A Camping We Will Go

As promised, I am finally getting around to sharing all of the excitement of our first camping trip. I have to admit that when Adam said his company was having a "camping trip" to Morrow Mountain, I was a little concerned. I have a hard enough time being comfortable in my own bed - sleeping on a blow up mattress on the ground with no potty in sight was not exactly my idea of fun.

Then, I remembered all the fun I used to have camping. In Florence this was something I did all the time and I LOVED it. I wanted MC to grow up with those memories and to have an appreciation for nature and the outdoors as Adam and I do. I decided to take one for the team.

As most other things in our life, it wouldn't be a Martin outing if there weren't some complications. As a stay-at-home-mom, I find it my responsibility to do just about everything. Adam is at work all day - when is he supposed to do it? In this situation, that meant packing everything we needed for the trip: clothing, food, blankets, pillows, mattresses, flashlights, etc. It. was. exhausting. I am not even kidding. By the end of it all I was stressed to the max. MC was her usual energetic self and by the time I put one thing in the bag she had pulled it back out insisting she NEEDED to play with it. Yes MC, an icepack is completely crucial to your playtime activities....

Adam said he would be home by 1:00 to help me pack and to load the car. Love this man, but being timely isn't exactly his strong suit. By 2:00 I was beyond irritated and sent him a text - he said he was going to be late. Really? Hadn't figured that out yet. Thanks. He finally arrives around 3:45 and we spent the next hour and a half getting everything loaded in the car. Yes, that means we got on the road at 5:15. Then of course he shares we were supposed to bring potatoes. Stop at the grocery store. Then the all important gas station for a fill up and ice. Its now pushing 6:00 and we are just now leaving. Morrow Mountain is approximately 1 hour away but when we got on the highway and saw the after work traffic jam we knew we wouldn't make it there before 8:00.

By this point we were ALL irritated and cranky so we just decided to turn around, go home, and try again in the morning. Smart move for everyone involved. I don't think any of his coworkers would have been pleased to spend time with a tired and pissed off pregnant lady. Not the first impression I wanted to make.

The next morning we got up early, got going, and arrived to set up camp around 11:00. We had a FANTASTIC day. MC was in complete heaven and there were other kids there for her to play with which was great since she is a complete socialite like her daddy. (If no one is around she will literally talk to herself).

While making smores was one of the things I was most excited to introduce MC to, she was having NO part of it. She saw the marshmallows and it was over. I tried to explain the concept and showed her the ingredients but she screamed bloody murder insisting I not put the marshmallow in the fire. I obliged and just let her eat the marshmallows right from the bag.

I was a little concerned about how bedtime would go in this new environment, but MC had completely worn herself out that day. About 90 seconds after her sweet head hit the pillow she was out and mommy and daddy got to enjoy some great campfire conversation with Adam's coworkers. Here are a few pics from our adventures!

Great job on the tent daddy!!

"Can I get in now??"

Football with the boys :)

Running for the touchdown!

Yay MC!

Precious and beautiful little girl

In the lake looking for shells - as you can imagine, the dry clothes didn't last long!

Well worth the wet clothes to see that smiling face!!!

Checking out her "baby clam"

Looking for more shells with daddy

My main squeeze ;) Such a cutie

Carrying a soaking wet child back to camp because "its too hard to walk, daddy!!"

Playing with new friends

Duck... duck.... duck.....goose!

Flashlight - all time favorite toy

Helping daddy deflate the air mattress - also a perfect opportunity for bouncing MC super high!  ONE...

TWO.....

THREE!!!! Up goes MC!

"Do it again daddy!!!"

checking out her friend's tent

Having so much fun outdoors!

not enough hands!

Beautiful place! Can't wait to make it back!

One Fine Day

So, as moms, we all have "those days". Those days where you feel like your body is literally going to collapse and your stress level is through the roof. Yesterday was my day. I knew we were in for it when MC spilled an entire cup of goldfish in the floor on our way out the door. I didn't even bother cleaning them up - it takes us approximately 9 hours to get ready and out the door and I wasn't letting this hold us up any longer. I had already waisted 45 minutes staring at her on the potty, waiting for her to do her business....

As I mentioned in my last post, I will be a working woman as of Monday. It is incredibly exciting to be a two-income family again. Part of beginning this new job is fingerprinting and a background check - to be completed uptown.

