Its that time of year!

Hello everyone! I hope you are all having a good start to this most wonderful fall season! I know I am. Its my favorite time of year. Not only is this nasty warm weather about to go away, but we have Thanksgiving and Christmas to look forward to! I cant wait. I have already dragged out my fall decor. Still needing a few pieces but the house is starting to look and smell great. Well its been a busy past few weeks. Let me tell you nothing keeps you busier than a active Seven month old. Just last week Ryder and I got back from our trip to Cape cod. It was amazing. We had drove up with my friend Samantha for her baby shower. While we were there Ryder and I visited my Uncle Brandon, Aunt Jenny and met my cousin Graceson. Graceson is only 3 months older than Ryder. So it was pretty special to spend the three days with them that I got to. While with my family we visited Ogunquit Maine. It a quaint little sea shore town. And let me tell you it was GORGEOUS! If I could I would live there. The coast was picturesque. We visited a little ocean front coffee shop. We sipped our drinks and took in the beautiful view of the ocean. After that we took a trail and walked along the rocky coast. I dont think I will ever forget that place. I was just to beautiful to describe.
            As you can tell I have been quite the busy bee. I am currently studying to get my Medical Assistants certification. My school for LPN keeps getting pushed back so I need to have a fall back if I cant go to school right away. I just cant sit at home anymore. I NEED to work. I really would like to get this last 7 lbs of baby weight off. I know if I went back to work it would come off. It always does. Another new development involves my relationship with my mother. It has always been rocky. I contribute some of that to my rebellious teenage years , but I have since then apologized to my mom for any grief I had caused her. The  rest of the issues stem from anger problem and her need to control . Back in July while visiting my dads side of the family we put Ryder down for a nap. Now he always fusses at nap time so we just let him cry it out. During the last argument with my mother she told me that Jared and I were horrible parents and making Ryder cry it out was horrible. She told me my child was miserable since he was five months old and on food. So Jared and I told her if she was not going to respect us as parents and be nice then she was not going to be a part of our lives. Now before you judge just know that our relationship has never been good. Its sad but my life has been so much easier and happier with out her in it. I wish it didnt have to be this way. But my mother is a drama magnet. She loves confrontation. And personally I just dont enjoy being upset. Here in December Jared, Ryder and I will be visiting Houston for his best friends wedding. I dont know how to handle seeing my family but not allowing my mother to be there. I know I am going to get a lot of grief for it but I have to stand my ground. My mother needs to learn that there are boundaries to her verbal Diarrhea.    ( haha I make myself giggle) Well thats just about it . Lots more to come with the holiday season right around the corner. I will try my hardest to post more. So keep a look out for Holiday photos and blogs!

A fresh start in Virginia

Good morning everyone. Its pretty early here.  I am still struggling to wake up. For some reason Ryder thinks 5am is a good time to wake up. Normally i am fighting to go back to sleep at that time since Jared gets up for work at 430am. I just hope this new schedule doesn't last long. I need more sleep.
              Here in about a month I will be starting LPN (Licensed practical nursing) school. I am so excited to get back to school. The best part is I will be doing the course with my close friend Sam! I want to get this over and done with. In 18 months time I will be making close to 30 dollars an hour! Go me! I am so proud of myself for what i have accomplished, and for what i am continuing to do. I really feel like I am beating the young mom statistic. I am furthering my education. A lot of the credit has to go to my amazing husband Jared. He has taken such good care of Ryder and I. He has always put his family before anything else. I honestly don't think I could have gotten where I am with out him. He has always been there for me. Even back in high school, Jared was my rock. If I needed someone he was always there. I love you so much sweet heart, and thank you for everything you do for us.
              Yesterday was Jared's first day back at work. I cant say I love his new job. While I love the area we now live in, I know I will be spending a lot of my time here with out him. His new job is to train boot lieutenants to shoot mortars. ( even though we all know they will never shoot one). Jared will be spending a lot of over nights and even weeks in the field. He will even be spending up to 2 weeks in California at the Mojave viper every couple months. It makes me sad knowing he will be gone so much. I hate that Ryder and his daddy will be separated. But it is his job. I just makes me all the more eager for Jared to get out of the Marine corps. The good news is I will be done with school before he gets out. This time he wont have to worry about not being able to afford everything. He will be able to get out worry free. My salary should be able to afford everything. Including the house we are planing to by next year!
                   Jared and I have decided next year we are going to buy our first home. It will be our third wedding anniversary gift to one another. We are starting to put money back for it. Even our next tax return will be put into savings for it. Jared and I looked online and we can afford to buy a home built around 2000. We found one that was 5 bedrooms 3 bath and 2700 square feet. It was built back in 2000 and was in good condition. Now I know this home will not be on the market when we are ready to buy, but it gives us a good idea of what we want and can afford.
                  Well life is changing for us. Things are just getting better and better. I know there will be struggles ahead. Nothing in life is easy, but we will make it just like we always have. The future seems so bright for us. It cant get here soon enough. Keep checking in on new updates. I will try to keep up with blogging, but no promises with nursing school starting soon. I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Your truly
Lauren

Life is changing!

