What A Slacker I Have Been

My apologies... It has been oh... 6 MONTHS!!! since I have posted any new blogs lol... I promise to do better. So here is a short version of our lives since June (which will explain the lack in posts)

I got a job!!! YAY!! I started working in Gaffney back in June on a Med-Surg/Pediatric unit doing 3rd shift. I really like it there and I have met some amazing people along the way. I have to drive an hour (one way) to work which gets to be a bit much but I love my job. The one draw back is not seeing my husband and baby as much as I would like. I usually work 3 nights in a row which means I will see them the morning of my first night when Frankie leaves for work... then I won't see them again for 3.5 days until Frankie gets home from work after I've completed my last night.

Frankie is still working at Ace's and he really likes it there. He and the guys in the shop get along great which keeps him happy. He rarely comes home upset from work... which was an everyday thing with Pep Boys.

Cam started new school this year but he really seems to like it. We haven't heard any complaints with kids picking on him like we have the past couple years. It's a nice change =o)

Now for the major update... Joey lol. He is 8 months old now!!!! Hard to believe. He is growing up so fast. He is now sleeping through the night, rolling over, sitting up, eating baby food, and feeding himself his bottles. Foods he likes include: carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes, squash, peas, apples, applesauce, bananas, peaches, & apples w/raspberries. He has yet to crawl =o\ I think he may be like me. I've been told I didn't crawl. I rolled... and then began pulling myself up on objects which led to walking. Joey rolls over great and is real good about sliding around the hardwood floors on his butt... guess he's not too worried about crawling right now. His first word was mama =oD Not sure how happy daddy was about that considering daddy sees him more than I do. Now it sounds like he's started to say bye bye. It's amazing to watch him change everyday. I can't believe he will be having a birthday is less than 4 months now. Time flies.

Other than being parents we live at home lol. We spend time with our friends occassionally (not as much as we'd like) but we do our best. We spend weekends with Harkey and Steph on a regular basis and occassionally hang out with Shane, our old neighbors, the Vargos (miss you guys) and the nursing girls. We recently went to Kerri's wedding and it was nice to have all the nursing girls back together again. It has been a while since we've all been together like that.

Hope to post more often now... can't make any promises though... I can promise to provide updates tho lol... Below are some pix to catch up with!

~*~ From June~*~



~*~ From July~*~



~*~ From August~*~



~*~ From September~*~



~*~ First Halloween~*~




~*~ Kerri and Jamie's Wedding ~*~

Life's a Beach... And Another Year Older

So I'm definitely slacking when it comes to having regular posts but I'm doing my best. My last one was 3 weeks ago so I'll try to update.

We went to the beach with my parents and we had a blast! We took Joey out on the beach the first day and he slept most of the time. We decided not to anymore because of the wind. Scary when they stop breathing =o) It was so nice there... just to relax was great. Joey did get to have his first experience with Barefoot Landing, the Boardwalk, and the strip (starting him out young haha). He got to do a lot of bonding with my parents as they were trying to give us a break from the 24/7 life of parenthood. The last night we were there Frankie and I got to enjoy a day at the pool, shopping at the Tanger Outlets, dinner at the Giant Crab and a round of putt putt.

The Sunday after we got home was Cameron's 10th birthday!!! It's hard to believe he's already 10. He was 2.5 when Frankie and I started dating. Time flies. I made him a dirt bike cake and we all enjoyed an outing at the park. The kids spent time riding bikes, flying planes, and playing with water guns. Nothing like a birthday party that's free =o)

Last week Frankie ripped his earlobe... yes you read correct... he ripped his earlobe. He was getting ready to leave work and was backing a car out. His earring got caught on the top of the door as he was getting in the car and when he sat down the earring ripped out. Needless to say we spent three hours in the ER and he got 7 stitches. I don't think he'll be putting them back in... at least that's what he says for now.

This past Sunday we became members of our church and we are so happy. It took us a while to make a decision on what church we wanted to attend. We knew we wanted a baptist church that wasn't too big. We decided to attend the church our good friends the Vargos attend and we are so pleased. The people here have made us feel so welcome and we love the preaching staff. We feel at home and are thrilled to be raising Joey in the church... not to mention we have introduced Cameron to it as well.