Previously I wouldn't have thought twice about this as our apartment was right uptown and I could walk pretty much anywhere I needed to go. Moving outside uptown (although we are still only 2 or 3 minutes from it) brings on a new set of challenges - one of which being parking.

I found the building I needed to complete said tasks in and looped the block two or three times looking for a place to park. I found one about 2 blocks away. As I got MC out of the car (because, yes, being a stay-at-home-mom means she accompanies me on all errands - no matter how inconvenient), I realized the stroller was not in the car. I knew right then we were in trouble...

We began our trek to the building and MC was doing well. She insisted on climbing various concrete steps along the way but that was fine. I made it to what I thought was the appropriate building only to find it wasn't. Of course. We had to walk down and across the street. We arrived at the new location and I was ready to get things underway.

When the clerk said "That will be $10", I immediately prayed they took debit or checks. No. Of course not. That would mean our day would be easy which we all know is not the case. She said there was an ATM on the next block.

The next walk to the ATM was not going well. Its was hot, MC was doddling and, about halfway there, she began crying that it's too hard to walk. My energizer bunny 2 year old is screaming its too hard to walk to her 6 month pregnant mother who is sweating her a$$ off. I had no sympathy. We somehow managed to make it to the building that housed the ATM - however, of course it was nowhere to be found. I asked the clerk and he said it was in the next lobby. Then, OF COURSE, MC has to go potty. We found a restroom and the only toilet is splattered with urine. I wasn't about to let MC sit on that but you can't exactly explain to a toddler that we "need to wait to find a more sanitary option". Oh no. When a 2 year old has to go, they have to go. I had no choice but to cradle-hold and hoover her about a foot above the seat. Not fun when pregnant. My 32 pound child felt like 70 pounds by the time she got over her stage fright from the new experience and began doing her business. After the potty and climbing on top of every.single.bench., we walked again.

We made our way down the street and BACK to the first building to complete the fingerprinting. All the while poor MC is screaming and walking about as fast as a 90 year old woman, and I (unsuccessfully) attempted to carry her in sporadic spurts just to speed things along.

Upon being called back for fingerprinting things didn't improve. Big electric scanner with fancy buttons doesn't mesh with a curious 2 year old. MC was immediately intrigued and I spent my time blocking chubby fingers from touching every button she could spot. There was also a pedal the woman was pushing with her foot which was especially interesting to MC so in addition to blocking fingers, I was also blocking brown lady bug shoes from stomping the important pedal. I think at some point I had used all my resources and desperately asked MC to just push her "magic pretend pedal" which was about 5 steps away from the machine. It worked until she saw the buttons on the printer and then went for those.

When the fingerprinting was completed, I thought we were in the clear. Nope. Before we made it out of the scanner area MC started screaming. I had NO IDEA what was wrong and after several attempts to get a response out of her she screamed "MY BOOTY ITCHES!!!" Now I have never seen someone in such distress over an itchy booty, but given our day it came as no surprise that this sensation would send her into hysterics. The workers looked on with confused expressions as I attempted to remove her from the office as quickly as possible so we could tend to the "situation". Dear Lord, help me....

After almost two hours uptown we had completed approximately one task. As we left the building headed to our next destination, I knew we were done. I had persuaded MC outside by saying she could play on my phone but given that the child isn't even coordinated enough to walk normally without falling or running into something, asking her to walk while playing an iphone wasn't the best choice. Her 90-year-old-woman walk had now transcended into the pace of a 90-year-old slug and we were making zero progress. I tried to pull her along but she was cranky and focused and after stopping for a screaming fit in front of a tv news reporter attempting to complete a recording segment, we made our way back to the car. The background check would have to wait.