Hello everyone!

Im sorry it has been so long since my last entry. I have been so busy raising my perfect little boy, that writing has been the last thing on my mind. Thank goodness I found a little time after my work out to give you an update. Things have been pretty good here.Not perfect but manageable. I never imagined how stressful life can become with a newborn, a big move, plus just the stress of adjusting to a whole new way of life can be. Jared and I have had our issues lately. Mostly just us nit picking each other. We have had shorter fuses with one another since Ryder arrived. We expect a lot from one another. Having a baby is hard, Very rewarding but in no sense easy. It will take time but I know we will get back to the way we used to be. We still love each other, and we are still the same two people who fell in love. Only difference now is, well baby makes three.
We currently only have 11 more days left in Jacksonville until we move to Virginia. Im ready for this move but a part of me is sad to leave. I have made some great memories here. It was my first home away from home. Its were Jared and I got our first place together, and where our son was born. Im sad to leave. But I do know  our new home will be even better. We will have the next 4 years there. Thats plenty of time to make new memories.  We will be moving on April 14th. Sadly we wont be in our base house for another few months. We were forced to rent another apartment. Which I was not happy about. I guess I cant complain though. Its a 1325 sq ft 3 bedroom apartment. Its a lot newer and nicer than the one we live in now. I was just so excited about the house on base. Oh well only a little while longer and we will have it. Well thats about it. Not to much has happened. I will update everyone again as soon as we get settled in our new place and our internet is back up. I hope you all have a wonderful Easter!

What a wonderful life..

Hello everyone. Its been a while since I have had the time to Blog. Life has been a little hectic as of late, being a mom has taken up all of my time. When I actually have a little spare time I need to devote the rare occasion to my husband. We have not been able to have hardly anytime together since the baby got here. I mean we are together most of the day but we are busy with Ryder.
           Things have actually been stressful lately. Ryder has become very gassy which has made him really cranky. He dose not sleep well anymore. He refuses to let us put him in his crib, and will only sleep well if we are holding him. Now I understand he was inside me for 9 months and It takes some adjusting being out in the world. Its just making things really hard. I know this is something all moms go though and I might be in the wrong for complaining about it. I just need things to wind down. I was nearly in tears this morning. I had to hand the screaming baby to Jared while I went and sat in a hot shower for about 45 minuets. I needed silence, and thank god the sound of the running water drowned everything out. I needed "me" time. I was going to lose it if I didn't get any time to myself.
             I feel guilty for being so overwhelmed. I knew what we were getting into when I got pregnant. I just thought since I had taken care of my little sister when she was an infant, that it would have better prepared me for life as a parent. I just fell like it did nothing. He screams and cries and I have no clue what is wrong with him. He has been fed, burped, changed, and given gas medicine but he still screams. I cant wait for this phase to be over.It will be so much better once we are moved and he has his own room. I think that might be part of the problem is that Jared and I have no space that is just our own. It will be nice once Ryder has an actual nursery. I think it will cut down my irritability as well. I have really had to bite my tongue the last few day. Jared dosnt deserve to be snapped at. He has done nothing wrong. He is just as new to this parenting thing as I am. I just need to breath. Right now im feeding Ryder but I have my ipod plugged into my head to drown out any background noise. Its helping. Well I have to get back to my motherly duties. Have a wonderful weekend.

Lauren

Update on Ryder!

Hello everyone! Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I have just been so busy adjusting to the roll of mommy! We have been doing great. Ryder is such a sweet, easy going little boy. Hes a snuggler though. He does not like to be put down, but I have to let him fuss sometimes. He has to learn to sleep on his own. He is pretty good during the day, but as soon as we put him in his crib at night he is restless. We swaddle him and play his sound maker for him which helps, but all he wants is to be rocked. So to temporarily solve the problem we put his Mommaroo in our bedroom. I hate running it all night since it was expensive, and I dont want it to die on us. He just wont sleep unless he is in motion. I think it has a lot to do with him being gassy. I think he also gets intestinal cramps. Poor baby. I had the same tummy issues when I was a baby. Thank god he does not have colic. I see all my friends on FB who have babies with colic. They don't sleep a wink. Ryder normally only wakes up once a night to be fed and changed. I don't know what we would do if he kept us up all night. I guess we got a little spoiled. Hes such an angel. Not only is he super good he's also ADORABLE! I swear I have never seen a cuter baby. I know im probably just being biased since he's mine, but that dosnt matter. To Jared and I there is no comparison. He is such a good mix of both Jared and I. from the eyes up he looks like his daddy. Then from the nose down he looks just like me. Im just dying to know what color is eyes are going to be. Im hoping they are Jared's. Mine are just brown. Boring. But Jared's are hazel with a bunch of green in them. They are beautiful. I could go on and on about my little family, but my baby boy is waking up so I have to go feed him. I hope everyone is well and I will post again as soon as I have a little free time.

