Jaime's "Surprise"

Let me preface this entire entry by saying that I am the luckiest girl in the entire world to have a guy as great as my boyfriend. But this story is so funny that I have to share it, because it is definitely something the two of us will laugh at for awhile.

He told me the other day he had a surprise for me, that I would get when I came home from work (after a 48 hour shift.) I was busy at work, so it was at the back of my mind. So I had all but forgotten about it when I came home from work this morning and was greeted by the smell of... paint. I walked into the what will be the baby's nursery and he had gone and gotten paint to surprise me! The room looked amazing.... and completely the wrong color! We are planning to do an ocean theme in the nursery, so we wanted to go with a mint green color for the walls and accent with light green gingham. The color of the walls was a light green... like the color of a light Granny Smith apple! It was such a pretty color.... but would definitely not match the bedding we had chosen.

I didnt know what to do... he obviously went to such lengths to surprise me. He even painted the ceiling! I wanted to rush out to the store and get the right color and hope that he wouldnt notice! But I know I am not suppossed to be around paint fumes.... I looked up the picture of the bedding online, hoping that in some way it might match. It wouldnt. Then I looked at every website I could think of hoping that they might have something similar that might match the green... but I couldnt find anything.

I called him and thanked him so much for my surprise... and then he said he knew it was the wrong color. He thinks it might have been mixed wrong because it looks nothing like the sample he had chosen. I still felt so horrible! He said he would repaint it... and we joked about the room needing a base coat.

So this afternoon I went to Lowes and spent an hour in the paint department trying to pick a color that will match the bedding. I just hate that my surprise for him means more work for him! :)

Sisters.... for Jenna

Here is an amazing thing I have recently discovered. Im not saying it isnt something Ive always known... but it is something that seems to finally make sense to me: I love my sister. I dont mean in that way that families have to love each other... more in the way that she is someone I completely respect, admire, and strive to be like.

Jenna took the path less taken these days. At 17 she met her husband, at 20 she was married. For me the entire concept of being married at 20 seemed like a prison sentence. She was pregnant at 22 and thrilled about the idea of being a mother. She wants to stay home and raise a family. Again, not something that ever appealed to me.

We were roommates in college, and I remember getting so frustrated with her, not understanding why Jenna didnt want to go out and party with us. I knew the bouncers at the coolest clubs, could always get in free wherever we wanted to go... but still she would rather stay home and talk to her now- husband on the phone. I didnt understand it at all.

But now, as I face this new chapter of my life, it amazes me how much more I understand my little sister who had crossed so many bridges before me. I thought I was completely satisfied with my life.... I have a great career, I am well respected by my peers, I am always surrounded by friends and have parties to go to and places to see and be seen. Then I meet Shawn... and all of a sudden I am my sister. I want to get married. I want to be a part of a family, to have that to come home to. I see him play with our puppy Allie and I realize what a wonderful father he will be. I have become my sister. I would love to be able to stay home and be a wife and mother that way, and I am so proud of my sister for doing as so few do and making that committment to her family.

When I found out I was pregnant I called Jenna and we talked for an hour, with me trying to figure out how to tell her. I feared being scolded... but instead when I did tell her she was so excited that Savannah would have a cousin so close in age. We were worried I may be miscarrying, and it was Jenna who called to see if everything turned out alright. She bought me my pregnancy journal, so every time I write in it I think of her doing the same when she was pregnant with Savannah.

As I make this new journey in life... travel down a road I didnt expect to be on... it is my sister who has become my source of guidance and inspiration. She takes after the other woman that I admire more than anything... our own mother... who have both done such a wonderful job raising daughters. It is amazing how strong of a bond family is.... and how planning for another member of the family brings everyone closer together.

For the first time in my life I can say that Jenna is not just my sister and my friend, but my best friend. She is the one who has been there for me even when I did not expect her to be. I am so grateful for this opportunity to get to know someone I have spent my entire life with in a different way.

Exciting news

Today has been a great day where I feel like I have gotten so much accomplished! First of all I had my doctors appointment with my new doctor (Dr. Muskus) yesterday and he was awesome. First we sat in his office and actually went over my bloodwork and all, and everything looks great. Im glad to know Im healthy! Ive lost weight, which was expected considering how much I have been throwing up lately. He gave me some new prenatal vitamins which will hopefully help with the nausea. (NOTE TO JENNA- you are so so lucky!)

The most exciting thing is that I got to hear the baby's heartbeat! My uterus has expanded into my stomach a little bit so we were actually able to hear it. It beats so fast, like 160 beats a minute! Hearing that made it more real that Im not just sick with the worst case of the flu ever... that Im actually carrying a baby that will be our child! : ) He is very optimistic that this may be my last few weeks of bad nausea and mood swings, which will definitely be something to look forward to....

Today I found out that I FINALLY got everything settled with St. Leo University and I will be starting there Fall 2 semester which is October 23rd. I am taking Accounting and Medical Ethics and will then have 17 more classes to get my Bachelors of Business Administration with a focus on Health Care Administration. So I am really excited about that, especially since they are letting me take out loans to pay for everything so I wont have to stress about money to finish my degree. I think it will take about a year... but I am so excited about being back in school!

The house is finally coming together as well. It is nice enough out tonight that we have the windows all opened and the fans going... its nice to be able to air everything out. We have been able to leave Allie out in the house for short times and she hasnt gotten into any trouble, so thats good!

I think Saturday we are going to look at new cars (Jeep Grand Cherokees!) so I can get something more family-friendly than my Wrangler (though I will be so sad to see it go!)

