Karma??

I'm not sure what bad karma I have put out into the world, but it keeps coming back my way.  Am I being a bit dramatic?  Probably!  But man, oh man, have I had some bad luck recently...or really I've been a distracted pregnant lady and it's come back to bite me!

Our jeep was leaking oil onto the driveway after an oil change, so to soak it up, Tyler poured kitty litter all over it.  Seems like a good idea...until the 15 kitties that live next door use it as a litter box.  And then it rains. And I walk through it to meet the mailman, slip, and get it all over my foot.  (ew, gross!!!!!!)  AND THEN the litter cuts my toe and I bleed EVERYWHERE!  But that's all fine and dandy...I clean myself up and resolve that I'll have to wait until my toes heals before I get a much-needed pedicure!  (those nail techs are lethal with their files!)  Minor!  But then we went to the beach...

So, I shared a post of beach day pictures that truly captured how perfect our days was...what I neglected to mention was that on the ride home, my bra straps become unbearable on my shoulders due to the burn that was starting to show, then my legs starting to feel really hot.  Blech!  By the time we reached the house, I was the most burned I had ever been.  Tyler was gone, so lucky Mary got to rub aloe all over my shoulders and neck burn!  (I had applied SPF 30 three times throughout the day.)  I was so miserable that I ended up calling my OBGYN and asking if it was okay to take tylenol for the pain.  They approved, so I took the recommended dose every 4 hours for two straight days.  After that, the pain started to subside and I was feeling human again...!!!!   Still, my skin is pretty tender...best be staying away from those nail techs a little while longer...!

Fast forward one week...the aloe was magic and my skin was barely peeling...and I shaved my legs for the first time since the beach!!!  Best.  feeling.  EVER!  So I was feeling renewed and fresh and I wasn't wearing a horrid summer dress...life was good and I could see a pedicure in my near future!  Since it was Brian's last night in Maine before he left to finish his time in the army in Alaska, Mary, Brian, Lulu, and Scarlett, and I headed for a walk downtown to check out the Farmer's Market and the new store, Holy Cannoli, because that just sounds delicious!!!  After our downtown fun, we were planning on meeting up with my mom and Cam for a yummy mexican dinner!  So much fun was to be had!  But...

About halfway through our walk, in the middle of an animated story that I was telling, I stumbled and fell to the ground.  And landed on my 22 week pregnant belly.  I panicked.  Brian ran home to grab their car and I called my doctor to make sure I hadn't done any damage to little baby 2.  My belly felt like I'd knocked the wind out of myself, but my other injuries assured me that I had landed on every other limb of my body before my belly hit the ground, so that was reassuring-ish.

Turns out, baby 2 is fine!  The OBGYN was reassuring and said that once I felt the baby move, everything was okay.  Phew!  And baby 2 has been doing lots of bouncing around in there, so I am not worried.

The only damage done was to my foot.  NBD...unless you have a two year old to run around and take care of!  My dang foot is sprained...and we're going on day 2 here with no walking.

On the plus side, my right leg, which I've used to just hop around to get small things done, will be super-toned if this lasts much longer!  Who knew hopping was such good exercise!  Yay!

Now for the downer part...my mom took Scarlett to her house to play with Cam and Alyssa yesterday and said that Scarlett was so naughty that she wouldn't be helping me out again today.  Can grandparents really say that??!!  I actually hadn't asked for help today, so I'm not too disappointed, but I am angry with Scarlett for being so naughty.  She was pinching and hitting if Cam or Alyssa didn't play with her.  This behavior is not accepted at home and I totally discipline her, but I'm wondering...is she a normal 2-year-old or way worse?  I have no idea.  That's a subject for another post, I suppose.  I do know that there will be lots of Sesame Street in my life today!

So that's my bad luck story...I hope everything turns around soon!  Or maybe I just need to be more careful...and really it's not so bad!!!  At least everyone in my family is healthy aaaand my birthday is Friday!!!  Pedicure for my birthday?  I think so!  Woohoo!!!

Also...
Tyler comes home from a Colorado work trip tonight, so at least I'll have help tomorrow!!!  Yesssss!  :)

Healthy & Happy!

I just love Hilary Duff and her post-baby attitude!  She rocks!  (Well, at least she seems to rock!)  I love how Hilary is always with her baby, always smiling and posting fun pictures, and she's open about her baby weight gain.  It's really refreshing to see how she gained weight and now she's losing it slowly and healthfully! I'm just hoping that I can handle motherhood the second time around as gracefully as she has handled her first dose of being a mum!

people.com

Update:  After I wrote how much I love Hilary Duff as a mother, I found an article about how she was busted holding a cigarette!  Oops!  Although, she's claiming that it was a friends...scandalous none-the-less!

Beach day!

I'm not even going to lie -- I brought gossip magazines to read at the beach!  With all the kids that were with us, I have no idea when I thought I'd have time to relax and read!  We still had a blast!!!

A beach day in pictures:

Already snacking and we haven't even pulled out of the driveway!

Alyssa and Scarlett

Camdyn 

Sunscreen and sand are a bad combo!

Pose!

Gymnastics at the beach, obv.