Lauren

My labor story

Ryder is FINALLY here! My labor happened out of no where and so fast. I have not had the time to get on here and update everyone like I had originally planned. But from experience, nothing goes as planned. So here's the story.
                I woke up the morning of the 4th feeling fine. We had to wake up early to take some of our good friends to the air port. We arrived at there home at about 8:30am. I had started to feel some light contractions. Nothing very painful, just aggravating. By the time we made it to the air port about 45 minutes later my contractions had become incredibly painful. We were on our way home and I was hurting so bad I was in tears. Jared was very worried and wanted to head to the hospital immediately, but we had just gone in the night before and the nurse had told us then she didnt think I was in labor. I did not want to go back in just to be turned away again. I had been timing my contractions and while they were very painful they just were not consistant enough. Or so I thought. We made it home at about 10am. I went immediately to our room and laid down in bed. Jared came in and it shocked him that I was laying in bed crying because I was hurting so much. He was demanding we leave and go to the hospital but I refused. I then rolled over to get up and go to the bathroom. Just then I felt a "pop" and suddenly warm water was running down my leg. I rushed into the bathroom thinking maybe the baby had kicked me in the bladder, but no the fluid continued to run down my legs. So we grabbed our things and rushed to the hospital. We made it to the ER in less than 10 min. We were standing in line to check in and suddenly i felt another gush and then another. My pad that I had put on before we left the house was now completely soaked and I was leaking all over the ER floor. I made it to the front and told the receptionist that I needed a towel since I was standing in a puddle of amniotic fluid. Several embarrassing moments later we were up in our room in Labor and delivery. The nurse checked me and she confirmed that my water had broken. She also told me that I was only 3cm dilated. I was in so much pain. I was begging her to give me something. She told me I was not far along enough to receive my epidural but she could give me IV pain meds. I agreed. They gave me the medicine through the IV. Five minuets later I was on cloud 9.I later found out that since I am so little the normal dosage amount of pain medicine had been a little to much for me. To put it bluntly I was stoned. I dont remember a lot of my short labor. I remember progressing incredibly fast and still feeling a ton of pain. Finally the anesthesiologist came in to give me my epidural. Jared later told me I was so out of it my gown had fallen off and I was sitting on the bed naked and the nurse had to put it back on me. Jared also told me I repeatedly called him an asshole. I dont remember any of that lol. Well I got my epidural at 7cm and in less than 20 minuets I was 10cm and ready to push. To my disappointment I had progressed so quickly my epidural did not have time to kick in. I pushed for an hour and felt it all. Definitely not fun. But finally my sweet little boy was here. It was so emotional. Even Jared cried a little. Now we are home and I could not imagine a life without him. Ryder is my little snuggle bug. I love him more than anything. I will keep everyone updated on how he is doing and the milestones he reaches. As always thank you for reading.

Lauren

Simply gross

Well our little boy is still not here yet. He is being stubborn and staying put. The last few days have been painful and exhausting. I have had a lot of all over back pain, contractions, and the feeling like I am being stabbed in the vajay jay with and ice pick :(. The end of pregnancy really sucks.
             Yesterday was an odd day. I had just woken up and had breakfast. I decided it would probably be good to get on my birthing ball and bounce for a little while. Its supposed to help you further dilate. ( I highly recommend getting one for the last few weeks of pregnancy) So there I am just bouncing away, watching Law and order SVU. When all of a sudden mid bounce I felt the most disgusting feeling on the planet. It was just nasty and squishy. I got up thinking maybe my water had broken? I went to the bathroom to find my mucous plug ( which I though I lost weeks ago). It was the most disgusting thing ever. It was like having a ton of snot in your pants. Im telling you there is nothing "beautiful" about pregnancy. Your body dose so many gross things. Thank god my due date is only 8 days away. I can only pray it happens sooner. Jared and I have been walking a lot to get things moving, that plus bouncing on my birthing ball and sex. I think we are helping things along. I went from 50% effaced to 80% over night. For those of you who dont know what "effaced" means its the thinning of your cervix. You cant dilate with out your cervix thinning. As of my last appointment I was 2cm dilated. Im hoping im further along now. As nervous as I am about being a parent, I just want to hold my baby boy. I want to see Jared hold his son. I know it will all happen in good time, but that's just not soon enough. I want to get labor and birth over with. Well I better get going. Jared should be home soon and I have to finish getting things ready for dinner. Hope you all have a great Wednesday.

