Our Greatest Adventure: Weeks 10 & 11

12/4/2012 & 12/11/2012

Ok, so I completely missed writing my 10 week blog, so I’m adding it in with my 11 week. At this point, I can’t remember the differences between the weeks. :) Be thankful, I was tempted to put week 12 in there too.

How far along: 10/11 weeks!

 How big is baby: The size of a prune (or kumquat, not real sure what that is). Baby’s kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver are functioning. Baby also has limbs that can bend (as seen at our sono last week).

11 weeks! Baby is now the size of a fig and almost fully formed. WOW, that makes me excited. Baby’s fists will soon open and close, tooth buds are forming, and bones are beginning to harden. Baby is also kicking and stretching, though I probably won’t be able to feel it (or the hiccuping) for another two months. :(

Total weight gain: Didn't weigh myself....

 Maternity clothes: No maternity clothes yet, but I am definitely unbuttoning my pants a lot more. I cannot wait to get a bella band. I’m hoping one comes my way on Christmas.

 Sleep: Sleep hasn’t changed much. I’m still getting up to go pee 1-3 times a night. There have also been a few nights where I’ve gotten up, but then cannot go back to sleep. My mind starts racing about random stuff and it just won’t quit.

 Best moment of the week:

1. During week 11 I finally told the girls group at work that I’m pregnant! We were talking about Kate Middleton’s morning sickness and I mentioned that I knew a little bit about morning sickness cause I was going through it. At first they just kinda starred at me like wait, are you trying to tell us something or am I reading into this? Then Meredith was like come on people, she’s trying to tell you something! Annnd finally, excitement arose. I’m glad I finally allowed myself to let the secret out.

 

2. I also told GND the good news! I know a lot of the girls already suspected it because I hadn’t had wine in a while, so the suspicion needed to be laid to rest. On the way Bec and I came up with a plan. We were at Catie’s apt and I brought up babies by asking if anyone knew whether another one of the girls was having a boy or girl (she was supposed to be finding out), no one really knew, so then Becca was like, “Oh, I know someone else who is pregnant!” People immediately got excited and asked who, but it didn’t take them too long to figure out it was me! Everyone was of course very excited, they’ve been waiting for this announcement for 3 years after all!

 

Week 11: 1. On Thursday I started to get all worried again about Baby, so I convinced myself and my SIL that I needed to see Baby soon. Luckily for our family, Nancy is a vet and we can go to her office whenever and get a sono using the animal’s sono machine. The picture is not quite as clear, but you can definitely see a heartbeat and Baby moving around. I just love knowing Baby is doing ok in there. That night was kind of a family affair; me, Husbandy, Becca, Jason, Bryan, Nancy, my mom, and Brooklyn all went. So fun. Baby doesn’t seem to enjoy the sono noise so s/he was moving around, Aidan on the other hand seemed to be comforted by it. You could distinguish a lot of feature on him and he just looks so cute! The next day my brother and I were driving to CS for our cousin’s graduation and he mentioned how much he liked getting to see his nephew and yet to be determined niece or nephew. I thought that was so sweet.

 

Please excuse my comments and voice in this video. I find both kind of annoying.

 

 

2. On Friday we saw the last Vrla cousin graduate from A&M. It was definitely bittersweet. We embody what A&M stands for and I couldn’t be more proud.

 

3. Saturday night we went to Husbandy's work’s Christmas party. It was fun getting to meet the people he works with. The night went a little late, but we had a lot of fun.

Food cravings: No real big cravings. While on the drive to CS we were trying to decide what to eat when we got there. Bryan mentioned Freebirds and it sounded soooo good. Apparently that’s what he was hoping I would want and said he did a little happy dance inside when I wanted it too. It was so good I made Husbandy go there on Saturday too. :)

 Food aversions: Nothing too too big. Chinese food still doesn’t sound too good. And I know this isn’t food, but brushing my teeth still makes me gag a little. But worse than that is putting on my deodorant. For some reason that smell gets to me every time and I really can’t stand it.

 Symptoms: Still tired and a little bit of sickness. It felt better during week 11 which was nice, though Baby doesn’t seem to like the weekends. I always feel sick, but I think it’s cause my eating schedule is off cause I want to sleep. Apparently, Baby already likes routines.

 Movement: I’ve seen it! Just can’t feel it. Sometimes I think I feel little bubble type things, but I don’t know if I’m just making it up.

Gender: Don’t know yet.

 What I’m looking forward to: Christmas with the family!

What I miss: Still can’t wait to get to the second trimester and hopefully feel better all the time.

 Next appt: December 27th.

Workout/Fitness: I did actually do some work outs these two weeks. I went to the gym at work a few times and Husbandy and I went for a walk. Hopefully, I'll keep this up.

 

I really can't let this week go by without writing about recently happenings:

On December 14th our nation witnessed a horrific tragedy in Newtown, CT where a gunman went into an elementary school and killed 20 6-7 year olds and 7 adults. Being pregnant, I think it affected me more than what I was expecting. On Thursday, when I convinced myself I needed to go to the vet clinic to see Baby, I started to think about my mom and dad and how I always felt like they were worrying too much about me when I was growing up. And here I was, knowing I’m doing everything I can to make sure Baby is growing and developing safely inside my womb, and I’m already worrying about him/her. How much more would I be a worrier when they are out on their own, not by my side at all times. I also thought about how I’ve developed a relationship with this little one over the last few weeks and how devastating it would be to lose him/her. Then on Friday I heard about the unthinkable. Parents losing their precious children, just 6-7 years old. I would sit a watch the news and listen to stories and just break down. Even just thinking about it now makes me cry. It completely breaks my hearts for all the families who lost a child and for those families with children affected by the tragedy. Some kids saw their teachers and classmates killed, their innocence has been stripped of them. The only thing I can do is pray. Pray for the families, pray for our nation, pray for the safety of my little one. I hope to never have to go through such a tragedy again, but all I can do it pray.


I don’t know who wrote this, but it’s a poem that has been circulating facebook and I wanted to share it here:


Twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38
when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate.
  Their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.
They could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.
  They were filled with such joy, they didn't know what to say.
They remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.
  "Where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.
"This is heaven." declared a small boy. "We're spending Christmas at God's house."
  When what to their wondering eyes did appear,
but Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.
  He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
Then He opened His arms and He called them by name.
  And in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring.
Those children all flew into the arms of their King
And as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
one small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face.
And as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of mom and dad."
Then He looked down on earth, the world far below
He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe
then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,
"Let My power and presence re-enter this land!"
"may this country be delivered from the hands of fools"
"I'm taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools!"
then He and the children stood up without a sound.
"come now my children, let me show you around."
excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.
all displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.
and I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
"in the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT."