Once we made it home I, again, thought we were out of the woods. (You would think by this point I had learned that that answer would be NOT QUITE!) I walked into the door greeted by the thousand goldfish that scattered our living room floor. Their smiling faces taunted me to the point of "accidentally" squishing one or two with my foot as we shuffled past. As I was cleaning goldfish and desperately trying to unload the dishwasher to make it appear to the hubs I had not been a lazy bum all day, I hear MC going upstairs. I was desperate to complete just one task uninterrupted so I figured she would be fine for a few minutes. I hear the pitter patter of little feet coming down the stairs and as I greet her at the bottom I am not greeted by Maggie Claire - I am greeted by I-have-black-eyeliner-all-over-my-face-because-I-need-whiskers-to-be-a-tiger Maggie. Lovely. My sweet daughter made her way upstairs, into my makeup bag, removed the eyeliner, and proceeded to cover her entire nose, forehead, and cheeks with "whiskers". I was to the point of a breakdown so being the good mommy that I am, I plopped that kiddo in front of a movie while she ate dinner. I sat on the couch and prayed. (Can I mention that I know the secret of why God made children so stinkin' cute? So you don't stinkin' kill them. I'm serious, its impossible to bring harm to something so adorable - He knew that.)

I completed the day by calling Adam and telling him to enjoy his drinks with the guys - I might have thrown in a huge side order of guilt considering I shared all of the elaborate details of my excursion. I was only partially bitter. The man DOES work hard and NEVER gets to hang out with friends. Its just that his "night out" would happen to fall on the day from hell.

But, that's how life goes. Its hard and its exhausting, but its our life. Its fantastic and I can only hope that maybe tomorrow God will take it easy on me :) Happy Thursday everyone!!

PS - I promise the camping post is coming soon!

Bumpdate!

25 weeks 2 days

Due Date: January 5, 2013

How Far Along: 25 weeks
Total Weight Gained: 128.5 (12.5 lbs) Let me take a moment to share the fact that I am slowly beginning to hate this prompt. Its my own fault. Indulgence was the name of the game over the last few weeks and it SHOWED. I gained 2 pounds this week. What's worse is the weight I showed at my doctor's appointment on Monday. I usually try to weigh myself first thing when I wake up on Saturday mornings which is when my new weeks starts. I weighed 128.5. WOW. As I said, I gained 2 pounds in a week. When I went to the doctor Monday their "scale" said 131. I would like to attribute that to the fact that I was wearing heavy blue jeans a 2 shirts (I usually weigh myself unclothed at home). And it was right after lunch. In my mind that makes their weight bogus and mine correct.  
Maternity Clothes: Yes. Always.
Sleep: We don't even need to go there. I sleep a max of 3-4 hours a night. That is being generous. I go to bed too late and wake up too early, I can't get comfortable, and it takes me forever to fall back asleep after each bathroom trip which is now averaging around 3 per night. 
Best Moment of the Week: Momma is about to be a working momma. That's right - I got a job. Still in shock that they would hire a pregnant woman (yes, I told them I was pregnant - as if it wasn't obvious enough) Nervous and excited all at the same time!!
Food Cravings: Smores - more on this to come
Food Aversions: None.
Belly button/stretch marks: In/no stretch marks
Symptoms: As mentioned previously and as shown by my mammoth weight gain, this appetite is ridonkulous. Also feel as though my stomach has grown exponentially this last week. Harder to breathe, sore back, blah blah blah. Don't want to be a complainer so we'll just say its slightly uncomfortable but worth it all :)
Adam's pregnancy symptoms: Sore back. The other night he was repeatedly sighing and huffing and puffing due to his "sore back". No, I didn't slap him. Yes, I did roll my eyes and imagine things I'd like to say to him. 
Movement: This little guy is getting strong! He'll stop me in my tracks sometimes or make me flinch when he pushes those little feet across my stomach.
Gender: Boy - Grayson Carter
Milestones: First family camping trip! I would say surviving your very first camping trip with a two year old, all while 6 months pregnant, is quite a feat. It went SOOO well. MC had the best time and Adam and I did too! I'll be posting pics and details in the next day or so, so be sure to check back!

On a side note the doctor's visit went well this month. Grayson's heartbeat sounded good and so did baby chick's (MC accompanied me to the appointment and promptly after checking Bean's heart, she said "Mom, what about baby chick's heart??!" My amazingly fantastic doctor didn't miss a beat and said "Oh, of course! Let's check baby chick's heartbeat too!" MC proceeded to remove her stuffed baby chick from her bookbag and present it to the doctor for his appropriate checkup. I'm sure you're all anxious to know that he is in fact doing well and everything sounded good ;)

We are scheduled for our Glucose test and 3D ultrasound in 3 weeks so I'm super excited - for the latter of course. I failed the dang glucose test last go around and had to sit for the all day one. Worst.day.ever. I'm going to cry if I fail again. Nothing worse than sitting still for hours on end with a huge belly in a tiny waiting room chair with nothing to eat. Oh well, it is what it is and hopefully I'll pass with flying colors this time! 