Lauren

Its still a mystery ( TMI warning)

Hello everyone. Well the last few days have been frustrating. I started hurting about three days ago. Cramping like I was going to start my period. Definitely a feeling I have not felt in about 9 months. Sometimes the pain gets so bad I cant talk through it. Its not fun. I have also been having some slight pinkish bleeding too. Well yesterday ( and this is WAY TMI so just a fair warning) Jared and I were having sex and out of no where we both felt a "pop" and were both soaked in a clear liquid. Even our sheets were wet. So we jumped up and called the hospital. They said to go ahead and come in since it sounded like my water had broke. So we pack everything up and head to the hospital. They ran some tests and came back and told us my water had not broken, and they have no clue what the liquid had been. They threw out some ridiculous theories like oh it could have been semen. HAHAHA no. Trust me no man on earth could produce THAT much with out there testicles shriveling up and falling off. Then she said " well with all the excitment it could have just been sexual fluids." Lady I made this baby. Clearly it was not immaculate conception. I have had sex before, and I pretty sure thats not supposed to happen. Especially since neither party made it to the finish line. Well needless to say they sent us home.
              So Jared and I just got home from my appointment. They said my water had not broken. They did an ultrasound just to be sure. But now I am 2cm and 80% effaced which is 30% more than yesterday.  So im making progress. Slow progress, but im happy there has been change. Now its just a waiting game. She said it could stay this way for up to 3 weeks or I could have him tonight. Its just all up to my body and Ryder. So im going to keep walking and bouncing on my ball. Anything I can do to speed things along. As always I will keep everyone updated on any changes. I hope to be announcing the birth of our son very soon. Have a great Monday.

Lauren

Progress is slow

Hey everyone. Sorry Its been a few days since my last post. I have been busy trying everything to get this baby out. ( everything safe that is) I have been bouncing on my birthing ball, going on walks with jared, Having sex. Nothing seems to be doing the trick. The sex seems to be doing the most. I have painful contractions afterwards. Nothing super painful just irritating. But they always seem to subside a few hours after.
             Today Jared and I were supposed to go to a friends house for a pot luck dinner, but I have been feeling so nauseous all morning. Plus I have been having contractions. I downloaded a counter on my phone and just started to time them. I dont think its the real thing though. I have a feeling we still have a little ways to go. I just hope i am progressing when I go in on Monday. I was dilated to a 1 and still pretty thick last Tuesday when Jared and I went to L&D. Im hoping to be about a 3 at leased at my appointment.I just feel so awful. Im ready to have my body back. Plus I am getting to Jealous of all my friends who had there babies the last few days. I look at there pictures and all I want is to hold my little boy. I know its going to be rough. We will suffer a lack of sleep. But I just want him here already. Well thats about all that has happened the last few days. Nothing to exciting. Again I will keep you all posted on any progress I make. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Lauren

Wish it had been the real thing

Well here is some news Im sure everyone would like to know. Last night while Jared was at work I had my friend Sam over. I had been having contractions all day and they had started to become painful at about 3pm. Sam and I sat and hung out for about and hour when she finally convinced me to go to the hospital and get checked. So we packed my bags and left. The way there Jared was so jittery and nervous. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen. He was more nervous than I was. But then again I have been in denial about labor lol. So we finally get there and have to check in with the ER since the front is closed. They then take us up to L&D . I get weighted and give a urine sample. Then they hook me up to the fetal monitors. The nurse checks me and tells me im only 1cm dilated and still pretty thick. That was disappointing. But she told me I was in early labor. She also mentioned herself and the other nurses had been monitoring Ryder at there station and he was the most active baby they had ever seen. He wad been kicking all my monitors and squirming around. He was a happy camper lol. Me on the other hand was very unhappy. Two of the other pregnant girls I know both had there babies yesterday. I am one of the last to still be pregnant. I have one other friend still pregnant and i bet she will have her son before me too. she is due a few days before me. Well about an hour after my first check the nurse came back and checked me again and told me there was no change. So she unhooked me and sent us home. I could hardly sleep at all last night. I dont know if it was because I was just anxious or my contractions were bothering me. but I was up a good portion of the night. Now I am just waiting on Jared to get home so I have someone to snuggle with. I hate it when he leaves for work. If anything new happens I will make sure to keep everyone updated. I hope you all have a great Wednesday. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Lauren

