Tomorrow my oldest little boy is turning 4 years old! I can't believe it.. Not that it didn't seem like a lifetime ago that I gave birth to him... Because it really does feel like more than 4 years have passed by. I just can't believe that he's that old! Only 1 and a half more years til he starts Kindergarten. Four years ago it was really hard to imagine him at this age.

He and I have been through a lot in his short little life. I gave birth to him while my (ex) husband was deployed to Iraq. We had to figure out everything on our own for the first couple months of his life. (With the help of my mom of course!) Once my (ex) husband returned from Iraq it was still mostly just Camron and I on our own. He was gone most of the time... And I'm not talking about deployments... He worked all day and stayed out all night.

When my ex decided to leave us I was pregnant with Camron's little brother Brady. My baby boy and I started an all new chapter of our lives together. He wasn't even 2 yet. His little brother was born just 2 short weeks after his second birthday. Together we adjusted to a new home (my mom's) and a new baby in our lives.

Four short months later is when I met and fell in love with my (now) husband, Josh. He loved my boys and my boys loved him. We got married that year when Camron was almost 3 and Brady was 9 months old. So once again Camron and I (and now Brady) had to adjust to a new life, new home and new family.

As you can imagine it's been a looooooong four years for us!

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Now that it's towards the end of December we're almost through 2 of 4 birthdays. We celebrated Josh's last week and we'll celebrate Camron's tomorrow. Time is FLYING by! As I imagined it would at this time. Next up will be Christmas Eve at my mom's house. Christmas day with Josh's parents and my grandparents.

On Sunday we'll be taking down all the Christmas decorations... because on Monday I'll be bringing in all the baby stuff in preparation for Josiah's arrival! I'm so anxious to get started. (I'll be 35 weeks along next week! In the picture to the left I'm 34 weeks exactly.) I'm already trying so hard to suppress my nesting urge to rearrange the living room and the boys room and scrub every surface in sight! I can't wait to go through all the baby stuff and set things up the way I need them for J's homecoming.

Speaking of his homecoming, there's still a few things that we need to go buy for him. Kinda stressing about it because I realized that we weren't going to have as much money as I thought we would next month. Unfortunately it's only the expensive stuff we're needing. (Besides a few billion diapers of course!)

- A crib - Not only did Josh just break ours on accident, but it's being recalled along with all the other drop side cribs. It's only good as a toddler bed now. Luckily it's not something that we need right away since J will be sleeping in the bassinet that a friend gave me.

- A stroller/car seat combo - Ok, so it doesn't have to be a combo, but it would be nice. Main concern is a car seat that will fit along with the other 2 car seats in the back.

- A swing - Again, it's not something that I need, but they're nice to have around when you need to place baby some where safe while you take care of other things... Or other kids. ;)

- Bunk Beds - Ok so this one isn't specifically for the baby, but when we get the crib we're going to need to get bunk beds for the older boys. Otherwise there's no way that 3 normal beds will fit in their small bedroom.

Obviously my main concern is a car seat. That will be the first thing we buy... even if it's not a stroller combo. I just hope we can buy it soon so I can stop stressing about it!

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Besides birthdays, holidays and baby J's arrival I'm also counting down the days to when my Bestie comes to visit! She's coming here just 2 days before my due date... So I'm not sure if I'll already have a baby in arms or if I'll go into labor right after she gets here. Either way will be fine with me! I just want to hang out and gossip like we used to. Her guess is that she'll be a week late in getting here in time for the birth. Josh's guess is the 27th and my guess is (or at least what I'm hoping for) is a Feb 1st baby. That way we have time before the birth to hang out. She'll be able to be there for the birth AND I'll probably be out of the hospital before she has to leave again back to St. Louis. Win Win all around. :) (But do I really want to still be pregnant that long?! Not that I have a choice, but I'm pretty much already done with this pregnancy. I'm ready to meet my little boy!)

Because I'm really feeling ready to have this baby. Not that I'm actually ready for the baby, but the end of this pregnancy has been really hard on me so far. I'll be 32 weeks tomorrow (12/5/10) and I just can't imagine going another 5-8 weeks. So what's bothering me you ask? Well...

