Delay

Well I haven't posted in a while. Sorry! I have a lot to write about! I'm at work so I dont have any pics on me. Facebook has some and maybe I'll post some later on.

I turned in my two weeks notice last Thursday. My last day of work will be April 29th. I am very excited about this. It is also kinda scary to not have 2 incomes. It was a leap of faith for sure. My company is great and I feel really bad about getting pregnant and moving within 8 months of being employed here. It never ceases to amaze me how distraught people are when I leave a job. They think the place will burn to the ground if I'm not here.

I scheduled the movers! They are coming May 5th. I hope they get here early b/c when they leave Ray and I will be loading up and driving us to Plano. I'm hoping to leave as early as possible to beat rush hour. I hope the vet will give me some drugs for Raider. He's gotten so much better in the car but a 4 hour trip will be hard on him and I'm scared to stop places by myself. I've also changed our address on nearly everything (I hope!). I sent a mass email, if you didn't get it let me know. (no creepers!)

Our house isn't sold btw. We dropped the price on April 10th. We were hoping people would capitalize on the $8,000 govt rebate for signing a contract by April 30th. So far, no offers. Lots of lookers though. Which is a huge pain but one of them will be THE one so I deal with it.
I decided I need to move after talking to my doctor on the 14th. Luckily I got in with a new doctor and I'll see her starting May 11th. She delivers at 3 different hospitals, so I will have to tour them and see which one I like best. I'm pretty excited to have choices. Two of them I know are within 15 minutes of our apartment.

I went to IL for a baby shower April 9-11th. It was good to see everyone and eat Avantis, Grady's and Monical's. And I FINALLY met Katie's husband! He does exist and his accent isnt quite as Canadian as I imagined. hehe
The shower was the 10th. I got a nice amount of things, my mom & dad only had to ship one box to me. The rest was money or giftcards which will be coming in handy very very soon. My aunt hand crocheted me a blanket for the baby, which I LOVE. She made my brother and I baby blankets and my parents have afghans for their recliners she made years ago. I am so excited my baby has one from her too. I think her technique has improved over the years, its really thick. My mom also had a comforter custom made for me by a parent at her school. She took my bedding pattern/colors and its kinda quilted together out of super soft felty material. I'll probably not even get the bedding I wanted b/c I can just get sheets to match this comforter. Oh, and she made a bear to match! Its so cute and has a pocket in the back for the tooth fairy when its time for all of that. I also got several books which I am happy about. Those are things I dont think of but definitely want/need. It was a really great shower!

My brother-in-law Randel fixed up my car while I was in IL. He gave it a major tune-up (I'm just about to hit 70k miles) and finally got some air in my tires. I'm so glad he has all of the car knowledge he does. I hope one day I can repay him for what we truly owe him for everything he has done.

My Houston shower is coming up May 1st. My mom is flying in for it. She'll be sleeping on an air mattress and sharing our bathroom cause the guest room furniture and bathroom accessories are in Plano now. Oops. We are expecting a good crowd at this shower as well. Melissa is even flying in from LA for it!!! It will be kinda sad though, it will be the last time I see most of my friends before I move. I know, I know we'll see them again. They all better be planning road trips!

Raider had dental surgery Tuesday. I wanted to get the last of the broken teeth out before the move. Turns out there were more problems than we could see with the eye. It was an extensive surgery and he was really out of it. It kinda freaked me out cause I was home alone with him. I had to pick him up to get him out of the car. He could barely stand to pee his legs were so shaky. He was swerving trying to walk thru the yard. (that part was kinda funny) He is great now though, just wants to play and I cant let him have his toys for at least a week. I tried to explain that I paid a lot of money for those stitches to be there and I wasnt about to let him rip them out. He doesnt seem to grasp that quite yet. He's doing good though and I'm glad the teeth are out. The vet had never seen anything like it. I think he should have paid me for the learning experience but whatcha gonna do? haha

Seems like I have more to tell you but that's all I can think of right now. Is that enough? Again, sorry for the lack of pics. I wanted to get this all out though. :)

27 Weeks

I'm taking pictures of myself now, so they aren't the greatest. The belly continutes to expand OUTward. I'm the same size everywhere else. Its a very strange feeling. Its hard to roll over in bed, and I am a tosser so that isnt working out so well.



