Funniest Blog I've EVER Seen!

I just could NOT pass up the opportunities to share this blog I just discovered with you fabulous people. I was cracking up laughing the whole time I was reading. My husband actually had to come upstairs to see what all the fuss was about.

That said, please enjoy Cake Wrecks to your heart's content. Cheers!

A Little Breather

After the hellish day of pain I had yesterday, I am pleased to report that I am doing MUCH better today. The cramping has been basically non-existent all day and my baby girl has been popping and kicking around all afternoon. She is going to be the cutest thing on this planet, I SWEAR!!!

We've finally settled on her first name, which we are keeping mostly a secret for the time being, but now we're tossing back and forth on her middle name. The original option is an archaic, Shakespearean name I've loved for several years, but I also thought of the idea recently to use her middle name as a way to sort of name her after my hubby's dad, who passed away 6 years ago.

For those of you with kids, how did you make the choices on how to name your children? Was it a hard choice for you, or did you and your spouse know right away? Did you end up using names you liked most of your life, or did those names go right out the window when you got pregnant and started REALLY thinking of names?

The Saga Continues... unfortunately.

Ok, now for the update I was alluding to in that last post. As I posted before, I've been starting to have some cramping in my lower abdomen the last few weeks. You can catch up on the details from that in this post, this one, and the final one here.

Ok, so, for today's news, I went out on my dog walk, and I LOVE these 2 dogs. They're freaking adorable. Unfortunately the puppy must not be feeling so hot because he had an awful case of the runs. Poor thing. Since it was right in someone's front yard, I kinda felt like I couldn't just leave it, so I did my best to clean up the mess, but unfortunately, that turned into me whirling around and emptying the contents of my stomach (which weren't really ANYTHING at the time) into the grass on the other side of the sidewalk. Awesome.

After I finished their walk, I ate a granola bar to re-settle myself, and went home rather than spend more time out marketing like I had really wanted to. Then the cramping got REALLY bad. It wasn't fabulous this morning, but it was bearable. But then it just kept going, and wasn't getting any better. Finally, about noon-ish, I decided that was quite enough of that, and I was going to bed.

I am so grateful for facebook because I was able to post what's been going on and got some really great comfort and advice from lots of friends who have been there, done that, and have the confidence that what I'm experiencing is probably very normal and that I don't need to panic. Based on my intuition and the confirmation from a friend and my mom, I've put myself on bedrest for the remainder of today and probably the rest of the week except for a couple times I know I'll need to leave the house. I already have a standing appointment to see my doctor on Friday and if things don't improve on their own I'm definitely calling them early to give them a heads up of what I'm experiencing and what I'm doing about it.

For the remainder of today, I'll be lying right here, reading, surfing the web, and watching some movies on my laptop, with my pregnancy tea with raspberry leaf in hand. Just say a prayer for me and my little girl that everything is indeed as it should be.

Take care!

Erin Go Braugh!

Greetings, my dears, and a very Happy St. Patty's day to ye! I hope ye all be wearing your green and/or orange, whichever be your preference.

I was wearing a green sweater earlier today, but have changed back into blacks and grays (as happens to be the color of my current lounging attire) because I've put myself on bedrest for the day. More on that in my next post. I want to keep this one to just one topic.

Today I bring you news from the land of my dear Mr. Brown over at Laughing Soul (no, that's not really his name, but he'll get the joke if he sees this) - I hope that I shall always be the Queen of Your Hearts!! In celebration of his 100th post (WAHOO!!!) he is hosting a fabulous giveaway. Enter to win and you will be in the running for either some fabulous loose teas or terrific offerings from Best Buy.

Amble on over by way of the rainbow to the pot o' gold he has waiting for ye. And watch out for them leprechauns! They be full of the blarney, the do!

Kelly's BABY BUMP?!

So apparently today, Kelly Clarkson's performance on American Idol last night is the MOST Googled thing on the internet today! There are rumors flying around that the first Idol is PREGNANT, despite consistent claims from her for a long time that she's not in a relationship. Check out the article here for more info.

