All about Baby Bree...21 weeks!

So many of you have been asking about how me and this sweet baby, growing away in my belly are doing so I thought I would dedicate a post all about her =). We are over half way there - only 16 weeks to 37 weeks!!! It is coming so fast...I can't believe it! Here she is poking out and officially making me look pregnant!!!! (Thanks to big sister Claire for getting the baby bump picture for me =)).
She is officially moving and kicking!! I love it!!!! There is nothing greater than that feeling and knowing she is doing just fine in there. I know other Mama's can relate, once they start moving, you think you can start making out their little personalities =). We think she is already a little mess!! Shane and Claire have both felt her too. If we start feeling around on her, she either immediately stops moving and runs away as she is only about 12oz and the length of a carrot =), or starts hitting or kicking back, pretty hard. She moves a lot when Shane talks close to her and when the kids are loud and wild, I feel like she is doing the same =). If I wear pants with a panel, she is always kicking or hitting the seam just below my belly. That is exactly what Claire used to do!! It is all exciting! Right now, she is kicking the laptop that is sitting in my lap against my stomach =)...As well, I feel her all the time, just below my belly button, sucking. When I was pregnant with Claire, I would feel that too and me and Shane had NO IDEA what that was!!!! Now we know from knowing Claire, from day 1, she sucked her two middle fingers and the Dr. said that is probably what she was doing in utero...so little sister will probably be just like big sister! =)


I am feeling pretty good - still fighting nausea at times. Dirty diapers, dog puke, (I am literally gagging reading this) and anything that smells bad, totally sends me over the edge!!! The other day I was flying through WalMart and I started going down an aisle where I HAD to get a few things. As I turn down the aisle, I see a man that I can tell from all the way down the aisle, is going to stink. Call me mean, I call it a pregnant woman preventing a mess in aisle 7. I stop, dig around in my purse for some gum to chew while I pass stinky man, and prepare myself to run down the aisle with my basket as fast as I can to grab pop tarts, syrup and cereal =). And yes, he smelled terrible and I was soooooo glad that I had some spearmint gum!!!! Right now, Diet Coke cures everything for me! I am not even a huge DC fan, but right now it hits the spot, especially from Sonic with lime. Cravings: Chilis mini burgers, fruit, ice cream, mexican food, those Betty Crocker Mini Desserts that taste like Molten Chocolate cake, and pretty much anything!!! I think I have the appetite of a grown man!!! I am finally getting my energy back and things are moving along...


On that note, nesting is hitting early and hard!! Which is a good thing because for the whole beginning of this pregnancy, I was so miserable and on pelvic rest, laundry piled up and the house was getting neglected. Grocery trips consisted of me just going through the aisles looking for things I could stomach at the time and quick easy things for the kids! Now hold on to your seats those of you that know me all to well, I have been making 2 week long dinner menus AND shopping from a grocery list!!! Shocking I know!! I have also worked hard on the house and finally getting the laundry done, it feels so great!! I am so ready to finish my family out at 5 and meet our angel!!! Lord knows I have been preparing her wardrobe and all the necessities already =)!


We are getting started on her room; her bedding was ordered last night! So I have totally changed my mind on the whole scheme of the room =)!! Yes, many of you I was just talking to you this weekend about my plans and they have completely changed! I love the gold and cream idea, but it was not practical and sometimes I felt it was not me or Bree...so we are now doing turquoise, hot pink/magenta, red with black and white...very Rachel!! I am so excited now as the ball is officially rolling and we are moving fast as it really hit me how soon she will be here! Hopefully, the furniture and room will be painted by the end of May (right Mom and Shane =))! We have big plans for the sweetie's room and I cannot wait! Tara and all my girls are starting plans for a fun shower...well I call it a party for Bree! This is my third baby, I have had the big Saturday morning / Sunday afternoon southern baby showers and they were great. They came to me early on and asked what I wanted and I asked that they just throw a really fun, fabulous, GIRLY, party in honor of Bree!! So I cannot wait to see what they come up with, knowing Tara is in charge, I know it will be over the top and fabulous!!!

We go to the Dr next week to see her again, check her heart, organs, etc. Please keep us in your prayers that she is still doing just fine and all is well!! I can feel her little jabs all the time so I am pretty sure she is a strong, fire cracker in there =)!!

BTW - Guess who's cut healed??? YAY!!! Yes, that is chocolate on her face =)

Someone else had to have his picture taken too....=)

Have a good day!!!

Little Cowgirl!

If you remember this post, then you know that Claire has a running list of things that she aspires to do. Well she was so lucky this past weekend to check off one more thing off her list...RIDE A HORSE!!