Just a little update

Good afternoon everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was amazing! I got to spend all of Sunday with my best friends here in Jville, Ms.Sam Smith and Montana Lausch. We had such a great time in Wilmington. We had a very yummy lunch at Panara bread, the we went to the mall (since the one here is awful) so I could get some maternity bras, then we treated our self's to some Cold stone ice cream! It was so much fun. I cant wait for us to be able to have more girls day out like that.
         Today Jared and I have been cleaning non stop since breakfast. We had Dunkin donuts for breakfast since I was craving them. Guess the sugar kicked our hineys into gear! Now the house looks great. All vacuumed and dusted. The counters have been bleached and the floors have been swept and mopped. Now I can relax. I have been having a lot of contractions the last few days. Nothing to get excited about. Just Braxton Hicks contractions. They have just become more frequent.
         I actually had a doctors appointment yesterday. I was very frustrating on my part. They told me since I have been having contractions and back pain they were going to check my cervix. Well the doctor I dont like came in and decided she didnt want to check me. I was undressed and everything. I was so mad! I just want to know if I am progressing at all! Oh well I will asked to be checked next Monday. I made sure this time I was seeing the doctor I like.
          Well thats about it. Just getting things ready for baby now. I think its time for some lunch and a nap. I hope you all have a great Tuesday! I will write again soon.

Lauren

Busy busy busy

Hey everyone. Sorry Its been a few days. Its about 4am here. I shouldn't be awake but im very angry right now and couldn't sleep. Im not going to go into it. Its between Jared and I. But its giving me time to get around to writing.
           Today was a busy day. Jared and I had our maternity shoot today. We met our photographer Emily at a nice little park in Jacksonville. It was cold and windy but the proofs I got today turned out really cute anyway. Not meaning to brag. Hahaha well yes I do, but I am an adorable pregnant girl! I liked everyone of my pictures, and normally I only like a few. It makes me happy they turned out the way they did. Honestly im happy I was able to take them. I shouldn't have waited as long as I did to get them done. The night before I was in so much pain, I thought I was going into labor. Thank god I wasnt. Im just not ready.
            I actually have a lot of anxiety about labor that I didnt think I would have. I mean I have been to school. I have takes Anatomy. I have educated myself just about as much as I think I can. I know what happens during birth. I am just still so scared. I have a high tolerance for pain but I just dont think Im ready. I am so scared that Its going to hurt to much and that im going to just lose it. I really dont know how im going to handle it. Im scared of the pain. Im scared of the epidural. Even though I have no fear of needles. Im scared of the possibility of a c-section. There is just so much that has me stressed about the whole thing. I dont feel like I can go to Jared because lets face it, Hes a man and never will understand child birth. He wont feel the pain or discomfort. No amount of describing it will really get him to understand either. This is were I need my other moms to step in. Help me with all my anxiety please. I know it wont take away all my fears but it might help.
             Well I guess I should let you go. I need to get some sleep. I have a long day ahead of me. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I will keep you posted.

Lauren

A little slice of life

Hello everyone! Well I have had quite and active day. Jared and I had to go major grocery shopping. Which being nearly 9 months pregnant is tough lol. When we got home a friend of Jared's, Pat came buy to pick up a package he had sent to our house. We sat and visited for about an hour. Then he left to head back to the barracks. Then Jared and I got ready and took Teddy for a hour long walk. I think It tired me out more than anyone else. When we got back I got started on dinner. Tonight we are having Salsa chicken and rice casserole. I have never made it before so I hope it turns out good. Here is the recipe if anyone wants to try it.
Salsa Chicken rice casserole


    1 1/3 cups uncooked white rice
    2 2/3 cups water
    4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
    2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
    2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
    1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
    1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
    1 onion, chopped
    1 1/2 cups mild salsa

 Place rice and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, place chicken breast halves into a large saucepan, and fill the pan with water. Bring to a boil, and cook for 20 minutes, or until done. Remove chicken from water. When cool enough to handle, cut meat into bite-size pieces. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses. In a separate bowl, mix together cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, onion, and salsa. Layer 1/2 of the rice, 1/2 of the chicken, 1/2 of the soup and salsa mixture, and 1/2 of the cheese mixture in prepared dish. Repeat layers, ending with cheese. Bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes, or until bubbly.
Enjoy!

Lauren

Lets have this baby!