Charlotte Bacon, 2/22/06
Daniel Barden, 9/25/05
Olivia Engel, 7/18/06
Josephine Gay, 12/11/05
Ana M. Marquez-Greene, 04/04/06
Dylan Hockley, 3/8/06
Madeleine F. Hsu, 7/10/06
Catherine V. Hubbard, 6/08/06
Chase Kowalski, 10/31/05
Jesse Lewis, 6/30/06
James Mattioli , 3/22/06
Grace McDonnell, 12/04/05
Emilie Parker, 5/12/06
Jack Pinto, 5/06/06
Noah Pozner, 11/20/06
Caroline Previdi, 9/07/06
Jessica Rekos, 5/10/06
Avielle Richman, 10/17/06
Benjamin Wheeler, 9/12/06
Allison N. Wyatt, 7/03/06
Rachel Davino, 7/17/83
Dawn Hochsprung, 06/28/65
Anne Marie Murphy, 07/25/60
Lauren Rousseau, 6/1982
Mary Sherlach, 2/11/56
Victoria Soto, 11/04/85
Nancy Lanza

Our Greatest Adventure: Weeks 8 & 9

11/20/2012

How far along: 8 weeks!

 How big is baby: Baby is the size of a raspberry! The fingers and toes are only slightly webbed and Baby is apparently moving like crazy! I definitely wish I could feel these movements, but as of now I can’t. Baby is also developing lungs and in the brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways.

Total weight gain: With the help of Thanksgiving I’m right around +2lbs.

 Maternity clothes: Some of my work pants felt a little tight. I’m not sure if it’s because of Thanksgiving leftovers or I’m bloated or I’m just gaining weight. Sometimes I think it’s bloating cause my pants won’t fit during parts of the day, then they do.

 Sleep: Oh sleep. This week didn’t go so well. I woke up multiple times during the night, sometimes to pee and sometimes just cause. I had a lovely 4 days weekend for Thanksgiving and got tooons of sleep. People kept telling me they had a lazy break, and I just thought, ooh you have no idea! Sunday I was dreading going back to work, I feel like that night I couldn’t sleep cause I was anxious about going back to work…like the first day of school.

Best moment of the week: Thanksgiving! Husbandy and I hosted for the first time ever! Though I’m going to call this year half hosting cause it was a small crowd and we didn’t even have to cook to turkey. My aunt offered, and we were more than happy to let her. :) We did realize there are a lot of things people just have at their house that we have not stalked up on yet, like toothpicks.

Food cravings: Salad has sounded really good to me lately. I was super excited about my mom making “the salad” for Thanksgiving…it was so good.

 Food aversions: I don’t remember any real big food aversions. I guess I’ll put Chinese food…Husbandy has mentioned wanting it couple times and it never sounds good.

 Symptoms: I just asked Husbandy what my symptoms were last week, I mentioned tiredness and nausea…then he said and you were hungry all the time. I’ll give him that, I was. As mentioned above, I got to sleep a lot this week and it felt wonderful. I also discovered that our little couch is quite comfy. As for nausea, it hit hard this week, again. Nights were the worst, as I laid down I would just feel terrible.

 Movement: Not yet.

Gender: Time will tell.

 What I’m looking forward to: Our appointment on December 3rd! I am SO ready to see Baby!!

What I miss: Sleeping comfortably. I’m trying to only sleep on my left in preparation, but I miss sleeping on my back. I do wake up on my back sometimes though.

 Next appt: Dec 3rd

Workout/Fitness: I did it! I got on an elliptical and exercised. Granted it was only once this week, but I’m thinking it’s a victory.

 

 

 

11/27/2012

How far along: 9 (my favorite number) weeks

 How big is baby: A grape or green oilve! Baby’s heart now has four chambers! Way to go Baby. There have also been some other major developments this week, such as Baby’s tail going away, eyes are fully formed, there are tiny earlobes, and the mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. Lastly, the placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones.

Total weight gain: Well at my appointment this week, Dr B said I gained 4 pounds. I’m not happy about this…though I was wearing heavy work clothes so I think this had something to do with the weight. When I weigh myself at home, the weight gain isn’t as bad.

 Maternity clothes: Nope, still my regular ones. Though finding things to wear to work is becoming increasingly difficult. There are a lot of tops I won’t wear because they just don’t look good.

 Sleep: Umm pretty good. I’m still of course getting up 1-2 times to pee. In fact I saw on fb one of my friends wrote the another one saying, “I was up feeding A last night and thought about how you were probably up feeding R.” I wanted to respond saying and I was up peeing! But, seeing as I’m not ready for the fb world to know the good news, I didn’t. Also, speaking of sleep, Sunday I was extremely tired…so sleeping that afternoon was wonderful.

 Best moment of the week: Again, lots of things I need to put here.

 

1) At Thursday night dinner Husbandy and I finally got to tell Lauren! She was supposed to know a while ago, but then she wasn’t able to come to TND for a loooong time. I think by the time she came, she knew something was up cause I kept asking if she was coming. I’m glad she knows now.

 

2) Husbandy has also been so awesome this week. I know he has been stressed out with his MAI test, but he has also been doing so much stuff around the house. Lots of dinners have been made by him. Saturday I was especially impressed because he got up super early. I figured he would just go study, but a little while later he came into the room and told me breakfast was ready. While trying to get out of bed, I convinced myself I needed to do the dishes. I was wrong, cause when I got to the kitchen the dishes were done! He had also gone to the store and bought things for dinner. He’s so good.

 

3) On Saturday, my sister and SIL went to Babies R Us to register! It was just going to be Becca registering, but we figured while we had SILs undivided attention and expertise, I should register too! It was a lot of fun, though kind of strange cause, well, Bec is 29 weeks preggo, I’m 9. I.e. she looks like she should be registering, I don’t. Either way, I got scanner and created a registry! It was also kinda hard for me cause Husbandy and I haven’t even talked about colors, or themes or anything. So, I was making it up as I went. Bec and I also discovered just how similar we are. We would look at all the different options then end up going back to the same one. “Oh were you going to pick this one?” “Yeah” “Me too” At least we know our kids will feel at home at both our houses!

