The Temporary Absence of a Brain... I hope...

"Oh where is my brain?… oh where is my brain?… oh where oh where oh where oh where oh WHERE?….. is my brain!"Ack… I’ve listened to Veggie Tales one too many times. :-P

That, my dear friends, is what pregnancy has done to me.

I find that many things have changed. I cannot find anything (for instance... I couldn't find the Lawry's salt for two weeks and then found it in the fridge), I no longer care about asking for help in the grocery store, I talk to strangers like they are long lost friends, I cry over the smallest things, and I even tell anyone and everyone that I am pregnant (if they haven’t noticed yet).

The first stage of pregnancy, before I even KNEW I was pregnant, I was falling asleep all the time. I would yawn consistently when people were over and make them feel like they were the most boring company in the world… or I would just doze off with them there. Thankfully that stage ended with people happy for us and saying “THAT is why you fell asleep when I was in midsentence…”

I am so thankful that I have the dearest and sweetest husband in the world. I remember at the beginning of the pregnancy, I had these two weeks where I cried over everything like it was the end of the world. Poor bewildered Michael. After he realized it was completely hormonal and not him at all, he just went with the flow and held me as I soaked his shirt and left mascara marks.That stage was a short… err, long…. two weeks.

Then came the nauseous stage… constantly nauseous and no throwing up. It was horrid. I didn’t want to see, talk to, or be around anyone. Michael’s shaving lotion, cologne, mouthwash, deodorant… it all made me nauseous. Poor guy… I mean, talk about getting a complex. Think how your husband would feel if you said to him “Please don’t hug me right now because you make me want to throw up” :-P I said it just like that the first time and realized how it sounded… haha! I rephrased it the next time “Your cologne! Ahhh!” haha But it is ok… all my stuff made me nauseous too and I didn’t wear any perfume for about 3 weeks. Michael washed many dishes during this time.

After that, came the throwing up AND nauseous stage… for about a month. Oh goodness, it was just terrible. The worst I have ever felt in my life. Michael was wonderful and would come and hold my hair back. He was so patient, with even more dishes for him to wash.

When that stage was over, the fatigue hit full force. It is a different fatigue than the beginning of my pregnancy… more like, a constant wish to be sleeping. :-P I was so thankful to only be tired, that I was happy and rejoicing! I take naps and try to get to bed early so it is a breeze.

So that is where I am right now… 20 weeks and feeling great! I try my best to eat right (I am avoiding any caffeine… except a little chocolate now and then… MSG, high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup, and also trying to stay away from sugar in general… which is hard), and taking my vitamins. It is hard sometimes to remember everything I need to do.

This baby is a little jumping bean! It is the coolest feeling in the world to feel his/her little body swirling around in there. What a miracle! I can’t wait until November 20th when we will find out if we are having a boy or a girl. We have names picked out for either, but you will have to wait until their entrance into our grand world to find out. I love surprises! We call him/her “Peanut” right now.

I am so thankful that God has given us this dear precious little baby. Some random people have said negative comments, such as “that stinks” or “oh man!” but we know that God has a purpose for everything He does. Babies should be a blessing and never a burden. We also know that if He has given us this baby, then He will provide for it… and us! He is like that when we put our full trust and faith in Him and His amazing power. I am so glad I have Jesus in my life!

When I Fall in Love...

"When I fall in love it will be forever
Or I'll never fall in love
In a restless world like this is
Love is ended before its begun
And too many moonlight kisses
Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun

When I give my heart it will be completely
Or Ill never give my heart
And the moment I can feel that you feel that way too
Is when I fall in love with you."

And that is exactly what happened. I love you Michael!

See the Resemblance?

I can't believe how much my sister-in-law looks like Sarah Palin...
Sarah Breznau...


Sarah Palin high school photo...
If it weren't for S.P.'s hair, they could at least be sisters... if not twins. :-P

Vote!

Thanks a bunch..

So 3 year old little Miss Graydon says to me Friday... "Did you know that your belly and your bottom are the same size?"

Um. No. I didn't know.

Thanks Graydon. I really needed to hear that. :-P

The girls I nanny...

They are so precious and I am going to miss them when I stop working for them in December...

Because I love me...

They have a thread on the Crossings called "Because I love me..."

