Feeling Out of Sorts

As the title says... I'm just feeling all out of sorts today. Boogie is inching closer and closer to two years old and the closer she gets to the terrible twos the naughtier and more mischievous she becomes. Today she is driving me INSANE. I'm at a complete loss as to what I am supposed to do with her. I refuse to be a parent who spanks her children... say what you want, but I think it's wrong. Time outs seem to work most of the time, but when she's in the mood she is in today, time outs just make her laugh. Which in turn just makes me even more frustrated then I already was!

Trying to get my endless amount of homework done today has been absolutely horrendous. I've resorted to watching movies ALL DAY. I never do that with her unless we're not feeling well. I hate doing that. I hate using the TV as a "babysitter" as many would call it. I know she doesn't understand why mommy is reading and taking notes and on the computer all the time, so I try to take breaks (like I am now... although she decided this time she didn't want to play with mommy... hence this blog post) and spend one on one time with her.

The words "stop" and "no" are completely pointless around here. They make no difference to her if she is told that. Sitting her in timeout and explaining with positive words why she shouldn't do something is pointless because she just giggles and laughs and says "mommy.... mommy.... mommy." She got in trouble for hitting me today, that was the only time she cried over getting in trouble. However, I was in tears because she really did HURT me and I think that upset her more than actually being put in timeout and being told why hitting is something we do not do.

So I've got all of these toddler things going on, endless amounts of schoolwork to be done... the house is an absolute disaster because frankly at the moment I don't have time. Thankfully J is wonderful and he understands and tries to help. And really, I'm just feeling sorry for myself. I'm missing my friends who just aren't around anymore, I'm missing my clean house that I kept up with all summer, I'm tired of being stuck inside with this crazy monster child of mine (I say that in love, I call her my monster all of the time), and I'm over being pregnant. Bubby's due date needs to just come on faster than it already has because then I'll be pretty much done with classes, we'll be closer to Christmas, and the faster we get done with Boogie's 2nd birthday then the closer we will be to being done with these terrible twos. I hope. I don't like rushing life, it goes by fast enough as it is... but I'm tired. And frustrated. And a little lonely. I miss my husband being home more. I miss cool weather without mosquitoes attacking, and I miss the ease of toting Boogie around in a wrap when I want to go out... which is still possible, but not as comfortable the larger Bubby gets.

And that's it really. I just needed to vent and escape homework for 10 minutes. On a more positive note, I checked my mailbox around lunchtime and my coupons for the UnReal Candy arrived! I headed to CVS to get the candy and they were on sale for 2 for $2, so I got all 5 flavors to try and review! I even have some leftover coupons, so we'll see if I decide to keep them or give them away ;-)

Whoa!

::SIGH!:: My brain is on major overload right now... my second biology class has started and holy homework. That class is definitely going to keep me on my toes. And... she does not open exams until 2 days prior to their due dates, so there's NO way I can get this class done before Bubby is here. UGH! I'm still going to work ahead, so maybe at least I can get all the quizzes and labs done before then and just do the exams as they open? I really wanted to get this stuff done and do my final exams in October... but she's not willing to budge on this. Fan-freaking-tastic.

Anyways! I had my prenatal appointment yesterday, including my glucose test. THAT was fun! Bubby is growing perfectly and his heart rate was 150bpm, the resident who was working under the midwife I saw yesterday had a hard time measuring him and finding him because he was moving so much! Ha! I've gained a total of 6lbs, so 3lbs up since my last appointment. I'm still at the VERY low range of weight gain, which they aren't concerned about. I imagine I'll start steadily gaining a pound every 2 weeks like I did with Boogie from now until Bubby arrives. Can you believe he'll be here in 13ish weeks?

Preparations for Bubby are still under way. We need to get on the ball with his decor, J is painting some wooden plane and train models to hang and display and I have two plaques with a train and an airplane I need to finish painting... then we need to hang those up. We need to decide on the car seat we want (I have two I like and that have great reviews and safety features), have it installed (in early November) and around that time I will start packing mine and Bubby's bags for the hospital. I also need to prepare Boogie's bags so that everything will be ready for Mawmaw to meet us at the hospital. I need to register at the hospital... I need to write up my birth plan... and we need to go on vacation. Ha!

That's about it as it goes for Bubby. Boogie is doing well, I think she's a little under the weather today because of how she's been acting. Hopefully she'll be better once she wakes up from her nap! Still waiting on my products to review in the mail, so keep an eye out for those... and that's it! Goodbye for now!

Product Reviews... Coming Soon!

