Family picture!

Hey, it isn't Professional but it works for the time being! I had a cute sweater on but it was too hot at granny"s and when you breastfeed, you must be comfortable! :-) It was a great first Christmas for Carson! He enjoyed all of his presents for sure! Of course, the wrapping paper made him mad because I wouldn't let him eat it!

Carson does awesome at eating oatmeal! We had to stop sweet potatoes because he was all clogged up! The big boy is now sitting up alone and puts his arms out to go to his mommy! Daddy and brother tried to see if it would work for them and they failed X three! Ha Eric has his daddy's boy and I have a momma"s boy! Oh my.............................. Why does every sentence have an exclamation point?? :)

Santa Baby...

I realized that I LOVE to read other peoples blogs but never update my own. That's not too far if you want the truth! :-) So, here's an update.

I LOVE BEING OUT OF SCHOOL! I love having some time with Carson and not being on a schedule! I have found myself staying up way too darn late and taking naps when he does to make up for it. I am really enjoying this break for sure!

Carson was great at Christmas and enjoyed sporting his Santa Hat. Right now I have only pictures from Christmas Eve. My mother-in-law hasn't sent the ones from Christmas yet.

2 Teeth

My five month old has TWO teeth!

I guess I am too stupid for this program...but the OSU picture was to be first. Anyways, grammy came to visit for the OSU party at the neighbors so here's a pictures of her and her grandkids.

We started rice because he just wasn't getting enough to eat. (*see picture above*)

The doctor said it was better to give him food than to use the formula mixed with breastmilk, so rice it is. Night two---he slept from 9am to 6 am and then grammy got him up to rock him while I pumped and he went back to sleep from 6:30 to 8:00!
:) Sorry that I have taken FOREVER to upload pictures and of course, now I am unable to find the cord that I need to upload them. :( OH, but you are saved because here are some pictures from mom's camera!

I do read all of your blogs while I am feeding, but haven't found the time to use two hands and type. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

Lastly, I haven't taken Carson to get any professional pictures taken yet! :( But, here's a look at Mr. Snowman

:) I GIVE UP ON THE PICTURES!

Last.........

day of freedom was today. It started this morning by me getting my allergy shot and visiting Jenn, Nico, Gianna and Jenn's mom Lucy! It was a great visit. I am amazed at Jenn's two year old and his creative imagination! I couldn't help but look ahead and wonder if Carson would be that great. Even though Nico had a bit of an attitude (who wouldn't after a 12 hour drive to Ohio), he was so adorable and fun to be around. Too bad Gianna had to spend most of our time napping, so we didn't get any pictures of the two together. So, hopefully now that they live closer, we can see them more! Gianna is five months old (really 4 because she was born 6 weeks early) and she is sooooo light compared to Carson. Ok, she is only about 2 oz. shy of Carson, but seriously my boy is BIG! I forgot to mention that Jenn is an amazing mother. She has those kids in a wonderful routine full of learning and loads of fun! I guess it happens to be a great quality because she used to be a teacher! She's even more amazing of a wife. I wouldn't do half of the moves that she has done for her hubby! :)

3 months tomorrow--------------------------------------------14 pounds and 1 oz and he is 26 inches long. The boy is all legs when I hold him.

Did I mention that the Nico and Gianna are adorable on top of that? I had fun Jenn!! Thanks for putting up with us even after your long drive and unpacking! ;)

I should be in bed.....hey, I am not cleaning at least right?

Today was rough. Poor Carson's belly hurts. He is on a med for his reflux and it is based on his weight. I need to call the doctor tomorrow because after his morning feeding, he spent time
crying, more crying, more crying and puking, more puking, more puking...2 hour nap etc.

I told myself I wouldn't nap to prepare my body to go back to school. Um....well, it didn't work today. After the crying fest on the way home from seeing Jenn and stopping at K-mart, I had to lay down!

I felt like a terrible mother because I let him cry for about 10 min. on the drive home. He just needed to burp and puke some more. But, instead I kept driving and allowed him to sweat to death as he go so worked up! It hurts when he cries.