And a final note... I have an interview on Monday!!! I really hope this one works out. I will have quite a haul to work but I have to take what I can get =o) I have waited so long to put my nursing degree to good use. Fingers crossed!!

2 Months Old Already

Time flies... I'm not blogging ask frequently as I would like but at least I'm still doing it =o) It's hard to believe Joey is 2 months old!!! He turned 2 months on Mothers Day (awww). I received the sweetest card from him. I'm thinking about doing like that commercial on TV where the mother has all her cards in a box and is able to look at how the hand writing has changed over the years. Mother's day was relaxing and we were able to get professional pictures made. I'm glad I will have that memory to look back on.

Joey had his 2 month well visit last week and he is doing well. He is now a whopping 11 lbs 6.5oz. and 23.75 inches. He's gonna be a tall one. Not sure where he got the height... must be a Barnard thing because my cousin Rich is a tall one =o)

He has started sleeping in his crib which is wonderful! The first night was scary for me because I'm used to being able to roll over to check on him. It's nice having a monitor to calm the nerves. And Joey now LOVES diaper changes lol... what a difference from a month ago when he would scream his head off. He gives the biggest grins during the diaper changes now. I've noticed he also giggles a little whenever he poots with his diaper off lol. Must feel different or something. The best thing is he takes a binky now!!!! Yay!!! My fingers were literally getting blisters on them so I'm so glad. My mom and I went to a jewelry party at a friends house and her son and one other little boy were sucking on soothie pacies (the ones they give you at the hospital... we didn't get any). I decided to go to Walmart and buy some... Joey took to them right away.

Things around the house have been about the same. Frankie worked all week to get our new bathtub in and get the sheet rock done. It looks great! Now it's my turn to work. I have to mud the walls and start painting. I can't wait to see the finished product. The project took longer than expected b/c of the way the piping was done when the house was built. Frankie had to re-route most of it in order to get the new tub in. He refuses to take on another project like this in the future lol.

Below are some of Joey's 2month pictures and some of him with his new friends =o) These are some girls I met during our child birth class and we all had boys. We are hoping to keep in touch so that our kids can grow up and play together =o) The top picture is Thavy/Braylon Lori/Jared and me/Joey. The next one is me/Joey Nina/Leo and Lori/Jared.

Getting Big

Things with Joey are going great! He still has his fussy moments, but nothing someones pinky can't cure (he refuses to take a binky). He is still on his every three hour feeding schedule and occassionally that will stretch during the night to about 4-4.5 hours. He has started oohing and ahhing which is really cute to hear. He has also found his hands (which he loves to stick in his mouth). Frankie celebrated his 32nd birthday this past weekend. We went out to Shane's house and hung out. We cooked out, played pool, the boys had some drinks, and the kids had a blast playing together. It was nice. The next day we went to dinner with his parents and the boys. We also found a church that we love! We have been wanting to go for quite sometime but we knew it would be hard with Frankie working every other Sunday. With his new job he is off every Sunday. We decided to attend a church that our good friends the Vargos attend. We had such a great time we plan on becoming members =o) It's nice to know that Joey will be brought up in the church. Nana and Pawpaw are here for a few days. Joey has found a new resting spot on my dad's belly and he loves it =o) We've also discovered that my dads trick of singing/humming in a deep voice seems to work. Every time my dad does it Joey quits fussing. Wish I had the ability to do that lol. We are excited to take Joey on his first vacation in a couple of weeks. We will be going to the beach with Nana and Pawpaw... I can't wait! Below are some of Joey's one month photos and a video of him smiling =o) If you tickle his mouth with your finger or a cloth, he gets the biggest grin. I love seeing that everyday.

