9 Days till Christmas

The countdown is on! I'm so excited.

Today we're going to buy Christmas cards, and later tonight I have book club.

For book club we've been reading Little Women. If you haven't read it, it's about the lives of the March girls during the Civil War.

Hackers are sooo not cool.

So tonight after I put the Lexi-bean to bed I log in to my FB account. Apparently I've been hacked!!! Argh. Some weirdo from Paraguay logged in my account a mere two hours earlier. I changed a whole buncha passwords to EVERYTHING. Take that, weirdo.

It might have to do with me reporting a weirdo yesterday for impersonating Mr. S and sending me spam. Eek. I did block that weirdo as well.


In funnier news, I got pantsed.

Yes, my dear innocent child decided it would be fun to pants her mother.

I was getting her bath ready, and I put her on the floor so I could turn on the faucet. Well, I feel two hands clutch my pants, and next thing I know, my sweats are down to my ankles. Ahh....the joys of motherhood.

Ooh la la....

So guess who scored 50% off of an hour long massage? Moi!

I just spent $30 on a massage gift certificate, which is a steal. The only time I've had a massage before was a prenatal massage a year ago, and that was one of the most relaxing hours of my life. It was WONDERFUL. Soft, warm bed, relaxing aromatherapy, being massaged for a whole hour.... :D. The only downer was that my back pain came back by the time I drove the bumpy road home. It was still worth it, though.

I'm thinking of cashing it in on my birthday.

I also bought a book called The Belly Fat Cure. I still have my belly pooch from pregnancy with the Lexi-Bean, so I figure giving this cookbook/lifestyle a try won't hurt. I won't call it a diet per se because those don't work for me. I just need to eat healthier overall.

I'm also thinking about buying some new workout clothes, but then I keep going on Old Navy's website and seeing cute accessories... I think it depends whether or not I can persuade this woman on Craiglist to sell me her jogging stroller for $25. She told me it was not sold yet, but she has had a lot of inquiries. Darn people and their inquiries!

Finals week!

I should be stressing out more....but I'm not.

I think my thoughts are turned a bit towards....CHRISTMAS.

Our tree is decorated, lights are up, village is set up. We still need to get Lexi-pants a stocking, and wrap presents.

I've been lusting over THIS diaper bag lately.

Check out the storage in this baby...insulated bottle/sippy cup holders, key ring, stroller handles, tons of pockets...drool.

Not to mention how cute this little family looks right here. Of course I don't normally look that chic(especially post-baby) but it's definitely something to strive towards. ;-)

Currently I'm toting a used Petunia Pickle Bottom Toddler tote. It's alright, but not my dream bag. The bottle pockets are small, and I'm not crazy about the storage or the handles. I'm too broke to justify buying a REAL new PPB bag, but this Timi and Leslie bag is less than half the price of a PPB!

So yes, it's definitely one of my dream Christmas presents. ;-)

Nerd moment!

I just found out the latest X-Men movie is being filmed in Jekyll Island. Sweet! (Jekyll is a couple hours drive from where I live)

Okay, I got that out of my system. Phew!

Mr. S and I, being the Christmas enthusiasts that we are, have started decorating a bit...early. We have our Christmas lights up and it's not even Thanksgiving yet. Hey, if Walmart can start decorating, we can too! :-P

Lexi enjoyed watching the lights. I wore her in my wombfruit wrap, and cleaned off bird poo off of the railings while Mr. S strung lights. That was yucky.


Babywearing is another slightly-crunchy thing I've picked up since becoming a mom. It's so much easier to just wear her and get stuff done than to try to carry her AND do chores. Two free hands are a must!

Here's us at a pumpkin patch in my Beco Gemini. We're both cozy and comfy!

Back here again...

Here's Lexi in her Halloween costume, aka Madame Butterfly or Mothra.

So it's been awhile. Motherhood keeps ya busy, as I have found out. Between chasing after a crawling baby and writing java programs, I've been pretty swamped. So let me write an update.

Being a mom is the most awesome and hardest job. I love looking into my little girl's eyes and making her laugh. I love to tickle her toes and blow raspberries at each other. :)

Lexi just started crawling recently. Sometimes when she gets excited, like when Mr. S comes home from work, she flops like she's trying to swim instead of crawling to him. It's really cute. She loves to eat foods that she can feed herself, like rice puffs and teething biscuits, and dislikes carrots.

She likes to grab things she shouldn't grab now, which is pretty entertaining. Today she grabbed Mr. S's baseball hat, and I told her, "That's Daddy's hat." She replied, "Dada?" LOL

My favorite diapers so far...

Are Thirsties Duo Diapers! I love the leg gussets, I love the sleeve opening, I love the dual inserts, and I love the cute colors and prints. I only have two, but if I had more money I would use these for most of my stash...

Lexi and more....

Here's some cuteness...