The evening got worse when hubby was 1 hour late getting home, supper wasn't over until 9:45 pm and oops we locked ourself out of the bedroom! LOL

Ok, on the last fun note of the day. I asked hubby to do his own load of work clothes and sweep the kitchen. I have learned that maybe he isn't able to help as much as I would like for him too because I don't give up the control??? I think I have to have things so perfect, he is scared he won't do it right or "good" enough. I was proud that I asked for help. The goal was to get me in bed early.

But, it's weird to be told you HAVE to go to bed at a certain time!

My emotions are mixed....ready to be an adult again and have more conversations than the phone, computer and texting......................ready to make a difference with 52 new 5th graders...............ready to work with a new Intervention Specialist......................ready to get out of this house.......................but not ready to leave Carson. The worries will begin wondering how he is doing for the sitter. Is she giving him a binkie too much? Is his belly ok? Is he doing ok with the bottle? I know I am a constant person who worries, so why would this situation be any different??

I am thankful she is about 5 min. from my job and I can get to see him ASAP when I have finished my lessons for the day! It will be a whole new world to add lesson plans and grading to the equation.

Ok, I have rambled...it's bedtime for real! :)

Wait...P.S. I NEED GROCERIES! Poor guy was crying so we didn't make it to the grocery store.

P.P.S. Survivor tomorrow! NIGHT!!

One more week...

I have only ONE more week until I am back full time teaching. It's back to reality.
I have learned a lot about myself over the last 2 months! :) I have enjoyed Carson (even when I had no sleep and he cried a ton!!) so much it's not even funny. I know the people at work made fun of me when I SWORE that I wasn't taking any time off. Then, I left for the Summer pretty darn sure that I was only taking 2 weeks off because people were giving me grief about it. Well, I am VERY thankful I am going back when he is 12 weeks old!!!

The boy's just sooooooooo much fun. I almost hate running errands because it means that I am missing his play time at home! He is really loving the Mat and batting at the toys. He has figured out how to grip the toys!

Today was my first day without a nap (UGH!). I figured I better get my body back into the real world and not take a nap at all! It was rather rough to say the least. However, it's amazing how much you can get done while he is sleeping. Today's Agenda: School work. I spent the entire day trying to get ahead on lesson plans, so I can enjoy him more when I get home in the evenings. Then, I won't be "planning" and only grading papers!!

Since I spent today only doing school work, no housework got done!! I still have my lunch and supper dishes in the sink. I was hoping the invisible person would put them in the dishwasher for me. It didn't happen!! :(

On a really great note---Hubby has only another two weeks to drive the 4 hours a day to work! He is going to be back to Circleville, only a 20 min. drive! WOOTTTTT I am so excited. :)
I am hoping that will mean that he will do more around the house so I don't have to run myself ragged trying to do it all!!! I guess the more time he will have at home, it probably will happen. Well, once he spends a few days just loafing since he hasn't had much relaxation since Carson was born, (wait, neither have I!)

Upcoming news: Carson's little girlfriend is turning one. He will be attending his first birthday party. Cicora is coming home and I really hope that we get to see her

Stay tuned for pictures of my little guy in his cute baseball outfit today!!!!

Oh wait---I didn't do any laundry today so I am not even sure if hubby has work clothes tomorrow, but I guess he should have checked himself! LOL

Clean or upload pictures?

Carson just born













Carson at one month

Carson at Two Months

Marie will be overly proud that I chose to upload some pictures instead of clean while Carson is napping! :)

Jenn will just be happy that she can finally see some pictures.

Cara will be happy that she has power to be able to read the post/see the pictures.

My husband won't care either way what I have done today as long as Carson is taken care of, ha ha

I may have some other readers, but I have more readers on myspace!

I will get better at posting pictures/blogging (as you can see I need practice here!)

Miracle Grow

At Carson's two month appt. he was 25 inches tall ( a growth of 2 1/2 inches in a month) and 13.5 pounds. Both are in the 97th percentile. According to the Doctor, my breast milk has some miracle grow.