Scott is in his apartment! He has only an air mattress and a folding chair for 2 days. His furniture is going up tomorrow. He slept better even on the air mattress, he was very glad to get out of that hotel. The cell reception in the apartment is awful however, so that isn't good. Hopefully mine will work better. (I have at&t and he has sprint)

I have become pretty good at watering the yard. My realtor told me it needs to be more green. Ok lady, let me make it rain real quick. Sheesh!

Showers and no showers

SHOWERS:
I'm getting excited for my baby showers coming up! I registered at Babies R Us and Target. I was really amazed at the things one or the other DIDN'T have and how different the model/pattern selections were at each store. I put a few of the same things on both lists, it is too hard to make decisions as to which store I prefer people buy it at. I have heard that you get a discount off anything not purchased on your registry, so I am still searching for things to add. I am hoping people buy from the registry, I went to a lot of trouble picking things out and was really specific with colors and gender-neutral items. I know everyone is going to buy me whatever the heck they want, that just drives me crazy! Stick to the list people! That's why it's there! (I'm not a control freak, shut up!)

Bloomington shower is April 10th.
Houston shower is May 1st.
(if you didn't get an invite email me, everyone is welcome and my brain is fried so I may have forgotten some peeps)

NO SHOWERS:
I have never before in my life wanted it to RAIN. Ever. I hate rain. I hate walking in it, I hate it being gloomy outside, I don't garden, Raider gets muddy, people can't drive in it, it floods here, etc. etc. But now that I am home alone and in charge of the yard, I need it to rain. The sprinkler system broke in the freeze we had here this winter (a very unusual occurrence) so I am unable to use it. It will cost $200++ to fix and Scott says that is insane. If you had driven by my house last night at 6pm, you would have seen pregnant me, standing in the yard watering it with the hose. I put fertilizer on the yard (another hilarious spectacle) so I HAD to water last night and really should tonight too. It was a sight I am sure. And I know I didn't get it wet enough. I can't decide whether it's worth it to dig the old fashioned sprinklers out of the shed or not. The lock on the shed could keep out Jack Bauer and its really hot and gross in there. And then you get sprayed inevitably when moving the sprinkler and ugh, I really don't want to mess with any of it at all. I'm thinking the neighbors might do it for me. They are too nice for their own good...
Oh, and Raider was in the house running from window to window the whole time, freaking out that I was leaving him. He wants it to rain too.

Post-Plano Download

Well I am finally getting around to telling you about my trip to Plano last weekend. Ok, here goes.

So Friday I left work at 1pm, went home and got everything together. Took Raider to the kennel. A new kennel, which makes me very nervous and he was of course shaking and whining and thought I was abandoning him. I got on the road at 3:25pm headed North. Apparently 4 million other people thought that was a superb time to leave Houston as well. I sat in traffic for almost an hour and didn't make it too far at all. Decided I would brave the crowd and stop at Buckee's to go potty. I didnt have to wait in line at all! Traffic was ok after that. When I got closer to Dallas and finally saw the skyline I got a little sad and freaked out that I was leaving Houston behind. I was torn. (and Ray was in Houston so that didnt help). Traffic through downtown wasnt too bad, but I swear their freeway lanes are smaller than ours. My back was killing me about 2 hours into the trip until I got there. I definitely felt more pregnant after that drive. And won't be making it too many more times. I really thought it wouldn't be a big deal. Wrong! I finally got to Scott's hotel about 7:15pm. He has a really nice room with a full kitchen and couch and the whole deal. Its a new hotel so everything is still clean and not gross. We immediately went to Steak n Shake! Yum! Then to walmart for some (and when I say some I mean we didnt even need a cart) groceries.

