The State Of The Pregnancy

I've been getting a lot of questions about how the pregnancy is going. Well, it's pregnancy. For those that haven't had the joy of experiencing it, most stuff related to it isn't much to enjoy. It's a good thing something pretty incredible comes out of it or I'm guessing most women wouldn't voluntarily go through it multiple times. For the most part, it's pretty similar to the pregnancy I had with Dylan.

I had morning sickness pretty much the entire month of June and a day here or there over the last couple of weeks. Notice I said "day" and not "morning." That's because I pretty much felt like crap all day. Not to say that what I have for morning sickness is extreme. Trust me, I know I've lucked out and not gotten that severe nausea\vomiting thing a lot of gals get. But, feeling queasy all day long gets old pretty fast.

I don't think I've been as tired as I was during my first trimester with Dylan. Mostly because I haven't had time to be tired. Though I will say, oddly enough, once my morning sickness subsided a bit the fatigue increased. I'm sure the heat we've had of late hasn't helped. Speaking of heat, it's the thing that still tips me over to the feeling sick side. Lucky for me, we've got Texas like 100 degree heat for the next few days. Joy! I for see some popsicles in my future!

During my third trimester with Dylan, I had a lot of painful issues with my sciatic nerve. One thing I've learned in my 2nd pregnancy is that a lot of symptoms show up earlier. In this case, I started having sciatic issues around 9 weeks. This has limited my work outs (to say the least). About all I can do is walk at a slowish pace or hop on the stationary bike. With being bored with workouts, taking lots of lunch breaks (my usual work out time) to look at houses, being a little over tired all the time, and the gym being insufficiently air conditioned (see above on being hot), I have not been my usual active self. It's probably not helping to curb the weight gain but I kind of don't care. It is what it is. I'll worry about the weight next year.

Also not helping the weight gain is my appetite. When I felt queasy, eating something was the only thing that made me feel better. So, I ate. Now, I'm just hungry all the time. According to the books, you're only supposed to eat 300 more calories than usual during pregnancy. Either I eat far too little normally or my body doesn't know about the 300 calorie need, because I need A LOT more food than I usually do. I'm so ravenous at times that food is absolutely all I can think of. It's annoying to say the least as my life is not usually very food-centric. Because of this eating and no exercise thing I've done the unthinkable - not stepped on the scale for weeks. The last time I went for a doctor's appointment, I even stepped on it backwards so that I didn't see the number. I figure at this point knowing whether I'm gaining weight or not isn't going to change what I'm doing so the increasing number can only depress me. I know I'll have some hard work ahead of me post baby and it will be what it will be. Stressing it over when I was pregnant with Dylan did nothing but stress me so I'm not going to do that this time around.

Speaking of food, I'm hungry now and need to go find myself a snack. Have a great Friday everyone!

The Search Has Ended

I mentioned in my last post that we had made an offer on a house. Well, after some back and forth negotiations, we have an accepted offer! The search has ended. Wahoo!

After seeing over 80 houses in 14 different towns over the last 3 months, we settled on 1. Our search morphed a lot over time. Originally, we started looking in more of an urban feeling town (not city mind you but not completely suburban) for a house in walking distance to a town center. This house had to have amazing curb appeal and be an old charming home that had been renovated. This led us to a lot of houses with finishings we didn't love for prices we weren't able to or weren't comfortable paying. So, we decided we had to be open minded.

Then we looked at things all over the gamut of style, age, and condition in towns within an expanded radius. We looked and looked and looked. While my parents were here for Dylan's birthday a couple of weeks ago, we had them tour 2 homes that were at the top of our list. Having their opinions mattered a lot to me because a) my Dad's been in the real estate business for over 25 years now and knows a thing or two to consider and b) my Mom's more obsessed with houses than I am and has her fair share of remodeling experience over the years as a contractor. They saw both of those houses and had some valid points to consider on each.

Another week went by and, due to some things I had already considered but were reiterated by my parents, 1 house was eliminated. After the 2nd viewing of the other house, I liked it a lot more than the 1st viewing. A growing appreciation is always better than a declining one! We spent the next week exploring more homes and using that top of our list house as the litmus test. Nothing came close. So, we decided to make an offer.

Wouldn't you know it, after the house being on the market for 3 months and having 1 price drop over a month ago, we got into a multiple offer scenario! Rats! While I was hoping for more leverage, my powers of negotiation still won over. We paid just a bit more than we had agreed our top price was before getting into multiple offers but are happy with the deal we got.

So, it's a lovely new-ish home (4 years old) in the town of Wayland. I don't have the walk-ability to a town center that I was craving but we do have the space we want, a large lot that buffers us from neighbors, a reasonable commute to work and an excellent school system. I'm sure I'll find other destinations to enjoy walking to and will appreciate the other amenities of our new town. Some of the things I think I'll really like are being a short 3-4 mile drive to the shopping\restaurant mecca that we go to now for all of our purchasing needs and our very close proximity to the town's lakes and ponds which will be great for kayaking and swimming. And, after living in an old home for the last 9 years, there are definitely some benefits to new that I think I'll get used to REALLY fast. A few that come to mind immediately - large walk in closets, wood floors that don't squeak with every step, a 3 car garage (any garage for that matter....I've never had one) and a dry basement (which is even partially finished)!