Insomnia - For about the past month I haven't been able to sleep well at all and it's getting worse. Last month I was waking up at about 5am because baby was jumping on my bladder and I'd be up for the day. Not that big of a deal since the kids get up around 6:15 anyway. Last couple days though? 3:30am. I get up to use the bathroom and I'm awake for the rest of the day. It's awful. This morning I tried to lay in bed and go back to sleep. I laid there til about 5am. By that time I was SO hungry that I couldn't stand it any longer so I got up to eat. It's not easy to live on 5 hours (or less) of sleep when I have 2 little ones to take care of. And the worst part? I can't even try to go to bed early because I'll lay there awake feeling restless and eventually get up... making me stay up even later than I normally would have.

Heartburn - I thought I would get lucky with this pregnancy and not get it. I made it all the way to the end of my second trimester before I started getting awful heartburn again. Then suddenly, it went away for about 3 weeks in November! I was so excited to be able to eat food and enjoy it again! That didn't last. It's back and worse than before. Even drinking water causes it. It sucks.

Backaches/Chest Pain - This one is almost constant. Laying down. Standing up. Sitting up. My back always seems to feel like something is being pinched. Then depending on how I'm sitting or laying my chest starts hurting and I feel like I can't take deep breaths. Really? I'm only 32 weeks. Shouldn't this be coming on when I'm about 36 weeks?

Nausea/Short of Breath - This started about 2 weeks ago. Every.Single.Morning around the same time I'll suddenly feel very nauseous. My heart will start racing and I'll feel like I just went for a long run. Even when I'm not even doing anything! It will come on out of no where... even if I'm sitting on the couch. It only lasts about 30 min and I'll feel great the rest of the day. It's weird and very annoying when I have stuff do in the mornings.

Itchy Skin - No amount of lotion or baby oil will make my belly stop itching. I hate it.

Hunger! - OMG I've never been so hungry in my life! I am ALWAYS hungry. I don't remember being this hungry with my first 2 pregnancies. I remember eating pretty much the same amount that I did pre-pregnancy. I was the same way with this one up until about a week or 2 ago. Now I'm just starving all day long. Luckily I don't buy snacks... otherwise I'd be well on my way to gaining a good 50 lbs by now. (As of yesterday I'm up 19 lbs... Not exactly where I wanted to be at this point, but I'm ok with 19.)

and last but not least...

Braxton Hicks Contractions - This isn't something new for me. With my first 2 pregnancies I got them all the time. This pregnancy is no different. My stomach seems to hurt 24/7. It doesn't help when Baby J starts kicking and stretching when I get the contractions either. He is strong! He's actually made me jump and say "Ow!". I think I have a little football player in there.

So now that I'm done complaining I should say that despite how uncomfortable I've been for the past couple weeks baby and I are doing really well. :) Baby J is measuring about a week and a few days ahead... and I'm thinking he's going to be a big baby like his older brother. He's super active and gets hiccups all the time. All my tests have come back normal so far and I'm hoping everything continues to go smoothly.

So far, so good... but seriously, is it January yet?

Last night I received an e-mail from someone on Etsy telling me that one of my purses made it on a Treasury List! This might not be a big deal to some, but to me it made my whole day. To be hand picked from thousands of undiscovered (meaning I've had zero sales so far) shops and added to this list is a huge honor for me. Not sure if a sale will actually come of this, but still... any kind of good exposure like that is pretty cool.

You can find the list here.
My item is the Buttercup Bag in the bottom row.

I know I'm such an awful blogger these days... I've been so busy and I never seem to get the chance to sit down to type things out. Let's see, in the past month my hubby and I had our one year anniversary. We took a two week road trip to St. Louis, MO and back. And I've started yet another online business.