My little sister Nicole's boyfriend, Aaron, has a farm and many horses. So when he heard that Claire wanted to ride a horse, he happily volunteered to bring her out and let her ride! So Shane and Claire went out Saturday afternoon with Nicole. Claire had a blast!! Apparently, she was a little pro!! Shane was ready to buy her a horse when he called me after they were done on how well she did (WE ARE NOT BUYING A HORSE)! Claire loves animals and is really gentle with them (except for the occasional times she carries Sadie or Shane's Mom's little tea cup shihtzus =)). The plan was for Shane to first ride, then Claire would ride with him...and maybe/hopefully ride on her own. Shane got on this specific horse and he could not get control of it. So, Shane decided it would probably be better for Aaron to ride with Claire. So they both got on and started riding around the field...the next thing Shane knew, Claire was riding by herself, with very little help from Aaron!! She was leading it around wherever she wanted, and was in total control...of the same horse that Shane could not get going =)!! She rode a few horses and had the time of her life! By the time they were done, she was riding completely by herself! Here are a ton of pictures that Nicole took for me...

Thank you so much to Aaron and his family for letting Claire come out have such a good time!! She will remember this forever!! She is still telling me all about it! Where were me and Owen? Well Owen is not as much of a fan of animals as Claire. He loves dogs, but that is it! He was terrified of the bunny in their spring pictures as school!!!! Tough guy Owen...we were at Amanda and Addison's playing and eating pizza!!!

Have a great day!!!!

Racing with the Queens!

Hey yall!!! WOW, I don't get on my computer for 3 days and I am sooooo behind!! I promise to get all caught up tonight!!

We had a very busy weekend!! I am going to break it up in a few posts as a certain a little girl checked off something else on her list and I think it deserves it's own post =)!!

Saturday we attended the Komen Race for the Cure as a Team with all the our Kitchen Queens!! Can I tell you how much I love these girls??!! It was so much fun, even having to get up at 5:30am!! We all met up before the race in the parking lot and had a breakfast tailgate! Here are a bunch of pictures of our fun Saturday...

Sassy Claire

Two little crazy monkeys =)...

Claire and TaraMe and my two favorite Amandas =)....seriously - I am so glad that I met these two girls in the wide world of blogging - yall are such great friends and I have so much fun with you!!! Look at those two cutie pies Addison and Cyler!!!Silly kids...The first shot of the Kitchen Queens!Me, Tara, Nicole, and Mom...and Bree sticking straight out =)This picture cracks me up....we are still missing Lane and Jennifer!!The ever so lovely family shot =)Brooke with Clayton and Sterling...The boys stretching =)Daddy and Claire...

Saturday afternoon we went to a fabulous baby shower for one of our good friends, Ashley. We did not get any pictures, but you should totally go to her blog and check out all the awesome pics and gifts she got!!! I brought her the cutest onesie, tutu and matching flower that you can see here at Bibs and Cribs!! We are so excited to meet Miss Avery, she is one lucky girl!! I am sure, she and my angel Bree Leighton are going to be besties for sure!!!

Hope you had a great weekend!! Stay tuned for more posts from the weekend!!

8 things tag...

One of my favorite girls, Alyssa, tagged me with this fun post!! She tags me all the time and I am one of the bad bloggers that can never remember these things (if you have tagged me and I did not do it, sorry I blame it on the pregnancy brain)! So I am bored with work today and the kids are playing outside (read: getting as filthy as possible and fighting for all the neighbors to hear) so here you go.....

8 things I'm looking forward to:

Having Bree (with her nursery complete)!!
Not being pregnant!!
Having sushi and margaritas!!
The Race for the Cure this weekend with all the Kitchen Queens!!
Dinner tonight =)!!
Claire's preschool graduation in a couple weeks - SHE IS SO EXCITED!!
Summer Hours - me and Shane both off at noon on Fridays ALL SUMMER!!!!

8 things I did yesterday:

Attended a meeting with my Team
Consulted for another company
Played outside with my kids until it was dark with a bubble rocket, FUN!
Got a ticket for going 43 in a 30...any my licence was expired...NIIIICE!
Felt Bree sucking her fingers (we think??) in my belly =)!
Spanked Owen for chasing the dogs with a plastic bat around the backyard...
Argued with Claire that getting up for SonShine school 2 days a week is so much easier than we she goes to Kindergarten.....SO GET UP!!!!
Explained to Owen that the new potty chair is not a place to just sit with your clothes on and watch someone in the bathroom!!!

8 things I wish I could do:

Have a Margarita!!
Eat Sushi!!
Be more patient with my kids when they are driving me crazy!
Get my laundry done!!
Be a morning person and get up earlier...
Go 15min without having to pee!
FIND SOME ENERGY!!!!!!!!

8 shows I watch on t.v:

American Idol
Dancing with the Stars
Chelsea Lately
Keeping up with the Kardashians
....unfortunately the rest of the shows I watch are on Nickelodeon and Disney =)!

8 people I tagged:

ANYONE THAT WANTS TO PLAY!!!! Ashley, either of the Amanda's =), Tara, Amy, any of yall come join in!!!!

All in a day...

