July trip home

Ok, so I have a lot to write about, so this will be one of many a blogs in the next few days....
First of all, the trip to Louisiana.
It was so nice to be home. I can say home with 100% certainty because it is just home there. Don't get me wrong, I love Texas, but there is definitely something to be said for knowing you have family right there. I mean, RIGHT there...up your butt RIGHT there... My throat actually started hurting from talking so much. I haven't' talked that much since we moved here! I do want to apologize to everyone that I did not get to see while I was home! I was supposed to do lunch with a lot of you, but I just didn't get a chance. The week flew by! Hopefully, it will work out next time!

Anywho, Brandon's family reunion was great! I met lots of hilarious people and we had a great time. It was so nice to be able to put faces with names! FINALLY! Here are a few pictures from our trip home... :)


Bros and Sisters at Jack's first birthday!



Jack, John and Christine opening Jack's presents


The birthday boy!


Ali and her first cell phone! It came with 300 min and she had 200 by the end of the first week!


Hilariousness in the Destination Maternity dressing room! I couldn't help myself!

Abby on the boat


First boat ride of the weekend!


Chillin' and chit chattin


Fourth of July shenanigans


More shenanigans

Brandon and Baby Drew

Happy Birthdays and happy happenings...

Hi!
So, here I am in Mandeville for the next week. It is so nice to be home. Ali had a WONDERFUL 18th birthday. We started off by me surprising her at maw-maw's house. Mom told Maw-Maw and Ali she was going to the Dollar Store for awhile but went to the airport to pick me up instead. Neither of them knew I was coming in so when I walked in maw-maw's house, they sure were surprised! We went to dinner after some crazy shopping at destination maternity in Metairie. I am needing maternity shorts like crazy! After dinner, we went home to sing happy birthday. She was so excited to be the birthday girl. She got her first cellphone, an ID card (looks like a license), her first ipod, 2 flower arrangements sent to her, and tons of other fun things. Seriously, she was just so excited to have all the attention on her. Now if only ER season 11 was out, she would be golden! I am so glad she had a great birthday because she definitely deserved it.

Jack's first birthday was soo great. He hasn't been feeling well, but for the party, he was happy and acting like a ham with all the attention. Everytime he would touch his birthday cake and take a taste of it, we would all cheer. Eventually, he was leading everyone in the cheering. It was hilarious. He is getting so big! I can't believe he is one already! I forgot my camera cord in Texas, but I will post pictures when I get back. I got so many great ones!

I completely dropped the ball on making our Oasis appointments, so I am going to call in the morning and see if they can get Candice and I in for our massages. If they can't get us in, we will just go Tuesday, but I want it tomorrow! I desperately need one and Oasis is the best spa ever.

Anywho, Brandon comes in on Tuesday evening. I miss him a whole bunch and can't wait to see him. I think he's lonely at home all alone, but I've done it quite a few times lately. He'll be ok. The kitties are there to take care of him. :)

Can you believe that Ed MacMahon, Farah Fawcett, Michael Jackson AND Billy Mayes died all in one week. That's insane. I mean, especially Michael Jackson. It's just so sad he is gone. Kids will grow up not knowing him, and that is just so odd to me. He was around my WHOLE life. His songs were my childhood. I can't believe he is gone.

Anywho, I hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July. Brandon's family has the family reunion this weekend, so it will be nice to meet everyone and hang out. Mrs. Jerry has been busting her butt on it, so I have no doubt it will be really nice.
Take care everyone!

My nugget-less nugget (maybe)

Hello all!
I am sorry I didn't update yesterday. The day completely got away from me. I guess that's what happens when I actually do something...*sigh*

Anywho, the doctor's appointment yesterday went great! My weight went up by 3 lbs! Much thanks to mom and the powdered donuts at the beach for that one! They were delicious! So, that's 4 lbs so far. Gaining weight is never fun, but I am actually kinda excited about it this time. I mean, I'm 4mths along, I am ready to look like a baby is living in my organs.