Since I've already written about my oh-so-wonderful husband in my last post I'll get straight into our road trip! (I'll do a separate post some day soon with pictures and all the details.)  Long story short it was fun, long and stressful at times. On our first day we drove from Southern California to Albuquerque, NM. That night we stayed in an awful motel. None of us slept very well and we were on the road again by 4am... The second day was from Albuquerque to Oklahoma City. Some of Josh's friends moved there recently and they were nice enough to let us stay the night with them. From Oklahoma City we drove up to St Louis, MO where my best friend and her family moved back to last year. We stayed there for about a week.. Saw tons of beautiful sights and are lots of yummy food! (I gained 7 pounds. Opps.) While we were there we also took a mini road trip up to Nauvoo, IL to see the Nauvoo Temple and all the other Mormon sights up that way. It was gorgeous. When we left St Louis we headed over to Colorado Springs, CO. Let me just say that I HATE COLORADO. Oh my goodness, I really hated it there. It was mostly google maps fault, but still. It was freezing and snowing and the roads were icy. I cried several times just because I wanted to get out of that state so badly. From Colorado we headed towards Blanding, UT where Josh's grandma, aunts and cousins live. (And yes, the city really is as bland as it sounds.) Nice to visit, but I just can't do a small city like that... 2 days was plenty for me. From Utah we headed back home to San Diego. Home sweet home! We had some pretty cool adventures. The boys did AWESOME. I got TONS of great pictures. Hopefully I can manage to post some of them soon. :)

So the other thing I've been up to lately is my new online business...

I've opened my own Etsy shop this past weekend! (http://www.cambraycreations.etsy.com) With my new sewing machine and all this fabric I have.. and my need to buy even more of it... I decided maybe this would be a great way to help fund my addiction to sewing and buying fabric. I really didn't think I was good enough to actually sell anything I made, but lots of my friends, family and strangers I've talked to in public have convinced me otherwise. So I went for it. I made a bunch of stuff and I posted it for sale in my store. Now I just wait and see if anyone actually likes my stuff enough to buy it lol.

Here's a couple of the things I've done over the past month (Not all of it is listed in my store.. some have been sold and some I kept for myself):




So that's what I've been up to...

Oh yeah and I'm already over 29 weeks pregnant today! I can't believe I only have about 8-11 weeks left... I'm feeling really unprepared. It's just sneaking up on me way too fast... I'm trying not to worry about it too much right now. I just want to get through the holidays and all of our birthdays before getting into full on baby-mode. The week after Christmas though, it's on!

With our one year anniversary fast approaching (October 16th) I've been thinking a lot about how much my life has changed... Not just this past year, but the past several. I've got to say, this has certainly been one of the best! I'm happy and most importantly my kids are happy.

I cannot express in words how much I appreciate my husband and our new life together. I am so thankful for everything that he's done for me, the boys and our family. He stepped in and stepped up when he really didn't have to. He's more than just a step dad to Camron and Brady. In fact, the words 'step dad' never enter my mind unless some one else points it out. He IS their dad. Period.

Josh has been here for us since Brady was only 4 months old and Camron was 2.5 years old. Josh was the one there who witnessed all of Brady's major milestones. Rolling over, crawling, sitting up, pulling up, standing up, walking, talking, etc. He has been there for Camron in all the ways a dad should be there for his son... teaching him how to be a good big brother and showing him right from wrong.

Josh is the one who provides for us and makes sure we're never going without any of life's necessities. When Camron needs new shoes or clothes it's Josh who takes him out shopping. When Brady needs more diapers it's Josh who comes with us to the store.

My marriage to Josh is such a sharp contrast to my previous marriage... I was always doing things on my own. Very, very rarely did we ever do anything as a family. Even after Camron was born. Josh on the other hand, wouldn't have things any other way. He comes home right after work every day so we can eat together at our dinner table as a family. He spends every weekend with us doing something as a family. All of the grocery shopping is done as a family. He insists on doing it all with us. (Of course there are times now and then where we each go do our own thing, but it's not the norm.)

Now don't get me wrong, it's not all rainbows and unicorns 24/7. We have had our ups and downs... like every couple. I'm sure there are plenty more disagreements and petty little fights in our future... (mainly because we're both so hard headed!) But we handle them and we move on (because we also easily forgive and forget).

I'm looking forward to all the years to come as we enter new chapters in our lives. I have no doubt that Josh will be right there by my side through it all. He has definitely come through for me and our boys and I couldn't be happier. I love him so much and I'm thankful that Heavenly Father helped guide us to one another (because I have no doubt that he had a hand in all of this). He knew just what I was looking for and needed in a husband and I am so thankful I have found everything and more in Josh.