Saturday we got up and had the hotel breakfast buffet. It wasnt too bad! I ate as much as possible. Free food is the best food in my opinion. Then we went and met with our Realtor. She drove us to 12 different homes in McKinney. It was a bright sunny day and I had a great time. McKinney is a really great place, we are excited to live there. For lunch we stopped at a local burger place she recommended and were just falling in love with McKinney. We finished looking at houses around 3 and went back to the hotel to take a nap. Then Scott researched pizza places and we went out for pizza. The place was AMAZING. Top 3 best pizzas we have ever had. McKinney is a done deal, we love the food! Oh, and there was a Marble Slab next door so of course we had ice cream!

We planned to go to church on Sunday but slept in instead. Neither of us had slept in in 2 weeks or more, so it was needed. We missed free breakfast however so we went to Denny's. Can I just say that this was the most amazing Denny's on the planet??! The staff was SO nice. And not irritating fake nice, but really nice and glad to be of service. They were busy but they were moving people through. And it was clean in there. We will definitely go back. (this one was in Plano, but another point for Dallas eateries) Then we went apartment looking around Plano. We decided it was smarter to be close to Scott's office than to be in McKinney for the first few months. The whole area is really nice and kinda all runs together, so it wont be any big deal to drive to McKinney and explore. After stopping at 3 different places and not really liking what they had available April 1st, we randomly turned down a different street and found a great looking place. Scott thought it was townhomes, but my phone said apartments so we went in just for the heck of it. We signed the application about 30 minutes later. I am currently waiting for the lease to come in the mail. We loved it! They had a first floor unit available and it comes with a garage! Sold! We got a 6 month lease so we wont have to worry about moving July 1st. (due date July 2nd) Originally we thought a 3 month lease would be fine. Yeah, glad we stopped to think that one through. I left Dallas about 4:30 on Sunday and got home around 7:30. It was very lonely and creepy without Raider in the house. I picked him up at 7am on Monday morning, and he wasn't losing hair, freaking out or looking stressed out. He loved the new kennel! A great end to a good trip.

And now we begin the process of dividing up towels, dishes, furniture, etc for Scott to take to the apartment on April 3rd. He is coming home this weekend to help with that. Then we are hoping friends or family can drive up the stuff on the 3rd to him, so he doesnt have to make a round trip drive in one day. Since it is Easter weekend, that is still a little up in the air. This all means we will be moving 3 times instead of one, but oh well. (house to apt, house to storage unit, storage unit/apt to house) We plan to stay in this house for a long time to make up for it.

Cheese!

Finally did another belly pic. Propped the camera up on the railing in the hallway. Raider was looking at me like I was crazy. I said "well, you can't use a camera, now can you?" Anyways, I still think pictures are misleading b/c I look enormous. When I meet people, they still have no clue I'm even pregnant unless I'm wearing certain shirts. And this shirt doesn't exactly fit me. LOL The only place I'm gaining is that lower belly, its going out out out. I'm up to 16 pounds gained. Little guy is making up for the last 5 months of slow growing. Back to the doc next Wednesday for measurements and ultrasound results.

24 Weeks 3 Days

(post-Dallas trip update coming later today/tonight)

Had another Level 2 ultrasound this morning. Last time he wasn't cooperating enough to get all the pictures. I secretly told him to do that so we could see him a second time. hehehe This was the first one Scott had to miss b/c of his job in Plano.

He was moving around a LOT, so the pictures aren't as clear (and I scanned them on the copy machine at my office which isnt as good as the one at our house but its unhooked and I am not messing with hooking it up). His feet were together on my right side, head down and hands in front of his face most of the time. We finally got some profile shots at the end.

Linda and Tammy (MIL & SIL) were excited to see him moving and figuring out who's nose he has. LOL Oh, and he stuck his tongue out at us. It was great. Scott was proud when I told him that.

Pre-trip excitement

I am soooo excited to go to Dallas tomorrow! I am leaving work after lunch, taking Ray to the kennel (a new one, he is going to flip OUT) and then heading up I45. It should take me about 3 1/2 hours to get there. My plan is to hit Steak n Shake first thing of course! Then we are going to do some grocery shopping for Scott. He hasn't been eating much b/c he's been really stressed out. I will fix that. Then Saturday we are meeting with our realtor at 10 and going to see as many as 11 houses. We will see how well Scott does and how we are on time. Sunday we plan to check out a church in the area and then just spend time together before I have to drive back around 5pm. Then I have to get my poor Raider baby at 7am on Monday and take him home before I go to work. I'm sure he will have lost another 4 pounds.