If you haven't already, and if you love trying out new products for FREE(!), then head on over to BzzAgent! I've been a member for over a year now and I have received some pretty amazing products. This month I am going to be reviewing three different products including the Glade Expressions Collection, Dentyne Split2Fit Pack, and Unreal Candy! I'll have coupons to giveaway for each product... that is if you have any interest! I offered eight coupons for a razor I reviewed last month and had NO entries! So, please let me know if you are at all interested in the above products and I'll host giveaways for those particular products :)

Anyways, this was just a brief blog post between school assignments to let you know to keep an eye out for these reviews!

I'm Alive... Promise.

I may be a random blogger for the next few months. Summer Blog Challenge is cancelled for me, I may do Friday Five if I have time... and I will definitely post Bubby and Boogie updates on biweekly Sundays (for belly photos, pregnancy updates, and Boogie Monster happenings). I just finished my first week of classes for two of the three I am taking... that was going pretty well, but now I'm adding my third and final class to the mix. I should take a picture of my planner to show you how much I have to do each day to accomplish anything and to work ahead so that I can be done by November! Eek!

My American Literature class is actually an 8 week class, so it's already condensed for me, there's a lot of reading but the assignments are pretty straightforward and while they aren't easy, they're totally doable. The Biology class I started this week is Environmental Biology, which has already sparked my interest surprisingly. I'm not a big science fan, but this class is all about learning about our environment and how it's slowly being used up and polluted and ways we can change that. The assignments and labs are also straightforward, but this is a 16 week class that I'm condensing into about 10 so that I can be done before Bubby is born. For this class and the other Bio class I have to take the final exams on campus or at an approved location with a proctor, so I'm hoping to do that before Bubby is here! My last class is Principles of Biology, I haven't been able to see the class on Moodle yet, but the instructor did email me the syllabus so that I could plan ahead... looks like I'll be doing a lot of reading, studying, and labs, but I think I can handle it.

Boogie hasn't handled this very well this week, it's been a struggle to find time to get my assignments done while J is at work, but hopefully she'll get used to it for a few weeks. I feel bad that my time is being taken away from her just before her brother is born... which is just another reason to get done by November. I've tried to leave Saturdays as free as possible with only 1-2 assignments so that we can just enjoy our last little bit of time we have before Bubby arrives. Sundays and Mondays are packed with my chapter/module exams so that I can accomplish those on days J has off!  It's going to be a hard road, but I'm determined to be done. These are the last three classes I need to get my Associate in Arts for General Education. It's taken me three years to get this done... I've had to drop classes and go part time so that I could be a better mother and more "here" for Boogie. It will feel amazing to finally be done with this chapter of my life. I hope that once we are done having children, whether that's after Bubby or perhaps in a few years if we decide to have more kids, that I'll be able to go back to a 4-year college and get a Bachelor's and then a Master's in education or psychology. Right now, I'm perfectly content being a stay at home mom, but someday when our children are grown I want to work and help other children in some way or form... whether that be teaching, social work... something!

With all that said, I wanted to share a few quotes/pictures I was looking at on pinterest this morning... sometimes it's good to have a little inspiration to get through times like this, when life is overwhelming!

And this one... because I am the biggest procrastinator in the WORLD. I CANNOT do that this semester!

ABC, It's Easy as 123 : Letter A

I've been planning for a while to start learning the alphabet with Boogie. So this week we are starting with the letter "A"! I've got several little coloring pages and crafts to do with her this week, and of course... we have to do her favorite everyday.... Starfall! If you have never checked out Starfall you should... it's a great website with little songs and activities for the alphabet for free! You can purchase a membership and gain access to other activities and such for numbers, colors, etc. My mom uses this in her special needs class, and those kids LOVE it. I'm going to purchase the membership at some point because it's totally worth it to me.

Pinterest has become my best friend when it comes to finding activities to do now that we are starting our ABC's. Here are a few we are doing this week:

I got this printable from MelodySoup... have to incorporate music somewhere! Ha! (note: I cropped this, her letters are actually grouped together in two's)

This activity is from No Time for Flashcards, obviously for this one I did the cutting ahead of time, so Boogie will just help glue on the teeth, color the alligator and add eyes!

This is from Education.com, they have a TON of printables and activities to do.

'

This is a whole list of handprint crafts to do for each letter of the alphabet. I found this on E is for Learning, Boogie is going to love doing these 'E' crafts... she LOVED the alligators at the zoo!

