Here It Is! Maternity Photo Session

Monday night Jaimie and I set up a studio in our room and took some really great maternity pictures! With our creative geniuses combined ... we ended up with some awesome pictures!! =D lol

Also, thanks to Google's free photoeditor, Picasa 3, I was able to add effects, like soft focus and black & white, and remove stretch marks with the retoucher!! lol (Note: I'm not ashamed of my 'battle scars', but I will say that the pictures look a lot better without them!) ...that made them look all purty!

Here are a few of my favorites, followed by a photo slideshow of them all at the bottom:

Sneak Peek! Maternity Photo Session

Hehe, I totally feel like Corinna with my little "Sneak Peek". =D However, unlike Cory, my pictures are *not* professional, but I tried my damned hardest to get 'em to look like it!!

I had brought up the idea of doing a maternity photo shoot to Jaimie about a month ago. I had originally wanted Corinna to take pictures for us, but because we live so far apart now, it was pretty much impossible! But, using her creative spirit for inspiration, I 'hired' Jaimie to be my photographer! =D

We set up a mock studio last night and snapped away! Here's a couple ... but just wait, the best is yet to come!!

Not Necessarily ...

... a "God-freak." But I do appreciate great music. Hence, why I've added my "God Rock" playlist to the blog today. =D

Last week ...or a couple weeks ago (I can't remember! lol), Jaimie was downloading some songs by Stryper ... a metal Christian group that he used to listen to. It reminded me of some really great Christian rock I listened to back in high school (thanks to Cory!), so I had him download some Newsboys for me. =D I hadn't heard their songs in years, and as they were downloading, I hoped they were as good as I remembered!! Just so happened, they were! And, as an added bonus, Jaimie liked 'em too.

This morning, after Jaimie rocked out to a couple songs before leaving for work, I put on 'Shine' and 'Take Me to Your Leader' by Newsboys and rocked out a bit. =D That lead to making a playlist for my blog (which has taken eons, because the regular one I use didn't have my Stryper song!). But I have succeeded ... and hopefully I can pass along some great rock songs to others!

Again, it doesn't matter what you believe ...whether you're Catholic, Protestant, Agnostic, Atheist, or Satanist ...Good music is just that. Good music. You don't have to believe in anyone's God to appreciate a rockin' song.

So I Don't Hear It From My Mother!

A couple months ago, I got "scolded" by my mom for not taking full-sized monthly belly pictures. =D She wanted to see more than just my nakee belly, I guess. ^.^

So starting in my sixth month (when I got "scolded"), I've taken a monthly picture of me *and* my belly. =D I could have *sworn* I posted them on my blog, but could only find my 6 month picture on Jaiden's blog. So now I'm playing 'catch-up', I guess. =D

Here we go:

6 months
7 months
8 months

Maybe it's just me, but I swear it doesn't look like I got much bigger! lol (Now my stomach is yelling at me: "Do you see these stretch marks? I know they're itching you to death, so you have to *know* you're stomach's bigger!") Okay, I can totally see it in my face tho ... bleh! ^.^;;

I'm hoping that this weekend or the next, to take some wanna-be professional looking photos. I've been looking at lots of sites and have some poses in mind (hands making a heart over the tummy, Jaimie kissing the tummy, etc), and have already thought about setting up a mock-studio in the basement. =D We'll see how it turns out. Thank heavens for digital ... we can take *tons* of pics and sort thru them! =D I still wish I had a better camera to take them with tho! lol *Actually* I wish I had Jacksonville's Hottest Photographer!!!! But I'll make due with the "Hottest Photographer" in my house ...my Jaimie! Damn, he's sexy! =D lol

Nesting?

I visited my blog a few hours ago to add today's "I am thankful for..." and after listening to one of the songs on my playlist, I got the urge to grab my mp3 player, put on my headphones, and start cleaning the house while belting out whatever song was playing at the time.

Jaimie was on his way home for lunch, but told me not to let that ruin my plans. So while he secluded himself in the office, I went nuts vacuuming the entire house. I even went so far as to bust out the attachments and get all the baseboards and corners and also the ottoman! ^.^

Once I was done with that, I went out on the back porch and swept all the leaves off it ... I had been getting slightly annoyed with them being blown inside when I'd open the door to let the dog in/out. It was definitely nice to walk around in the cold air while sweeping ... I got myself all hot inside doing all the vacuuming!