 

4) On Monday we had our second sono!!!! It was absolutely wonderful. As I had freaked myself out during part of the week I was a little nervous, but the sono tech didn’t seem concerned when first look at the screen, so I felt good about that. FINALLY I got to take a look at the screen and had a profile view of Baby. I could see the little heart beating away and it was perfect. THEN we got to hear the heartbeat. THEN Baby started moving around and stretching. THEN Baby turned full frontal. We got an amazing video…I’m so proud.

 

While actually taking the video, we were talking, but for some reason there is no sound. BUT you do get to see some pretty great shots of the heartbeat and movement.

Food cravings: Salads are still appetizing this week. But, I also discovered how much I’m loving apples.

Food aversions: Nothing new.

 Symptoms: Tuesday I turned 9 weeks exactly and that morning I had no nausea at all. I continued to feel great the rest of the day, though I was tired. It started to really worry me. Pregnancy is a funny thing, when you constantly feel sick, you just want to feel normal. BUT when you feel normal, all you can think are bad things. Wednesday, I felt the same way, and was real close to calling the doctor. Walking out of work that night, I started to feel nauseous and got pretty excited about it. Later I got sick….not typically something you celebrate…but I sure was happy (I also shared this news with my mom and sister, they think I’m weird). :) The next few days I was sick, and as I said, Sunday I was so. tired. I felt bad for sleeping when Husbandy had to study while he was also tired, I felt like I should stay up with him….but I mean, I just couldn’t. :(

 Movement: We saw movement on the sono!!!! I was so happy, I tried to make myself feel something when I saw it happening, but I didn’t. Soon enough, though.

Gender: External sex organs are there but not distinguishable.

 What I’m looking forward to: Telling girls at work the good news. So far I only have one confidant, which has been nice, but I’m ready for the rest of the lunch group to know.

What I miss: Having clothes that feel right.

 Next appt: December 27th!

Workout/Fitness: Well, I can’t say I went to the gym this week. But one night after work I went to Hobby Lobby then the grocery store in heels and I feel like that was a work out. :) Also, the registering…I’m counting it. (Is that a stretch?)

Our Greatest Adventure: Weeks 6 & 7

11/4/12 

How far along: We finally found out that we're 6 weeks! Looks like my intuitions were spot on. :) I had an appointment on 11/5 and I was 5 weeks and 6 days. So every Tuesday my “weeks” change. 

How big is baby: According to babycenter, Baby is the size of a lentil…but thebump compares Baby to a sweet pea which I think sounds much better! Either way, Baby is making some MAJOR progress this week. Blood is now circulating throughout Baby, and the eyes, nose, and ears are taking shape. The brain, muscles, and bones are also starting to form! Baby may also be starting to wiggle their hands and feet…which don’t actually look like what we know as hands and feet quite yet. :)

Total weight gain: -2 

Maternity clothes: Nope 

Sleep: Ahhh sleep. How I love thee. I’m sleeping whenever I can, and trying not to at work. Husbandy has mentioned several times he like this new routine, cause he’s getting to sleep more too! 

Best moment of the week: Oh wow. There cannot be just one! 

1. On Monday Husbandy and I went to the doctor and got out first sono!!! Dr. B was expecting me to be around 7 weeks already, but we found I was 5 weeks and 6 days. When the sono tech told us this, I got a little nervous because I didn't think we would be able to see a heartbeat, but low and behold there it was. Absolutely beautiful, just pumping away. We were both amazed and even got a short little video. Getting to share baby’s first pictures with our family was also super fun. Something to remember – Husbandy was so uncomfortable in the sono room, he had obviously never been in one before, and I think the stirrups freaked him out. Haha 

2. On Saturday our beloved Aggies took down the number one team in the country, Alabama. It was soo exciting!! I won’t write much about it, but trust me….if I didn't have all these other fun things going on right now…this would have made my year! On Saturday we also told my Aunt Carol we’re pregnant. She was hanging out with mom and we just couldn't hold it in. Brooklyn was our little model again, and she did just perfect! 

3. On Sunday we went to Papa Joe’s house to have lunch. I thought we would just be sharing the news with him, but it the whole family, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins…everyone ended up being there! We waited until after lunch and shared the good news while everyone was in the room. Well, we tried to wait for everyone, but I think some of my cousins were outside. Oops. Either way, it was fun and there were lots of hugs. Papa Joe made the point that we are a very fertile family. :)

Food cravings: After waking up from a nap on Sunday, I really wanted a PB&J and Husbandy was nice enough to offer to make it. OMG, best PB&J ever! Seriously, every bite was just so good. This week I've had a little bit more of an appetite, though I still get nervous about trying crazy flavorful foods. I've also had a lot of popcorn. I read it’s good for baby, so that just makes me want it more. 

Food aversions: Most things are still not sounding real good…I just force it in my mouth. :( And, this doesn't have to do with food, but I think I have an aversion to brushing my teeth. I want to brush my teeth cause it makes me feel clean, but lately it just makes me gag a little. Not fun. 

Symptoms: I have been so dead this week. On Sunday I got sick at Mass (I’m not really sure what that means...when you get sick at Mass), but the rest of the day was spent sleeping and laying around. Husbandy was super sweet though, he made that awesome PB&J, did the laundry, and the dishes! What a sweet Husbandy. My sister also told me she has gotten her energy back and she would come down and do these things if I wanted her to. How awesome is my family?!? I also got sick at work on Friday. I decided to go to the restroom before lunch, and it’s a good thing cause as soon as I got in there I decided to be sick. It was really weird. I was super thankful it was lunch time though, cause that meant there was less of a chance someone would be walking in. I was then scarred to eat, but I did cause I was really hungry! One notable thing I changed this week is I started to take my vitamin at night. I think it’s helped a little with the nauseous feelings. I just take it right in the middle of dinner. 

Movement: Nope. 

Gender: Don’t know. 

What I’m looking forward to: Telling the rest of our family! I still need to tell my dad and his side of the family, and we also have Jason’s grandparents/aunts and uncles. 

What I miss: Not feeling like there is a lump in my throat all the time. 

Next appt: December 3rd 

Workout/Fitness: Hmmm I’m trying to think if I did any of that this week. What’s making this harder for me now is the stupid time change! By the time I get home it’s dark and cold. I’m also really hungry when I get home, so I just want to eat. 

EDD: July 2, 2013!!!