It's been a huge adjustment around the house to a newborn, but I wouldn't trade a single minute of it. It's amazing how much work goes into caring and raising a little one! I am thankful for my husband being there for me. He has went through the ups and downs and been there to hear every one of my million fears and frustrations. He is a wonderful guy (when he isn't being a typical male!!!). Don't get me wrong, I had my share of tears being mad at the man, but overall he is great!

His biggest issue is that he drive two hours one way (I know he loves me!) to work. Hopefully, that situation will improve SOON and he will be only 40 min. away. Additionally, he had to do SO much with John as an infant, that because I am the one doing the BF, he doesn't know his place. When he is home, he is in charge of the burping, getting him ready for the bath and the aftermath of the bath. I am in charge of the pouring the water over him while Eric washing him and picking the temperature of the water. Ironically, Carson would SCREAM when Eric picked the water because he was trying to go with his body temperature and Carson has mine! As of last night, he has started to doing the feeding before bed. We have to work through Carson going to a babysitter, which means he has to be proficient with a bottle....something he isn't!

:) It's rather strange to be home while I have students in school. I thought at first I would only take two weeks off, until the little guy was in my arms. Then, I realized that Carson only was young once and my students could be whipped back into shape. I do have a great sub, but nobody will be as Type A organized as me. I wake up many nights thinking about my room and how much work it will take to get it put back together! Why can't I just enjoy the time that I have off??? ;)

SO, not only do I have a little man who is growing, he sure loves to talk. Hubby told the Doctor that he gets it honestly from me. Dr. Melnick said whatever the case may be, it shows that he is talked to frequently. Heck, I love talking to whoever will listen........most adults get sick of hearing it, but Carson doesn't. I LOVE hearing him COOOOOOOO. It's so fun!

I haven't been the best at updating with pictures. It seems that free time is spent getting extra sleep, cleaning, laundry, checking myspace and e-mail (but not writing people back) etc. I do check up on other peoples blogs and laugh at how much I need to update mine, especially with pictures. But, you have to be just happy with a blog for now.

I appreciate all the support that I have gotten from people who are already parents. I don't have all the time to research what is best for Carson. As a teacher, I always was told "Why reinvent the wheel". I firmly believe this more with parenting than teaching. I like to ask the friends who are parents what has worked for them.

Carson struggles with body temperature. This is evident the most in the car. The little guy goes from hot to cold to hot to cold. Again, another trait he picked up from me. My mother bought us a little fan, and that seems to help with the hot part of it. It's hard driving down the highway at 70 to figure out which temperature he is. Therefore, car rides for me are pretty stressful!!

Not only do I love hearing him coo, I love the sad face he gets when someone else is holding him, and he hears my voice! I have spent many, many, many hours with Baby Boo, so I can see why he is a momma's boy!

Carson loves to spend time in the bouncy seat while we eat supper. He enjoys seeing many lights and having us talk to him over dinner. He only likes the swing when he is really tired. The boppy pillow is used the most for our morning meetings where we discuss what we are going to do for the day. Today is a STAY AT HOME all day! I won't have many of those left, so I am going to enjoy it. Thankfully, I have had enough sleep, so I will use free time writing this blog, writing my professional goals and objectives and putting together the Unit 2 Math lessons for the sub!

Oh wait, back to Carson! He is also enjoying the Bumpbo (however you spell it). He is able to watch mommy read the books and can look at the pictures in this seat. Reading is a favorite pasttime of his father, so he is read to in the morning by me and in the evening by Eric. John is an avid reader as well. John's gotten his hands on reading to him as well. However, Carson was distracted by the Bengals playing (and losing of course). John said "Julie, Carson isn't listening to me because he is watching TV". Ha I of course had a smarty remark that said "Now you know how I feel when you and daddy are watching TV".