Long Overdue

Wow... I don't even know where to begin. Things have been kinda hectic. Joey has entered the one month crying phase lol. We thought he was colicky but after switching him to strickly formula he is doing much better. According to a piece of paper I got at the doctor... babies this age tend to cry more and may only be quiet during feedings and naps. Guess I should be thankful for the times I can get him to sit in his vibrating chair happily for 15-30 minutes lol.
Frankie got a job! He started a week after my mom left so she turned around and came back towards the end of the week. We are so thankful that he was able to find a job so fast but boy is he exhausted =o) He works 10+ hour days but its a job. I, of course, am still on the hunt for one so hopefully that will work out soon.
I had my postpartum doctor visit and everything was a-okay. Joey had his one month visit this past Friday. It's hard to believe he is already a month old! Other than the thrush returning (which led to a yeast infection on his lil bootie) he is a healthy baby! He is now 8lbs 13oz and 22in. long... he is getting so big. I'm starting to wonder where this height is coming from haha.
Today we are getting Joey's one month pictures taken and we plan to do a family picture as well. Other than that there is not much to share... Pawpaw is coming down in a few days hopefully so it will be nice for Joey to spend some time with him.
Below are some pictures. The Easter Bunny pic will always bring back memories... Joey was sleeping so I decided that would be a good time to take the picture... Nana decided she would help by getting Joey out of his stroller... needless to say she bonked him in the head with his glow worm and he woke up screaming... and continued screaming during his photo session... Thanks Nana lol

Coo Coo Ca-Chew

The other morning after being fed, Joey cooed himself to sleep in my lap. I thought it was cute so I grabbed the camera and caught a little bit of it before he drifted off to sleep =o)





His thrush has also cleared up =o)

Time Flies

It's hard to believe Joey will be two weeks old tomorrow. I swear it feels like we were just at the hospital to deliver him. He is now used to his feeding schedule of every 3 hours and is waking up on his own during the night. It's nice not having to set an alarm now =o) I was having some issues with the "baby blues" but his adju stment has helped that tremendously. We still hate having our diaper changed but I'm sure with time he will get used to it. We have been fortunate enough to have a diaper change here and there with no tears.
Joey ended up developing thrush (which we noticed last Thursday) but that is clearing up with the help of his antibiotic. He also lost him umbilical cord stump today. I know it's not supposed to be painful but I think it is. Anytime he would bump it within the last 24hrs. he would scream so it's a relief that it is off now.
Joey also had his first bath at home on Saturday. He loved it =o) I think the warm water and stimulation was a plus for him. He didn't fuss one bit. Other than that he has been enjoying time in his vibrating chair and on his play mat.
Nana left today but she plans to come back soon. Even though she didn't help out much with baby care, it was extremely helpful having her here to help with the household chores and dinner. It also helped having some extra moral support. I was able to catch on some sleep too while she watched Joey if Frankie was out of the house.

Presenting... Joseph Douglas

He's here!!! My water broke early Tuesday morning. We went to the doctors office and I was dilated 5 centimeters already so they had me head over to the hospital. When I got in my room I had dilated another 2 centimeters and my contractions were already 2-3 minutes apart... OWWW. I can't honestly say I remember what they felt like but I will say I remember it hurting. I requested the epidural =o) and was in heaven once it kicked in. A short time later I was able to start pushing and a little over an hour later he was born... 2:59 PM... 7lbs 11oz... 20.5 inches. It was quite uncomfortable pushing but completely worth it once he arrived. It's amazing how much love you can have for someone you just met. We were discharged from the hospital Thursday, even though his bilirubin level was slightly high. The doctors weren't too concerned at his newborn checkup so now we go back in a month for his next visit. We're having a rough time with our night time schedule but over all Joey is a great baby. Mom is here helping out during the day so that we can try to catch up on sleep (yeah right!!). Right now Joey really seems to like using his play mat when he is awake. His eyes go all over the place while the music plays. I placed him on his stomach today for some tummy time and within a minute he already rolled over. Pretty strong for a newborn baby =o) Below are a few pictures of Joey and you know there will be more to come... as for now I'm going to nap while Joey sleeps =o)

Making Progress =o)

Our baby appointment went well today. Joey's heartbeat was 136 and he still appears to be measuring just right. I found out that I am 2 centimeters dilated and 90% effaced so I've made some good progress so far. Because of the new update my grandmother will be booking a flight to Charlotte in the next day or two so that she can be here for the birth of her first great-grandson =o). Everyone I've spoken to feels that I will deliver within the next week... I guess we'll see. Below is my 38 week belly pic.