Seriously, folks?! From one pregnant woman to the general public, that is NOT what a baby bump looks like. I mean... did no one else notice the weight she put on while she was on AI? Granted, it's not the same, but seriously! Good grief, Charlie Brown. And for you doubters, here's a picture to compare.
The weight she has put on is evenly distributed and perfectly flattering. That outfit, however, is not doing its job to make her look amazing. If she was a skinny-minnie with no curves, maybe. I'm hardly someone who is Kelly-Obsessed, but I believe in shooting stupid rumors in the foot when I see them. Good luck, Kelly! You did a fabulous job as ususal!

What was I so worried about anyway???

Well, simple fact, I knew my interview went well with the dog walking place. My interviewer and I have had too many fabulous conversations for it to have gone otherwise! Of course I was worried and freaked out for nothing because she hadn't called me when she said she would.

(a) I do still feel that wasn't the best way for her to handle things, especially with someone so new to dealing with their company, and with the front desk girl not having all the information.
(b) She explained VERY well to me what happened and why I hadn't heard from her until late Tuesday afternoon (instead of "by noon on Monday."

All that said, I got the job!!!! I went in yesterday for orientation, filling out paperwork, etc, and a couple hours following someone on 3 of her walks. It was good to be able to observe some specific processes, get some reminders on some common sense things, and to see someone with a different style of handling rambunctious big dogs than I would.

My office manager and I had a good laugh about that later, as my style is much closer to hers than to my trainer. Amazingly enough, the trainer reported back that she was concerned at HOW disciplined I am with dogs! Her style is some of "let 'em do whatever they want, we're here to show them a good time." My style is more "Let's have fun, get the dogs some exercise, but they need to know that when I'm here, I'm the boss. NOT them!"

I generally prescribe to the Cesar Milan method of dog handling. It's all about human training, not dog training, and the dog just has a clear understanding that you are the Alpha-Dog and "Pack Leader," as Cesar would say. When a dog knows who is in charge, they happily comply (typically) and are much more content with knowing that they're being given clear orders. My version of it is basically, "You do what I want you to do, and then we can do what you want to do!"

Well, now I'm off to day two of training!!! I'm told if I can be half the pet care professional this woman is, I will be doing fabulously in this business. Sweet!!! People need to learn those kinds of comments just make me want to jump higher!

Am I getting Dear John'd?

Ok, so I interviewed last Wed for a position dogwalking right here in my zipcode. It would be the perfect job for me right now while I'm pregnant. After my interview, which I thought went EXCEPTIONALLY well, the Manager told me I should call her Monday (yesterday) morning and if she hadn't heard from me by noon she would call me.

I call at 9:30 and was told she's in a meeting. I let them know I have a sonogram but will call back if I don't hear from her.

I call at 2:30. Front Desk Girl: "She's unavailable. As far as I know, all the positions are filled. I'll have her call you ONLY if she's interested and we'll keep your resume on file." She refused to let me talk to the Mgr, who I was under the impression would call me regardless.

Orientation is today and still no word. Should I call one more time, or just let it go?

It's a...........

Everyone, I just wanted to take this moment, with a brief post, to let you all know that the sonogram went well today. The tech saw nothing to lead her to believe that anything abnormal is causing my cramping. I could just be extra sensitive to the uterus stretching, or I'm just one of those lucky ones who gets to have cramps while pregnant! It could be WAY worse.

Baby is developing well and looks to be right in line for an August 14 due date. Hurray!!!

AND, we found out the really exciting news at the end... we're having a baby GIRL!!!!!

We haven't decided when we're going to make the name public knowledge yet, but I'll be sure to let you know when we do.

Love and kisses!

Irene

Happy Birthday to Sexy Me!!

So, I just couldn't resist and absolutely HAD to post this morning. I'm feeling quite special indeed today. I have already received some wonderful facebook posts from people wishing me a happy birthday. Thanks all!!

I don't really have much in the way of plans for the day. I went to a birthday party last night for my birthday twin, Nora. We were born 4 hours apart. If she had been born about 11 minutes earlier, we would have the same birthday!! So every year, I always have to tease her that I'm older than she is. (Which CLEARLY means I'm wiser and have more life experience behind me than her minuscule years!) We had a great time, and ended up hanging out insanely more than I expected. The 3 of us left at the end of the night, who have known each other the longest, were there talking, catching up, and playing my favorite game Whoonu until THREE IN THE MORNING!!! I could not believe we'd stayed up so late. A mom of two small kids, a pregnant woman, another friend who works with small children, and a final girl who has chronic Lyme disease. We were QUITE the group, let me tell ya!