Bumpdate!

Wow, 24 week bumpdate posted only 2 days before I am 25 weeks. That's being on top of things folks.

24 weeks 4 days - 6 months down!! Where did the time go??!

Due Date: January 5, 2013

How Far Along: 24 weeks
Total Weight Gained: 126.5 (10.5 lbs)
Maternity Clothes: I think I am going to delete this prompt
Sleep: Horrible. I have always been a back/stomach sleeper. Both of which are completely out and have been for a while. Factor in that in with going to bed SUPER late, waking up 347 times during the night to go to the restroom, and waking at 6:45 everyday and it spells ZOMBIE MOMMY.
Best Moment of the Week: Endless shrimp. No, nothing to do with Grayson, but it was fantastic. Red Lobster baby. hahaha. We got a couple of gift cards from my parents and this preggo momma was ON TOP of the endless shrimp. The waiter may or may not have told me there is an unspoken limit. We NEVER go out to eat so this was a nice little treat for us. MC was also an ANGEL (even after waiting over an hour for a table!) which made the experience all the more fantastic.
Food Cravings: Umm, shrimp?
Food Aversions: Spaghetti. I was lucky enough to never really have heartburn with MC. However, the other night after eating spaghetti I had some horrible heartburn - so much so that it made me nauseous. Won't be partaking in that nonsense again for a long time.
Belly button/stretch marks: In/no stretch marks
Symptoms: Oh this appetite. If I listed everything I ate yesterday you would laugh in my face. Seriously. Its bad. "Self control"is the phrase for the rest of this pregnancy.
Adam's pregnancy symptoms: Exhaustion. Poor guy. We are both like zombies. He's been working super hard and SUPER late all week. 
Movement: Yes! Grayson "aka the night owl" has been more apt to practicing his soccer skills as soon as I lay down to go to sleep at night. Thanks for that little man. I guess its only a taste of things to come!
Gender: Boy - Grayson Carter
Milestones: Let's see - growing out of every single bra you own (even the larger ones I bought when pregnant with MC) is always a fun milestone. NOT. Three words for the twins - out.of.control. I'll leave it at that. There was also the fun milestone of someone thinking I was due anytime now. At the festival the ticket seller asked when I was due (I started to pull the "I'm not pregnant" joke, but lets face it, I'm so far beyond that point). I told him January 5th and he looked completely confused. Like, total deer in headlights face. He stammered "oh, wow, so you've got a while, huh?" I just kind of chuckled and said "Yes, I do. It seems the belly has grown exponentially with the second..." My mother even felt compelled to remind me the other day after seeing my belly via facetime "Jess, you realize you have 4 months left??! Where is the baby going to go???" I know one thing, if this kiddo is estimated at over 9 lbs, I'm not even going there. Cut me open doc because this chick had a hard enough time with an 8 pounder. 

That's the latest with Baby Grayson. I just have to add that this weekend the Martin family is headed out for a new adventure. Camping. That's right, my big pregnant self, the hubs and a two and a half year old are going camping. To say that I am anxious about how this is going to go would be a complete understatement. I'm sure pics and many stories will follow in the days to come ;) Stay tuned! 

Marriage Lesson 2

Lesson 2: If you're pregnant, you win. Every.Single.Time.

I would be willing to put money on the fact that most married couples have made "the list". You might not have said it out loud, but I can almost guarantee you've compiled one.

What's "the list"? Its a list of all the things you do to contribute to the running of the house or the betterment of the relationship. Odds are "the list" is verbalized shouted at your partner in the midst of the argument that arose from you seeing your partner doing nothing while you were doing laundry.

However, laundry is not the only catalyst for "the list" argument. We all know that when one party works outside the home and the other doesn't, its necessary to defend what exactly one does all day. Now, my husband is amazing at telling me how much he appreciates all I do and often refers to me as "supermom". While he does compliment and thank me often, we still have arguments involving "the list". Given that I am currently pregnant, I am lucky to have the only "out" that exists in this situation - I'm pregnant, I win.

For the ladies who might also be pregnant, let me tell you why we win. We are growing a person. Its that simple.

