When I grow up...

I believe I have figured it out! Yes, I may be pushing 27 years old but I'm just now starting to figure out "what I want to be when I grow up".  And yes...the light bulb may have went off after watching an episode of Teen Mom on MTV - remember the Golden Rule here people! Anyway...there is a couple who gave up their child for adoption and they meet every so often with their adoption agent. She isn't on the show very often but when she is, I find myself oddly intrigued by her line of work. Probably because I've always wanted a career that would allow me to make a difference in another person's life and she has one. I promptly went online and found out that getting a Master's Degree in Social Work is the best way to go about becoming an adoption agent (I'm entirely sure this is the correct title).

I have a degree in Psychology already so this is one logical next step for me. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the University of Iowa (where I received my Psychology degree) has a Master's of Social Work extension program in Des Moines - and the center is conveniently located about 3 blocks from my work - PERFECT! And there are night classes! With the public library located smack in the middle of the route from my job to the learning center, I would have a place to hang after work while waiting for class to start - DOUBLE PERFECT!

And then the let down....
I got to the portion of the reading that pretty much states "There is no way you can be a part of this program on a part-time basis and still carry a full time job". Crap. I clearly have to work to help support my family - that's what adults do right? Well this adult quickly e-mailed DH & gave him the sob story. To my surprise, his quick response was "if this is what you want, we'll figure it out". Um...wait. Did some nicer, less money conscience other person hack his e-mail? No? Oh. He must mean it. He then proceeded to lay out the tentative plan & told me to go for it.

So here I am. Life plan & DH support in hand, I'M GOING FOR IT! I'll be gathering all the necessary documentation & waiting for my acceptance letter. Wish me luck!

Craziness!

So far August is off to a crazy start for us!

On the baby front, the ultrasound was on July 20th & this baby is definitely not shy! The image of him wasn't on the screen for 30 seconds and we knew it was a....BOY! Yep...I won the bet :-)
His name is Colin Vincent and I can't wait to see him, hold him and kiss him! He will definitely be the best Christmas present I have ever received.

I felt Colin move for the first time at the end of July and Mark got to feel him kick the next week. He cried...it was so sweet! Ever since then he's been kicking and moving up a storm. I've been calling him my little ninja because it feels like he's trying to kick and punch his way out, haha! He kicked so hard yesterday morning the remote that was resting on my stomach popped up! It was pretty hilarious.

I have my next check up tomorrow afternoon. I had only gained 3 pounds total at my last appointment so I'm interested to see how much I have gained. I still weigh myself every day and I think I've gained 4-5 pounds since my last appointment. Right on track for my "one pound a week" goal.  The weight gain may be low but my belly has definitely popped out! I bought some maternity pants...they're too big still but I'm sure my stomach will grow into them.

On the home front...we've been doing a lot of home improvements - some minor, some major. The drywall is up in the basement and the first coat of tape/mud has been put on. Once the second coat is on it will be time to paint! I have been having fun looking at paint samples and figuring out how to decorate down there.

Ever since Mark and I bought the house, the front door has been this ugly, dirty brown color. Today I finally got Mark convinced that it needs to be painted. We went to Home Depot and picked out a nice light grey color. It looks AMAZING! It doesn't exactly "match" the shutters on the front of the house but the colors flow well and it just looks so good. I'm very proud of us :-)

I have been wanting to get some pictures to hang up in the bathroom off the kitchen & I finally bought the ones I've had my eye on. They aren't hung up yet though...Mark did so much this weekend so I feel guilty asking him to do one more thing. Sometime this week I'll get them hung up.

I feel like there's so much more that's happened but I just can't think right now! I'll post pictures of our home improvements later this week.

Second best day of my life!

Dear Baby Testa-

I just want you to know that at approximately 1:40 p.m. on Tuesday July 20th 2010, the image of your sweet little face popped up on the ultrasound screen and changed my life forever.

I love you, baby!