On a related note, Tammy came over tonight and we tackled more of the packing. We (she) got most of the office packed up, so I feel tons better now. She emptied the bookshelves for the most part and packed up all of the random stuff we had in the closet. While she was doing that I took down all of the pictures and crosses around the house. Its amazing how much bigger the rooms look without anything on the walls. Boxes are starting to pile up though and I dont know which is the lesser of 2 evils, boxes everywhere or my junk everywhere. Oh well. If a house is for sale, you gotta expect the people are packing, right?

Yes, it is 11pm and I am still going. I have to stay up later so I can sleep through the night. I think I am hungry again... LOL Raider is already in bed passed out.

23 weeks 4 days

Well, Raider can't use a camera yet so no new belly pics. I think I've maybe gained a pound and I dont feel much bigger. Baby is kicking a lot. I think he's trying to bust out. Once I thought he was going to kick all the way through my stomach and I was about to see a foot. Insane. So maybe I will have a picture in day or two, I could look for Scott's tripod and take one myself. That is a lot of work though. I have another Level 2 ultrasound on the 16th, so more pics then for sure.

Scott is doing good in Dallas (Plano). He is learning a little about the area and settling into his job. I am going up Friday afternoon to stay. I'm so excited! Now I have to narrow down my list of 26 houses into a "doable" list to see on Saturday. We also have to look at a few apartments, just to be practical. I'm still refusing to believe we have to live in one. I hate apartments! Raider does too (or he will, he's never lived in one).

We have had 5 showings on the house, a really insane amount for the first week! I'm happy about it. No serious buyers though. My sister in law is officially my house packer. She did 2 closets last Tuesday and she's coming back Thursday to do another. I have determined I am no good at packing for long distances b/c I just cant part with adequate amounts of bubble wrap and stuffing paper. I dont like to waste it! Good thing I have her around.

No baby news

No news on the pregnancy. Everything is the same as it was a few weeks ago, no cravings, no more weight gain. He is kicking around more in there. Next ultrasound is March 16th. I'm excited because it wasn't planned, they just need another picture they couldn't get last time so I get an extra one! Scott won't be able to go but I invited his family.
Raider has been more protective with Scott gone. He escorts me around the house and watches the front door while I watch tv. He snapped at someone for the first time on Monday too. He's really enjoying sleeping in Scott's spot on the bed though. hehe

FOR SALE!

God is good!!

Scott got a job offer Thursday, we put our house on the market Saturday, had a showing already on Sunday and Scott started work today. IN DALLAS!

I am really excited to move, I like Dallas a lot. I was scared of where we might end up, but if it's not Houston, Dallas is the next best thing.

Sorry friends, I know all of you are sad we are leaving. At some point I will be sad too but right now I get to be Amanda the Awesome and sell a house, pack everything we own, work, take care of Raider by myself and be pregnant all at the same time so I dont have time to be sentimental.

I am really excited we already had a showing, I think that is a very good sign. I have been looking online at houses in the McKinney area of Dallas and we are going to find a realtor this week to get the ball rolling.

I am looking for great neighborhoods, doctors, church, vet, kennel, etc. so if you have connections in the North Dallas area, let me know please!! We don't have any close friends there.

Yes, I will be staying in the house until it sells OR until early May. I plan to change doctors and have the baby in Dallas. I am really thankful for a super easy healthy pregnancy that allows me to keep working and get the house ready in my spare time.

Yes, Scott's company is paying for the move and for him to be in a hotel for 30 days. It is a really nice hotel with a full kitchen, free breakfast and dinner and laundry service. Aside from missing Raider and I, he is not suffering.

Yes we will find an apartment if we dont have a house in 30 days. (who gets a house in 30 days?)

NO, I am not going to work once we move and have the baby. (This is the source of 90% of my happiness.)