Happy Anniversary Babe. <3

So this is me at 20 weeks along... I'm now at almost 23 weeks and pretty much looking the same. Baby Josiah is kicking around like crazy. I swear he thinks he's a ninja and he's trying to kick his way out! This baby seems to be a lot more active in my belly than the last 2.... Or maybe I've just forgotten what it was like when they still have lots of room to swim around.

As far as weight gain goes I think I'm doing pretty well. According to my home scale I've gained a total of 5lbs. Although that was about a week and a half ago. I'm guessing I've added at least another pound since then. (Cheesecake, eating out and a chocolate milkshake can do that to you. In my defense though I had a chicken salad when we went out to eat! Ok, ok... I had some onion rings with it too... and some of Josh's nachos.)  Hoping to gain no more than 25lbs this pregnancy. We'll see if I can pull it off again.

The boys and I have been pretty busy lately. Once a week we go to the local library for storytime and check out lots of books. The boys love it. They sing songs, read books, dance and usually have some sort of craft at the end. I like taking them since Camron isn't going to be attending a preschool.

Speaking of preschool we've actually started a homeschool preschool this past week. Camron loves it. We've been doing activities on and offline during Brady's naptime everyday. He's already learning so much! I'm amazed at how quick he's taking it all in. Within 3 days he can now identify several letters and numbers, he knows how to build a simple puzzle, learned how to use the computer mouse and we're working on sight words for his colors. If anyone is interested, we're using the free program on Head of the Class. My plan is to get through the preschool this school year then start the kindergarten one next year... He doesn't HAVE to start school for another 2 years and if this goes well we might end up doing homeschool. I'm still debating it... I might change my mind once #3 gets here.

The other thing that's been keeping me super busy (as if my life isn't busy enough already!) Josh bought me a new sewing machine a few weeks ago! My old cheap machine decided to die on me one day in the middle of a project... This new machine is such a dream to work with compared to my old one. I'm in love. Ever since the day we bought it I've sewn at least one thing ever day. I'm learning lots of new techniques and doing things I've never done before... like a zipper! (I've decided that I hate zippers by the way.) Many of the things I'm making I'm posting on my new blog: Pretty Little Crafts. (Feel free to follow me on there!) The blog is also a way for me to organize my "to-do" list of crafts/sewing projects/recipes I really want to try out. (I have a huge list of different websites sitting in my favorites folder... this is just my way of better organizing them!)

I think that's it for now... I'll try to update again soon! You can always checkout my craft blog in the meantime... I've been posting something everyday! :)

How far along?
16 Weeks

Baby is the size of an:
Avocado!



Total weight gain:
Still don't know! I have an OB appointment on Friday though... so the day of truth is coming. :)

Maternity clothes?
Oh yeah. Maternity clothes all the way. So much more comfy!

Stretch marks?
Same as last week... no new ones.

Sleep:
Still normal. Still having really weird dreams.

Best moment this week:
Feeling the baby move for the first time! And deciding that I needed to take a belly pic!

Movement?
Yup! Felt the baby move for the first time this week. I was in my room reading a book on my bed while laying half on my side and half on my stomach... Suddenly I felt some definite movement in my belly. I think I was squishing the baby. Guess I can't lay on my tummy any more.

Food cravings?
Mexican food!

Showing?
Looking more round by the week.

I knew that you didn't really care when you went 18 months without seeing the boys (Brady was 2 days old and Camron had just turned 2) and had only called me about 5 times... and not to talk to them or even ask about them, but to talk to me about child support. You would make excuses about not having enough money to fly out here. Or your one legitimate excuse about being deployed to Japan for 6 months...

So when you called me last month about coming out here to visit with the boys you can understand why I was so suspicious about your sudden interest. Why did you care to see them now? Why after a year and a half did you want to see them? I asked myself this over and over... I just didn't get. You just don't do things like that unless there's something in it for you.

On August 2nd you and I planned to meet at Sea World so you could spend some time seeing the boys. (I laughed at you when you asked to take them over night for a day or two. Haha you're crazy!) I thought it was really weird that you were bringing your new girlfriend with you. I guess I just figured that she had flown out here with you and wanted to see the sights that SD had to offer. Who wouldn't want to go to Sea World, right?