Getting closer... and definately READY!!

Well as of tomorrow I will be 38 weeks pregnant... and I must say (as excited as I am to have the baby) I'm ready for him to be in my arms rather than my belly =o) It's been fun but these last couple weeks (especially the last week) have been kind of miserable. My back/rib/hip pains are getting more intense and my swelling is getting worse. I try to stay in bed or on the couch for the most part but I don't like sitting still. I'm trying to behave though because we've noticed that the swelling is in my entire leg now, not just my feet. We tried to called the doctor's office just to be safe... the nurse was going to call back with in the hour. Well that was 4:30 PM yesterday and still no word. We have a doctor appointment Tuesday so I'll just talk to him then I guess. I'll post a new belly pic with that update =o)

Thursday night mom and I went to dinner with the nursing girls. It was fun getting together and catching up one more time before the baby comes (although I know we will still be getting together afterwards). They are all convinced that I will go early... one friend Kerri is convinced I will go in the next week =o) I hope so. Her instinct is pretty good... after all, her mother and she were the only ones who predicted I would have a boy. I'm hoping she's right with this too!

37 Weeks!

Well... I'm now a little over 37 weeks! We had our baby check up this morning and had our third ultrasound. Everything checked out great! Lil Joey is so much bigger than when we last saw him... it was amazing. They estimate his weight to be about 7lbs., his heartbeat was 144, and so far he is on track with his growth. My mom is in town now until he arrives she got to go to the appointment with us. She was so excited to see him on the ultrasound. I'm glad she was able to experience that =o) I had my first experience with false labor last Thursday. All of sudden my back started cramping up for brief moments so I made sure I checked the time. It happened at 8:57, 9:17, 9:37, and 9:53. In my head I was freaking a lil because that's pretty regular (I was having contractions with the back cramps). I decided to lay on my left side and it all went away. Unfortunately I still have the back pain now. I talked to the doctor about it and its just ligament pain. But at least I'll only have to deal with that issue for about 2.5 weeks... right? Below are some of the ultrasound pix. We tried to get some 3D images of his face but were unable to get any real clear shots. His poor lil face is squished up against me so it flattened his nose and made all the pictures distorted. But there are 2 profile pix that show his squished nose and I put one 3D image where you can see his chubby cheeks and half of a smile =o)






Dad was in town for a couple of days last week so it was nice getting to see him. We went out to eat at Kristopher's... our usual hang lol. We went with my aunt/uncle and a family friend. Frankie had a meeting at work so after everyone was done eating, my dad and I just hung our watching the Olympics until Frankie got done. It was nice having the one on one time to just cut up like old times.

I have my last diabetes appointment tomorrow (besides the postpartum visit)... Yay!! I'll be so glad when I don't have to do that anymore. I'll really be excited when I don't have to check my sugars and I can eat what I want. I've already told Frankie we will be going to Chick-Fil-A...getting an 8 pack combo with fries and a SWEET tea lol... I can't wait... I can taste it now =o)

Valentine's Day and Baby News

Valentine's day was so nice. Frankie and I never make a big deal out of this holiday. We get each other a card, I get flowers and we go to dinner. We have done the romantic get away for the night to a nice hotel but not this year. Because of my diabetes issue Frankie thought it would be best to do dinner at home so that I would have more food to eat rather than trying to find a restaurant. He was right =o) He offered to cook but since he was at work all day I did the cooking. We had parmesan chicken, green beans, carrots, and salad. It was a nice candle light dinner at home, just the two of us.








Yesterday I was also 36 weeks along!



I had an appointment with the OB this morning and everything looks good. Joey's heartbeat was 134 and he's still growing. I found out he's dropped down in my pelvis which I kind of figured because of the discomfort I've been having and the fact that I'm going to the bathroom every 2 hours at night lol. Next week I get to have another ultrasound which Frankie and I are excited about. It'll be nice getting to see what he looks like now =o) I guess that's one of the perks of having gestational diabetes.