Ok I am really getting tired of just feeling straight up awful! Im thinking it time to have this baby. I want to feel normal again. I want to be able to do the things I was able to do before. I want to be able to see my toes, bend down comfortably, sleep through the night with out getting up to pee ever 5 seconds, and fit back into my cute clothes!
             Now seriously. I have been told that sex can help kick labor into gear. Im just goning to throw it out there. If that was the case I would already have had this baby. Sex is not working.  Ok sorry but its TMI time. for those of you who have been pregnant, was it hard for you to really enjoy doing the naughty when your so far along? I feel bad because I know Jared wants to and half the time now im just like uhg ok. Which has never been my response to him until now. My libido is just in hybernation I guess. I feel so bad because I dont want to make Jared feel like I dont want him or find him unattractive. That is DEFINITELY not the case. Its just hard to enjoy those acts when your baby squishes himself into your rib cage to escape being "poked". Its just painful. Poor Jared just got back from a 6 month long deployment  and I feel like im letting him down. I am just so ready for things to go back to normal. I have also heard that spicy food can sometimes do it but I dont normally cook anything super spicy. My doctor told me walking can also induce labor. I guess I will pick that one back up after our Maternity shoot this weekend. I have to keep Ryder in there until Sunday at leased. I just have a lot of post pregnancy things to look forward too.
              Let me tell you, I have been dying to have a Jamaican cowboy. Its a margarita with coconut and pineapple. Its sooooo yummy. It has just sucked going out with Jared or friends and constantly having to be the only sober one in a group of people. Now everyone knows im not a big drinker. I dont even normally socially drink. I just think after 9 months of being good, I deserve a little break!
               Also my mom is coming down soon after Ryder is born and she is taking me shopping for some new clothes. I am dying for some Buckle jeans. I just want to look and feel cute again. Jared tells me constantly that im still the most gorgeous woman on the planet but I want to feel that way again. I feel like a float at the Thanksgiving day parade. Well im done complaining lol. But heck can you blame me! The last month is the worst. I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday.

Lauren

This love is ours

You know what I love? I love being able to stare down at my wedding rings and be able to recall every moment of our wedding. I love being able to see that smile as you recited our vows. I should have wrote this blog weeks ago.
         December 27th was our first wedding anniversary. I wish our first year of marriage could have been different. Instead of spending more than half of it more than 7,000 miles apart, but I know it only made us stronger. Distance makes the heart grown fonder. I love you more and more every day Jared. You have been the best husband and best friend any woman could ever ask for.
         Last night when we were in bed, and you were so concerned about if I was comfortable or not. You kept asking if there was anything you could do. It made me so happy to see you so attentive. You just laid there and held me while I tried my hardest to find a comfortable position. ( which let me tell you is nearly impossible when your 37 weeks pregnant) You just hugged me tight and kissed my shoulders. Im one lucky girl :)
         I could go on and on about you honey. I knew marrying you was the best decision of my life. After seven years of trusting you with my secrets, crying on your shoulder, and slowly falling head of heals for you. There was no hesitation in saying yes to you. I dont care how much everyone disapproved of us marrying so young. I dont care people think we shouldnt be having Ryder. I have an amazing life that I would not change for the world. I am ready to spend the rest of my life with you. Celebrating our sons birthdays , buying our first home, and growing old together. We will show them baby. We will make it. 50 years from now no one will tell us we made a mistake. Its our life honey, This love is ours. Lets make the best of it.

Lauren

Love my life!

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend! Mine was pretty good, Jared and I just relaxed. I have been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions. So staying off my feet and keeping myself hydrated is the best thing right now. I actually had a doctors appointment this morning. It was the first ultrasound Jared has been to since I was 5 weeks pregnant. I mean the baby is all squished right now so it was hard to tell what was what but im just happy he was able to be there. They also gave me a ball park estimate as to his weight. They said hes around 5lbs 5 ounces right now. Give or take a little. It was hard for the tech to get a good measurement of his head since he was so low into my pelvis. He has always been so difficult for the ultrasounds. Im hoping here pretty soon I go into labor. Ryder has dropped quite a bit and I am getting more and more uncomfortable. My contractions have gotten more frequent too. I was very surprised that my weight has not gone up. I have actually lost a few pounds. I have been struggling to even gain 10lbs during my pregnancy. I am not complaining. I just hope Ryder is ok. They keep telling me he is fine. I guess im worrying to much. I need to just take a chill pill and relax. Soon I wont be getting much rest at all!
       If your wondering about the picture at the top, I had to sneak and take it. Jared likes to act like he dislikes Teddy Bear, but honestly does that look like dislike to you? He loves that dog. He babies him more than I do. Jared is always playing or snuggling with Teddy. Teddy now likes Jared more than me! He gets so upset every morning when Jared leaves for work. You should see how excited he gets when Jared finally gets home. He acts like he has been so abused all day. Well Im going to call it a night. I have been easily fatigued lately and my leg cramps are getting worse. I hope everyone has a good night. I will keep you all posted on any changes! Good night!

Lauren

Yay for nesting!