Barring any major issues with the inspection on Monday, we move forward with the deal and plan to close on September 16th. With the home search stress behind us, a new stress has been introduced - selling our house. As we knew this would be coming up, we've been working on some projects to prepare but now we're in full gear on that front. I'm taking off tomorrow to help with some projects and packing around the house. The list is long but Mike and I are pumped and motivated so hopefully we'll able to knock most of them out in the next few days. If we do, the house could go on the market as early as late next week!

I'm definitely excited about this new house and new chapter in our lives. But, I'm very sad about it to. I absolutely love my house and my neighborhood and will be very emotional to leave it. It's a wonderful house that we've made our home through renovations, big life events and lots of joyful memories. Until now, that aspect of moving has only been abstract...now the reality is staring me in the face. I am the kind of person that gets very emotionally attached to a house and I can't even put into words how hard it will be to let go of it and move on. Pregnancy hormones aren't helping either. So, keep us in your thoughts this weekend and throughout next week as we are physically and emotionally challenged with preparing for this sale.

Ogunquit!!

Life has been nothing short of hectic at our house. Between looking at houses, preparing our house for it's future sale, work, normal day to day life and me being too tired to help with much around the house, we've had our plates full. After a lot of consideration, we decided that after one more weekend of open houses, if we didn't find anything we liked, we would make an offer on a house yesterday. Knowing that our hectic life was only going to get kicked up a notch if we're to list our house within a couple of weeks, we thought it would be nice to take a mini vacation day for ourselves. (As for the house, we did make an offer yesterday but only after finding out that another offer had also been placed on the house. We're in the wait for news mode.)

So, on Saturday, we took a 2 hour drive up the coast to Ogunquit, ME. According to Mike, he took me to this lovely beach side town while we were dating. For some reason, I have no recollection of the trip and always tease him that it must have been an ex-girlfriend he took. After many years of this discussion, it was time for him to take me back and remind me that I had, in fact, been there with him. Yeah, he was right. I had been there with him but it took about half the day of Mike pointing out things we'd done on our previous trip for me to remember. Sometimes I worry about myself. What has happened to my brain cells?!?!

Dylan had a nice nap on the drive up. When we got there, the first thing on the agenda was food! I tell ya, this pregnancy stuff has really messed with me. Food is all I can think about sometimes. I'm hungry ALL the time! I'm really not used to this food obsession thing and I find it very unnerving. But, it is what it is, and a hungry girl has got to eat. With the hunger beast within calling, we went to the first restaurant we came to off the parking area. It was a Mexican food spot with a nice outdoor area for dining. As it was around 2 o'clock at this point, the restaurant was past it's lunch rush and the outside area gave Dylan a nice place to wander around after he finished eating. While the food held no candle to real Mexican food (you just can't get that in New England), the fish tacos fit the beach side bill and tamed the hunger beast within. With full bellies, it was time for some shopping!

The town has some cute artsy shops as well as lots of touristy shops. We wandered through a few and bought a few trinkets for ourselves. The shops were all fairly small and tight for a stroller to get through. With those tight spots, Dylan was in easy reach of lots of fun things that were sometimes too tempting for him. We had to be sure to check his hands before we left each place so our little guy didn't take a 5 finger discount on any items.

Next up was Marginal Way. It's a paved walk along the coastline where you get stunning view of the water and enjoy gazing at beach side cottages.

Climbing the Rocks

See Us? In the Middle.

Now, I'm already having sciatic issues due this pregnancy thing, so I don't move much faster than a moseying pace. It was a fine pace for that type of environment. However, it leaves Mike to run after Dylan if need be. During our walk, Dylan took about every mode of transportation he could.

He Walked

He Did Ride in the Stroller Some

And He Rode on Dad's Shoulders

For the most part, Dylan did well. At the point that he started getting tired and not listening to us as he should, we turned around and headed back.

Many Bees Busy at Work

After our walk, what we needed to give everyone a little more pep in their step was some ice cream. Dylan's always hit or miss on food. Sometimes we order him his own (which often goes wasted) and other times we just share ours. Given that the scoops looked pretty large, we opted to share the ice cream with him. Well, this was a day that Dylan wanted some food apparently. Mike got very little of his scoops because Dylan chowed it down! (I guess that's a benefit to being in pain and not being able to carry him....I ate my ice cream mostly by myself with only a few spoon fulls offered to the kiddo!)