Doggie drama

So this morning I come home from work and there is a dead dog lying on the side of the road in my driveway. I wasnt sure it was dead, but it didnt move when I honked at it and then I saw it wasnt breathing. I have no idea how it got there or what happened to it since it didnt look like it had been hit by a car or anything! Insane! Then I get out of the car and there is a baby chocolate lab in my laundry room. Apparantly it belongs to my neighbors across the street but it had gotten out of their yard. I tried to call them but their phone has been disconnected. I knocked on the door but there was no answer even though there is a car in their driveway. So I've ended up puppysitting it all day. I was so happy to be able to go let Allie out and see her... my nice normal dog. She played with the puppy (who is named Bam Bam by the way) for awhile but she plays a little too rough with it.

I got the joy of cleaning bathrooms today and cleaning the rest of the house and the storage area... so much for a day off! On Saturday we cleaned up what will be the baby's room and will be painting that soon... as soon as I figure out what color I want. I think we will do it a very light green/whitish color... I want to decorate the nursery in an "under the sea" theme. I think green will work best, and it wont matter if we have a boy or a girl.

Well time for more cleaning I guess. And more puppy playtime!

Funny how 2 pink lines can mean so much!

Tomorrow is officially 6 weeks since I found out that I was pregnant. I hadnt even missed a period... just didnt feel right. I remember having some cramps but knowing I wasnt going to start my period. I took a test from the hospital on a hunch... and there were two pink lines there. I didnt even know if that was positive since the test didnt come with any results... I had to go online and look up that brand to see what two pink lines meant! And then I remember thinking... how many ways is my life about to change?

The scariest part was my doctor wanting me to have a blod HCG test. I went and had my blood drawn, which I truly hate... and I remember looking at the test order and seeing the reason for the blood test... "threatening miscarriage." Those were scary words considering that I was beginning to be excited about the thought of being a mom. And Shawn was so excited about becoming a father... I didnt want to get all happy about something, then have it go away. Though I know thats common... it was still scary to think of it in anything other than medical terms. But thankfully everything came back perfect and looked like everything was right where it should be progressing for 5 weeks....

In those early days of knowing we were pregnant it forced Shawn and I to talk about aspects of our relationship that we might not have even brought up for months or even years! But we had already talked about marriage before we knew we were pregnant, and we both agreed that it was a step we wanted to take. I have never been as happy with someone as I am with him... and we make a great team. He is my best friend, and someone I know I can always count on. I am so lucky to have him as my boyfriend and future husband.... and father of my child. His every moment is spent trying to make me happy or to ease the stresses of first trimester pregnancy. I have never had a man care for me the way he does, and it isnt something that he does because he feels obligated.... he truly likes to make me happy.

I think I pretty much knew for awhile that I would end up with Shawn. There was always this calm about our relationship... from the night we met over a year and a half ago at Gators Dockside we were just able to talk about absolutely everything. Then we were hanging out as friends and one night after bar hopping we were back at my house laying on my hammock swing and we kissed. We both knew we had crossed that "buddy" line, but neither one of us seemed to really care. The next day I had a barbeque at my house and we went next door to invite my new neighbors, and the girl asked if we were married. Shawn joked "not yet..." but it was the first time in a long time that the thought of marriage to someone didnt make me want to turn tail and run.

July 6th was when we officially became an exclusive couple. (Incidentally the date of my LMP...) We had been dating since April and it was as if we used that time to sort out all of our old relationship hangups. I loved spending time with him and knew that I wanted more, but I just wasnt ready for anything serious because I was still afraid to get my heart broken. We went to dinner on July 6th at Los Margaritas and we closed the place down! We sat there for hours and just talked about everything and nothing and laughed... and at one point the subject of "us" came up. Shawn told me that he didnt want to be with anyone else, and I felt the same way. We both agreed that it was silly that it had taken us so long to figure that out... but we were glad that we had gotten past our fears.

Since that moment we have been inseparable. We went and saw his brother in Orlando, then my parents and sister and brother in law in Bradenton... and havent spent one night apart that I wasnt at work.

We certainly werent planning to have a baby this soon... but it is very welcomed. Shawn is an amazing boyfriend and will make a wonderful husband and father. We share the same opinions on parenting and relationships.... and life, while it has taken an unexpected turn, has definitely put us a path that will make us both extremely happy.

It was a great experience to have Shawn there at my first doctors appointment. I had a transvaginal ultrasound and we could see some "smudges" floating around. Ive called the baby Smudge ever since. I have another appointment on Tuesday, and hopefully will hear the heartbeat! Shawn's uncle is my OB/GYN and Im keeping my fingers crossed that we can have another ultrasound and maybe see the baby again! It would be nice to know a more approximate due date... my last appointment I was told anywhere from April 12th to 17th.... way too big of a window for me! : )

Some recent pictures...

Giving blogging a shot

Well, since my sister is the most expert blogger in the entire world, I figured that I better catch up! It just dawned on me today how much I love to go to her blog and read about her life and what Savannah is doing these days (you better get crawling girl, how else are you going to give your Mommy a taste of her own medicine?!) So I figured that I should start, especially at this time in my life... because I will never get these days back.

When I found out I was pregnant I remember pulling up Jenna's blog to read exactly what she was going through, when she had her doctors appointments, what they did at each appointment... and it was such a great source of information for me. It was like she was right there with me telling me what to expect.

I probably wont be as good at this as she is, but I am certainly going to try! I will have to go back a few months and tell the story... but hang in there and everyone will be up to speed and you can follow the saga from there... And leave comments!