Ground Zero

Well, life has been going swimmingly :D  We've been able to road trip most weekends, and we're remembering all the things we LOVE so much about the south!  Work is going great, finally getting fully integrated with my co workers.  It takes a while for a new person to come in and get a new routine established, but I think we've got it down now.  We've been to North Carolina twice, down the Tail of the Dragon 3 times, and we've finally begun to conquer the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We drove the Hwy 1 in CA all the way from start to finish, our goal is now BRP from start to finish.  It begins in NC and goes through West Virginia, finishing in Virginia.  This weekend, my inlaws were up and we went to Cades Cove for the first time in 6 or 7 years.  Cades Cove is this beautiful little protected valley area surrounded by the Smoky Mtns in the heart of the SM National Park. It has an 11 mile driving loop, and you can go explore all these old cabins and primitive churches.  It was fun!

The Greenway

Turtles!

I'm considering today to be "ground zero".  I have hit post partum bottom, and I'm ready to not be a fat blob any more.  I'm fully healed, my baby is big enough that if necessary, I can throw his little butt in his jogging stroller, and even though I work M-F, I have early mornings, late evenings, and weekends to Make it Happen!  I've tried a few times to post pics for accountability since I did my FIRST time, and I've failed miserably, so now I'm buckling down and being accountable.  No more donuts/soda/fast food burgers.  My water intake has dwindled and my coffee/wine intake has doubled.  I'm young and healthy and my feet have started to hurt every day which tells me I'm TOO HEAVY :(  I'm 5'2, I need to be somewhere south of 150, not barely south of 200.  I got down to about 146 before I moved and got fat again, so now that we're here, we're not going anywhere else for many, many years.  I have plenty of time to get back to where I was and work on maintenance this time.

Inside the city of Maryville

Cool bird

I've done Couch to 5K a few times around my new neighborhood and while I LOVE the app, it trains you to get to 5 miles by 3x weekly half hour walk/runs.  In half an hour, I'm only going MAYBE 1 1/2 miles, tops.  So today I figured out where the Maryville/Alcoa Greenway is, and did the week 1 Cto5K run 60 sec/walk 90 sec for a full 3 miles and change.  It felt good; it was only the 2nd time since Colton was born that I've done my 3 miles.  My plan is run 3 x a week, and shoot yet again to do Piyo the other 2 days.  Insanity is SO insane, I just have to work up to it. The last thing I want to do is start and stall again, so I want to establish a routine for the next 60 days so I get into the habit like I did 4 years ago.  Here's my "ground zero" pics, they're awful to me.  I hate it when my gut is all ugly and fat.  I REALLY want to slim my legs down so I can maybe actually wear REAL shorts next summer, not capris that hide most of my leg.  Here's to trying!

It's now time to count ... DOWN. Third Trimester!

I was just looking at my calendar today and was shocked to see I'm at 29 weeks this week.  Whoa.  Colton will be here before we know it!  This has been a very blessed pregnancy; not all that different than my my pregnancy with Kody.  I had no problems growing the boy, it was BIRTHING the boy that was the problem!  Hopefully that problem is solved with my planned C.

I just wish I had someone I could really share this experience with.  I feel very isolated out here sometimes, but there's nothing I can do about it.  I miss all my GA horse peeps.  CA horse peeps are just different.

Baby boy's going to be stylin'!  We are finding so many cute baby things it's hard to just say "no" lol!

Kody's really looking forward to being a big brother and actually talked to me about being a positive role model in Colton's life.  Warmed my heart!  I'm so proud of my teenager, he's turning into an amazing young man.  I always knew he would be!

I am really proud of myself; I've done a GREAT job at making a meal plan each week and sticking with it.  I'm still doing what I highlighted in an earlier blog post; I have my list w/ all the different categories of food so I don't make chicken 7 days a week.  We're saving a ton of money by going grocery shopping ONCE a week and not eating out 5 days a week.  I just joined Costco last week and I'm going to see how that works out for us; I did it primarily because I've heard it's an amazing resource for formula.  I will try and breast feed again for a short amount of time, but like w/ Kody, I will switch to formula for ease and sleeping purposes.  

Alright.  Gonna give y'all the obligatory 3rd trimester baby bump pics!  I feel pretty lucky, I THINK I'm going to make it through this pregnancy w/out having to delve into maternity clothes.  I did buy a belly band thing that I can put around my normal jeans and I hope that works out well.  My work pants have an elastic waist so I think those will work too!  Took these over the weekend ...

I think that's about it!  Not much else to update.  11 weeks to go; 11 weeks until back on track w/ exercising and watching calories like a hawk.  11 weeks until 8 weeks of just being a mama.  11 weeks until the final birthing experience of my life.  11 weeks until we officially become a family of 4.  Wow, how time flies!

18 weeks and counting

IT's funny.  When I was pregnant with Kody, I was almost afraid to be pregnant.  I did not buy ANYTHING for him until I was around 30 weeks along, and even then, it was just a Mickey receiving blanket from the Disney Store.  I was so fortunate that I had several showers from my parents/inlaws/barn/friend, and received literally EVERYTHING I needed for him.  This time, I'm not counting on getting ANYTHING from anyone; I'm planning to get everything I need myself.  This necessitates planning early, and buying when I can!

Already, I've amassed a few hundred diapers in a size 1, and I'm starting on the size 2's.  I LOVE Pampers because they just smell so divine, so on approximately every third Target trip, I pick up a box.  We picked up a Graco Pack n' Play a few weeks ago since we only have a 2 BR, baby will be in our room until we move (about 3 months).  Today, I  got my beloved rocking chair!  I LOVED my glider that I had when Kody was born, but once he got  bigger/older, we just sort of shoved it out of the way in our bedroom.  About a year before we moved out of GA, we let a pastor borrow it for his church, and when we asked for it back, we got the runaround and never got it back :(  So when I found out I was pregnant, I immediately began nagging to get another one.

David's shopping for Broncos team wear.  OH!  Yeah, right, we found out the gender today ;)  Colton Maverick will be making his appearance some time the last week of March/first week of April.   Kody's happy he gets a brother, and I'm happy because I know boys.  I know what to expect; I'm THRILLED to be having another boy; I was genuinely afraid that if it was a girl I'd feel a little bit of disappointment.  Fortunately, I don't have to find that out!

Got the usual array of tests to have done soon; the glucose test in 2 weeks, the "official, big" ultrasound in 2 weeks ... I opted against the battery of genetic testing that UC Davis feels is necessary for women 35+.  I'm 36, not 46; it's not like I'm an ancient relic having a baby.  Excited to move ahead, excited to see my sister when she gets to come and visit/be my doula, excited to have 8 weeks off from work, lol.  I'll continue the updates as they happen!

PS, if you ever get the opportunity to watch a sunrise over Lake Tahoe, TAKE IT!  We got up at 3 am on Saturday to take pics and watch the amazing beauty of the sun coming up behind the Sierras.  It was so breathtaking, AND we saw a WOLF!  It was like totally unreal.  Wish we'd been able to snap a pic of it.  Next time we'll have the camera out and waiting :)