Cam's keeping her hair down to get highlights!

Dancing!

Alyssa making friends!

Ice cream for the ride home!

So What! Wednesday

• I parked too close to the pole at the end of the gas pump and couldn't get out of the jeep due to my ginormous belly!  Yeah, that happened...and in front of tons of other people.  Awesome.
• I have a name for baby 2 and I thought of it awhile ago, but thought there was no way I could get away with it.  It means that I have absolutely turned into my mother.  Scary thought!  But then my mom mentioned it and everyone liked it, so I'm pretty sure were going with it.  I am my mother.  Officially.
• It's 90 degrees and sunny and I'm inside blogging.  I need to get it together and get outside asap!
• Scarlett knows the name of too many Sesame Street characters.  I swore to myself that there would be NO TELEVISION in her life.  Ever.  And then I discovered what I could get done during an hour of Sesame Street.  Hair?  Done.  Make-up?  Done.  Switch loads of laundry, babyless?  Absolutely!  
• Some of the time, I'm angry with baby 2 for stealing away my future alone time with Scarlett.  I feel like a horrible mother for this.  I'm planning on this angry-ness leaving soon...or as soon as baby 2 arrives!
• I bought In-Touch Magazine because Teen Mom's Catelynn and Tyler were on the cover announcing their pregnancy...and totally bought the new Justin Bieber CD (I felt like such a dirty old lady; especially when I pulled out the poster of the Biebs!!!)  Secrets!
• We're watching Dallas to get the back story because the new Dallas looks interesting...!  So far, so good!  Turns out, Dallas was on for 13 years.  This is going to take a while...!
• I read new blogs that have the most fun names first.  Or I look for blogs who have babies around the same age as mine!  Then I wonder what I'm missing; I love finding new fun blogs!
• Scarlett has never left Maine...I think it's time for a road trip!!!

Summer in Maine!

Well, you guys are NO help!!!  ;)  It's fine, I think we've nailed down a name, phew!  More on that later...

It's been suuuuch a nice summer so far; not too hot, not too yucky!  Of course, we have had some insane rain, but the sunshine-y days have totally made up for it.  The stream at the end of our street was super-flooded, so I had to take pictures!

We always feed the ducks standing right next to those trees sticking out of the water! 

Woohoo!  We had a duck sighting!

On hot, sunny days, we always take out the sprinkler.  Scarlett loves it, but Lulu goes crazy for the sprinkler!  It's hilarious to watch and she'll run through that water for an hour without getting sick of it.  Meanwhile, Scarlett is over it and sunning herself on her towel because she gets too cold.

Happy Lu!

I think I was more excited about this swimsuit than Scarlett, but I remember Alyssa wearing it!!!  I love that it fits Scarlett now!

Flashback:

She is awesome!

HELP!

I am obsessed with naming baby girl #2, but how do I compete with the awesomeness on Katie Scarlett?!  Prudence was my first choice, but if my name were Prudence and I had a sister named Scarlett, I would hate my mother!  Now that leaves me with my back-up names; Marilyn and Francesca "Frankie."  Now I'm not in love with either of these names, so I'm back to spending my free time searching nameberry.com instead of working on Tyler's resume.  So far I've come up these names:

Cecelia
Lavinia
Georgina "Georgie"
Gemma
Lucy
Cornelia
Posey

...and that's pretty much it.  I just need help with a first name that goes well with Belle!  That's going to be her middle name.  (I'm pretty sure, at least!)  We're thinking Belle will be perfect because Scarlett wants us to name her "Princess Belle" after her favorite princess, so we're just making Belle the middle name.  And it has to go well with Scarlett.

So are there any suggestions out there?!?!

Gender reveal!!!

Baby 2 is a...

YESSSS!

GIRL!!!

        This morning I saw almost an hour of my little baby 2 bouncing around in my belly!  Before I knew she was a girl, I saw her hands playing with the umbilical cord and toes that were not so twinkly!  It was so fun and my ultrasound technician was super happy and chatting.  The whole experience was awesome.  When it came time to look at the baby's gender, she told me, so I would look away.  It was so hard not to peek, but I knew that if I did, I wouldn't be able to act surprised when we cut the gender reveal cake in a few short hours!  As I was leaving the office, all the ladies at the front desk kept asking what I was having.  When I filled them in on the plan, they said they were just going to go and ask what it was.  I thought that was nice that they were excited along with me!

       I went straight to the Hannaford bakery to make sure they could have my cake frosted in just one hour. They were accommodating and excitedly took the envelope that held the gender on a piece of paper and opened it up while I was still there!  Luckily, I couldn't see, but the baker was pretty excited about knowing the gender before me!

       An hour later, I picked up this cake...

       And when I cut into the cake, we saw the PINK!  

      

       BUT, Mary really tried to get everyone excited for boys, just in case...!

Team Blue!

       Although, Scarlett and I were hoping for a girl...

Team Pink!

Needless to say, we are really pleased to have another little girl in the family!!!!  Now I just need to decide on a name...!!!!