11/13/2012

How far along: 7 weeks 

How big is baby: Baby is the size of a blueberry! Baby’s arms and legs are continuing to develop. Both hemispheres of Baby's brain are growing, and the liver is churning out red blood cells. Baby also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce insulin. And, the umbilical cord has formed, which has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from Baby. 

Total weight gain: Holding right around where I started 

Maternity clothes: Nope 

Sleep: I’m still getting tired right around 8:45pm and Husbandy still loves this new sleep schedule. I wake up every 3-4 hours to pee. It’s getting harder and harder to get up because Husbandy like the room sooo cold at night. I don’t think he understand my pain. :)

Best moment of the week: 1. This week I was finally able to tell my dad the good news. On Friday, Husbandy and I went to have dinner with Dad, Cindy, Granny, and Grandpa at G&G’s community senior living. During dinner Husbandy asked if anyone had seen the new Aggie picture posted on some blog. Everyone was a tad bit confused, so I handed the sono picture to Grandpa and Husbandy gave the video of Baby’s heartbeat to my dad. Dad was shocked and thought we were joking and Grandpa just smiled and starting crying He’s just so darn cute! Granny actually realized first that Grandpa was holding a sono and was just like OOOHH! I know what that is! It was nice to be able to tell all of them at once. On our way out of the dining area Grandpa stopped a waitress and told her that he just found out I’m pregnant. I think the girl was a little weirded out, but Grandpa was just beaming. 

2. Another great moment this week was telling our good friends Courtney and Jake the news. Saturday I had been at their house during the Aggie game (no worries – we won) while Husbandy was in class all day. I told him to drive up to Frisco after class, but was a little worried cause I knew J&C wanted to go see a movie after the football game. As soon as Husbandy got there we wanted to say something, but the timing was off. Luckily, J&C decided to go grab dinner and invited us to come along. On our way into the restaurant Husbandy mentioned something about Baby Wag and they just stopped and starred like, are you serious?! We were happy we got to tell them finally, it’s good to know we have friends praying for Baby. 

3. Lastly, something really touching happened at Mass this weekend. As I said before, Husbandy was in class all weekend, so I had to go to Mass alone. Afterwards, I was headed out and Fr. Paul stopped me and asked if I was expecting. I wasn't really sure how he knew, but I told him we just found out a few weeks before that we are! He just smiled and said, I saw you walk in a couple weeks ago and just had a feeling. He then gave me some advice about pregnancy and breathing techniques he’s learned from Tai Chi. How cool is that! 

Food cravings: I’m having trouble driving by Canes every day without stopping. Chicken tenders sound so tasty, not to mention their delicious lemonade! I had also really been craving a hamburger, so deciding what I wanted for dinner while out with J&C was a no brainer. I then had Whataburger on Sunday (before going to the opera…that’s right…opera. I saw Romeo et Juliet). 

Food aversions: Hmm I don’t remember any big food aversions this week. I’m still somewhat skeptical before I take a bite of anything (except for that hamburger). 

Symptoms: So tired and bloated. I changed toothpaste which has helped in that department. 

The worse thing this week was my sickness really kicked it up a notch. Friday was terrible. I got sick right when I got home from work and another time at dinner before telling the news. I know they were wondering what was taking me so long in the restroom (Husbandy told me). I then got sick twice on Monday too. I said a few prayers asking the Lord to help me remember this is a sacrifice for Baby and to help me get through it with love. It’s hard to remember all the time, but sacrifice is part of being a parent. I love you, Baby! 

Movement: Baby is just now developing arms and legs! So, no movement yet. 

Gender: Courtney gave us a good idea to help compromise when we find out the gender. While she is definitely on my side, and trying to convince Husbandy to wait, her idea was to open an envelope revealing the gender of Baby on our anniversary. That would be exactly 2 months away from Baby’s EDD. 

What I’m looking forward to: Thanksgiving is this week and we certainly have a lot to be thankful for. We have offered to host this year, which I’m not sure was 100% a good idea. But, at least cleaning will get me off my booty. 

What I miss: Not spending so much time in the bathroom! 

Next appt: December 3rd. 

Workout/Fitness: Maybe I’ll take this section out of my blog. :) JK, girls at work are starting a Tuesday/Thursday workout plan after work. Our office recently got a gym, so I’m going to try real hard to go after work on these day. 

EDD: This shouldn't be changing, so I’m going to take it out. But just as reminder, it’s July 2, 2013. :)

Our Greatest Adventure: Weeks 4 & 5

10/21/12

How far along: I’m not sure. Dr B wasn’t really sure and said we needed to wait for the sono in a couple weeks. I’m going to guess I’m somewhere around 4 weeks.

How big is baby: I’m hesitant to sign up for any website yet, cause I don’t know how far a long I am. But, if I am 4 weeks then according to babycenter and thebump, baby is the size of a poppyseed (I all of a sudden want a muffin). I just read what all baby is developing this week and I am just amazed!!

 Total weight gain: None of that, yet.

 Maternity clothes: Not yet. Though since Dr B’s office is right by North Park, I stopped by after my appointment and used some gift cards I had to buy a sweater. I bought it slightly big so I could wear it with baby!

 Sleep: I have moved my bedtime up about an hour, though I’m sure I’m going to get more tired in the next few weeks.

 Best moment of the week: One Tuesday 10/23 I went to doctor and got confirmation from Dr B that we are pregnant!!! We’ve felt pretty confident that we’re pregnant for a week or so, but talking with the doctor makes things so much more real! It’s not just something I’m hoping for, it’s here!

Food cravings: No real cravings. Though there have been a few times during meals where I’ve thought, dang I just ate a lot of food…why am I not more full?

 Food aversions: I don’t think I’ve had any food aversions yet. I’m really hoping I become averse to sweets like my sister, cause I really don’t need to eat all that.

 Symptoms: A little uncomfortableness around the top of my right leg. Around where the pelvis is. I’m not sure if that is due to pregnancy, but it’s new. I’ve also notice shortness of breath. I climbed some stairs at Husbandy’s work and was breathing way harder than I expected.

 Movement: Oh no, none of that for a while.

Gender: Don’t know! I really don’t want to find out the sex, but Husbandy reeeallly does. For now I’m going to keep trying to convince him why not finding out is fun.

