Just a few little updates

If you've been checking in on me at any point today then I'm sure you saw that my blog was in complete shambles. I hate blogs...for the same reason that I suck at a rubics cube. Just when you think you have something perfectly in line, you have to go and royally mess everything up just to get one little piece back into place. And more often than not...I forget how to put it back together. Especially when I don't read "blog" well.

When I went and changed my blog to 3 columns instead of just 2 it effected the size of my banner and the width of my background. Sounds like an easy fix right? WRONG. It took a good chunk of my time today in order to get it all in line but guess what?!??!

ITS DONE!

I did a little face lift on my header also (since I had to completely remake it!). I hope all my hard work is just a little more pleasing to the eyes.

The Death of Lenny

Okay all you aunts, uncles, babysitters and kids with younger siblings. I'm sure you know who Lenny is. I'm talking about THEE Lenny of Wonder Pets! Emily decided to give him a bath today. In fact she told me that she was giving Lenny a bath because "he's aaaaaaaaall dirty" "Alright Emily. . ." Little did I know that this meant she was running a sink of scalding hot water for him. And if we all know what power the TV has over children (and some adults)...she forgot about poor little Lenny and his running bath water.

I was making my rounds and taking my routine 30 minute bathroom break and walk in to a FLOODED bathroom. Apparently my sink trap/drain/overflow thingy can only handle so much water.

So I made Emily clean up her mess. I can't be cleaning up after this kid ALL the time!

This is her "please don't get me in trouble" face, while she tries to clean up

However this is her "mommy has the camera out so I'm not going to get in too

much trouble" look.

In other news: I got my flu shot today. Emily wanted to go with me and watch. Maybe all the times of her getting one and me watching, she felt it was only fair for her to watch me? I figured this would either bite me in the butt or make it better for me when she has to get hers next week. Since, I couldn't cry in front of Emily I had to suck it up and smile through the whole thing like it didn't phase me. Truth is...it actually stung pretty bad!! The shot itself wasn't bad at all, but the sting afterward and the soreness still, is quite a bit worse than any shot I remember getting in my recent past.

Note to self: If she complains,  she is rightfully allowed to!

Emily giving my "shark" kisses to make it all better

I'm 22 weeks and a day today!!! I'm so bad at the belly shots, but here is one for the baby book. Claire doesn't like her picture taken. She was squirming and kicking the whole time I was taking pictures like she wanted away. DANGIT! I'm never going to get a kid who lets mom practice on them.

Letter to my Husband

Tuesdays usually fall into the awful pattern of being my crazy pregnant woman cleaning days. So I don't have much to say except this:

Dear Husband who I love so much,

I love that you work hard all day for me, and bring home the bacon so that I can attempt to be a sucessful stay at home mom. I don't mind doing laundry, or dishes, making dinner, or taking care of/ incubating the kids, but can I please PLEASE ask one teeny tiny favor? I have the nose of a K9 drug dog. I can smell things LITERALLY from a mile away. So can you please, not put disgusting dishes that smell as though something died in them a week ago in the sink? I can tell you that cleaning nasty dishes is one thing, but cleaning puke out of the sink BEFORE doing the nasty dishes that made you puke in the first place...not near as fun!

Love,

Your some times uncontrollably crazy PREGNANT wife.

I think this pretty much sums up my day. :) I hope yours is a million times more pleasant than mine.

VOTE

Alright all you blog stalkers...you don't have to comment on my blog or even acknowledge that you read this BUT go....and vote HERE

You only get one vote so make it count!

Switchin it up

I decided to switch things up a bit and enter Ms. PhotoFreak's contest from my personal blog. I have recently been let on to the fact that I have blog stalkers (the good kind!) and figured I should share the love here too. So this challenge is about animals. I can enter as many pictures as I like, which I think is totally cheating, but since Aurora will pick 10 finalists and then put them into a poll for everyone else to vote on (I will post the link when it's up) I figured...what the heck:

I'm going to say this is Country Themed in order to lessen my picture options, other wise this might go on for days!

and of course....one with Emily for all you out there who only read this for her. Sad how fast they grow up!! :'(

I moved out of the valley for a reason. . .

I honestly had many more reasons, but one of them was for sure because of the 100+ weather from February to November. For God knows what reason, it was 106 yesterday in Paso Robles!!! Really, I'm not a big sissy, I can handle the heat on most days, but yesterday..."The hottest day of the year" I had to work a wedding that was 100% outside. I think Ashley and I were on our death bed after about 4 hours in. Keep in mind that Ashley is also 2 months MORE pregnant than I am. So I'm not allowed to complain!

