a change of plans.

so....last week my husband made a decision that seems completely insane but that i am trusting will make absolute sense eventually.

as i had mentioned in an earlier post, he got a job... a goodbye to the peanut and hello to a normal routine kind of job.  the catch was that he was to complete an intense 12 week training program with this large and super corporate company before being placed in a permanent position. i knew he had been unhappy since starting but i shrugged it off thinking he was just adjusting to this new lifestyle. i was wrong. he was miserable and despite how ridiculous it seems, he decided to leave the program last week after determining the company was not a good fit for him. that means a lot of anxiety and saying goodbye to benefits that were much better than those available to me at our non-profit.

i was left with 2 options - let the stress of his decision destroy us or trust my husband. he is a smart man who cares about me and this little nugget a lot so i am trusting this was the right decision for our family. it is hard being that i am now 2.5 weeks from the due date and he is back at the peanut (temporarily) while he looks for something else... something that will make him a happier person and allow him to be a better husband and a better dad.

the good news is - i'm ok... we're ok. and this certainly isn't the worst thing that could have happened. we'll survive and little nugget's arrival is rapidly approaching so we'll have a pretty good reason to do so.

showers and such.

i know it has been awhile since my last post... not that it is any excuse, but growing a baby is hard work! time has been flying by and i honestly didn't realize how behind i was on updating. here we go...

baby shower #1 - my sister kel and friend christie put together a sweet little shower for me in early february. it was fun to be surrounded by friends and a few family members and to open package after package of baby goodness. i loved celebrating with these people who i love and thankfully, kel and christie know me well enough to know i didn't want any crazy party games. instead there was a onsie decorating station and also a diaper decorating station. all i have to say is i am surrounded by some hilarious people.

baby shower #2 - my sister-in-law colleen and mother-in-law gathered family and family friends together in late february. this one was extra fun because steve was there with me. the spotlight wasn't completely on me and the nugget which put me at ease. it was good to be with people we don't see often enough and to know how excited everyone is about our addition to their clan.

baby kegger & diaper drive - steve really wanted to involve his friends somehow so he came up with the idea of doing a diaper party. we hosted an open house and provided snacks and loads of beer to many of our friends in exchange for their donation to our diaper stockpile. it was very successful! i think we're set for awhile. we also had some generous friends give us some additional goodies which was a nice twist.

surprise shower - last week i was surprised by my co-workers after a staff luncheon. i totally wasn't expecting anything so this was a really fun twist in my especially tiresome week. i am grateful to work with people who care about me.

to wrap things up.... the nugget scored some pretty serious loot and steve and i are blessed by our friends and family.  can't wait for nugget to get here so we can put all this sweet new baby stuff to good use!

are you ready for your close up?

the nugget sure wasn't ready! 

our little guy, after days of being super busy and rarely sleeping (or so it seemed), refused to cooperate today. he was tired. he stayed hunkered down with his hands and occasionally his feet covering his sweet face. also in the way? the umbilical cord, which seemed to be swimming across his forehead and then his chin and was also blocking the view of this kid's handsomeness. 

at the long awaited and much anticipated 3D sonogram, after an hour and ten minutes, these were the best shots we got. i'm still so glad we did it and am certain i'll do it again if we are blessed with other little ones in the future, but i was really hoping for more of a show! 

snow days.

in case you missed it, we've been struck with the great blizzard of 2011. for the first time i can remember in the 6 and a half years of working at my job, we closed down due to the weather. i'm grateful to our ED who sent us home early monday during the sleet and kept us safe by closing the agency both tuesday and wednesday. i'm pretty sure it is back to reality tomorrow. oh well. it was a welcome break.

life in the mcclernon house is good. i seem to be out of the crazy crying pregnant lady phase - maybe partly due to the stress relief that came when we found out about steve's job offer and the fact that the countdown is on to the end of his bar days. i really hope we still like each other once we start seeing so much more of each other. i'm used to him being gone 2 nights during the week and all weekend!

he'll be taking about 2 weeks off between jobs to work on projects around the house. we still have a ways to go to make room for baby. a few of the things i'm most excited about? new carpet throughout the house (the nugget will not crawl around on this nasty floor) and a new kitchen sink. i think these touches alone will do wonders for the look and feel of our home. stay tuned for photos as projects get completed!

also, stay tuned for photos of our little nugget. we go for a 3D/4D sonogram on friday. i can't wait to see what he looks like. as of today we have 9.5 weeks until he is due to arrive!

celebrate!

steve got a job! my stress level is going way down as that is sinking in. in a few short weeks my husband will start working a normal schedule with normal business hours. with benefits. and weekends. and paid vacation. it is going to be so weird but i'm confident it will be so, so good.

3.

when i rolled out of bed today i was officially in my 3rd trimester! i can't believe it. 28 weeks!

the past few weeks i've finally gotten some relief from the swollen disc in my back and i'm no longer seeing the chiropractor 2-3 times a week.  in fact, tomorrow will be my first visit in about 12 days. i am looking forward to the adjustment as my hips have been sliding around again. my activity has still been restricted but i'm hoping maybe i'll get a different answer about that when i go tomorrow. 

i find myself having pee more often again... almost like bladder spasms. i envision the little nugget inside my belly using my bladder as a trampoline. i'm not sure if/when  this will go away but i hope it is soon! i feel exhaustion creeping back in, also. around 9 or 9:30pm  i can barely keep my eyes open. 

my stress levels have been a little out of control lately and i'm trying hard to manage those. between the stress of steve's job hunt and the changes at the bar where he currently works which is under new ownership, to the stress of my own job and trying to sort through what maternity leave will look like, etc, to the stress of worrying constantly about everything we have yet to get done in preparation for nugget's arrival... well, i'm about maxed about right there. but in addition to everything going on in my own life, i'm watching my best friend's life turn upside down as she has to give up her 2 and a 1/2 year old daughter to a birth father who doesn't know her and is still a child himself. it kills me to standby while her family of 4 goes to 3. 

all of that rambling just to say... here i am. trimester 3. there is a lot going on!

adventures in registering.

when stephen and i were engaged i was really looking forward to the registering process. we were grown ups and we had a lot of stuff already but much of it was from when we were living apart and even more of it was handed down from our siblings or friends. we were mismatched and it was time for a fresh start and i couldn't wait to pick stuff out! my husband did not see things the same way. the first time we went to register i was in tears within about 8 minutes of our arrival to the store. he wanted to give me space to allow me to pick things i wanted since he didn't really think we needed any of it. i took this as disinterest. i quickly learned that registering would be something i would do on my own!

i was convinced now that we are expecting our first little one, steve would feel differently about the process. we are not prepared for a baby and need everything! when we went to babies r' us, he tried. i know he did. but it was useless. i wanted his opinion on bedding and he would say things like "i just figured he could use blankets we already have at home" and he referred to high chairs as "feeding tables." i gave up and returned to the store with my sister a few days later.

i've been slowly adding to the registry online but i really am clueless. i've been grateful for input from friends and family as we try to figure out what we need.

now things are finally coming together! i settled on adorable bedding that is accented with chocolate brown and shades of green and today my parents came over to help prepare the nursery. my mom and i picked a green paint called "key lime." it is a little overwhelming on the walls in an empty room but i'm confident once we add in furniture and the rest it will look great. i'll post pictures when i can but we have a loooong way to to go.