Mommy

Quick Recap

For some reason, this blog has slipped my mind the last month. Maybe because nothing noteworthy has happened (that I can blog about at least). Here is a recap:

- I had my second baby doctor appointment on June 22nd. I learned my blood type, my weight was exactly the same as the first appointment and I have no diseases (thank goodness!). We got to hear the baby's heartbeat again, which always makes me smile! The doctor did I say I could be not as far along as I think I am - he's crazy but we'll figure that out at the next appointment.

-The ultrasound will be on July 20th - right around the corner! Mark and I have a bet - I think it's a boy, he thinks it's a girl. Loser buys lunch. I believe I'll be enjoying a free lunch ;-). Unfortunately, I won't be sharing who the winner is so you'll just have to wait until December, sorry!

- My cousin and her daughters were in town over the 4th and we had the chance to visit with them. We hadn't seen them in 2 years because they live in the Netherlands. It was nice to catch up with them.

- Half of the electric work in the basement is finished. The drywall was delivered yesterday. Hopefully Trevor and Mark can get started on that soon. I already have the paint color picked out!

That's all for now!

Minnesota!

This past weekend, Mark and I headed up to Minnesota for a fun-filled vacation with our family. We had a fantastic time! Here are some highlights from the trip.

We left on Friday and after getting settled at the hotel, we all headed over to Taylor's Falls to take a scenic boat ride and do some hiking. All though it was rainy and cold, the scenery was so amazing! We all really enjoyed hiking on the trails. We went on one called "Pothole Trail". There are literally pot holes everywhere! They are naturally made and some of them are HUGE and so deep. They were very cool.

On Saturday we hung around the hotel for a while in the morning to have some R&R. Then we headed over to the Mall of America. While the parents with kids went to the aquarium, the parents-to-be went to Barnes and Noble. Mark and I had a lot of fun looking at the children's books reminiscing about the books we loved when we were young. We got a book of great children's tales & one about Peter Rabbit. We plan on buying a lot more books for the baby because there are just so many great ones! After the mall, we headed over to Ikea - the best store on earth! We picked up some much needed blinds for the kitchen. We got wood ones which I've been wanting ever since we moved in to the house 2 years ago.

After a day of shopping and dinner at Toby Keith's Bar & Grill, we spent the evening relaxing at the Water Park of America. It was nice to get to hang out and have a good time with everyone.

We headed home on Sunday. It was a long, tiring weekend but totally worth it. It was definitely hard to go back to reality on Monday!

*Blogger isn't letting me upload pictures right now so those will be coming!

A quarter(-ish) finished!

Here are some pictures of the basement with the walls framed...

This will be the living room.

This will be the office/workout room.

And this is the laundry room. No changes here except a door and a sink, which is featured in the picture!

Now we just have to wait for the electrician to come and then we'll be ready for drywall!

Weight a minute...

Over the course of the last two years, I have worked extremely to go from this...

To this...

Not bad, eh?

I'll be the first to admit that I did (and still do) get a bit obsessed with the number on the scale. I've come a long way from my heaviest of 176 so I feel like I deserve to be obsessive over how much I weigh. And now that I'm pregnant, I'm finding it extremely hard to come to terms with the rising number on the scale which fuels my obsession. My second thought after seeing the positive pregnancy test was "There goes all my hard work". Sad but true.

I was extremely relieved to be told by my doctor that I only need an extra 150-300 calories a day which should be from fruits and veggies and that it's ok to continue to workout like I did before. In fact, it's recommended. Hallelujah! I NEED to workout. It helps me sleep better and just makes me feel better about myself in general.

But on the other hand, I have my husband telling me to take it easy and eat whatever I want, when I want. He just doesn't understand. I physically can't "eat for two" - at least not yet! I don't want to gain a lot of weight. That's not healthy for me OR the baby. And I need to workout because there is a very good chance it will help me have an easy delivery which in turn will help HIM. I guess when I think deeper about his feelings, he says what he says because he knows I'll deprive myself of my unhealthy cravings and he just wants me to be happy.

I guess the ol' "moderation is key" phrase is going to have to be instilled in order to make us both happy.