So today, I check my blog logs to find a lovely surprise. My friend Julie at Wearing Mascara has bestowed upon me my first blog award!!!


Now, unfortunately, I don't know enough of you lovely ladies to give the award to anyone else, but I will certainly take part in the first part of recieving this prestigious award, which is to list 5 things about me that make me sexy! Here we go...

1. I am creating life!!! What is sexier than THAT?! (I can duplicate myself. What's YOUR Superpower?)
2. My eyes are like deep pools of the darkest chocolate.
3. I have patent teal stilettos and black tweed peeptoes.
4. I understand the art of seduction
   
5. My legs look damn good when I'm wearing a dress and heels.

Once I have more followers on here, I will most definitely be giving this award out... patience is a virtue!

Yesterday revisited

Ok, I'll keep this one short because I haven't been feeling too stellar today. Went to the doctor yesterday. Baby's heartbeat is still strong (although he/she was being a little shy and swimming away from the heart monitor!) and I've gained 3 pounds in the last 2 weeks. All good signs. She thinks everything looks fine, but wants to be safe rather than assume anything, so she is sending me to get an ultrasound. Called this morning to schedule and after a little guilting got them to get me in Monday morning at 10:30. Praise God!!!

I'll keep everyone updated on things then. And if we end up finding out the sex then I promise I will tell you, but I have to make sure everyone who NEEDS to know gets the info first. ;-)

In the meantime, check out this great new site I discovered today. Well, I don't know exactly HOW new, but new to me. It will soon be taking a place of honor on my sidebar, but this guy is downright hilarious!!!!! You might start seeing one of his vids flying around facebook soon. I know it's on mine!!

Earliest I've been awake to date!

Hello readers. I'm sorry, I know it's been a few days since my last post. I've been actually trying to figure out what exactly to post about... not a whole lot has been going on. After my last post, Dog-Man called and sort of tried to work things out. I decided to give him one more chance, but of course, I think he still has no real concept of how to run a business, and nothing really changed. Earlier this week, I actually got a call from another dog walking company - MUCH more local, MUCH more experience and professionalism and concept of business image with your staff just as much as with your clients. They actually had a real list of questions on an interview form!!! gasp!

I went in for a casual interview yesterday, which was actually pretty great. I get along really well with the marketing director, we have a very similar mindset about how a business should work and what customer service looks like. I left with no direct job offer, but feeling as though I was already a part of the team. I will find out Monday if I got the job, and will start PAID training Tuesday!! Yeah, did I mention before that with the other company, the only work I would have been paid for was the actual dog walking I did? I would have been expected to do my own marketing, build my own client base, and come in for training completely pay-free. Riiiiiiiight.

Moving on, the current thing on my mind is something I am starting to get a little worried about. On Sunday in church, I started feeling a little, uncomfortable but not entirely painful twinge right in the middle of my lower pelvis. I brushed it off as no biggie because I didn't really feel any real alarm over it, it just wasn't comfortable. That, and I had just called the doctor a couple days prior with concerns about what turned out to be just a bad round ligament pull. I don't want to be a neglectful mother, but I also don't want to be freaking out over stupid little things. So, I figured I'd let this one go.

Here's the problem, though... since Monday, off and on, and - I realized today - increasingly, I have been experiencing what feels a lot like mild menstrual cramping that fades in and out all day. It's completely subtle and doesn't impede my activities at all, but I definitely notice it. When it woke me up this morning just before 6:00 (not awful, just enough to wake me up), I realized I couldn't ignore it anymore. Now, I'm up at least an hour and a half earlier than what I'm used to, researching mild cramping in the second trimester, and starting to freak out. No one else is awake yet, my doctor's office isn't open, but the article I found basically said that because the pain is consistent I need to call the doctor.

They already decided they want me to get things checked out at my next sonogram to be sure they're not "missing anything" from the ligament cramping before - now THAT pain was bad! - and now, with my next appointment still 2 weeks away, I'm not sure if I can really wait any longer to get it done.

Are there any other moms out there who've experienced this happening? I'm really trying hard not to become a total worry-wart, but I've had a pretty constant fear of something awful happening to my baby, that I haven't ever been able to totally shake. I'm struggling with really relying on God and allowing him to give me peace about this whole thing. I just want to have a healthy baby...