We gobbled up the ice cream on the way to the beach. At this point, it was about 5:30 or 6pm. In my opinion, it was the ideal time to go to the beach. The sun was lower so it was cooling off and we would have a lower chance of getting our pasty skin burned. Also, the light was beautiful and made the scenic view even more spectacular. Apparently ice cream hit the spot and Dylan had a great burst of sugar energy. He ran around (literally) for over an hour and had a great time at the beach! Unfortunately, all the walking for the day had taken a toll on my sciatic nerve and I spent most of our beach time trying to find a comfortable seated position. It did allow me to take lots of pictures of the boys though. And, my fact hurt from smiling so much at them having their good time so I can't complain!

The beach set up was kind of perfect for us. It was low tide and there was a large sand bank separating an area of shallow water from the ocean. It was a great depth for Dylan to run and splash in!

See, I was there too!

After getting very comfortable with the sand and water, we moved to the other side of the sand bar to see if Dylan would enjoy the waves.

At first he ran away!

Then his Dad showed him how much fun it is to jump the waves.

He LOVED it!

He also liked chasing the seagulls.

Dylan Prints

Family Portrait

After an hour and a half of fun in the sun and Dylan seriously pooping himself out, we packed up and headed back to the car for the trip home. Even though we left just before Dylan's normal bed time, by some miracle, he stayed awake the whole time! So, after a very exhausting day for the little guy, he got to bed very late. Sunday was back to reality and house hunting. Sigh. After this house thing gets some sort of resolution, my gang is seriously going to need some chill out time!

Sand and Water

Dylan has absolutely fallen in love with the sand and water table that his Nana and Bumpa gave him for his birthday. The first day Mike got it set up, Dylan played on it for a full hour! The only thing that's captured his attention for that long of a period of time previously is a Harry Potter movie.

During that hour, I got to take pictures of the progression from nice, neat and separated water table to big ol' mess of mud.

In the beginning, all was neat and clean.

Then this crazy guy got to it and went wild!

The Destruction

Dylan was a mess too!

We've learned that no clothes is a better way to play at the table. Glad he likes it! Thanks Nana and Bumpa!

Squam Lake Nature and Science Center

On day 2 of our 4th of July NH trip we weren't quite sure what we were going to do. There were a couple of options that we chose. One would be most enjoyable for my parents (always good to keep your guests entertained) and one was geared more for Dylan. It was forecast to be rainy and we thought either one would be good for that kind of weather. After a leisurely morning of breakfast and lounging at the condo, we headed to Walmart for some groceries and lunch then set out towards our destination...not knowing at that time which place we would end up.

Dylan fell asleep en route so we started heading for the further destination - Castle in the Clouds (an historic home with an amazing view). However, when we were less than half way there, he woke up. So, we decided to take a u-turn and head to the activity he would likely get more enjoyment out of it - The Squam Lakes Nature and Science Center.

Like I said, we thought we might get some rain that day. We didn't. It actually ended up being a clear sunny day, if a little hot. It's a good thing too because I had imagined the nature center to be mostly indoors. I was very wrong! True to it's name, it presented a lot of nature, mixed with some science learning. The center had many animals native to the area that you got to observe in person, then a little building with each animal (or group of them) that had activities for learning about each one. It was really cool! What was particularly awesome is that Dylan is getting to an age where he's better able to take part in these interactive kinds of exhibits.

Coyote Statues at the Entrance

Barred Owl

Making a Rubbing of a Fall Leaf

Mike and Dylan's Creation!

Opening Doors to Read Facts

The center also had several informational sessions throughout the day. We were lucky enough to be able to attend two of them. One was in a mini outdoor auditorium where we got to see and find out a little about the rare (in New England) Blanding's turtle.

Since toddlers have the attention spans of gnats, we didn't stay for the whole talk but I was impressed with the bit of presentation we did see. Then, it was on to see more animals, some of which I'd never seen up close and alive (not taxidermy).

Fisher Cat

Bobcat Jumping Up After a Chipmunk

Stretching Bobcat

Mountain Lion

There were lots of things to capture Dylan's attention. In addition to having fun with his grandparents, he had fun walking the trails, watching the water from bridges, seeing the animals and playing in the exhibits.

Looking for Fish with Mimaw

Turning the Wheel

Walking with Pipaw

Yay Grandparents!

Woohoo! Pregnant Ladies Get to Have Fun Too.

Dylan Took Many Turns on the Slide

The second presentation we saw that day was for the mountain lions. We saw them then went to some other exhibits and circled back for the talk. We got to see them up close and personal while the trainer gave them some practice with showing him their paws and bellies, through bars, which they need to be trained to  do for regular health check ups. They are stunning creatures!

After that talk, Dylan was nearing the end of his rope, so we picked up our pace just a bit so we got to see all the other exhibits before he really melted down.

Black Bear

Red Squirrels

Groundhog

I Spy a.......

Frog!

I was really happy we chose the nature center as our days destination because we all enjoyed it. It far exceeded any expectations I had of the place. To finish off the day, we made some pizza at the condo and watched the beautiful sunset from our deck.