Men usually have an extremely long and, often times, exaggerated list. They also like to include every.single.thing that they know we are physically incapable of accomplishing on our own. Now, when this "list" makes its way into the argument you need only one comeback - "oh really? Well, I grew/developed___ today... I win."  And, trust me, it doesn't matter WHAT is on your husband's list. He might say he just wont the Nobel Peace Prize. Doesn't matter. You look him straight in the eye and say "Today I grew two arms". If you are unsure of exactly WHAT you grew or developed that day, that's ok. Use the backup. "I am growing a PERSON. I win"

For some reason this stops men in their tracks. They know they have no argument. Regardless of how angry or narcissistic your husband might be, they will not argue with the fact that you are incubating and protecting their offspring. Well, either that or they will start laughing hysterically and the argument soon ends due to their inability to speak or stop laughing long enough to come up with an equally amusing comeback.

It's that simple. I encourage all of you pregnant women to research "what you did all day". Get on the Bump or another baby site so you have lots of ammo for "the list" argument. Pretty soon you'll have him trained like Ray in Everybody loves Raymond. Adam and I still get a kick out of the episode where he looks at Deborah and says "And what do you do all day - I'm sorry!!" Classic.

Now, if you aren't pregnant..... well, I just suggest you do whatever it takes to make yours a lot friggin' longer than theirs. And memorize it. You don't want to have to rewrite it to your arm after every shower.

My Big Fat Greek Festival

 Well its that time of year in Charlotte again... GREEK FESTIVAL TIME! This was our first experience with the Greek festival and it was FANTASTIC. Great food, music, dancing, rides, craft booths - there were an abundance of things to do and we probably could've stayed there all night. Here are a few highlights!

Free fallin' on the blow up slide

Weeeeeeee!

Wipeout!

NOT happy she had to get off the slide!

The train ride made it all better though!

 

Checking out the dancers

Love these kiddos!

Being silly with daddy

Telling daddy where she wants the flower she picked out

Her favorite! FACE PAINTING!

So sweet and still

Checking out the flower

Finished product!

Checking out the other rides

Such cute little greek dancers!

Ferris wheel - maybe next year ;)

We did opt for a helicopter ride though

Enthusiastic Pilot!

Telling daddy he had to get a picture of her flower before we washed it off

GREAT DAY!!!

Bumpdate!

23 weeks 2 days

Due Date: January 5, 2013

How Far Along: 23 weeks
Total Weight Gained: 125.5 (9.5 lbs)
Maternity Clothes: Yes. And lots of the hubs t-shirts
Sleep: Not great. I think going to bed so late and waking up so may times during the night is catching up with me.
Best Moment of the Week: I did have a great moment this week, but I need to keep it on the down low for a few more days. Promise to fill everyone in as soon as I know more. 
Food Cravings: Nothing imparticular this week!
Food Aversions: Again, nothing to report here either!
Belly button/stretch marks: In/no stretch marks
Symptoms: I am still dealing with the shortness of breath/dizziness/lack of energy deal. I'm thinking it might be my iron as I had to go on addition iron supplements with MC as well. I've been eating my protein to regulate my blood sugar, but it hasn't seemed to help. My appetite is also ridiculous. Like, seriously. I'm hungry ALL.THE.TIME. 
Adam's pregnancy symptoms: Complaining. Bless him. I try to bite my tongue when he starts ranting about being tired. I know he's tired - he works HARD. However, in the back of my mind I can't help but formulate a comeback similar to this "Tired? Really? I know sitting at a desk drawing pictures all day can be exhausting but I have just spent 13 hours on my tired, pregnant feet ironing your week's worth of clothes, cleaning up 3 pairs of poop panties in the course of approximately 1 hour, fed and played with our child, did 2 loads of laundry, washed dishes (BY HAND as we don't have a dishwasher), cooked dinner, and did dishes - by hand- AGAIN. What was that about you being tired?" But I always remember I love him and how much he does for us and I just keep it in my head ;)
Movement: Yup! Loving feeling this sweet boy! Favorite past time could possibly be sitting on the couch with Adam's hand on my belly, feeling our little soccer star go at it. He loves to move first thing in the morning and late at night. 
Gender: Boy - Grayson Carter
Milestones: Nothing major to report this week. However, another week of having a healthy pregnancy is always a milestone to be celebrated!