So, pray for our house to sell, for a good house to be available in McKinney, for good doctor recommendations in Plano/McKinney, for the move to go smoothly and for all of this to happen before May! :)

21 Weeks

Time is flying, 21 weeks down!
Pounds gained: 10! Finally!!
Finally feeling kicks and movement.
As you can see, he is riding really really LOW in the belly.

Pics of Baby Harkness

Ultrasound pics!! From Tuesday, February 9th. (19 weeks 4 days)

First things first, boy parts!

Thats a femur sticking out to the left, the round circley things are hands in the distance.

Profile of face. Notice foot overhead.

He's squished in there!

Close up of foot & arm.

He was really active and moving around.

Face pic from front. Slightly creepy.

Hands again and maybe a foot.

It's a......

We found out on Tuesday that we are having a BOY. We are really excited! Sonogram pics will be up as soon as we get them scanned. It was a really fun appointment. I'm feeling him move around more now too.

18 Weeks 4 days

We got a better picture. My shirt was tighter.
Do I look pregnant finally?!?!?! Very excited!
I think Tuesdays are my "pop" days. I always seem to grow on Monday nights. LOL

18 Weeks (3 days)

Finally a visible bump that I can't suck in. LOL
For those of you counting, still holding at 4-5 pounds gained.

I put out an s.o.s. for maternity shirts and have done well so far. Cassie gave me a few and I'm wearing one today! Very happy about it.
Also, Amber had a coworker who was selling a huge box of maternity clothes so I bought it. Very exciting. Most of it is Medium and Large which I can't wear yet, but one day they will come in very handy. Several others are bringing me more when I see them next. (Maria! Saturday!!)
If any of you have clothes you want to donate to the Amanda Is Expanding fund, let me know! I'll return them if you want.

Our BIG ultrasound is next Tuesday the 9th. They are going to (hopefully) tell us gender and do all the messurements. I thought I was smart booking early and getting an early appointment so I wouldn't miss much work. Yeah genius me didn't know I'd have to be there 30 minutes early and be drinking water starting 45 minutes prior. I am not understanding why they want me to have a full bladder. All I can say is they better be quick cause when I gotta go, I gotta go!

I'm full of news today! My mom ordered the crib, mattress and dresser last week and it should be here Thursday!!!! I'm SO excited!!! We also special ordered the nightstand and conversion kit (for toddler and regular beds). They will take 10-12 weeks. Scott's mission is to finish the paint in that room and get the crib and dresser set up. I think I'm going to buy one piece of the bedding/room decor so we can match the paint for the accent stripes and get the paint all done.
If you are curious (and bored) the crib is on my Babies R Us registry and the bedding/decor is on my Target registry.

SAFETY FIRST

Really, really great thing BRU is doing.
They are taking your old/used baby items and giving you a discount on new.

Click here for details.

Gender ultrasound scheuled

For all of you who are SO INSANELY CURIOUS, the ultrasound to determine gender is Feb 9th. Pray the little munchkin cooperates!
Had tons of blood taken today. Pray everything is healthy and normal.

Keep praying for that job!

p.s. Maria - what weight gain? 3-4 pounds so far is all. I'm not even as fat as I was this time last year.

Bum - Bump

Sorry I didn't post this weekend. I was lazy. (and the whole hair looking awful and not wearing makeup is just scary) I will post this week!

I was asked for the first time by a stranger today how far along I was. I thought the girl was a little bold, but she was also pg so maybe she has "the radar." I for sure have a bump now that is no longer hide-able. If anyone has any "work" maternity shirts I could borrow, I'd be really grateful! A lot of my sweaters and shirts are too short.

I go to the doc tomorrow, but just for bloodwork (and heartbeat) I am told. No ultrasound. :( Hopefully we will be scheduling the big 20 week appt and I can FINALLY tell everyone gender. It seems my friends and family are more concerned than I am. Ha. We have names picked out for either (not telling until birth), and I am trying to get all gender neutral baby items. My registries are already up if you are really bored. (babiesrus.com and target.com)

I have a plane ticket to go to IL for a shower April 10th. Pretty excited to see everyone! Send me your email address if you want an invite.
I'm only going to be there for the weekend, so the shower is about your only chance to see me. I will be eating at Grady's, Avanti's and Steak n Shake if you are interested in meeting up.