I decided to get out the jumper from the storage/former man cave/room since she could now hold her head up well. She had fun batting at her new toys! She isn't quite tall enough to jump in it well, but she's growing very fast.

I'm still in love with cloth diapers. I have mostly pockets, with my Flip system for my personal use/overnight. I have to say, I haven't had a single blowout in her cloth diapers. Sure, the poopy ones are a bit icky to clean, but definitely not hard at all. My problem now is that I want to buy all the cute ones I see....it's my inner shopaholic coming out. I found a cute pink heart printed diaper cover on Etsy that screamed, "BUY ME!!!" but I will see if I can show a bit of self restraint. After all, I just bought a lavender minky Kawaii diaper last week, and it hasn't even arrived yet.

Mr. S figured out the true drive behind my obsession, and not just the "it's economical/environmentally friendly/reusable/better for Lexi's skin" argument that I give him everytime I see a new one to buy. Thankfully he has his own obsession with music and video games, so he can't really point fingers. :-P

I think one of the best parts of cloth diapering is getting other mommies to want/use cloth as well. Then we can all be obsessed together!

Flip Cloth Diapers!

I was not paid by Flip to endorse these.

As I posted previously, I bought some Flip diapers to use. I think they work great! Lexi doesn't get a rash in them, and I love the Zinnia pink covers. They haven't leaked on me yet.

As far as smell, she seems less stinky when she pees in these versus her Pampers. When she peed in those, I could smell it through the fragrance right away. In her cloth diapers, it is harder to tell.

I have also used the disposable inserts as well. They work great, but Lexi gets a little red in those like she does with regular disposables, so I will have to put some diaper cream on when she wears them.

Overall my cloth diapering experience has been pretty positive, and I can't wait to buy more! I think the next ones I buy will have velcro so that they are Mr. S friendly. :-)

I was bugged...

So my hubby was bugging me that I never update!

I did finally have my baby on her due date of 3/23. Life has been crazy busy, with sleepless nights, and lots of poop cleaning and baby feeding.

One of the things that I never thought I would like but want to try now is cloth diapering. Pre-baby, the thought of even being near poop grossed me out beyond words, and I was very for disposables. Then I had my brand-new, real-life baby, and realized that baby poop wasn't so bad. Unfortunately, almost all 'sposies have failed me except for Pampers. Huggies leaked terribly, and Parent's Choice didn't contain poop. Luvs did not leak, but did give her a rash. Well I was all set on Pampers, but then Walmart got sold out of size ones when we went grocery shopping! Luckily she was big enough now to fit into size twos, but this was not good.

My friend Amber told me that she wanted to try cloth diapering sometime for the same reason, so I decided to research the whole idea. Lo and behold, cloth diapering is trendy and easy now!

Cloth diapers come in cute colors and prints, way more fun than boring white. They also come with many options, and some are as easy as 'sposies! They are much better for the environment, as one of the most common items found in landfills is disposable diapers. They are also more cost effective, as long as you don't go TOO crazy with buying diapers.

I decided to try out the Flip diaper system. Here is one in Zinnia, which is a dark pink:
I bought the day pack, which is two diaper covers with six stay-dry inserts. You basically place the insert inside the cover and tuck it in, and as long as the cover doesn't get covered in poop, you can re-use the cover multiple times. They also fit babies until 35 lbs, which is great! No more buying diapers all the time!

I am anxiously waiting for them to come in the mail. I can't wait to see how they work out on her!

Still pregnant....lol.

Yup, Mr. S and I have already tried a few of the natural labor induction methods. Yesterday I walked a mile, did the deed, etc. Nothing!
I know Lexi-Bean will come when she is good and ready, I just am that impatient. :-P
Last night I had a dream that she was born, and I was getting ready to breast-feed her. Then I woke up. Sigh.
She's already given me a few kicks and punches this morning, so I know she's up as well. :-)
Well, I suppose I better get used to Daylight Savings Time again!

Yay for weekends!

Ooo...I love weekends. Especially ones where I have a few activities planned, but also a good amount of free time to just relax.

This morning I went for a walk with Mr. S and the dogs, and filmed a bit of it with my new Flip Video camera. It's awesome! It's only the size of a regular digital camera, and makes the whole video-recording process super easy. Then once I'm done recording, I can just plug it into my laptop with the built-in USB memory card, and post the videos online or email them. Mr. S had me make a YouTube account for when Lexi-Bean is born so that we can post cute videos of her there for our friends and families to enjoy.

Later today, I'm going to hopefully get my car washed and get a pedicure with a friend. My toenails are in need of a pedicure, but I can't really reach down to do them myself. So I'm splurging and paying someone else to do them. Yay!

A random spurt of energy?

I'm actually not dead-tired tonight. Weird!