 What I’m looking forward to: Our first sonogram! Then we can put to rest the mystery of how far along I am. :) I’m also super excited to start telling family the good news. Husbandy and I have made plans to tell my mom, brother, SIL, sister, and BIL on Halloween. :) I’m not really a huge fan of this holiday, so this should change my perception.

 What I miss: I don’t really miss anything yet. I guess this is the “honeymoon phase” of pregnancy….not missing anything and not feeling too bad yet.

 Next appt: November 5th!

 Workout/Fitness: Husbandy and I have been trying to go on more walks at night. This has been hard this week since he’s been working late. But I’ll try to do some things on my own, nothing too stressful on the body. Unfortunately, I didn’t really have a good workout plan before I got pregnant….so I’m going to need to change that!

EDD: July???

10/28/12

 How far along: Still not sure about this, but I’m guessing 5 weeks.

How big is baby: If I am 5 weeks, then according to babycenter and thebump, baby is the size of a sesame seed or an apple seed. Baby is already forming major organs and systems. Go baby go!

Total weight gain: -2

Maternity clothes: Not yet.

Sleep: I feel like this happens to a lot of people on a regular basis, but I get really tired around 2-3:00 in the afternoon. It’s a different tired then I’m used to though. I’ve also noticed that I sometimes have a hard time focusing. Annd I’m getting up in the middle of the night to pee, usually just once.

Best moment of the week: FINALLY telling family! Halloween was supposed to be the big day, we made shirt for Brooklyn that says “I’m a cousin…x2” and I was soooo excited to be telling everyone. As it turns out Husbandy got very sick Wednesday afternoon (turned out he had food poisoning) and Becca’s Jason had to work that night. I quickly realized there was no way the news was going to be shared on Halloween. Sooo I figured we could tell Bec and Jason separately and everyone else at Thursday night dinner (since Bec had class on Thursday night). Buut, Husbandy was still sick, so we didn’t go. At this point I was getting kind of frustrated! Husbandy and I quickly made plans to watch the Aggie football game with everyone on Saturday. That morning we found out Jason had to work and so did my brother. Are you serious?! I really didn’t think this was ever going to happen. As the day went on Jason got off work, so we were only one family member down. During that time my mom kept talking about chores she needed to do at the house and Bec and Jason talked about going grocery shopping. All I could think was nooooo, just stay heeeeere!!! Around 6:00 Bryan finally got our house. As soon as he walked in I wanted to make the announcement, buuut there was football on. Husbandy and I decided to do it in between the Notre Dame game and the big game that night. Waiting for the Notre Dame game to end was brutal. I really wanted them to win, but at the same time I just wanted to game to be over. It ended up going into triple OT! As soon as it ended (luckily on a good note for us, the Irish won), I picked up Brooklyn and took her to our room to change her shirt. And well, this is how things went (Brooklyn and I make our appearance around 35 seconds):

YEA YEA YEA YEA!!

On Sunday, we called Husbandy’s parents and sister, Amanda. They were of course all very very excited. Lucky for me, Amanda and Bec are both pregnant and have lots of advice to offer. Amanda texted me after we hung up with them and I thought it was super sweet. Baby has some pretty awesome Aunts.

Food cravings: Zero cravings. In fact, nothing sounds good at all. One day this week the only thing that sounded remotely good was soup. But, when I started to think of what soup sounded good, none of them did. :( Basically I just force something down cause I know I need to. Sometimes, once I start eating it tastes good, but that first bite is tough.

 Food aversions: Everything. Give me something bland and I’m mostly happy.

 Symptoms: I’ve definitely notices my boobs hurting more! Husbandy keeps offering to massage them, but I decline. :P This weekend we had dinner with my dad’s family and I was very aware of tenderness when hugging family bye. Monday I started to have nausea and it’s just gotten worse during the week. This also makes it really hard to focus at work. Every time I have to stand, I give myself a mini pep talk. Getting out of bed requires a pretty long one too.

Movement: Nope.

Gender: Still trying to convince Husbandy that we shouldn’t find out.

 What I’m looking forward to: Our first sonogram! I am also a little nervous cause I think it might be too early to see a heartbeat. Not being able to find one is really going to make me scared, so hopefully we see it and get good news!

What I miss: Not feeling nauseous.

 Next appt: November 5th!

 Workout/Fitness: Haha, yeah. There really hasn’t been much of that. I told Husbandy this week I lose my breath doing the dishes. Goodness.

 EDD: July???

Our Greatest Adventure Yet

Much like my sister, I have been writing pregnancy blogs every week and I'm finally going to release them! I'll try to release 1-2 everyday this week so we can get caught up to real time.

Warning – this post is filled with things that some people may consider TMI. Read on at your own risk. :)

If you really want to start at the beginning, then we’re going to have to go back to May 2012…that’s right, May. Husbandy and I were going on a trip to New Zealand and I really wanted a kiwi baby. It was actually perfect timing because I was fertile. But, when it came down to it, Husbandy and I weren’t quite ready to commit to a baby. We had just bought a house and moved back into the same city, so we figured we should get control of that before we were responsible for the life of a child. So, although I chanted “kiwi baby, kiwi baby” a lot while in NZ, I knew it wasn’t going to happen.

June: During this month I got very suspicious that my sister and Jason were pregnant! I didn’t know for sure, but there were a few things that went on that made me think that it just had to be true. I told Husbandy about my suspicions and said if they tell us they’re pregnant, we are going to start trying! Of course I’ve said things like this before….like when 90% of GND was preggo…or when my two best friends from work both got pregnant at the same time…it’s the follow through part that always got me.

July: On July 3rd my suspicions of Bec and Jason were confirmed! Husbandy and I were so so so excited, but it also started serious discussions. We knew I had just been fertile, so there was about a month before we could even start trying. Wow…this discernment process was hard! I think I changed my mind every hour. At one moment I would think, yes, we have wanted kids for a long time it’s time to start trying…then I would think are we really ready to take this step? Are we just thinking we should because being pregnant at the same time as my sister sounds fun? We talked about it constantly. While driving in the car to go see a movie one night, I told Husbandy I finally made up my mind and he said he did to. Awesome! We both made a decision that day, and felt comfortable. Well, wouldn’t you know it, my decision was to wait and Husbandy’s was to go for it. Humph. It would have been so much easier if we were on the same page. So, the discernment continued. Then, one Sunday before Mass we were talking with Fr. Paul and he said, “don’t be afraid to say yes to God’s call.” Who could have said it better? After that, Husbandy and I were ready to answer the call to parenthood.