20 Weeks!

How far along?  20 weeks!  We're halfway there!
Baby size:  10 1/2 oz and 6 1/2" long!  From head to heel, baby 2 is the size of a banana!!!  Whoa!
Sleep:  More of the same.  I sleep when Scarlett does, which isn't always all night.  Needless to say, I'm constantly sleepy...
Maternity clothes:  Always.  Today, for my doctor appointment, I wore yoga pants because they're lighter and I know I'd be weighed.  Smart.
Food cravings:  fruit, especially lemon.  But not like healthy lemons, more like lemon danishes!  Yum!
Food aversions:  Broccoli.  Blech!
Symptoms I have:  HEARTBURN.  x100!
Doctor's Appointment:  Today!  I gained eight pounds in the past four weeks.  There, it's out in the open.  It makes me so sad...Kirstie Alley here I come!  On the bright side, I did schedule my 20 week ultrasound!!!!  Woohoo!  It's on Monday morning...I'm dying.
Baby 2's heartbeat was beating from 148-158...not giving anything away!
Movement:  I feel baby 2 moving mostly early in the morning and at night when I'm going to sleep.  I freak if I realize that I haven't felt movement all day.
Belly button:  Still an innie
Gender:  We'll know soon...!
What I'm looking forward to:  Gender reveal cake!  And actually getting started with our preparations!
What I miss:  Not worrying about the future.  I'm trying to make Scarlett more independent for when baby 2 gets here, but I really just want her to stay my baby!


(I forgot to take a 20 week bump picture; documenting this pregnancy has been a super-fail so far!!!  So I scoured my old pictures from my pregnancy with Scarlett and found a picture that I think accurately portrays the size of my 20 week bump.  Turns out, I was 28 weeks pregnant in this photo...shoot!  Oh!  And while I was searching through all of those old photos, I also found some pictures from right after I gave birth.  I may share those pretties someday...!)

My Six Confessions

(When I typed my title, I began singing this song by Usher),

"These are my confessions

Just when I thought I said all I could say

My chick on the side said she got one on the way

These are my confessions..."

Now it's stuck in my head, but who doesn't love a little Usher?!  Ok, moving on.

I'm writing out six confessions, so all of my numerous followers can get to know me better!

1. I tried to buy Justin Bieber's new cd in May.  I'm so ashamed because it wasn't even out yet, that's how eager I was!  At least I didn't know the release date, right?!
2. When I see creepy looking people, I freak myself out because I'm worried they might try to stab me or kidnap Scarlett.  I hop in the car and lock the doors or make lots of eye contact with all the employees, so they'll be more likely to remember me if I disappear.  I must watch too much Dateline.
3. I don't think this really counts as an exciting confession, but I count things.  All things.  If I'm walking up or down stairs, I count them.  When I'm laying in bed, I count the walls, mouldings, and curtains.  But the trick is everything has to end in an even number.  If it doesn't, I'll re-count until it does.  Weird, I know.
4. I still feel like a college student.  I mean, I know I'm pushing 30, but when I'm out and about with Scarlett and we see other moms with their kids, I feel like a babysitter.  I have no idea why this happens.
5. My pregnancy is such a blessing and I'm really excited for baby 2, but I am sad that it won't be just Scarjo and me.  Like really sad!  And then I feel guilty.  But there it is...a huge (mom fail) confession.
6. I turn into a FAT Kirstie Alley when I'm pregnant.  It is terrifying.  It's like I'm a completely different whale person; even my nose gets bigger.  Yay for weight watchers!

Oh man.

A WICKED fluff post!

"The Ginger King. I would be okay with ginger babies." --Cely

I love Cely's blog, but this is, by far, one of my favorite of her posts!!!  I love me some princes, and mostly I just love Kate Middleton!

So fancy!

This decanter is so cool!  When I'm back to drinking wine, I totally need this in my life!  Or maybe it can be a housewarming gift to myself when we eventually get the heck out of this house!  I could think of a million reasons to justify this purchase!  ;)

I am reeeally not looking forward to moving Scarlett into her own big girl room; I will just miss her!  She sleeps in her own bed that is in our bedroom, so the move will have to happen before baby 2 comes.  (I've mentioned this before on my blog, I know!)  To make her move easier for me her, we're going to do a princess themed room, focusing on her bed.  Pinterest has tons of amazing options!

AWESOME! 

This is my favorite princess-y thing for a little girls' room, but I'm afraid that Scarlett will be more interested in Disney Princesses...namely Princess Belle, so we'll see how fancy her room gets!

OMG!  This is so ridiculously funny!!!  The best one is the first video...Kris Jenner from the 80's!  Though, I have to say, it looks like fun!  I want to have fancy family photo shoots with music videos on the side!!!  I think we'd make a fabulous Go-Go's video or we could cover any 80's Madonna's song!

I saw this and immediately thought, "Kristen Bell would really flip for this!"  Cause we're that close!
20 Sloth Smiles, Revealed!

buzzfeed.com

And my baby nap free time is O-V-E-R!  This has been the fluffiest post ever, but it's just what I have found on the internet to keep me entertained indoors since the rain has been non-stop since Saturday!!!  I'm really hoping for sunshine soon -- I need some vitamin D and the babies need to get some energy out!