Hello everyone! I hope your having a wonderful Saturday! I know I am. My nesting instinct has FINALLY kicked in and I have been cleaning all day. I scrubbed the kitchen and re organized all the cabinets. Then Jared took apart the dining room table which we hardly use, to make room for our new couch. I vacuumed the whole house and swept out all the corners. All I have left is the spare bathroom and our bedroom. Now im taking a little breather. I have been losing pieces of my mucous plug so I dont want to over do it. Baby needs to stay in just a few more weeks. ( lol ideally two)  He needs to come out! Jared and I just got back from walking Teddy. I was getting a little sore so we cut the walk short. I dont need my water breaking. Now we are back home waiting on the furniture store to come and deliver the other half of our sectional. I feel all ghetto only having a part of it. Plus it just looks stupid. I hate that I am so anal about my house, but I am. I like to have everything in order. The fact that Ryder's nursery is now a store room is driving me nuts! Its even all organized! I just really wanted my little man to have a bed room :( Oh well we will wait until the move I guess. That way I can paint his room and make it look just the way I want it too. I plan on finally painting the hole house. I am going to redo my living room in western. Im going to paint it a nice rusty red. Which will look great with our new tan sectional. And eventually after I start working, I plan on getting a new bedroom set!. One thing at a time. I WILL replace all this college dorm furniture. Next will be a new entertainment center. Plus I still need to redo the kitchen table. Man this nesting thing just has me all ready to get things the way I want it! Well Im going to get back to cleaning. I still have lots to do, and the dryer just went off. I will keep everyone updated! I hope you have an amazing weekend.

Lauren

A lesson learned

Well we have had one hell of a day. Jared and I just recently bought a new sectional couch. We went to the same furniture store our friends Sam and Jordan had bought there new pieces at. The store was having a liquidation sale and everything was half off. We got a great deal on a "L" shaped microfiber sectional that had originally been a 2,000 dollar couch that we got half off. The sales man had informed us that the only one they had left was the floor model. Which was fine. We looked it over and found two small tears, which the salesman said would be repaired before pick up the next day. We had also paid 170 dollars for a protection warranty. We had figured with the baby it would be a good idea. The salesman said if anything happened to the couch someone would come to our home to repair it. Well today Jared went to pick it up. First thing we noticed was that they had not even moved it to the warehouse yet, and they didn't wrap it like they told us they would!  We got the first half of the sectional home. Which was a horrible pain to move into our second floor apartment. The couch has two recliners built in which makes it incredibly heavy. Once we go it in I started to inspect it. I pulled up the cushion and the tear I had pointed out the day before was still there. They had not fixed a single problem. So Jared left to pick up the second half of our couch while I called to complain. A few minutes later Jared returned empty handed. He had been informed that there was no such thing as "at home repair" and they were wanting us to take the piece we had just moved in BACK to the store for the repairs that should have already been taken care off. Well that wasn't going to happen. It was so heavy and such a pain to maneuver . So Jared and I marched up to the store and demanded to speak with a manager. The manager apologized and said if we could bring it back up they would repair it and deliver both pieces for free. We told him no. He was going to deliver the last piece to our home with no cost. There was no way we were bringing the other half back. I would fix the freaking rip. As we walked out the salesman that had lied to us followed us out telling us if we needed anything just to ask him. Well no you lied to us. Had us pay for a warranty that didn't even exist. We only got the warranty because he said it was "at home". We wont be dragging it up to the store every time there is a problem with it. Tomorrow Jared is going back to the store to demand a refund of the warranty. I guess its just been one of those days. Its just so sad someone would rip off a veteran and his family. Lesson learned NEVER SHOP AT FURNITURE FAIR.




Lauren

Time to get things done!

Good morning everyone! Im in a better mood today, well trying to be in a better mood. I dont know why but I have just been angry lately! Its not fair to Teddy and Jared but I have just been so sensitive about everything. I just about have the LONGEST list of things to do today:

1.)I have to clean my discusting house. And when I say clean I mean CLEAN! My plan is to organize everything we are not using into boxes or plastic storage bins.

2.) Go to the hospital and pre register for labor and delivery.

3.) Go and get the break light replaced on my car. ( they will be happy to see me. I was just at Meineke yesterday getting Jareds break light fixed)

4.) Go on base and get a sweater so I quite stealing Jareds. He is home now and I cant get away with it anymore.

5.) Once Jared gets home we are going couch shopping. I think I finally have him talked into a new one.

I need to get all this done. Plus I need some good old fashion me time. It tends to relax me when I run errands by myself. Wish I could get a pedicure. Oh well. I just think I need some time to think. Clear my mind. Spend a little time with my pea in the pod. Then I will come back home and stress about cleaning up my house. If we find a couch today we might have to move our old one and rocking chair into the "storage" room. Along with our kitchen table, since Jared is set on a "L" shaped leather couch. Lets just hope this couch shopping goes smoothly. Jared tends to freak out a little when It comes to larger purchaces. But we really need to start accumulating newer furniture. Everything we have is hand me downs. I want to buy furniture that will last, and look nice. Our house just screams college Walmart furniture! Time to get some grown up furniture! Well im gonna finish my breakfast and get this day started. Thanks for reading.