So, in July we started to try. After we tried, I had no idea what I should feel like, but I could definitely tell that something was different. The two weeks in between being fertile and starting a new cycle were so. long. I just wanted to know!!! As it turns out, one Saturday morning I found out we weren’t pregnant. I woke up Husbandy and told him the news. We were both sad, didn’t really know what to say, so we held hands and laid in bed.

 August: We tried again in August. I still obviously had no idea what being pregnant felt like, but I didn’t “feel pregnant” like I did before. Husbandy and I felt like maybe that was good since we weren’t pregnant last month. Again the two weeks dragged on and on. But, soon enough we knew we weren’t pregnant. This month I took it pretty hard. I just didn’t understand why we weren’t getting pregnant. I know, I know...some of you may be thinking two months is nothing. I personally know several couples who tried for years! But I also know people who achieved on the first try. For some reason I figured I just had to fall in that category.

While thinking about our situation one day in the car it hit me that getting pregnant is hard! There is such a small period of time a woman is fertile and conditions within the body have to be perfect for an egg to be fertilized. These things confirmed what I already thought was true, no baby is a “mistake.” How could something that needed such perfect conditions be a mistake? God’s timing is perfect in every situation. This realization really kept me positive.

September – October: At the end of September I got sick. I’m not sure if it was this, or the fact that I had started a new job at work and was a little stressed, but my cycle was long. This is why NFP is so great. If Husbandy and I were under the assumption that a woman’s period comes, 2 weeks later she’s fertile, and in about another 2 weeks her cycle will start over…Husbandy and I would have completely missed fertility. Since things were pushed back a bit, we ended up trying at the beginning of October. I’ve said it twice, but I’ll say it again, the next two weeks could not go fast enough. Over the course of the next two weeks though, I noticed my right eye had a twitch. For the first few days, I thought I was just tired…but it was NOT going away. I thought it was crazy how much my eye was twitching! I even mentioned it to Husbandy and a couple girls at work. I thought I was going crazy, so one day I googled “could eye twitching be a sign of pregnancy.” Turns out there are a lot of women that experience this! YEA! This made me happy for two reasons. 1) I’m not crazy 2) Maybe I’m pregnant!! From then one it actually made me kinda happy every time my eye twitched.

Two weeks finally ended and my temperature was still high… (Husbandy and I practice the sympto-thermal method of NFP. The “thermal” part of this method comes from me taking my temperature at the same time every morning. Before ovulation your basal body temperature will drop and quickly after, it rises because of the release of progesterone. The body is really quite amazing in the way it works! I could write a whole post about it and why you really don’t need to take birth control which messes with natural hormones.) …which is a sign of pregnancy! Every morning when I saw my temperature was high I was relieved. But then I thought, what if it’s high because I wake up before it’s time to take my temperature and my heart rate increases which causes my temp to rise? At any rate, I decided to take a pregnancy test on Sunday October 21. The thought of knowing I was carrying a child before going to Mass got me real excited. At this point I was on cycle day 40, my cycles are usually 30 days, so I just knew I was pregnant. That morning I sprung out of bed, only to discover we had no pregnancy tests!! I was so sad, but we were sure to go to the store later that day. On October 22nd I woke up ready, took the test, and it was positive!!! Best news ever! I think Husbandy and I had a hop in our step for the rest of the day. :)

 A few weeks before I had scheduled a yearly well woman’s exam as it’s required (or a physical) by my job for October 23rd. Can we say perfect timing?! I walked in and my doc says…well you were scheduled for a well woman’s, but you’re pregnant! Music to my ears! We went about the appointment and he told me lots of fun things about pregnancy. He was surprised by the fact I was on day 42 of my cycle. Most of the time, how many weeks a long a woman is is determined by the date her last period started. If that was the case, I was 6 weeks! Dr B didn’t think this was the case, so he said my weekly progress would have to be determined by a sono….which was scheduled for November 5th! A sonogram! For me and Husbandy!

I learned lots of interesting things at the first appointment. Dr B told me he thinks I can deliver a 8 lbs baby. I was only 6…not sure about Husbandy…but hopefully he wasn’t huge. He also felt baby and he thought he/she was a good size.

And that’s the beginning of our journey. Husbandy and I could not be more excited. 

Just Call Us Kiwis: Part II

May  27

Again we woke up around 7:00. It was our last morning to wake up in Queenstown, which was definitely sad, so we packed up our stuff to be checked out by 10:00. The day before we found the Catholic Church in town, so we’d be ready to go Sunday morning. Unfortunately, we woke to rain. Though we had been very thankful because before we left I checked the weather in Queenstown and Auckland and it said rain every single day! I was a little nervous about this, knowing it was going to also be cold…but this was the first downpour we had seen! While in the lobby we saw someone else ask for an umbrella from the hotel desk. I had no idea they offered this kind of service! So, we followed suit and walk to St Joseph’s in the rain, luckily it was only a 5-10 minute walk. 

The church was super tiny and quaint. But going really made me appreciate the Catholic Church and its traditions. Here we were half was across the world and worshiping the exact way we would in Dallas. There’s no better way to feel connected to the mystical body of Christ. We did notice one difference though. During one part of the Mass where we are used to standing as we say something, they wait until after it’s been said. So there I went, then Husbandy, but no one else. Hahaha, it was slightly embarrassing, but also kind of funny.

After Mass we walked back to the hotel. D&R were sitting in the lobby and had already eaten. Since it was still raining they didn’t want to walk to town, so Husbandy and I ventured out. We walked to a few places that we were hoping would be open, but they weren’t, so we ended up going to Brazz again. Not a bad decision since the food was good, but we would have liked to try something different.

After breakfast, we walked back up “the hill” one last time and passed D&R on their way down because the sun had started to come out. We hung around in the lobby for about an hour, but then decided another walk up the hill was worth going back to town for a little souvenir shopping. J

Pictures don't do "the hill" justice

Around the Copthorne, Queenstown

Before too long though we were at the Queenstown airport on our way to Auckland!  Around 5:30 we reached the Copthorne Hotel. First impressions: these people need to talk to the management in Queenstown, cause their resort was much nicer! The Copthorne in Auckland was concrete everywhere and things needed to be updated, especially the bathrooms!! I felt like I needed to wear shoes any time I got out of bed. Good thing we were in New Zealand and wouldn’t be in our rooms very much.