John has been a GREAT big brother. He will help us do anything but change the actual diaper. We have installed an allowance so that John felt he was getting something in return for his hard work and effort with Carson. Having him here that first week home was a godsend! The only time he has really gotten jealous was BEFORE Carson was here. He was upset that Carson had a "cooler" laundry hamper than he did. He thought he should take Carson's. NOT SO MUCH! So, I went out and bought him a matching laundry hamper. He told me one time after our road trip, "I don't know how you are going to do this alone, it's stressful". The 10 year old quotes crack me up! John enjoys his quaility time with his father as much as possible still, so I try to let the boys squeak in some alone time. However, that may entail Eric holding Carson in his famous football hold while they play video games and I get things done around the house, but it's the little things that John cherishes with a baby crying around the house.

Milestones: We are about 90% holding our head up, sleeping 5-8 hours at a time at night (if only mommy and daddy would go to bed earlier!!), grabbing for toys, talking a ton, kicking non-stop, standing time is remarkable, and tummy time on mommy is great. The standing time is way ahead of schedule. He has some strong legs which will make for a great catcher some day. He struggles with tummy time on the mat, but not when he is laying down on me. When he is on the mat, his legs want to move like he is crawling and he gets frustrated EASY! I am most thankful that he didn't struggle with breastfeeding.

That's all the time we have for now, Carson is stirring and ready to wake up from a nap! Hopefully soon, you will have some updated pictures!

It's all about ten dollars!

It's been awhile since I have updated this, so here it goes.

We are moved into the house. The only boxes left to unpack are in the basement for the computer room. I have a BIG computer desk and it didn't get on the moving truck because we thought he had to be taken apart to even get it out of the old house. Low and behold it didn't, however it does have to be taken apart to get in the new house. :( I wanted everything in place before the baby arrives. I have come to realize my OCD will just have to be put in check and the computer room won't be finished. Right now, the desk will look great in the garage!

Our house is four bedrooms, but I wanted a guest bedroom and then later that can be turned into another baby room. So, my brother put carpet in the basement for us, and that will be used as the computer room.

Speaking of my brother, the guy is usually a jerk to me but has been OVER and ABOVE helpful and pretty darn funny through the whole move. Let me give you his best classic funny line. So, the hottie guy next door said, "you are pretty easy going for being nine months pregnant". My brother points this out, "When you are the top of the scale of being a bitch, there isn't any room to grow". Gotta love him!!!

The title of the blog is about a bet that we have going in the family. Eric picked that Carson would be here on the 30th of June, I picked the 7th of July and John picked the 15th of July. I have a few more hours to go and I will win the bet (Price is Right rules apply). If he doesn't arrive on his own, the doctor is going to induce me on the 10th. Nothing is medically wrong, it's all for selfish reasons. First, it's her day to be at the hospital (or palace that we like to call it!), and also because of the LONG drive for my husband and mom from their jobs!

Today I had the "nesting" going on big time. I made this chicken casserole, cheesey potatoes, great salad for dinner, homemade choc. chip cookies and cream cheese bars. Oh and I gave the dog a bath as well.

I love living up here!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Going to a cook-out isn't such a drag because I don't have to face the hour drive home once it's completed. :)
That's all from here folks. Next update will probably be the delivery!

I miss my 5th graders!

Today was my first day of vacation and boy do I miss my kiddos already. It's pretty sad I know! I LOVED this class and hated to let them go. With that said, they also were a great distraction to our current house annoyance!

It's Monday the 9th and we have YET to close on the house. The old homeowner's have an outstanding water bill and didn't pay their Homeowner's Association fees. So, I sit IMPATIENTLY waiting for them to give us a closing date.

My mother-in-law gave us an early Christmas present and "bought" us movers. Obviously, with me being pregnant, I am unable to be much of a help. SO, instead of relying so heavy on our friends and family to help us move, I am thankfully going to accept this gift.

The worst part is that I wanted to get odds and ends in car loads up there, and of course just throw my clothes in the car on the hangers. Right now, I am frustrated we have yet to close. ;(

I want to be in the house! We haven't been able to measure for the curtains or for the fridge. Can you hear my frustation via this keyboard???

For anybody who knows me well, they know I am a planner..........this isn't fitting in my plans one single bit!