The doctor said the rash on my face and neck is from the sunblock that I used whilst in Florida and I should really stay out of the sun. HE said that he saw that I have some "pregnancy mask" starting on my face already. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is dark splotches that appear on the skin of pregnant women after sun exposure. Sometimes it goes away, sometimes it doesn't. BRANDON said when the doc was saying that, he looked at my face where the doctor was pointing to and BRANDON said that it was just looked like the tan line from my huge sunglasses. The doc didn't know about my huge sunglasses and he could see how he would think that.

The ultrasound was interesting. I think the baby was sleeping during this one because it really wasn't moving all crazy like last time. That's a good thing and a bad thing. Good thing is the doctor got a great look at the heart, spinal cord, brain, and all the other important organs. He said everything looked great in that category. From what he could see, their was no sign of a clef lip or palate, so that is a wonderful sign. For those of you who know why I am concerned about that, you know the deep sigh of relief I let out after he told us that. The baby had a heartbeat of 153. Still really high, and that brings me to the big question...

Boy or Girl????

Well, here is the answer



Yeah...that's what I said too

As far as the bad news goes, it's not too bad. Just the baby was sluggish and being a little coy, but after awhile, the doctor got these pictures. Not the best pictures, but apparently, there are two little lines in this picture that resemble "lady bits". He said he is about 80% sure it will be a little girl! BUT don't put your money on it because the picture was not very good.
I talked to Candice and she had the same problems when she had both Drew and Abby, so after her ultrasound where they told her the sex, she went to the 4-D place where they do a "peek-a-boo" so she would know for sure what she was having. The peek-a-boo will just pretty much show you the baby and give you an 4-D ultrasound that should show you the sex more clearly. When I go into Louisiana the last week of June, we are going to have one of these done, so we will know for sure and everyone will get to see the baby.
Well, that's the big news!
Brandon leaves Sunday for Seattle again, but I will meet him in Bakersfield, CA on Tuesday for the remainder of the week.
I'll update soon!
Till then, here are some more ultrasound pictures!

Our sweet, sleepy love had it's arms behind it's head trying to get some rest!


A face only a mother could love and a big ole' foot like it's daddy!


"Night Night mom and dad! I'll see you next time! I'm going back to bed!"

Later Gators!

Back from the beach

Hello all!

Well, yesterday Brandon and I got back from our annual beach trip with my family. We had a great time. We didn't want to leave! Here are some pictures...




Ali went in the water this year! In a boat,but still! Yeayy!

Tim and Pat loading this year's new and improved Artic Zone.


Sal brought his mini boat this year! We had a blast with it!


Ali doing what she loves to do! The first day was a little overcast, but it didn't rain till later that night, so we were happy!


Brandon and the pirate kite that my mom bought...it was hard to put together but nothing a little drengineering (science of drunk engineering) couldn't fix!


My little crabbie patty after his dinner and shark bite drinks...


The whole crew minus nanny outside of Joe's Crab Shack... she was taking the picture.


Burying Connor in the sand!

We had a great time! Can't wait till next year when we have a little baby to play with!
My next doctor's appointment is on the 11th. I'll update then with some more ultrasound pictures and hopefully, the sex of the baby!!! :)

Update..better late than never!

Hello!
So, this week has been interesting.

Brandon left on Tuesday for Seattle and comes home tonight at midnight. (A little while after I wrote this, he called me and his plane has been delayed an hour-ugh) Anywho, I was able to get a lot of stuff done on Wednesday...drycleaning, getting my ring saudered, wandering aimlessly around mommy to bee and me wishing I knew if I was having a boy or a girl.
Then, Thursday I went to my doctor's appointment. When I got there, they weighed me and I lost another 1.3 lbs and then they took my bp and it was low, but not dangerous. My bp is probably low because I have been relaxing a lot and not really doing a whole lot because I've been feeling so crummy. As far as the weight goes, he said I should be gaining .5 lbs a week. At this point, I have only gained one pound since my pre-baby visit, but the doc says that is ok and we shouldn't be worried. As far as the beautiful baby goes... it's heartbeat was in the high 160's. It was funny cause it was kicking the doctor every time he pushed down with the heartbeat machine, so it made it hard for the doctor to find it's heartbeat. He's already good at giving people a run for their money!

So, no ultrasound this week, but on the June 11th visit we will have one and doc said that we should be able to find out the sex then. Yeayy!!!