This printable is from A Heart For Home, which is one of my all time favorite blogs. The link is actually for a whole packet for the letter A. We don't have any dot markers as of yet, but I'm going to let Boogie use circle stickers for this. She's not old enough to really learn how to write her letters, but I thought since she likes stickers so much, she'd enjoy this extra 'A' activity. 

This last printable is from Daily Coloring Pages, they actually have the whole alphabet. Boogie likes to point out some of the animals she knows on these letters. 

We are also going to watch some videos from Sesame Street about A, and I have found some other YouTube videos that will be great as well. Boogie loves to color and play with stickers, so hopefully she'll enjoy this this week! Wish us luck!

26 Weeks

How far along? 26 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Haven't weighed myself lately, but I honestly don't think I've gained anything yet.  


Maternity clothes? Pretty much everything. I have a few dresses (like the one in this week's belly photo) that aren't maternity but still fit. 


Stretch marks? same old same old


Sleep: Not well. Have had some intense dreams that wake me up, I get up to pee a LOT, and Boogie hasn't been sleeping well either. Ay yi yi!

Best moment this week: We can finally feel and see Bubby move on the outside! J has felt him a few times, and Bubby moves constantly at night and a lot when I'm reading my book during Boogie's naptime.


Movement: He's moving so much more now, which I'm incredibly thankful for. This whole anterior placenta thing sucks, and of course I had to get it again with Bubby. You hear of so many people feeling their little ones super early during their consecutive pregnancies, and while I did feel him occasionally early on, it was nothing like some of my peers who are pregnant with me right now!


Food cravings: Clementines, grapes, string cheese, and pizza


Gender: Still a boy..


Labor signs: Nadda... unless you count the occasional cramping or back ache from getting bigger lol


Belly button in or out? In


Wedding rings on or off? Just my wedding band right now, although I could probably put my engagement ring back on... my wedding band is feeling rather loose lately.


What I miss: Being able to shave my legs without getting out of breath (from Bubby being pushed into my lungs when I bend down) 


What am I looking forward too: Nursing... I so miss it. I can't wait to do it again with Bubby.


Weekly Wisdom: You will never find unhappiness unless you experience pure joy. Thank you pastor!

 Milestones: As of today, according to BabyGaga updates, Bubby can now open his eyes and although it may be blurry he can finally see a little!

It's Almost Fall!

Fall is in the air! It's the middle of August... and fall is in the air? The weather has been fantastic lately, it was cool enough (with a breeze) outside today that Boogie and I sported our favorite hoodies! It was awesome! We spent the morning buying groceries and then headed to Mawmaw and Pawpaw's for a day of outside fun! Boogie played in the backyard and then we headed next door to check on our garden. Dad pulled up all of the tomato, zucchini, and most of the squash plants about a week or so ago and planted new green beans, more pumpkins, and our corn is starting to ripen! Boogie loves going over there to run in between the rows and to see my parent's neighbors. Here are a few pictures from our outdoor adventures today...

ps. I tried a new watermark on these pictures.... not a fan, it doesn't look as clean as the other one I use. Blah.

Zzzzz...

When I was pregnant with Boogie, I was tired all. the. time. Not only was I tired, but I was sick all. the time.   I never got that boost of energy you hear about in second trimester, and although I did "nest" at the end of second trimester and the beginning of third, it took a lot out of me getting her room ready and everything. This time around, as soon as I hit about 14 weeks and my nausea went away I found so much energy! I got the house clean EVERY day! Dinner was cooked when J got home... it was amazing. Now I'm 25 weeks and 2 days and two weeks away from third trimester, and I have no energy. None. Nadda. Zilch. And the timing is awful.

I've mentioned it before, but this is my last semester at the local community college and I'll finally be done with my Associate's Degree (just general education). I'm taking TWO Biology classes and a literature class, because that is ALL I lack to graduate! Luckily they are all online so I can stay ahead and get as much done before Bubby arrives... but now I'm dreading how hard it's going to be with Boogie being a toddler and getting into everything and this new exhaustion I'm feeling. Today was rough. I left the same time J did for work to go pick up my books from the bookstore at school, and after waiting in line for 45 minutes I was told that there was a lock on my account and I'd need to go speak to financial aid. Wonderful. Up until this point Boogie was being a very good girl. Waited in financial aid for 45 minutes with about 40 other people, who a vast majority of were waiting for the same reason I was, to be told that it was a simple misunderstanding and to go try again. Luckily the guy who tried checking me out before didn't make me wait in line again and held my books for me until I came back. So about 2 hours later with a grumpy, hungry and sleepy toddler I was finally on my way... to my other errands.