Lauren

NOT my idea of a good morning.

Ok so I have decided that todays post is going to be a Rant/ get things off my chest post. Im pregnant and grumpy today. I really need this.

         Ok here we go. So this morning Jared called me to tell me that Himself and a friend were coming by the house to pick up gear for a gear inspection. Ok thats fine no big deal. I needed to get out of bed anyway. I got out of bed fixed my scary wild hair, and picked up a little before they got here. Finally Jared and his buddy Call arrived. Call went onto the porch to get his gear which had been stored in a plastic bin for deployment. Meanwhile Jared was in the process of destroying my nursery AGAIN. I had everything all organized. All his gear had been placed into big plastic containers. I cant stand mess. I understand that we cant use the babies room as his nursery until we get moved, but please respect me enough and all the hard work I put into keeping this place clean and pick up after your self. I feel so run over. I am NOT a maid. I dont mind picking up your clothes or doing your dishes, but dont destroy my house that  I work so hard to keep clean! End rant one.

        Second thing that has set me off this morning. While Jared and Call were here getting gear, Call got Teddy out to play. Then he asked where Jareds puppy Jakk was. Then Jared proceeded to tell him that I had given Jakk away. Making me look like the bad guy. He thinks its a huge joke, but I know he had told all his friends in Afghanistan that I had gotten rid of his dog. Im sure they all think im some huge raging bitch for it too. I have told Jared repeatedly not to bring it up anymore. It hurts me that he would put me on the spot like that. First thing I said to him when I asked to find Jakk a new home was. "If you dont want me to get rid of him please tell me." But he said he understood. He said it was stressful having a little puppy and being pregnant. Plus you would think after that dog eating two holes in our floor and a hole in our wall, yeah it would make sense to find him a home better suited for him. I really feel like deep down Jared resents me for getting rid of him. He wont admit to it, and I have asked him many times if he is angry at me for doing it. But he keeps telling me its ok. Well if you are so ok with it, quite bringing it up. It makes me feel like a horrible wife! I didnt do it to spite you or be mean to you. I love you. I just couldnt handle raising two puppies alone and being pregnant all by myself. It was just to much. Plus you had not been there hardly at all ever sense we had gotten Jakk. the first month you were in California training for deployment. Then you came home for a few weeks then you deployed. I was the one at home with him all the time. Dealing with him tearing EVERYTHING up and destroying our home. Just please Jared give me a break. I didnt not do that to be mean to you. I just could not handle it all. And if you are angry about me getting rid of Jakk tell me. Dont hide it so you dont upset me. Im a big girl I can handle it. End rant.

        Im really sorry everyone if you got on here expecting a cheery happy post. I am just having a really cranky morning. I will try to calm down and hopefully  start to write a happier blog. Thanks for reading though. If you have any advice it would be greatly appreciated

Lauren.

Anxiety. Shes a bitch.

Well everyone, It finally hit me. In less than 30 days Jared and I are going to be parents. It scares me. I know I have had the last 8 months to prepare, I see all Ryders things everyday. But now that it is so close its scaring me. I hope this is how every first time mom feels. I dont want to make it seem like my child is unwanted. He is far from that. I am just so nervous, and I bet Jared feels the same way. We will see. Maybe when I finally see him all this anxiety will go away. Plus im sure all these contractions and just generally being uncomfortable are not helping my situation. I have been feeling my Braxton hicks contractions up in my lungs every time they happen. Its so awful. I literally feel like I am on the verge of exploding. Thank God this will all be over soon. I just want to get it all over and done with. Jared just did one of those really cute things that just literally melted away my anxiety. We are sitting together on the couch watching the Big bang theory. I have my shirt lifted up over my belly since I was getting kind of warm but still to cold to take my sweater off. He just placed his hand on my belly and started rubbing it. He was smiling. It was so sweet. Jared normally dosnt do these kinds of things. I know he is excited about the baby but I know he has some deep seeded fears like I do. But when he does things like that, It reassures me that its all going to be ok. We are ready for this and what ever else life throws at us. I bet after my last ultrasound next week It will get us both more excited. They are going to weigh and measure Ryder. Im so excited to know how big he is. My family has a wager going as to his length and weight. Everyone thinks he will stay under 7lbs. So do I. Im betting 6lbs 4 Ounces. and 17 inches. Jared and I both were small babies and im just little to begin with. I wish there was some way they could tell  me his hair color lol. Mine and Jared's family has such a wide variety of hair colors. Im just dying to know! Lol about 28 more days Lauren. God that's weird to say. Well I guess I will get my lazy butt up and get ready. We are helping some friends of ours pick up a new couch today. Same thing we did yesterday lol. Ill keep everyone updated on upcoming events. So keep reading!