession...and it has definitely blown Gabbas out of the water. Well, not the TV show...he still loves that, but we no longer need to make sure that there is a Brobee in every room in our house. Carter has discovered balls. Mostly little basketballs, but really any ball will do.  He walks around saying "ball! ball! ball!" and always has one with him. He will not even sleep unless he has a stuffed ball in his crib. The other night, I bought him a 3-pack of Cleveland Cavaliers softee basketballs. Those are his fave. He takes one everywhere he goes. I'm sure you will be seeing lots of pictures!!

Well...a dirty kitchen awaits me. Wouldn't it be great if the dishes washed themselves?