After some freshening up, we met D&R to walk around the city. Auckland is very pretty, right on the water, but the scenery just couldn’t compare to Queenstown. We walked around for a while looking for a place to eat. We actually went in to a bar type place, sat down, and then left after realizing they didn’t really have what we wanted to eat. It was kinda awkward, but it was bar, we sat ourselves…they should have come to take our order faster. :P R really wanted to go to Britomart for dinner. The entire day he had been talking about it, but I kept hearing “burrito mart” so I was thinking something like Freebirds. Hahah. No. Turns out Britomart is an area in Auckland, and we ate at The Brewery. Husbandy and I shared a pizza, I’m pretty sure it had rabbit on it. This was my first time to eat rabbit. Not bad. After dinner we stopped for some ice cream then went back to the hotel. Husbandy and I needed to figure out what we were going to do on out free day. Our budget was quickly running out, so we had to decide if a day trip out of town was what we wanted to do, even if it meant we would have to break the budget. We ended up deciding we would probably be in New Zealand once in our lives, so we needed to see more than just Queenstown and Auckland. After look at several options we booked the trip D&R had signed up for and headed to bed.

Right to left: Where we ate dinner, the Copthorne, Auckland, and a breathalyzer station (?)

May 28

Husbandy and I woke up around 6 to be at breakfast by 7:00. We had the same 2 for 1 deal as in Queenstown, same breakfast, but $2 more expensive. It was drizzling outside, but luckily we were on our way to a guided bus tour around Auckland. Our tour guide, Ron, was super sarcastic! He kept us laughing the entire time, and I think he really enjoyed the American’s company. We all interacted with him and gave him his sarcasm right back. J One of the most interesting stories he told was about the famous Auckland Harbor Bridge. It was originally built with only four lanes, however, it was quickly discovered that more lanes were needed. So, two young Japanese students designed lanes that were added to the bridged without extra support columns needing to be built. These extra lanes were nicknamed the "nip on clip ons." No lie.

Right to left: The Auckland bridge, Sky Tower, and driving on the nip on clip ons

Around Auckland

More of Auckland

After seeing a lot of the city, Ron took us to his favorite souvenir shop in Auckland, called The Elephant House. As we were walking down the path to the shop, Husbandy saw a sign that said “Elephant Walk.” Being the good Aggies that we are, we took pictures, while D&R just looked at us like we were crazy! If you are ever in Auckland, you have to go to this shop. Everything is authentic and hand made. We could have spent a whole bunch of money in there, but we decided to get a serving plate for us and an angel for mom.

Elephant House!

Ron also took the bus through the expensive neighborhood in Auckland. He told us about an "old dragon" who fought to get a law passed that didn't allow tours to come through the neighborhood anymore. He also told us the main reason for the law was that a certain group of tourist used to put their "tosie wosie posies" in people's pool and pick their flowers.

Million dollar houses

Our favorite tour guide

After the bus tour, we took a ferry with D&R across the harbor to Davenport. We walked around the small island for a bit and then stopped at The Patriot for lunch. Husbandy and I stuck to appetizers and beer, though I did try some of R’s mussels. I was a little skeptical about the texture, but I ended up liking it! It may have been the sauce that was with the mussels that I really liked, but I thought they just kinda tasted like… seafood.

On our way to Davenport - most expensive hotel in Auckland, The Hilton, is built right on the water

In Davenport

After more pics and walking around Davenport, we headed back to Auckland where we just kind of hung near the hotel until 6:00 which meant it was time for our dinner cruise. Before the cruise we were blessed with an amazing sunset. It was absolutely beautiful, so we tried to capture it on camera the best we could. By this time the weather had cleared up, a little cloudy and cool, but not raining! The dinner cruise was nice, our guides, Pablo and Michaela, were so much fun. They were both young and got along great with us.  For dinner we were served bread, shrimp with a hazelnut sauce, salmon, potatoes and artichoke, cream brulee, and coffee or hot chocolate. Husbandy and I were unaware that entrée in New Zealand doesn't mean main course….so when we got one shrimp as our entrée we were a little surprised. Luckily entrée is just the course before the main course, so we were excited to see salmon. J  Unfortunately there was zero wind that night, as in we never reach 1 knot, so we just kinda sat in the harbor. But the night was pretty and the company was nice, so we had a good time.  I was a little skeptical about the nip on clip on story Ron told us earlier in the day, so I asked Pablo what people around the city called the bridge. He didn’t immediately say nip in clip on, but once I mentioned he was like oh yeah, we call it that. I guess it’s true!

Beautiful sunset!

Dinner cruise

We started to head back to land around 8:00 and literally as soon as we got off the boat it started raining. It was the weirdest thing!! Since it was raining we all decided to go to bed cause we had to wake up eearrrly to go on our day trip!! I’m pretty sure we were in bed by 9:00.

May 29

Husbandy and I woke up at 5:30 to get ready for the day trip which had a prompt 6:30am pick up time. While at the bus station getting ready to go, we saw our tour guide from yesterday, Ron. He of course recognized us, cause he loved us (J), so he warned our bus driver about the crazy Americans. Our tour guide was named Kenny, though Ron told us to call him Brad Pitt.

We had quite a drive to our first stop, so we tried to sleep on the bus, but the mic was up super loud and Kenny talked for 1.5 hours straight about New Zealand and its history. I mean, wow, it was A LOT of info. We later asked him to turn the sound down just a bit. Our first stop was the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves. Basically there were these little worms that hung from the ceiling of the cave and glow. They were pretty cool to see. We actually got in a boat and our tour guide rowed us around the cave for about 10-15 minutes. You had to stay quite because the worms stop glowing when they hear noise as a defense mechanism. Luckily, everyone stayed quiet and we saw the worms glow the whole time. Husbandy and I really enjoyed our tour guide, he had a very interesting voice, we still mimic him today.

A small dose of New Zealand countryside

After the worms it was back to the bus for lunch….premade sandwiches, an apple, and a cookie. I actually kind of like the sandwich, but I don’t know that Husbandy was impressed. We drove for another while and stopped at the Rotorua Agridome. This was a large farm where we drove around and saw cows (they literally came RIGHT up to us….I think D may have been kissed by one :P), fed sheep, watched a sheep dog do his thing, and watched a sheep shearing. We learned a lot about New Zealand agriculture. I was also really impressed with the sheep shearing, our guide, Shane, made it look really easy.