I'm sorry (well not really) if you felt offended that I didn't want them to call you daddy. I really don't think you've earned that title... They have a daddy who loves them and I just didn't think that it would be fair to them to confuse them even more than they had to be. They were after all, meeting a complete stranger. I think it was fair to tell them that you're their biological father named Ronnie. Of course they're way too young to know what that means. They'll understand more as they get older.

I told you that Brady wouldn't have anything to do with you. He's going through a stage where he will not even look at a stranger... let alone allow one to talk to him. I warned you.

Of course Camron is such a sweet boy that he gets along with everyone. Don't feel too special because he was warming up to you. Most 3 year olds will do that to anyone who will show them an ounce of attention. Especially when they're bought stuff... They will take what ever they can get their lil hands on!

So by the end of the day I had the chance to talk to the new gf.... Imagine my surprise when she told me that she had flown out here from Japan and mentioned that she's stationed out there. AND that you two had met out there. Hmm.... does ex wife #3 know about this? That you left her and your fourth son for another woman... Karma really is a you know what. Can I just say, I told you so? Yeah, I told you so.

Anyway, that STILL didn't explain why she had met you out here in SD and not back in SC where you actually live. I didn't really question it, but it was always in the back of my mind. I thought that maybe you were just trying to kill two birds with one stone. I really thought that maybe, just maybe you actually wanted to see the boys and to get to know them. Why I always think the best of you, I'll never know.

When we left Sea World you made it seem like you were thinking of seeing the boys some more before you left. After all, you were staying in SD a whole week or more... I should have known better. I haven't heard from you since. Oh yeah, except for the time when I contacted you via text 2 days later... mentioning that a mutual friend had told me that you had a facebook page and if you wanted to you could find me and add me as a friend so you could feel more included in the boys lives. I was willing to give up some of MY privacy so that you could watch your boys grow up. I told you that I have a million pictures of them up on my profile and that about 95% of my updates are about them. You told me that as soon as you had access to the internet again you would do that. It's been over a week... I don't think you had any plan what-so-ever to do that. Fine by me. I'd rather keep my life and your life as separate as possible anyway. Just don't say that I ever tried to keep them from you.

It wasn't until later on when I was dishing to my BFF about our day that she did some super sleuthing and found out the real reason why you and the new gf were in town. Apparently she (along with her whole family) had come to SD to watch her brother graduate from Navy Boot Camp on August 3rd... and then celebrate with him while he was on leave. No wonder we just had to go to Sea World on the 2nd. Couldn't do anything while the family was in town, right?

I'm sure the 3-4 hour visit with the boys was just to show your new gf that you're not a complete a-hole. Gotta keep up appearances, right? Always trying to show yourself in a good light. Can't have her thinking bad about you already... She'll learn. Just like ex wife #1 did, I did and ex wife #3 did. Could she be future ex wife #4? I think there's a good possibility. Only time will tell.

Please just do me a favor next time, k? Don't use my children as your little pawns in this game of yours. They deserve better. Either be in their lives or don't! This sporadic visitation is not going to fly with me.

I'm sure I'll be hearing from you again in 2 years. Talk to you then.....

How far along?
15 Weeks
Baby is the size of a:
Naval Orange! Average size: 5 inches and 3.5 oz.

Total weight gain:
Honestly, I have no idea yet. We don't have a scale here at home... I should really work on getting one. I've been doing a lot of walking lately though and I'm hoping that I haven't gained too much.
Maternity clothes?
Nothing fit right! Regular clothes are too tight and maternity clothes are just a tad too loose still. I hate it. I can't wait to get the cute preggo belly to show off! Right now I just feel really fat.

Stretch marks?
Same as week 13.. no new ones.

Sleep:
Still normal. Just been having some really weird dreams lately. 

Best moment this week:
Knowing that in the next couple weeks or so I'll be able to feel the baby move inside of me!

Movement?
Not yet. 

Food cravings?
Nothing really. Just really, really thirsty! I have something with me to drink all day.

Showing?
Oh yes. My belly isn't exactly round yet... I look like I'm super bloated and like I've gained 5lbs.