Don't worry. I'm sure little Claire was resting soundly at a perfect temperature inside my belly for all the sweating I was doing. I drank all of my water (curtousy of the very generous caterer who had one employee follow the two crazy pregnant photographers around to make sure we did) and ate as much of my delicious food as I could.

With all that said. I'm taking a beating today! I slept until **:30 (I'm too ashamed to really admit the time) Woke up with a headache, morning sickness for the first time in a few weeks, and SORE legs. Not to mention, Claire wakes up when I lay down (yep she's one of those) so with me resting all day she's getting pretty temperamental at my laziness. I'm going to have bruises from her kicking soon!

Today is supposed to be another scorcher. It's 3:00 and I haven't even been outside or looked outside for fear I might melt. I would rather bask in the cool air of my swamp cooler, than think about the heat.

On the brighter side, we are only supposed to a few warmer days and then it's supposed to start feeling like Fall again. But is this really the brighter side of things? If you've had kids, or you were a kid with a low immune system (me), then you know exactly what going from the hottest day of the year to Fall weather means....

DEATH BY FLU!

I remember it well growing up. Always around Halloween I was on my death bed, sick as a dog, with the flu.

So guess what I'm doing tomorrow?! Because I think I would rather take the very very minimal side effects of a pregnant woman getting the flu shot, over the possibility of being dehydrated, famished and possibly be heaving so hard to put me in to labor, I'm calling and scheduling me and Emily an appointment for the flu shot! I've never been so excited to get a shot!!

On a side note. Emily got a new baby cousin yesterday! or maybe I should say Claire get a buddy. Aaron's cousin Katie gave birth to Addison Lynn Goodwin (I like how it all rhymes) at 7lb 13 oz. and 21 1/2 inches long. She perfectly healthy.

I'm excited about this girl addition. FINALLY another little girl for Emily and Claire, since I seem to be the only one spitting out all the estrogen in this family!

The name game...ended?!

Well the good news is that we are halfway there! We have officially decided that Baby VP #2 is going to be named Claire!

(picture letters courtesy of Jessica Cheatwood)

The bad news...? We cant settle on a middle name! I guess we do have many more months to decide that one for sure.

Funny story or divine interference?:

So...we go in to have the ultrasound done. We are chatting it up with the tech to pass the time while she does all of her, well, techy stuff. She asked if we wanted anything particular gender and if we had any names. We said yes, for a boy and no for a girl. She laughed and said, "I find in my profession that you often get what you're not prepared for." GREAT. Her second was a boy and they only had a girl name picked out. Aaron, thinking on his toes, said "Alright so what was your girl name so that we can be prepared." She responded "Abigail." I knew that wasn't a first name I would want for a girl but on our way home from the Dr.'s after we found out that God had, in fact, gave us what we weren't prepared for, we started talking about names. We had vaguely discussed them the night before because I just knew it was going to be a girl. On of the names that we had touched on the night before was "Claire".

Quick history on Claire and then I will get back to my story. As most of you know, I HAD twins and one of them did not develop past the stage of splitting, not even a "zygote" (I think that's what they call the 'before fetus' none of which mumbo jumbo I believe. ITS A BABY). Anyway, the second blip on the screen was in the same gestational sac. Meaning: I would have had identical twin girls. My Grandma (dad's mom) actually gave birth to a set of twins that were stillborn, I believe, between my dad and his brother. So I feel in a way it's only fitting that I use her middle name: Claire.

Okay, back to my story:

So we are driving along and Aaron says to me, "What about Claire Abigail?" I said "Eh" and we moved along.

Today, my dad called and was asking if I had any baby names. I told him about Claire, and he was stoked, but that I was still having trouble with a middle name. It's kind of hard to give a common middle name, a middle name. Apparently I wasn't the only one with the problem, because after I got off the phone will my dad, he simply googled "middles names for Claire" where there were many forums dedicated to this exact topic. He called me back excited and started naming some of them off. From Elise, to Denise, to Bernise (I'm joking) and then stumbled across one he liked. He repeated it a few times and then said "I like it alot! It sounds great! Claire Abigail". I had not told him anything about the ultrasound tech, or Aaron's suggestion.

Crazy right?!!

So one more crazy addition to the story: My mom has this crazy little thing that she does where she adds "meyer" to the end of names. Example: my cat Kizzy, has become Kizzymeyer. We had a parrot named Sassy. He became "Sassymeyer". So yesterday she was commenting on something on facebook and said something about "Princess number 1-Kayla, Princess number 2-Emily and Princess number-3-baby girl" She said for whatever reason she had the urge to write "Abbymeyer" This again was yesterday, after I found out but before I talked to my dad about it today. My parents hadn't discussed it either.

So, coincidence or not? I'm still not 100% sold on Abigail, but it's a strong contender until I come across something better!

