Dog Model

I'm getting antsy with all of these cute clothes I have, and no baby to put them on.  Sooo-I'm improvising by using my 7 lb male dog as a model.  And let me just say-he's PERFECT. Take a look yourself.

Pinterest

So I've finally gotten to some of my back-logged e-mails and found this little Pinterest invitation. I figure I have nothing to lose doing it, so I gave it a whirl. WRONG. My friends, I have lost a lot of time playing on this thing.  Hopefully the novelty of this little feature dies off before the summer ends and I've accomplished NOTHING, but it is a handy little site!

Hi. My name is Amanda and I'm obsessed with...

Amazon.com. Luckily, I've found a couple of ways to help earn some e-certificates to spend. This will help lessen the blow that comes after my husband sees our credit card statement each month. I hope...

Try MySurvey.com and Swagbucks.com. Swagbucks lets you earn points by simply using their search engine for your daily searches. I have earned about $25 in amazon certificates in just a couple of months-and doing nothing more than I would have done without their search engine. (There are MANY other ways to spend your Swagbucks.)

Mysurvey.com is a little more tedious, but you can earn points-and sometimes even cash-for taking surveys on products, things you buy and do everyday, and advertisements you've seen.

Both sites really work!

Swagbucks

This Week...

This week:

• we've finished the majority of the painting in the nursery.
• we've battled over the 'mural' for the wall.
• I've spent way too much money on far too few things online.
• I have made Michaels my new home.
• I have managed to lose the filter to my Keurig and have realized what a lunatic I can be without some morning Joe.
• I've spent two days and way too many hours digging through the trash for said filter.
• I have also realized my 6th sense which is my hyper-awareness of a Dunkin Donuts in any vicinity I inhabit.
• I have made it back to the gym...for now.
• my belly button has made it's outward appearance.
• I can't stand the smell of my dogs...or the trash...or carpet...or my husband's body wash for that matter.
• we have figured out a shower situation.
• I've grown very annoyed by the sound of my dogs licking, gnawing, barking, snoring...
• I've stooped to purchasing BarkOFF from Bed Bath and Beyond in a vain attempt to stop the insanity.
• I've discovered that I really don't know how to judge if it's working or the cause of the barking has relocated.
• I've also realized that the baby seems to enjoy the barking because she goes nuts in there when she hears it.  Go figure.
• I've begun Twilight.
• I've decided that if stretchmarks, cellulite, and chunk are genetically inevitable during this pregnancy, I will relinquish power to them-sort of.
• I have turned my plight to something I've read you can help prevent-hemorrhoids.  I will be victorious.
• I have vowed to be a better blogger.
• I've really worked on completing projects I've been 'working' on over the past 6 years.
• I have taken over the living room with these projects.
• I've noticed Mark doing more around the house and I appreciate it.
• I've counted 26 cracked tiles in our obviously uneven kitchen floor.  
• I've noticed that my spine has become a tuning fork for the belly inhabitant I am currently housing.
• I've sent another e-mail to Libby wondering about the replacement punch bowl that I have been expecting since December.
• I've almost finished my DIY mobile-thingy.
• attended a baby shower.
• fallen asleep well before ten every night this week.
• put some online photo books together.
• debated maternity pictures.
• I've managed to bleach two perfectly good fitting shirts and ripped holes in two pairs of stretchy glorious pants. 
• I've managed to outgrow a few more outfits and get the urge to sing, 'Fat feet in some little shoes...' whenever I try to 'slide' into anything other than crocs.
• I've managed to exhaust almost all ways of getting Mark to take walks with me.  Up next-dangle bacon and cheese wedges in front of him.
• I've become very observant of bathroom cleanliness now that there's no longer any room for my bladder.
• I have used the filthiest bathroom in a craft store-whose-name-I-will-not-mention-but-should-be-reported-to-the-board-of-health.
• I've caught up with some wonderful friends.
• I've downed so much water that I feel I may soon float away.
• Mark has come with me to run errands <3-And I've decided he can't come to the supermarket anymore.
• I've fallen even more in love with Mark because of what a wonderful person he is and what a terrific daddy he's already turned into.
• I've grown a baby.

Who put these toddler clothes in my drawer?!?

Hello everyone!  As I sit here with my feet up stuffing my face with hummus and Tostitos, it's hard for me to pretend I don't know where the recent need for new, larger clothes has come from.  But as aware of the issue as I am, I am inclined to argue that there's nothing I can do about it.  At least not for now.  You see, it all started a little over 5 months ago...

It was a cold, February night in southern Delaware.  The winds were blowing icy breezes and my husband and I were forced to hole in for the night. We were cuddled in close on the couch and...YEAH RIGHT!  I'm really not going to get into the logistics of the whole thing (and that's really not how it began), but you get the picture.  A few weeks later, I received a wonderful little early birthday present in the form of a pink line on a pee stick!

Since then, my size zero petite frame has transformed into a soft blob of starving.  My tired eyes shoot icy daggers towards anyone who as much as questions a decision I make-especially in regards to our Sprinkle-or worse yet-makes an unwanted suggestion!  (And believe me, most suggestions lately have been unwanted-no matter how worthwhile they end up being.)  Then, of course, I spend the next 15 minutes crying over the terrible things I've just said.  My pumps have taken a seemingly permanent vacation to the back of my closet, and my husbands horrible graphic t-shirts keep finding themselves draped over this little bulge in my gut.  My skin has begun the spark the nostalgia of high school, and my  once-cute belly button now looks like a built-in compass pointing me where to go. And speaking of walking...my balance-well that's laughable!  My days are filled up less with time at the beach and more with scouring Baby Bargains and Consumer Reports on baby gear that I'm still trying to figure out how to stuff in our home and tiny undershirts that snap at the crotch or the side or not even at all! Speaking of clothes,  I've begun the overhaul of apparel from my closet, and have sorted into piles of 'a little longer'/'next year'/' and 'who put these toddler clothes in my drawer?'.  Now I get why my husband used to complain that my clothes were too little to fold correctly.  I'm guessing that in the coming months I will resemble some sort of Italian meat (be it sausage or meatball) waddling down the street.

It seems like I'm hating this pregnancy.  I mean, that's a lot of complaining.  Really though, I'm still working on the 'giving up control' part.  (I'm a little bit of a control freak.  I know, you're thinking, 'NO WAY! NOT HER!')  In five short months, this 3/4 lb being has mananged to completely transform it's host into someone barely recognizable to me.  The hardest part for me has been telling myself each day that 'THIS IS NO LONGER YOUR BODY.'  One day I'll get it back...well at least the main infrastructure.  And so I may never be able to squeeze these glorious hips into a size zero again-but I'm thinking that between our daily amateur photo shoots and cuddle sessions, that might not be a priority anymore.  After all, motherhood is about sacrifices, right?   Don't get me wrong, there will still be times that I complain about the cottage cheese that has taken over my butt and thighs, and I'm sure that the end will bring some degree of misery and hormonal imbalance beyond what my body and mind will be able to 'enjoy'.  But truth be told, I'd trade my zeros for fives any day. (It it looks as though I might just have to...)