There are only a few things we have left to purchase for Bubby. Main thing being a car seat, which I found the one I wanted at Babies R Us and it's on sale... so hopefully getting that on Friday. Other than that we lack a baby bath tub (we didn't use one with Boogie, we actually showered with her... but I don't see that being remotely possibly this time around), baby mittens (love those things), medela milk storage bags, bibs, and his coming home outfit. So I wanted to price a few things, including other things we don't necessarily need but I'd like to have, and then was going to come home and eat lunch. We got home later than planned, and ending up going to see mom at school (teacher work day)... that was a disaster. Boogie has become a very sensitive little girl and burst into tears when the main teacher mom works with was discussing changes to the room with my mom (they are both loud... we think Boogie thought he was angry with mom or something)... then the other assistant mom works with acted like she was crying (thinking it would make Boogie laugh) and she burst into tears... AGAIN. Yikes! I knew we needed to eat soon, so mom and the other assistant said it was fine to leave Boogie with them while I ran across the street to get us some lunch before heading to mom's house. I was gone MAYBE 15 minutes... and came back to Boogie in tears AGAIN! Needless to say... I was done for the day.

Things were better once we got to mom's, but I was exhausted. Boogie took a cat nap on the porch on my lap and then woke up long enough to play with them for a bit before mom left for her part time job. Now we're home... and luckily Boogie sat in my arms long enough for me to doze for a minute (I'm a light sleeper, she moves I wake up... works out well!) but I think that just made me feel worse!

So anyways, this new exhaustion hitting me is NOT fun. It doesn't make anything easy and I'm praying that I'll get through this semester and be able to graduate! Thanks for reading my mumble jumble of a vent. At least I'm almost in the last trimester.... right?

The Many Adventures of Boogie

It's hard lately to find time to go out and do things as a family, especially considering how much J has been working lately... but in the past week we managed to make it out to the zoo, attend a local festival (although I didn't quite enjoy it this year), and we had a picnic and walked around the lake today! Boogie loves when Daddy is home and can spend the day with her... I enjoy it to because I get to sleep in! The further along I get in this pregnancy, the more uncomfortable sleep is... but those few hours of extra sleep in the morning sure help!

So, like I said, one of the adventures we went on last week was a trip to the NC Zoo. It was huge. Probably wasn't the best plan, because I got pretty sore halfway through but Boogie thoroughly enjoyed the day! It did make it easier that my in-laws tagged along, Boogie pretty much wanted to just boss them around the entire time so it gave J and I a bit of a break while we enjoyed the zoo as well. The first animal we saw were the alligators, so the rest of the day all Boogie could talk about were the alligators. "Awwigator!? Where are you?" "Where awwigator?" "Daddy... find awwigator!" Ha! Here are a few pictures from our trip:

She was ready to go!

This is when she spotted the "awwigators"

She really liked the sea lions that swam in this tank.... until she looked one way and one of them swam from the opposite direction and scared her!

Can you see the newborn? She was born the day before we visited.... AND the momma  breastfed her  little one while I was taking pictures! May not sound exciting to you... but I was thrilled to see!

When we got about 20 minutes into Africa Boogie "pooped out"... she was exhausted!

FYI, she's not sweating... we dribbled water on her head to cool her off before she zonked out!

Hard to see, but this baby giraffe was born the week before we visited! How cool!

The zoo was a LOT of fun and Boogie had a great time! We skipped part of Africa where the lions, lynx, and etc were because we were all pooped and Boogie was STILL asleep. We're planning on getting passes from a local nature center that gives us discounts and free entry into a ton of zoos and museums all over this part of the USA next year!

Today we went to the lake and had a picnic and let Boogie run around the track and look for ducks... 

Eating lunch

She was yelling, "Ducks! Hey ducks! Where are you ducks?!"

"Run, daddy!"

She wanted more of her "tater sticks" aka Organic Potato Straw things... whatever they're called.

Awful pic, thanks honey! But there's me at 25 weeks 1 day and my girl! 

We'll have to go to the lake more often, there's another one in another town over that I prefer, it's smaller and has swans...so we may do that next week! I'm very thankful we got to spend some time with J and found time between laundry and cleaning and getting ready for Bubby to have some fun! Of course... we always manage to have fun at home too!

Piggy tails!

Wearing daddy's socks

I'm in so much trouble with this little diva!

Mom Blog Monday

If you are a mommy blogger or a blogger who likes to read mommy blogs, click the link above to join the linky or to find other mommy blogs to read! I've found some amazing blogs during these blog hops!