Comfy is the Way to Go

I have my bag packed and ready for the hospital. At first I packed 2 comfy pair of sweats and shirts to along with them. Last night Frankie and I went to the mall and lets just say I had to repack my stuff lol. We found these pajamas that were extremely cute and soooooo comfortable.



The pink top has half length sleeves and is a hoodie and of course the pants match. I then found another cute top that I plan to wear with my gray sweats. Yes I am aware that it is a tank top but I stay hot all the time so that will not be an issue =o)

Today I went to the diabetes center.... again. Luckily I only have to go there one more time and then my postpartum visit. My next appointment will be with the dietitian... did I mention this is my last appointment? Should I not have met with her for my FIRST appointment? Whatev haha

We graduated from baby class on Tuesday and they gave a cute little certificate. It was nice meeting all the new parents-to-be. At the end of class we all exchanged emails so we can keep each other posted on the arrival of our lil ones and we can hopefully get together in the future. It would be nice to have bunches of babies to play with =o) (yes... I meant to type bunches)

Monday I have my next OB appointment. I will find out if I'm dilated any. I'm kind of hoping I'm not because I really don't want to be placed on bed rest. I guess we'll see though. I'll update after the appointment. 4weeks left!!!!

Happy Scrappers

My mom left early this morning. We did a lot this past week. We went shopping (of course) and bought some last minute baby things for me to pack in my hospital bag. We also did some shopping for scrap booking stuff. I find that I only scrapbook when I am with her now because it is more fun that way. We both got quite a bit done. I decided to start on the scrapbook that I'm doing for Joey. I have it completed up until the present except for doing a page on his nursery. The rest of the pages will come once he is born. I decided to go ahead and make the templates for some of the pages, that way I'll only have to add photos once he gets here.

I also found out that my dad is supposed to be coming in town next week =o) It will be good to see him because I haven't seen him since late November-early December.

Other than that things around that Hudson home are pretty quiet. Frankie sold his truck which will cover the cost to replace our heating and air unit (thank goodness). Things with the pregnancy are still the same and I can't wait for the baby to get here. I do have to start going back to the Diabetes Center unfortunately. Not because of any problems but apparently my OB practice can drop me if they feel I'm being non-compliant. At least I only have to have 2 appointments with the crazy woman and one appointment postpartum (that's my understanding at least). Tomorrow night is our last baby class. It's amazing how fast the past 6 weeks have gone by. I hope the next 5 are just as fast so that we can have our lil man here with us =o)

Let it ice Let it ice Let it ice

I was really looking forward to the snow this past weekend but was let down. (I know I'm like a big kid) We got a few inches but it all turned to ice by the next morning so there was no fun to be had. Frankie and I decided to walk up to Harris Teeter because we needed to return some movies to Red Box. We also wanted to check out the road conditions. They were horrible! I can't believe there were people out driving in that mess. Below are a few pictures of what our area looked like.









On to baby news. I'm 34 weeks pregnant now!!



Time to get my hospital bag ready. I had a check up on Monday and things are still looking good. His heart beat was 147 and he is in the proper position for delivery. My OB felt his head and it felt really low to me. That night I started having some discomfort in my lower back whenever he would move. It wasn't a constant pain, just shooting (very uncomfortable). She said he is measuring properly and may be slightly big but nothing that she is concerned about at this point. I was happy to know that I won't have to be pregnant any longer than necessary. The doctor said that they will try and let a woman with gestational diabetes go into labor on her own but if she doesn't by her due date she will be induced (what a relief).

Are You Gelin'?