The other day when I was browsing blogs I came across this pregnancy survey that a fellow mommy-to-be had on her blog. I thought it was a cute idea to help me document my 3rd pregnancy. Now that I'm out of the "danger zone" aka the first trimester I'm feeling better about this pregnancy. So here we go....


How far along?
13 weeks


(Baby 3 at 12 wk 6 day ultrasound.)




Baby is the size of a:
Peach! Average size: 2.9 inches, .81 oz.




Total weight gain:
-1 lbs (Lost 3 lbs in the first trimester and have only gained 2 back so far.)

Maternity clothes?
I can still manage to fit in my regular jeans and all of my regular shirts... however, anything with a stretchy waist is my best friend right now. Having anything tight around my waist just makes me nauseous.
Stretch marks?
Unfortunately yes, but not due to baby #3. No new ones so far! I know they're coming though...

Sleep:
I'd probably be sleeping all night if both of my boys would sleep all night. No getting up to pee in the middle of the night yet. 
Best moment this week:
Knowing that I've started my second trimester. 
Movement?
Still too early to feel any movement. Josh and I did get to see the baby squirming around on the ultrasound screen last week, so that was fun.

Food cravings?
Sweets, sweets and more sweets. This baby has made me have the worst sweet tooth ever! Mostly for chocolate. Also craving lots of fruit, but unfortunately fruit doesn't agree with me at ALL right now.

Showing?
Yes. :( I'm only 13 weeks! Why does it look like I'm going to have twins? I saw the ultrasound... there's definitely only ONE in there! This morning my stomach was feeling twingy and a lil crampy... I told Josh I thought my uterus was stretching again.. He said, "Yup, for the past 2 days you've been looking REALLY pregnant." Thanks Josh, you make me feel so good. Haha.

Ok, so maybe I don't... unless it comes to cleaning. (Keep reading, I'll explain.) It's one my main jobs in life (along with being a mom & cook of course) and I hate cleaning. I only do it because #1, I hate having a dirty house and #2, I kinda have to because let's be honest, no one else is going to do it around here.

For about the past 2 months I've been doing what I could in between my bouts of morning sickness. A load of laundry here, some dishes there. If I was feeling really ambitious I'd even make the bed and sweep the living room floor. So now that I'm feeling a whole lot better it's time to play catch up. I've been doing it all week in between the billions of appointments I have scheduled this month.

Today I noticed that I have A.D.D. when it comes to cleaning. I cannot concentrate on doing one chore at a time. Here is a glimpse into how I've been cleaning today....

Kids are ready for their mid-morning snack. As I hand them a banana, ewww what is this sticky stuff on my tile floor? I grab the Swifer and clean the spot. Wait, this floor is gross. I'll sweep and THEN Swifer it. Floor swept and spot mopped. Hmm... I think I'll change our bed sheets. As I'm taking off the dirty sheets... Opps, I left these clean shirts in the laundry basket. Better hang them up real fast. Ok, back to taking off dirty sheets... But before I put on the clean ones... I should put these in the washer so I don't have them sitting around in the dirty clothes basket forever. Into the wash they go. Oh yeah, I have clean towels sitting in the dryer. I should fold those. As I'm folding the towels the dryer sheet falls on the floor. With the dryer door still swung open I take it over to the kitchen trash. Wow, this trash can is full. I should dump it before the trash truck comes! Out goes the trash. Walking back towards the house I notice the dog poo in the grass. I better pick it up before it gets any hotter outside. Ok, all picked up. I need to finish folding those towels! All folded and ready to be put away. Into the hall closet they go. I better put clean ones in the bathroom too. Whoops, forgot to dump the bathroom trash. I should take that out too. Walking back into the house I notice how hot it's getting. I should drink some water before I get a headache. Hmm... No clean glasses. I forgot to put away the clean dishes from the dishwasher this morning. I'll just put away some of the glasses and plates. Kids are thirsty too so I get them a drink... Out of the corner of my eye I notice that I didn't put a new trash bag in the can. Dishes can wait. I should put a bag in the bathroom trash can too. Walking back to the bathroom I see my bed sitting there with no sheets on it. Craaaap. I need to finish making the bed. The bathroom trash bag gets thrown onto the counter. Bed is now made. Back to the bathroom to put the bag in thrash can. Dang, this mirror spotty. Why does Josh always have to use his hand to wipe it after a hot shower? It looks awful. I need to clean it. While I'm in here I should clean the sink and toilet too. Before I get to the toilet I see the dirty clothes piled on the floor along with a few toys. Dirty clothes in hamper and toys taken to boys room. Didn't I just clean this room last night?! Why are there toys every where?! BOYS! Come help me clean your room! 