I don't even know where to focus my frustrations anymore. Packing is only so much fun by yourself. I listen to my country music, take a break and check e-mail and myspace (to put my feet up) and go back to packing. I am out of boxes right now, so the packing is finished for the evening.

Packing

We close on the house on Thursday. Therefore, I am going to take my first load of Carson items in the back seat and truck and drop off the first load as soon as we close. We are then going to measure for the blinds and refridge so we can start working on those.

Eric, John and I went shopping this weekend for new furniture. There are three stores in Chilli and two are closed on Sunday. So, it was good to get an idea of what we both want and be able to at least have a general idea of prices. We are going to get a new couch, love seat and recliner. I want a couch with the recliner on the end. We aren't taking this crap with us for sure!!! It was free before and will be free to the next person for sure!

Packing has been a chore because I didn't realize just how tough being pregnant and packing would be. Whose idea was this anyway?! Eric and John were able to get his room packed up yesterday. It was great to have her helping and going through his toys. BUT, there is sooooo much more to get finished! We started in his room so we could use his closet and room to store boxes out of the way!

In the way is all of Carson's items. They have taken up the entire living room! I can't wait to get them into the new house! I will just put them in the middle of the room until we get things painted, and the furniture here to know where everything is going to be placed.

My "break" is over now, so back to packing. I am working on packing up the bathrooms right now. I have a tendency to buy items in bulk and now I wish that wasn't the case. I have seven bottles of spray gel and hairspray and 13 toothbrushes. Eric has about 8 containers of deodorant and three extra shampoos! HE HE

My favorite part is going to be packing up the Sam's Club supply of Pads and Tampons. RIGHT before I found out I was prego, I went to buy a box of tampons. So, not only will I have the massive amounts of hair care products, I will have the female supplies as well. :) I am sure whoever moves those will get a kick out of the massive supply and I don't even need them right now! (Boy, I don't miss that to say the least!)

Lastly, school is ending and this year has went by so fast. Half of it was because I have a great class and the other half it that I have been pregnant! I don't want this group to go on!!! Our last student day is 7 days from now! Ironically, I won't be with them for one day because of the closing on the house and another half day for the baby appt. So, the last seven days are going to FLY!

32 weeks/House

We have found a house in Southern Point. It's located about 12 min. from Grove City. I can't wait to move closer to C-bus and most of my friends!!!

Here is a picture of me from 32 weeks. ;)

30 weeks

As of yesterday, I am 30 weeks along! I can't believe how fast the time has just been chucked out the window. Last Monday I had a check-up and everything is going great with baby Carson!! The only part that has me a tad-bit worried is that I was exposed to fifths disease from one of my students. My doctor gave me the "oh crap" look when I mentioned this to her. My blood test came back in Dec. as negative that I hadn't been exposed, so I had to take another blood test. I am STILL waiting for the results. I don't know much about the disease and haven't researched it. I am trying to remain positive and not waste my time stressing about it. I am really impressed with the lack of weight that I have gained. I have only gained 9 pounds so far! I know others aren't impressed because they give me lectures, but I honestly am just eating more healthy! My husband doesn't like many sweets, so thankfully Carson doesn't either. The doctor isn't worried, so why is everybody else?

I can't believe that I am going to be visiting the doctor every two weeks now! TIME IS FLYING! I wore my first maternity shirt last Friday to Carrie's birthday party. Then, I went another week without wearing them! Again, Friday came lecture time about not wearing maternity clothes, so I went out Friday and spent WAY TOO MUCH. So, Monday morning, I will be fitted with maternity shirts and pants! I am sure there will be something else I get a lecture for, but I won't be hearing this one anymore!

The house hunting update: We found a great house in Southern Point (just south of Grove City). But, it's a bank short sale and those could take 2 weeks to two months. I want to be in a house by the time the baby gets here. It's not fair to Carson to not have a baby decorated room. Yes, we have three bedrooms here, but then the computer room would be in the living room. Bottom line, I want a new place before the baby gets here. We are going to look at a few more tomorrow in Southern Point as well. Cross your fingers that something will fall into place. Usually the cards fall for me and my life, but it's hard to think "things will work out when they are meant to work out". I want a house closer to my job, most of my friends and family when this baby is born!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Plus, I know that I won't let anybody come down here to visit me and I think I will go insane without seeing people! :)

That's the update per Cara's request!