It means accepting and loving yourself. To give yourself time out of a busy day so that you feel good about yourself. Especially with being pregnant, sometimes I drop into bed feeling worn out, icky, unattractive, and pudgy. :-P Michael is so sweet and is always so encouraging and affirming. I think it is just something that comes with pregnancy. :-)

So here was my "because I love me" day...
because I love me...
I took a nap
I drank a cup of Candy Cane Lane tea w/honey and milk
I read "A Witch on Blackbird Pond"
Crawled in bed early and watched "The NeverEnding Story"
Ate an Italian Ice.

I DID do productive things today such as clean the apartment and teach piano, but I am glad I made myself do these happy things!

God provides in creative ways...

Today I went into whole foods to get our weekly gallon of organic milk and spring mix for salads. It works great because I HAVE to have organic milk anyway because of getting pregnant and it is cheaper at WF than at Wal-Mart. Try to figure that one out. And we eat on one big container of Spring mix for an entire week and ends up being cheaper in the long run.

Anyway, I was standing there perusing the different kinds of milk when I decided to ask the guy stocking the shelves if their store brand milk had antibiotics and/or hormones in it. We ended up chatting for about 15 minutes about the horrors of antibiotics, hormones, high fructose corn syrup, and even MSG. :-P He was a really nice guy...telling me about his wife when she was pregnant and what she did! Anyway, so I decided to go with their store brand organic milk (their other stuff isn't organic) after he explained that if it doesn't specifically say on there that the hormones/antibiotics are not in there, it is possible it is in there. You can never tell for sure. As I picked up the milk, he said "Hey, let this one be on me!" So he initialed the bar code and I got a free gallon of organic milk, priced at $5.19. :-D

God is so good!

Baby names...

We have been talking a lot about what we are going to name our little munchkin. This is a big thing! It is something they have to carry with them the rest of their lives. We certainly don't want to dub them something that they will hate... or that others will make fun of. I was reading about one celebrity who named his three girls Pixie, Peaches, and last but certainly not least...Fifi Trixibelle. Goodness, can you even imagine trying to apply for a job with those names?

So far our picks are...
Clotilda and Barnabas

hehe, JUST kidding... actually, we both like the name Barnabas... it just doesn't sound good with our last name.

He would probably get Barney... and can you imagine a kid named Barney Breznau? Not only does it sound bad, but it brings nightmarish memories of a certain annoying purple dionsaur. :-P

God provides the little things as well as the big...

God is so faithful. With both of us working, God is providing enough each month for bills and food. We don't have much left over for dates... of course every free moment is a date for us because we enjoy being together so much, but still sometimes it is nice to go out and just enjoy a meal at a restaurant, you know? But we just never go out to eat in order to save money and I love to cook for Michael anyway!

They had a challenge at Michael's work last month telling them that whoever sold the most would receive a prize. Michael is a really good salesmen, I think partly because he loves what he does and he enjoys helping people.

Well, Michael won the challenge!

The prize?

A $55 gift certificate to a restaurant (it gives you five choices, all pretty snazzy: Mi Cocina, Taco Diner, Mainstream, Mercury Grill, & Mercury Chophouse)... AND a $20.00 gift card to the movie theater (we are going to try to see Fireproof). Isn't God just amazing like that? He knew we needed something like this, but also is unique in how He provides. :-D

So we are finally going tonight and are going to thoroughly enjoy God's gift to us... and praise Him all the while.

Vote!!!

Go here to my sister's blog and vote on this poll....
YES, they are ALL mine!!! :-D

Thanks!

Adventures wih Graydon...

The precocious little 3 year old I nanny is hilarious. Here are just a few memorable quotes by Graydon Elizabeth...

Graydon: "Oh no, I tinkled in my panties! *pause* But it is ok... there is plenty of tinkle left" as she runs to the bathroom. :-P

Graydon: "Your tummy is really big... what do you have in there anyway?"

Graydon: "If you have a girl baby, then you have to put dresses on her and bows in her hair AND you have to buy her a pink bouncy seat. And if it is a boy... you canNOT put dresses on him''

Graydon to her mom "Mommy, do you remember when I was two?"
Phoebe "Oh yes Graydon, you were a cutie"
Graydon "Well, I just can't wait till I am 11... then I'll be giant Graydon" :-P

Graydon to me "I love your hairdo today... did you just get it cut?" Said with complete animation.

Phoebe to Graydon "Do you want to go shopping with me?"
Graydon "No mommy, I want to go home and play with Stephanie"

She is definitely a character. She has named each of her toes (Mommy, Daddy, Graydon, Riley, and Millie (the dog), loves anything pink, is going to be Snow White for Halloween (and also wants to be her when she grows up), and has me read Sleeping Beauty to her every day. :-D

Life is NOT boring!