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Ugh... >.< You get the picture. By the end of the day I'm so tried from running around in circles. Why can't I concentrate on doing just one thing at a time?! This is something that I really need to work on. I know there's a better way to be doing things... I just have to figure it out. I need to get organized so I can work smarter, not harder. One thing at a time. Certain chores on certain days and stick with it.

I think I'll start it all next week...

Did I also mention that I'm a procrastinator?

• First of all, about 8 days after we... ahem... you know... I noticed some really super light spotting. (aka implantation bleeding.) I knew that if we were successful that it would come. It did with my first 2 pregnancies too. I got excited when I saw it... but I was trying SO hard not to get my hopes up! 
• Within 2 days I was peeing all day long which I NEVER have to do. (shame on me for not drinking enough water!) 
• Next I noticed that my pants were just a little bit snug. Not much, but as if I just had a big lunch or something. 
• A few days later I started remembering every single dream I had at night. I NEVER remember my dreams so this was odd... The first several were also very sexual in nature. Never have those kinds of dreams either lol. 
• Then came the mood swings. Josh would notice as soon as one came on. He said, You are SO pregnant! Look at you. Crying then laughing. You're a mess! 
• Suddenly my sense of smell was on overdrive. Ew, Josh, what is that smell?! Ewwww! Get rid of it please! Oh my gosh if that smell doesn't go away I'm leaving! 
• Then the dizziness. I get dizzy all of a sudden for no reason at all. I could be standing there cooking and then suddenly feel my head spinning.
• Along with the dizziness comes the nausea. It's nothing like it was with Brady, but it does come and go. Especially if I don't eat a little something every 3 hours or so.
• Holy tender breasts, Batman! This is new... it was never this bad with the boys. Ouch!
• Food cravings haven't really hit me too hard (not like with Camron anyway)... It changes daily. Mostly craving water, cheese, avocados and onions. Weird. I HATE cheese too... but wow, it's SO yummy right now. So strange how your taste buds change when you're pregnant.

I haven't lived with my ex for almost two years... I don't even have a joint bank account with Josh (who is really good with money by the way!) and yet I still get a sinking feeling every time I check my bank account. I hate it. I'm the only one who spends money on that account. I know exactly how much is in there... So why do I dread checking it? I literally get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach every time I log onto the bank website... or even think about logging on.

When I was married to my ex-husband our bank account was in the negative more times a month than it was positive. Some times it wouldn't even go into the positive on paydays. It was bad. Unfortunately, for my ex it hasn't changed... I still get e-mails from the bank telling me that the account ending in **** is now in the negative. (I wish he would change the e-mail address on there already!) When we were married I would dread logging on to the account not only because it was in the negative, but because I would then see where the money was going. I didn't have a car.... I very rarely left the house (when he wasn't on deployment)... I hardly ever spent the money unless it was for groceries, our son or bills. I always knew what I was going to see when I logged on. I was going to see charge after charge for ATM withdrawals, cigarettes, alcohol, fast food and gas. I'm talking hundreds of dollars a month on each of these things. Mostly at places on base or just off base at a local bar. It makes me sick just thinking about it right now.

I know my life is completely different now.... I just wish my subconscious mind would keep up.

When you find out that you're going to have your first baby you do like most women do and get prepared.... by reading books, magazines, internet articles. By taking parenting classes. By talking to your mom or your friends who have already had kids....

Then your baby arrives.

Everything you read about, talked about and learned about goes out the window. It becomes a learn as you go type of process. Sure, some of the things you learned about during your pregnancy might apply to you and your baby, but you also learn that your baby might not go by the book.

I know my first baby didn't.