Keep praying for a job for Scott. He's applying like crazy and so far no hits. We know something amazing is waiting around the corner (just hope the corner is less than 20 weeks away).

15 weeks 1 day

Starting to show a little bit!

Excuse the lack of makeup and dirty hair. I am slightly OCD and wanted the picture to be AT 15 weeks and I cant guarantee I will be wearing makeup anytime this weekend. LOL I also resisted the urge to suck in as much as I could. It looks bigger than I think it really is. I dunno. Also, I cut my hair. I'm really lazy and cheap and only get it cut a few times a year, so I cut it really short and let it grow for a few months. I'm trying to grow out the bleach blonde as well. (Sorry A2 & C)

Still no cravings, no sickness and haven't gained any weight. Heartburn has begun happening more frequently however, all my fault. I'm not used to eating more but I'm trying to make myself and then I get heartburn. Can't win!

Everything is going good! I went to the doctor on the 30th and heard the heartbeat. I go back Jan 27th for bloodwork (which I hear is thrilling).

Tamara sent me a prenatal yoga DVD so I tried that the other night. Never having done yoga and having the preconceived notion it was for hippies, I had my doubts but I liked the stretches and am trying to get into a routine of doing them.

I told my boss and close coworkers this week, so its finally OUT and 100% official and happening!

I'm desperately trying to put a registry together at Babies R Us. I don't know what to put on it though, so its really meager and will probably change significantly before any showers that I may have.

Coupons

So recently there is this coupon crazy sweeping facebook. Lots of people put a lot of hours into finding deals and making them easily click-and-printable for the rest of us. Here are a few of my daily reads:
www.agentcoupon.blogspot.com
www.dealseekingmom.com
www.frugalcouponliving.com
Some require the coupon printer thingy to be installed on your computer, its quick and painless! Others require you sign up for the company's newsletter or savings alerts. I have an email address set up for all of these, just in case they feel like spamming me. So far so good though! If you have a favorite site, leave the link in a comment and I will add it.

Its official!

Well, the day has come! Raider is no longer my only blog subject. I can't bring myself to change the name yet though.... OK! On to what you are all dying to know, yes we are pregnant! Also, a CONGRATS to our good friends the Whitakers (link at right), they are due June 29th!

Here are the first ultrasound pictures, from December 2nd.



Before this picture, the baby was moving all around and "boxing" like crazy. It was really neat to see.


We find out the sex in 5 weeks. We feel like it is a boy though. We aren't sharing names, so don't ask!

Scott has already cleaned out all of the closets and moved the guest room. We had to consolidate our 3 extra bedrooms upstairs, and it has turned out nicely. He also painted the nursery a khaki base color. We are going to go back and accent later, probably with chocolate stripes.

I thought I would appreciate this in July (or hate myself).
Non-belly picture at week 12. (Friday December 18th)

Happy Halloween!!!

Halloween morning met us with a fun surprise!!!!

Scott's trip

Scott and Jeffrey went on an 8 day bike ride through West Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. They had an amazing time and great weather the whole trip! We are glad to have them home now though.

Finally

Well, I got the pics off my new phone! Here are a few.

He loves this rug. And refused to look at me.



Random pic. The flash makes his eyes look blue.


Playing ball. This is how he protects it if you go for it. Its adorable.


His puppy from Gram. Gutted in under 30 minutes. He thinks he is killing and gutting an animal, I think he really does. Poor guy.


He also has met some new friends lately, but we dont have pics of them yet. (that was your shoutout Kayleigh, Lauren and Cecy!)

Long time

I have been super terrible at posting lately. I have a bunch of pictures of Ray on my new phone, but haven't figured out how to get them OFF the phone. LOL

Our 4 year anniversary was on June 18th. My wedding pics are on a CD somewhere, but here is one from our honeymoon in Mexico. I look really hilarious.