Tuesday, we went to our friends to watch some American Idol and socialize. My car ended up getting super muddy because of the dirt roads, so I think I might get my car washed this weekend if I'm up for it. Mr. S cleaned up our library and turned it into our new guest room, but now I have to deal with all of my crap that I had stored in there. It's in the kitchen right now. I'm hoping I can convince Mr. S to put most of it in the attic. :-)

Yesterday was my 37-week checkup. I tested Group-B Strep positive (crap) but that only means I have to wear an IV when I give birth to Lexi-Bean. Everything else was hunky dory.
After the appointment, Mr. S and I went to MacAllister's Deli for dinner. We had GIANT baked potatoes, and I polished mine off with a slice of really yummy carrot cake. Even after Mr. S scoffed at my cake, he totally ate some, which proves how yummy it actually was. I wanted to take a walk afterwards, but once we got home I was TIRED. I ended watching my guilty pleasure(16 & pregnant) while Mr. S watched AI and cheered for his favorite singer(who he likes to call "The Sox").

Nothing really exciting happened today. I believe my co-workers have this fear that I am going to go into labor at work (haha). I have been told more than once not to go into labor at work. Of course, I have no control over the matter, other than to take my maternity leave now. However, I don't want to take time away from Lexi-Bean when she comes, and what am I going to do at home anyway? Sit on the couch and wait for contractions? No thanks.

37 weeks!

So here I am, in my 37th week. Lexi-Bean is full term, and has got quite a strong kick! My right rib seems to be her personal favorite to kick. My belly has become a good place to store my cell phone, as it is now sitting on top of it. :-)

I have been feeling a lot of overwhelming emotions lately. One is impatience, because I am rather uncomfortable in my own skin and can't wait to cuddle with my little girl! Another one is worry, because I make myself mental checklists of things that should be done before the baby is born, whether or not they really need to be. I also worry that I won't be a good mom, but Mr. S assures me otherwise. I just need to relax.....

RIP Jonathan May.

I just found out that the conductor of the Florida Young Artists Orchestra died yesterday of a stroke. He was only 51, and had a beautiful family. I am quite sad about this, because I was in his orchestra during my high school years. (I played clarinet) The orchestra provided me with many good experiences, and I loved performing in concerts.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family during this difficult time.

Lexi's Nursery

I had a lot of fun decorating her room. Here it is!

The vinyl letters say, "Thank heaven for little girls".

Here's her blessing board and travel system.

My fun diaper bag!

Her diaper changing station!

Pregnancy in summation.

Now that I'm 36 and a 1/2 weeks along, (soon to be 37) I figured that I could write a summary of what the pregnancy experience has been like for me.

Positive pregnancy test = no way!
2nd Positive pregnancy test = okay, I guess the first one wasn't a dud. We ARE pregnant!

1st Trimester = morning sickness plus weird cravings. Gag. Shrimp and Salt & Vinegar potato chips? Who am I?

1st ultrasound = it's a bean!

2nd trimester = this isn't so bad, this pregnancy thing. I could totally get used to this. Plus, these new maternity clothes are ultra-comfy.

finding out the gender = yes! A girl! I turn our baby registry into a raging pink monster with cute bows.

3rd trimester = this feels like the 2nd trimester....

GD test = not fun at ALL.

4-D ultrasound = creepy and cute at the same time. Our baby has big feet just like us! Weird.

Baby showers = you mean a party all about me and my baby? My inner narcissist digs this.

35 weeks = okay, this sucks. I'm huge, my maternity clothes are getting food stains from my belly, and I have no energy. I have to wait HOW much longer? Crap.

So yeah, that has been my pregnancy experience so far.

My latest guilty pleasure.

For some reason, I have this new fascination with MTV's 16 and Pregnant, and Teen Mom. I don't know why, other than perhaps it's because we share a common bond of being pregnant? Or maybe I have a fascination with teenage drama?

Who knows.

Maybe it's because it combines cute babies, teen drama, and reality all in one MTV-ready package.

Anyway, I think my favorite teen mom so far is Caitlynn. She and Tyler knew they weren't ready to be parents, so they gave Carly to a loving home. It was probably the hardest decision that they'll ever have to make, but I think it helped them both mature into lovely young adults. Best wishes to them in their life together.

My least favorite mom? That's a toss-up between Farrah and Jenelle. I don't think Jenelle should have partied right after having a baby, and Farrah did not need to be looking for a relationship so soon after having Sophia.

So now 16 & Pregnant joins the list of my other guilty pleasures... like chocolate, smoothies, Facebook, and Rockband. :-)

If I must....

Here is my newest, freshest, loveliest blog that has emerged from the womb of the internet. I think I'm going to try to stick with this one. Don't quote me on that, though.

A brief intro on my life:

Here I am...

Here's my excellent significant other...

We've been together for four years and married for three. I'm still as crazy about him as I was before, so that's good. We're a laid-back, low drama couple.

Here's our baby in utero...

Her name is Alexis, but we're going to call her Lexi for short. She's due in March, so we can barely stand the wait.

I think that's about all for now, I'll update more later.