The name game

Well, the fact of the matter is that just yesterday we found out that we're having a girl and for whatever reason I find it is necessary to name the bean already! I know it's a she, but I have a hard time calling it "baby girl" or whatever. SHE NEEDS A NAME! Maybe it is because we had a boy name picked out from conception, so we had a full 4 months to sit on that and be happy with it... I don't know. This is starting to become an obsession and taking up all of my time!

$$$$......$$$$$....$$ ??!?!?!?!

Alright, since clothes and food are 2 things we knew that we were getting ourselves into with another child in general, we will leave those out of the equation. Let maybe add a little more to the budget for being girl clothes.

300 dollars a year extra

X 18 years

--------------------------

5,400 EXTRA dollars I will spend on another girls clothes than I would a boy.

Socializing expences/allowance: I could be off base here but when I look at Matt and Kaylee. Kaylee seems to be more of the social butterfly and is always out doing something. I feel like girls just socialize more. So lets say...an extra 20 every 2 weeks, that's 40 a month. Multiply by 12. That's 480 a year. Over 18 years: $8,640.

I hate to say this because I had everything in life given to me by my amazing parents who worked so hard so that I could have a great life, BUT I'm going to make my girls work for their vehicle...then match whatever they have by the time they want a car. But none of this counts because I would do the same for a boy.

What about the big one....a wedding!!! Working in the wedding industry has done 2 things to me:

1) Showed me what a lifetime of saving can get you for a wedding....front page of a magazine!

2) Made me realize that to have everything go together smoothly...it's STILL going to cost a pretty penny.

The average price of a wedding in the US is around $20,000. For here on the central coast it's actually around $32,000.

So with just these few things, a girl has put me into debt $46,040 more than a boy would!

Unforturnately you can't put a price on the screaming, yelling, hair pulling fights that Emily and her sister will get in to. You can't put a price on the amount of tears shed over stupid boys, the broken hearts and "best friend" drama. Or the amount of GREY HAIRS she will give her mom! (I should have factored in my own hair bill and the cost to get those bad boys covered up!

IF I were to look on the bright side...which is hard to do when you're crunching numbers and thinking of everything that could go wrong. BUT if I were to look on the bright side: I would see that even though they might...MIGHT hate eachother from the ages 13-18, once they both reach the age of 20, they will be the worlds best of friends. That is something that I did not ever get to experience that I am now glad that I can give to Emily.

I guess you can't put a price on a happy child. If I can give my children a happy, healthy, life and I can do a good job raising them, then no dollar sign can change that!

ITS A GIRL!!!...wait. again?!

That's right! Baby #2 is a girl! Haven't I been through this once?! I thought for sure...

I'm kidding....slightly. From the moment I found out I was pregnant, up until about 3 days ago, I was CONVINCED I was having a boy. The pregnancy was the complete opposite as Emily's. The movement of the baby's are the exact opposite as Emily's...I was even carrying different than when pregnant with Emily. But somewhere in the last few days God really placed it on my heart to be at peace with the possiblity of it being a girl. 1) We don't always get what we want and 2) Does it really matter?! The truth is, it doesn't matter a bit. As I watched the baby trying a futal attempt to suck her fingers and stretch, kick and swim around, I fell in love. No matter what was between it's legs (or the case of my fears: what I'm going to have to deal with for the next 18-25 years).

This is my favorite picture that they took today. You can see her perfect nose, lips, chin, and where her eyelashes are going to be. For the record: as of right now, she bares a remarkable resemblance to her sister! I asked the tech if she could tell me how long she was and she couldn't but almost to my request, the baby stretched out her legs and yes, she's got her daddy's legs. She's going to be a long one!! Also, according to the ultrasounds measurements, baby is actually measuring a week ahead of schedule. She was weighing right at ONE POUND! Making my "due date" Feb. 1st. Aaron might be getting a daughter for his birthday!

Here's a few more pictures from today:

An unreal picture of her hand!

Perfect foot.

*I would post pictures of girl parts, but due to the graphic nature of the PERFECT picture that they got...I actually feel like it's inappropriate to do so*

Here's a picture of me instead! :)

Maybe tomorrow I will write about how much I'm freaking out...if I wrote about it now, I might have an aneurism.

But just to give you a taste: I now have 2 weddings to pay for. Double the hair clips, bows and of the color pink. Double the barbies and barbie clothes, baby dolls and sparkles. Double the estrogen and DOUBLE THE TAMPONS! This all coming from a mom who thought she was gong to have 5 boys.

God always has a plan...and it might not be the same as yours.

Lesson Learned.

Money saving/house wife/mom...endless insanity

I'm implementing some big changes in my life. Why? because I feel as though being a woman who stays at home is my job, and right now: I'm just getting by. Just like any other human being, I want to excel at my job.