I've been meaning to blog about this since Friday but kept forgetting. I decided to take a nice relaxing bath tonight and the bottle of gel on the counter reminded me. Lil Cam Cam is starting to put gel in his hair to be like dad =o) Apparently we are doing this at his mom's too because when we picked him up on Thursday he was complaining about how hard his hair was lol. How frickin' cute is that! Of course he has to have the blue color gel... would you expect anything less? His excitement about the baby coming is getting better as well. Lately he has seemed real concerned that he may not get as much attention from daddy once the baby comes. I found out tonight that Frankie had a talk with him and I've already noticed a difference. We purchased a few gizmo's from Babies R Us and Cam wanted to help open them and he took an interest in the items that are already in the nursery. He also said he can't wait to teach his little brother how to drive his go cart and make fart sounds (go figure... what do boys love most... well at least this one).


Pregnancy changes. Well sleep is getting to be less and less so I should be very prepared for the sleep schedule I will have once the baby arrives. My belly button... ha! It is literally becoming a button now and I'm not excited. I'm starting to develop an outie :( lol. I've also got some Fred Flintstone feet going on right now but I think that is just a side effect of being on my feet for a few hours yesterday and shopping today... I'll be taking it easy the next couple of days until the swelling goes down. Other than that things are about the same. My sugars have been very well controlled. I've only had 3 "high" readings in the last week. I don't think that's bad considering I've checked my sugars 32 times lol. Anywho... below are a couple pix I took... I was bored and playing around with the camera the other day... enjoy!

Yay for hail damage!

Lately we have noticed several people in the neighborhood getting their roof replaced on their home. We discovered that they had hail damage and that insurance was covering the replacement. So Frankie decided it couldn't hurt to have insurance come out and do an estimate to see if we could get a free roof as well. To my surprise, considering how things have gone the past few months, we have hail damage!! It will be so nice to have a new roof to make the house look even better. We will be asking for a different color shingle, most likely a brown of some sort, to go with our paint color scheme.


Now onto baby updates. I had an appointment with my OB on Monday and things are still going strong. Lil Joey's heartbeat was 145 and I'm still measuring according to my weeks of gestation. (Thank goodness because this whole diabetes thing could cause me to have a large baby and I don't want that lol.) We had our third baby class last night and now I'm more confused than ever. I've always said I want an epidural when I deliver because of how intense my menstrual cramps have been in the past. Now I'm not sure. There are side effects to the epidural (which I knew) but I don't know if I want to risk it given our luck lately. I could try the IV pain medicine but supposedly that just "takes the edge off" and if I receive the drug too late the medication will be in the babies system, which could cause him to breathe less strong at delivery and would require him to get a shot. I've thought maybe I will try the IV medication and if that doesn't work enough I can always get the epidural still. The thought of a needle going in my back is scary but from what I've heard, I may not care at that point because I will be in so much pain. Ahh decisions, decisions.

32 weeks

I can't believe I am now 8 months pregnant!



Our lil man should be here in about 8 weeks and we are so excited! I've started having some back pain and difficulty getting to sleep but I feel lucky to have made it this far without those symptoms. The heartburn is getting out of control! I feel like I need to sleep sitting straight up in order to prevent it. The only other change I've noticed is that I'm starting to itch from the stretching on my stomach but lotion fixes that =o)


My diet is still irritating but I plan to talk to my OB at my appointment tomorrow. I've tried experimenting with different foods and some of them aren't panning out too well. I have now discovered that I cannot do baked potatoes. It made my sugar shoot through the roof even though I went by the recommended serving size. I can however do chicken nuggets from Chic-Fil-A which is wonderful because those things taste delicious! Hopefully I can make it through these last 8 weeks with no complications.


We were hoping our luck would change for 2010 but it really hasn't. I think we have both become numb to bad news because neither of us have been phased by it. We got our energy bill for December and it was almost double what it normally is. Come to find out we have a leak in our unit. Frankie's cousin came out to take a look at it and said we could try getting a coil but that would be like putting a band aid on a 27 year old unit. So the best thing would be to replace the unit inside and outside. I also noticed something strange about the house. Frankie was picking up leaves so I was outside talking to him. I looked at the house and noticed that the wood was starting to separate on the side of the house. I really hope that doesn't mean that the foundation has shifted :(.


Below are pictures to show my belly growth. This documents from 3 months up through now, at 8 months =o)