The background blog....

My friends Jenn, Marie and Cara have a baby website and after further thought, I thought I would try this. I know it will be really beneficial to keep people up to date after Carson arrives.

Marie uses it a lot because she has three bundles of joy (all girls) and with that many babies at one time, there is no way she can e-mail or call everybody and keep them updated.

So, with that said, here is my first blog!

The road to getting pregnant was much more difficult than it has been being pregnant for sure.

Eric and I tried and with the help of Clomid (only one month) thankfully, we found out a cute one would be on the way. I was really shocked to say the least. I almost didn't believe it was true, so had to run down and show Eric's aunt Barbara and his mother. I should have waited for EG to be home to do it, but I honestly didn't think I wasn't pregnant. I would have waited much longer to find out, had my best friend Carrie threatened to put a pregnancy test on my desk. That would have been mortifying!

Thankfully, with my hour drive to work every day, I didn't have to get up earlier and spend time puking, or pull over for that fact. I have been really lucky! I was dizzy a bit in the afternoon, but a small snack would help with that.

I truly can't believe that I am already 7 months along. I am anxiously awaiting to find a new home, so that I can get settled in and decorate the baby work. There isn't room in the house here in Chillicothe. Yes, it's 3 bedrooms, but I don't want to give up the beautiful desk that I have and private area for my studies. I like to have the time alone on the computer, grading papers and lesson planning. Also, I don't want the living room and the computer to be together. Eric likes the TV too loud!

The process of buying a home has hit a bump. We found a great home in South Bloomfield (about 20 min. from GC). It was too good to be true and I am glad that we found out before it was too late. It had water damage in the basement, therefore creating mold. So, with the time crunch, unless the miracle house comes along (yeah right), I just want to move to GC and rent for a year. I am shocked that even my mom thinks that is a better idea!!!

As I hit the 7 month mark, I am sure people are sick of hearing me brag about not being in maternity clothes. But, I am pumped! It's nice to know I haven't had to buy a whole new wardrobe. Again, to Carrie's dismay, who thinks I should be showing this baby belly off. I think a lot of it has do that I am eating much more healthy than I normally would. Well, I still have some crud food sometimes though. Also, my shirts were always bigger because I dislike having tight clothes.

I do miss having Iced Tea and Chocolate. Even though I was drinking Decaf tea about 6 months prior to actually getting pregnant, I was using Sweet-n-Low. Now I have to use Splenda and it just isn't the same. So, I drink my one Sprite a day for lunch, and drink a lot of water. Carrie turned me on to putting lemon in the water and a Splenda. It tastes like Lemonade (ironically before being prego, I hated Lemonade!!). I am unable to eat much chocolate because Carson doesn't like it. About 20 min. after eating, even a small Hershey's or snickers, the little boy is kicking. I guess he will be like this father and big brother and not be a big sweets person. That has to come from the Grey side of the family!!!

John has played an instrumental part in the pregnancy. He was the first one to find out what we were having. Eric thought it would be neat to have John see the picture, and then tell us. He wanted a little brother really bad, so his face was so bright when he said "It's a boy". He was able to help go pick out clothes etc. for the registry. He told us that day it was more fun than playing a video game. I love my Halo 2 too much to agree with him on that one, but I am glad that he enjoyed himself! He thinks it is really neat to hear the updates of Carson growing and feeling him kick. He will be an EXCELLENT big brother. I look forward to seeing their interaction together.

I have made this blog rather long. Every Sat. tends to be relaxing day. I don't sleep enough during the week and my body is run down. My voice is gone, I feel like crud and the rain doesn't help the situation. However, there are papers to grade and laundry to do, so I am going to end this.

Hope you enjoyed the lengthy first blog! Tip your glasses to many more!