Wednesday, April 22nd

Let's start with Claire:

Claire: "Mama, guess what happened today at school?"
Mama: "I don't know? What?"
Claire: "Meredith lifted up my dress?!!"
Mama: "Oh no! Did you tell the teacher?"
Claire: "No, I punched her in the stomach."

Then Owen:

Daddy: "Owen, what did you do at school today?"
Owen: (in his own language) "Fefe....kickin"
Daddy: "Huh?" (Mama starts to help out)
Owen: (now in a very frustrated tone) "Fefe...kickin..NO NO!" (shaking his finger at Daddy)
Translator Mama figured out that he must have been in trouble for kicking a sweet little girl in his class, Sophie. Knowing my little man, I think it is safe to say that he was the one doing kicking...trust me.

Speaking of kicking - our other little stinker is officially moving and making her room in my belly =)!! Shane and Claire have even been able to feel her! Now Claire asks me all the time "What's Bree doing? Is she sleepy or is she being wild?"

GUILTY

Yall are so sweet with your comments on me being a great Mom, but before we get too excited....
Setting:
Sunday night - we stayed home all day as I have been having some issue with allergies and we did not make it to church that morning or to our group that night. Claire and I were sitting on the couch all cuddled up in a blanket. Shane is doing the dishes from dinner. Claire suddenly says, "Do you hear that? Is that Owen?" I realize she is referring to the sound of her new Nintendo DS that the Easter Bunny brought her, coming from upstairs....Owen is the only one upstairs. Owen is not allowed to play with the DS, Owen knows this fact.

Claire bolts up the stairs to get it from him, I stay on the couch. As she reaches the top of the stairs, I suddenly hear a LOUD "THWACK" and Claire starts screaming crying. I then fly up the stairs as I could tell in her voice, something is wrong. As I am halfway up the stairs, I see Claire at the top holding the DS, forehead and face covered in blood!!!!!!!!!!!!

I yell for Shane. I reach Claire and blood is literally pouring over her eyes and face from her forehead and she is in sheer pain and panic. I frantically yell for Shane and he knows now I am panicked and comes up the stairs with a towel. Neither one of us can see what has exactly happened, but in usual Shane and Rachel reaction, I am an absolute basket case and Shane calmly scoops her up takes her downstairs while holding the towel on her head. I now have to find the guilty party...

Owen was hiding in the covers in his bed, knowing he is in trouble. He gets in trouble and I bring him downstairs to see what he has done. He is bawling his eyes out, as is Claire, and he refuses to look at her. Shane has her cleaned up and we can make out a DEEP vertical gash/cut (about 1.5 inches) in her forehead just above her left eye, still bleeding. We don't know whether to take her to the ER, as Claire DOES NOT do well in those situations. Of course, this is Sunday evening, so Mom and Jake are not across the street to give us their opinion as they are at Church. As well, Shane's dad, who used to be a medic, is not available either as they are hosting their group. So Shane sends me to Walgreens with Owen to pick up some butterfly stitch/bandage and any other first aid items I can find. He has Claire calm, so she is finally relaxing her face and the cut is not constantly staying open and he is somewhat controlling the bleeding.

Owen and I run to Walgreens, $30 later in first aid items, I am on way home in a nervous breakdown. My first since I have been pregnant...all I can think is "Pretty soon, Bree is going to be in the middle of all this chaos!!!" I calm down, get home and all is well. Shane has Claire in a good spot, he doctors her up with a butterfly stitch and she seems okay. We wait a little bit and run by Shane's parents' house and he checks her out and says we did the right thing. We finally find out that Owen was at the top of the stairs when Claire came up and when he saw her, he threw the DS at her head!! Owen felt so bad and everytime we would talk to him about it, he would stick out his lip and start tearing up. Claire was a good sport, not too mad, she just said "Me and Owen just don't like each other" =).

When Shane was doctoring Claire, Owen was insistent that the get a bandaid on his head too, we had to make some light of the situation...we laughed so hard at him as he he indeed wore his shame =)...Claire is much better today and not bleeding at all. She hates to have her bandages changed, but other than that, we are all good!!

Life of a little Diva...

Claire had "one of the best nights of her life" Friday night!! We had so much fun!!! She chose Red Lobster as her dinner out with the girls and LOVED the Hannah Montana movie!! We had so much fun and thanks to Mom, Tara, and Alyssa and Halle for coming and joining us!!! Here are a bunch of pictures of my little princess in her element...

Arriving at the hotel Friday afternoon... Looking out the view =)...Posing....Passing the time playing DS... THIS IS THE LIFE!!!!Out to dinner with Nonna and Tara...Going to the movies...Claire and her Nonna...Claire and HalleUs girls back at the hotel...and of course....Breakfast in Bed!!!
It was so much fun and we had such a great time, just us girls!! She did say on the elevator on the way to leave..."Next time, we need to bring Daddy and Owen, they missed out on all the fun" =). Sweet girl!!! Hope you had a great weekend!!!!