Well, this Wednesday we leave for Ft. Walton on our annual beach trip! I can't wait! I feel like I haven't been outside in decades! I can't wait to get in the water and stay there. Hopefully, I will feel well enough while we are there. I should be, so...

When we get back, that next week, we have our doctor's appointment. That next week Brandon will be in Seattle and Bakersfield, CA and I will be meeting him in Bakersfield. The week after that, I will be in LA for Jack's 1st birthday and Brandon's family reunion. This summer is crazy!!!

Baby Drew was born!!!!

Yeayyy! Finally!
Michael Andrew Jarrett was born on May 15th at 3:30 AM. He was 7lbs 8 oz and was 20.5" long! I can't wait to meet the little bugger. I'm sad that Candice didn't have him when I was there, but the poor thing had about 2 weeks of labor symptoms. Nobody knew when the little bugger was going to get here! Anywho, mom and baby are doing great so yeayy!!!

Here is a picture...


Brandon and I may catch a flight and go down there next weekend for memorial day, but I am not sure if we will be able to. Hopefully we will, but flights are expensive and it would only be for 2 days because I couldn't find a decent flight price for Friday, so We'll see.

Well my little baby has been throwing it's mama for a whirlwind the past week.

Since I started taking iron supplements it made the morning sickness out of control bad. I mean, I was in tears for days. I was finally at my wits end and called my mom....It's funny how you can feel so horrible and not a smidgen of common sense can come to mind. Anywho, I called my mom and she recommended that I start taking my vitamins at night. DUH Jen. I mean, I have tried this before, but vitamins always kept me awake and my other medication is known for causing sleeplessness if taken at night. So, I decided to try it again. I am desperate. I do have to say that is is working amazingly. So, now I take the vitamins at night and my regular meds in the morning. It's hard to remember, but it is making a world of difference as far as I can tell. Hopefully it is going away because last week was horrible!

I'll write again soon!

Have we found out that baby nugget is a boy??

The answer to my title of this post is no. We have not found out that our little baby nugget is a boy, but this past week when I was in Jacksonville, we decided to attempt a little experiment that we will not find out the results to until my June 11th appointment. There is this item out there called Intelligender. While at a maternity store, we found this gender test. I have heard of it online before, but was always hesitant to pay $40 price tag for an experiment. There are reviews that say if the directions are followed correctly, it is 90% effective, so we will see. That being said, since it was just a fun thing to do, Mrs. Jerry decided to go ahead and get it for us to try. I followed the directions exactly and the test said that baby nugget will be a boy! That is really exciting even though we WON'T KNOW FOR SURE for a few more weeks. hehehe I keep repeating this so I don't run out and by some boy things! There is a reason women don't find out the sex for about 15 weeks, and that is God's way of cutting the poor husband a little bit of slack before the baby comes. If we knew right away, that would be very unfortunate on my husband's wallet and his free time. :)



As far as how I am feeling goes, the nausea is at bay TODAY. The other day in Jacksonville, I got sick at Olive Garden and a sweet faceless lady in the bathroom handed me some wet paper towels under the door because she knew I wasn't feeling too hot. Bless her. Seriously. I needed that, so God please bless her for me. Simple kindness during that time was just what I needed.


Later that day, I got to my phone and had a voice mail from the nurse and come to find out, my blood work showed that I am anemic. It's really not surprising to me. I used to always give blood every chance I could, but when I was about 19, they started turning be down because my iron was too low. I kept trying to go give blood, but no matter what, it would never be high enough and they would send me home. So, it's about right that baby nugget is throwing me right over that line to full on anemic. The nurse said that once the nausea subsides...HA...I should start taking iron supplements, but that will make the nausea start up again. I am not looking forward to this, but I'll do anything for this child to turn out healthy. WebMd and other sources online say the baby is getting what it needs and I shouldn't be worried about that. They just say it is just taking MY supply of iron, so for ME to stay healthy, I need to take the supplements. That is reassuring, but still.

Well, I am going to write more later. My hubby is coming home with Sonic in a min and I am starving! Tonight we get to go see Gabriel Iglesias at the Houston Improv and thank God it's nonsmoking in there!