After that, I grabbed Luna's pillow and blanket and threw them in the wash. I swear, that dog sheds like no tomorrow. While I was outside, I gave her a good brushing and ended up with a "tribble" on the brush! lol

Next, I sat on my bed, debating how we could rearrange our room and the living room just to make things 'different'. I think we'll leave them the way they are tho. =D However, my shoe rack in my closet will be moved to the closet near the front door ... that way I have more space in my closet for other things!! =D

While I was sitting on the bed, Jaimie came in and asked if I was okay. I told him about rearranging things and he just smiled and said, "You're nesting, love." I kinda realized that while I was going nuts with the vacuum ...but I really didn't want to totally admit it. =D But, regardless of my cleaning frenzy, it totally feels great to have a *super* clean house. LOL I've always been way too lazy about cleaning (I *hate* it), so it's really nice to see it look good. =D

Next up ... having Miah clean his room and his desk. I swear, I can't see his floor anymore ...and I absolutely refuse to go in there anymore for fear I'll step on something hidden underneath the layers of clothing and hurt myself. But I remember those years, so I try not to freak out too much! =D

Anyway, off to make something to eat then get back to work!! Yay for nesting!!! =D

32 Weeks (OMG, That's 8 Months!)

Today I had an appointment with my OB, Dr. Harper-Harrison, and using her little swirly chart I'm 32 weeks pregnant! I can't believe that's 8 months!! Holy crap!

Jaiden was much more cooperative this time when she used the doppler to check for his heartbeat. He only tried to 'escape' once. =D Last time I saw her, he was playing hide-and-seek! =D

Dr. HH is so nice and is great at answering my questions. I prepared a 'list' to bring with me, 'cause otherwise I'll forget what I wanna ask! We started talking about labor today ...starting with pain management options. She's not all about pushing meds on people, which I like a lot! And I let her know that I understand pain meds are available, but I want to try to 'do it on my own' first. I'm not some 'natural birthing' fanatic ...but since I've never done the whole 'labor' thing before, I'd like to give it my best go. =D

In the following weeks, we'll be talking about C-sections and episiotomies and such. She seems like she doesn't like C-sections unless they're absolutely necessary, so I like that very much. =D Barring any medical emergencies, I'd really like Jaiden to come out on his own! =D

My next appointment is in two weeks -- Nov. 20th. Hooray!!!

Clearances, Thrift Stores, and FreeCycle ... Oh My!! (Now with Pix!)

So yesterday I got a free $10 gift card in the mail from Kohl's. I had gotten one back in September, but never ended up using it (I just couldn't find anything I *really* loved). Well, today I went back, figuring if I couldn't find a cute maternity shirt on sale that I would browse their baby section.

I ended up with *two* adorable baby outfits (which I will post pics of as soon as I'm not on the library computer!). One says "Mommy's Monster" and the other says "What happens at Grandma's house, stays at Grandma's house". I thought my Mom, aka "Grams", would get a kick out of that.

So for two brand new outfits I payed just over $10! Woot! Add that to the outfit I bought at the thrift store last week and I've gotten three outfits for Jaiden for under $15.

Also, I posted a "Want Ad" on my Yahoo! FreeCycle group asking for baby items. I got an email this morning from a mother of three boys who has bags and boxes full of stuff that she's not going to use anymore (her youngest is two and she said she's done!). So, tomorrow, I'll be getting lots more stuff for free!! This woman is the reason I added 'generous people' to my list of things to be thankful for. It is selfless, charitable people that really make this world a great place. I hope to one day be able to donate all my children's 'old' items to a new, first-time mommy like me!!

Okay, so I've been holding all that in since I left the house a few hours ago. And since I had my weekly library trip today after my doctor's appointment, I thought I'd 'splurge' while I was here! lol When I get home in a little bit, I'll post pics to this thread and add another about my doctor's appointment. Till then...

**Pictures!!** Here they are. =D

Being Thankful

I got this idea from Jen's (aka Monty) blog and I hope she doesn't mind me using it! On my sidebar I am adding a "I am thankful for..." list for this month and each day I will add something 'new' that I am thankful for.

Thanksgiving has always been a wonderful time. When I was younger, living in Florida, my aunts, uncles, and cousins would fly or drive in from New Jersey and California to gather at my grandparents' house for Turkey Day. It was always filled with a lot of warm memories and tons of fun!

Like Monty's post mentioned ...many people "skip over" Thanksgiving and go straight to Christmas. I can't tell you how true this is. Just this last weekend ...the first couple days of November ...I was driving through the neighborhood and what did I see?? A couple outside their house hanging up Christmas lights. Seriously?! At least wait until December, people!!

So make sure you don't skip over Turkey Day. Be thankful for at least one thing in your life and celebrate it with your friends and family!