1) Saving money. If you look over in my side bar, I have added a bottom from moneysavingmom.com. This is a great website with a plethora (that's the only word I can think of to describe it) of information. As recommended by my wonderful pastors wife, I have started using my limited amount of internet time on this website, trying to figure out ways to save money. It has loads of good information! Check it out if you would like. I foresee coupon clipping in my future!

2) Time management. Oh Lordy, I have NEVER been one to wisely manage my time, but as I take on more things during my day like preschooling Emily, truely cleaning, and cooking awesome and wholesome meals for my family, I'm finding that the only way to survive is to manage my time. I'm still working on it, but if I can get it down, I might just succeed and not lose my mind!

3) Church. (which should really be #1 but I'm running out of internet time in order to fix my order) My father in law Willy is the lead youth leader for our church's high school group. I have decided to dedicate a night a week to volunteering myself to helping out however I can. If you know me, and you know my past, you know I have a huge heart for high school girls, I feel like this is where God wants me to be.

Some sub-points here:

-Daily devotions

-Doing everything with a joyful heart for God. I shouldn't do everything I do for me, or for my husband's approval (although that is important!) but I should do it for God's glory. Much easier said than done when I'm a crazy hormonal, pregnant, woman.

-Holding my tongue. This is an addition to the previous point. And if you know me, you know that this is definately a place where only God can help me!!

Those are just a few of the wonderful changes happening in my life. I can already see where God is blessing me (see previous post and job promotion info.) My constant prayer is that God will lead me and my family in His ways, and bless our household.

On another note....TOMORROW IS THE BIG DAY!!!! Be looking forward to a very exciting blog post!

I'm So Excited...

New, big and scary things are happening in my life!

1) We HOPEFULLY find out the sex of BABYVP2 on Wed. I'm not going to lie, I get a little anxiety attack every time I think about it! It will also be the first time since it looked like a gummy bear that I get to see the guy/gal. (on a side note, isn't that amazing that we have the technology today to be able to see our babies before they are born!)

2) My photography is everything I could dream for!! Plus a big announcement: Click Here to read all about it! I honestly (I'm really not just saying this for brownie points) could not have found a more awesome photographer to work with!

I'm sure I will think of more, but for now: Goodnight!

Bump Update

I'm 18 1/2 weeks pregnant today. That is a week and a half away from my half way point. That freaks me out just a little!! Baby started squirming the day that I turned 16 weeks, so I've been feeling "baby it" move around for 2 1/2 weeks now. I think it's funny how you can tell a babies personality in utero. Emily was fiesty. If I pushed on her head then she would flip around and kick exactly where I pushed, and she kicked HARD. This baby is alot more mellow. I push on this baby and I can feel it turn away, if I push again it will just roll to the other side of my belly. However, its a cuddler. If I just lay my hand on my belly I can feel it move from where ever it was hiding and nuzzle into my hand. Again, Emily was the opposite. If you put your hand on my belly should would kick it repeatedly until you moved it off of her. And it held true when she was born. She didn't want to be swaddled, she would lay on her side no matter how many times I placed her on her back, once she got older you could not just sit her on your lap and relax, she has always been a mover and a goer, and she's STILL fiesty. It will be interesting to see if my theory holds true here.

I had a doctors appointment yesterday. My bump measured exactly to my week. He could hear the baby moving, the blood gushing in it's umbilical cord and the strong healthy heart beat. All great things. Now hopefully within the next few weeks I will finally be able to show you a picture of baby! and we will no long have to call it "it".

Giving up

Yep, I said it. I'm giving up on the whole 365 thing. It's a fact...I just can't do it. I have a hard enough time getting on here to blog! How in the world am I supposed to put a picture up every day?! Well the answer is: I'm not. Enjoy my blog but my efforts are going to be deleted in 3....2....1

Awesome pets

I'm not really sure how we have lucked out so far, but we have the most awesome animals known to man. Today I will speak specifically about our cat.

Our cat...who we lovingly have not named!!! We got her for my birthday 4 years ago. (before emily was even a thought) yet somehow her and Emily are best friends. Okay well maybe the cat doesn't consider her a friend but at least tolerates the heck out of her. Here's an example:

Yes, that is exactly what it looks like. Emily-jumping on the trampoline-with the cat. How many people know of any animal that would put up with jumping on the trampoline, with a 3 year old. I think most 3 year olds would lose an eye!

Conclusion: We won't own another cat after her!

seriously?!

Alright guys, since you're never going to take me seriously again because I am failing horribly at this whole 365 picture thing, I'm telling you to go over to www.kaylavanpatten.blogspot.com and check out what's been going on over on my professional blog! I've got a few shoots to update but there's been some exciting things going on recently. Now really, GO!