Lots of farm animals

Sheep dog showing us his tricks

Sheering sheep

Our next stop on the day trip was a Maori village at Te Puia. The Maori people are the New Zealand natives. This stop was definitely my favorite of the day! Right when we got there we sat in on a traditional Maori dance/welcoming ceremony. We took a really cool video during part of the ceremony. After the ceremony was over, we took a guided tour, with Carla, around the village. Our first stop on the tour was to see a couple of geysers. We were lucky enough to see both geysers go off which was pretty neat. We also saw a hot springs pool which had been nicknamed the “conception pool.” Don’t think I’ll be sitting in there any time soon. J It was pretty chilly out so Carla took us of to some concrete slabs which were geothermally heated. The slabs were built over hot steam, and they certainly worked! In some areas it got so hot I could feel my skin getting burned (that word may be too strong) through my clothes. We sat there while Carla told us a lot about the Maori people and her childhood growing up in the village. It was all very interesting. Our next stop was a mud pool, so we learned about mud baths and such. Because our bus had to leave, we had to cut the tour short, but not before we got to see a kiwi bird! Kiwi’s are the national bird of NZ and are nocturnal, so they are hard to catch. But, we went into controlled environment where it was dark and we spotted one all curled up in the corner. Cute little puff balls.

Rotorua, NZ

Maori village

Welcome Ceremony

Geysers

Right to left: Carla, natural warming, mud bath, Maori art

At about 5:00 we were back in the bus heading back to Auckland. Husbandy and I were glad we made the trip to see and learn more about NZ. We’re not quite sure when we’ll be back on the other side of the world again. J

Once back, we decided to eat dinner with D&R at an Irish pub called Danny-Doolans. The atmosphere was really fun, great music. Husbandy was really craving wings so I consented. They definitely weren’t Wings Stop, but they were pretty good. We also caved for some fries and beer. Around 10:00 we headed back to the hotel. It had been a long day with lots of traveling so we quickly fell asleep.

May 30

For our last day of the trip we decided to take it easy and sleep in. We woke up with no alarm and leisurely packed up our things for check out. We had missed breakfast, so we decided to try a coffee shop that was all over Auckland, Esquires. The muffin we split was alright, but the coffee was really good. Probably cause the put lots of caramel in it. J After breakfast we walked around Auckland and made our way to Sky Tower, the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. We didn’t want to pay to go in it, but we did get to see some people jump off of it and walk around the perimeter. Crazy Kiwis (ok the people who were doing it were most likely tourists…).

Financial District

Sky Tower

After we were finished sightseeing we met D&R for lunch at the fresh fish market. Ron had original told us about it on our bus tour around the city, so we had to try it. Husbandy ended up getting fish and chips, and I got the captain’s feast which consisted of an assortment of seafood. Maybe it was a little risky with a 13 hour flight in my near future, but I just had to. One of the things on the plate was oysters. I figured since I liked the mussels I tried a few days ago, I’d like oysters, so I gave it a try. Wrong. It was not the same. Don’t think I’ll be springing for any of those here in The States.

Fisherman's Wharf

After a short walk around Fisherman’s Wharf we headed back to the hotel. We still had a while until we were going to be picked up for the airport, but we had really done all we could around the city. We ended up playing spades in the lobby with D&R and getting ready for the flight. Our ride to the airport was filled with laughs as we remembered all the funny things that had happened throughout the trip. I’m pretty sure Husbandy and Rich had everyone in the car laughing, even those who weren’t on the trip with us, including the driver.

Random pictures I wanted to add. Right to left: I think our trashcans should say this is The States, my swollen feet, the Starbucks of Auckland (don't worry, Starbucks was there too), view from our room in Auckland, this pattern was everywhere in NZ, speed limit sign, and a random billboard. Clearly these people aren't partying with my friends. :)

We made it through security without any random compliance checks! Yea us!! We had slightly better seats for the flight home because D&R let us in on their traveling tricks and we contacted the travel agency that booked our flight and asked for a change of seats. We again watched movies, played some games, and tried to sleep.

Once we landed in LA, Husbandy and I raced to get our luggage and then through customs. We knew there was an earlier flight we wanted to catch, so we quickly said our goodbyes and ran to the domestic terminal…not an easy feat with all our luggage! When we originally booked our tickets we knew there was an earlier flight, but without knowing how long customs would take, it was a risk to book. Plus, we decided we could just try standby if we could. Once we finally reached the correct terminal we went to customer service counter, but we were told the airline did not do standby. Dang! The only way to get on the earlier flight was to pay some outrageous price! Normally it wouldn't matter too much, and it didn't for Husbandy because he didn't start work until the next week, but I had a meeting at work at 8:30 the next morning, so I wanted to get to bed asap. (PS when I heard there was a meeting scheduled at that time the day I got back I just kinda laughed…) With no flight change we would have been getting into Dallas around 11:45pm (again, my gracious mom had agreed to pick us up). Dallas was also having bad weather, so there was a chance the flight would be delayed. Despite these two things I decided I wanted to just suck it up and not spend the money. Husbandy had a better idea and decided to call the airline and try to get them to change our ticket. He was very nice on the phone and had zero trouble getting our flight switched! Yea Husbandy!! Somehow in the mix our baggage fee was also waived! We were excited about this.

Once on the plane we finally relaxed and started to watch a movie. About half way through our flight we had some terrible turbulence. I. Mean. Terrible. I had never been through turbulence like this and hope I’m never there again. It was the kind where you are flying out of your seat and you’re sure the airplane is just going to fall right out of the sky. Luckily, I had Husbandy to grab onto…but the poor girl sitting next to me was alone and just curled up in her seat and put a blanket over her. It last for what I thought was too long, but eventually the pilots got above the storm. I knew we were just going to have to go back through it to land though. I said a lot of prayers, and thankfully it wasn't as bad when we landed. I was so happy to be on land! We got our luggage and met my mom. On the way home we told her lots of stories about the trip. J At this point May 30^th had officially been the longest day of our lives…literally…we kind of lived it twice with the time change, so we were super tired.

I don’t know that I ever thought I would actually go to New Zealand. It was such a wonderful trip with Husbandy. Though it was a little short, we were happy to be home, in our new home (!) and start our lives….as a married couple….living in the same city.

Just in case you were wondering, I treated myself to Starbucks on the way to work in the morning and tried to stay alert as best as I could during the meeting. I actually think I did pretty well, surprisingly.

There you have it! Our entire trip to NZ. I hope we continue to get to travel together, seeing the world is so fun!