My oldest always seemed to take his time with everything that he did. He arrived 2 weeks after my due date... (he had to be evicted because he was just so warm and snug that he didn't want to come out.) He didn't sit up til he was 8 months old. Started crawling at 10 months. Walked at 14. He didn't start talking well until he was almost 3. He didn't understand the potty training concept until just a few weeks ago... and he's almost 3 and a half.

That's just him... He's like his mama and takes his time with things. I think he wants to be sure that he gets it right before he actually does it.

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When you find out that you're pregnant with baby number two you might think to yourself that this is going to be a piece of cake. (I know I did.) You think to yourself that you've done all this before.... baby #1 was almost like your "practice" baby. Now you're a professional. You've been through it all and now you're totally prepared for another baby.

Then baby number two arrives.

Everything you thought you knew has now gone out the window. Baby number two is nothing like baby number one! Where did this child come from?! He's the complete opposite of his brother!

There must have been some sort of mix up at the hospital.... 


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I quickly learned that, yes it's true... every baby IS different. Even if they're related. I thought I knew everything I needed to know when I got pregnant with Brady. I thought surely another boy of mine wouldn't be that different than his older brother. I was wrong.

I was thinking about all of this earlier today when I was watching my 2 boys fighting playing together in the living room. Where did this 16 month old child come from?! He's screaming, talking, running, fighting, playing, jumping, singing.... He's doing everything that my 3 year old is doing. I don't remember Camron being like this at 16 months old. But I guess that's just it. Brady has an older brother. Camron just had me. Makes me wonder what Brady would be like if he were an only child.

From the time he was born Brady seemed like he couldn't wait to do things! Rolling over at a few weeks old. Sitting up at 4-5 months. Crawling at 6 months and walking by 9 months. He's been playing side by side with his brother ever since. Was he just trying to keep up with his brother... or is that just him? I'll never know.

What I do know is that this has been a huge test of my patience learning experience for me. I love learning about their personalities, seeing them grow and learn new ideas and concepts. They constantly amaze me when they learn new things.

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Now baby number three is in the works. :) We're in the "talking about it"/"considering the possibilities" phase of it right now. We haven't officially told anyone yet, but I think a few people are suspecting. Well, if anyone in our families is reading this... consider yourself in-the-know... but no talking about it! (:::cough::cough:::Annie!:cough:::) When it happens it happens.... :)

I'm sure that baby number 3 will be no different than my first two... (Read: I will have no idea what I'm doing when the baby arrives.)

I'm excited, nervous, happy and scared all at the same time about the possibility of a new baby... a new baby with the man of my dreams. One thing will be for sure. This experience will be completely different than the previous two. I can't wait to share about this new chapter coming up in our lives.

This is going to get interesting....

The older I get the more I realize how important family is... So when Josh came home and told me that his mom was giving us 8 tickets to 2 Padres game for a Thursday and Friday night game we knew just who we wanted to bring! My Grandma and Grandpa Looney! (yes, Looney is their real last name.) Grandpa is a HUGE Padres fan. Ever since I can remember he'd be listening to the game on his little radio while sitting outside in their backyard.

*And just as a side note... Josh's parents didn't go because his dad can't sit that long through a game and I don't think his mom cares for baseball.. at all. ;) *


We decided to bring my grandparents to Thursday's night game. It was so much fun! I'm glad we were able to take them with us. We had pretty awesome seats and there was hardly anyone seated around us. My grandpa bought us hot dogs, hot chocolate and some peanuts to share. Only thing I would have changed was the weather! It was FREEZING that night!













On Friday night's game we took my friend Teresa and her husband Robert. Soooo thankful we didn't take my grandparents that night. We had some loud, drunk, obnoxious guys sitting behind us. They left before the 7th inning though because they stopped serving alcohol. It was still fun though!


I'm not by any means a baseball fan, but I think I actually like going to the games. Watching baseball in person is a lot different than on TV.

I've been thinking about making some Lasagna for awhile now. There were a couple things stopping me from making it:

So yesterday afternoon I search the net for an easier lasagna recipe that I could try out. The one I found and used came from Tammy's Recipes ... I just changed around some of the ingredients because I like to make my own sauce. I also did my own sauce because I read in one of the comments that the noodles soaked up all the liquid... and I didn't want it to be dry. If you want to see the original recipe click the link above. ;)