Sometimes You Just Need to Write in Bullet Points (or dashes, in this case)

My life right now:

- I bought a new body pillow yesterday. It's huge! And it's wonderful. I was using a smaller body pillow I got in high school. But all the fluff was falling out, so it was time for an upgrade. Since I've been sleeping with a body pillow for a few months now, I can no longer remember how or why I used to sleep without one. I think I've made a new permanent life change. :) Plus, another shopper at Target told me that the body pillow (only $10!) was a wonderful investment both for pregnancy, and for blocking your child into their bed later on. I love meeting friendly shoppers!

- We met with a trainer today about dog training classes/sessions. Poor Sabre has been identified as our "problem" dog. Hah. Our conversation went something like this:
Trainer: Do they have any problems with jumping?
Me/Travis: Yeah, Sabre does.
Trainer: Do they have any separation anxiety?
Me/Travis: Yeah, Sabre does.
Trainer: Do they have a tendency to bark a lot?
Me/Travis: If there are kids playing outside and he wants to join in, Sabre does.
This particular company we met with today charges a bit too much for our liking. In fact, it's kind of crazy. I'm a bit sad because I really want to have really well-behaved dogs. We need them to be better on leash (I hate taking them on leash because they pull so much!), to sit and stay where I tell them when someone comes to the door (in other words, not try to greet said person and run out into the yard for playtime), stop barking when told to stop, and always always always "come" when told to do so. With such specific needs, we really need more specified lessons (not just sit, down, stay, etc.) so it's a challenge. Plus, so many group lessons are either early in the morning (when Travis is sleeping) or in the evening (when Travis is working), and I have no interest in going by myself. Sigh. I'm sure we could train these things ourselves if we just set our minds to it... but they're hard. ;)

- I've been going to a new chiropractor for the last month or so. It has been absolutely amazing!! I go in for an adjustment and can immediately feel a difference--and it lasts! I've had neck/shoulder pain for years and years and years. Pregnancy wasn't helping a whole lot. And my husband has been super wonderful and doesn't mind my going for an adjustment when I need it. Plus, it makes me super happy and he really likes it when I'm happy. ;) hah!

- I've developed a new love for peanut M&Ms. So good.

- We made it till today without going to the grocery store. I made a detailed list of foods to buy and managed to buy all the ingredients for at least eight meals (most of which will include lots of leftovers) plus some basics (milk, bread, ham, cereal, fruit, etc.) for $100.04. I was very proud of myself! I don't know the exact breakdown for each meal, but I think we should be able to make it till nearly the end of the month without any major shopping. We'll probably have to stock up on some more basics, but that's not a big deal. Ah, to be responsible and careful with money. Feels pretty good, actually.

- I took my glucose tolerance test and had more blood work done at my last OB appointment. I do not have gestational diabetes (yay!), but I am anemic. I have to take an iron supplement now. I'm concerned it's because I've been taking the gummy prenatals instead of the pill version, but the prescription kind were insanely expensive and the over-the-counter pills made me vomit each time I took them (three times! I gave them three chances and they completely failed me!), so I switched to gummies. But the gummies have no iron in them. I guess I'm getting enough iron now though... (On a side note, I'm getting much better at handling needles. Only took 24 years to get there, but better late than never!)

- I'm growing exponentially, it seems. After no weight gain in the first three months, to have gained so much in the second three months, it feels like it's never going to stop! And at this point (27 weeks along), Baby only weighs about two pounds. I know I have to account for the amniotic fluid and placenta and extra blood and other such things, but still. It's pretty crazy. On the upside though, my skin is either very elastic or my weight gain has been surprisingly gradual enough that I don't have any stretch marks on my belly. (Yet!) It's a small thing really. I'm not the bikini-wearing type, so no one would ever see my belly anyways. I figure if I never showed off my belly before having a baby, I'm not going to start afterwards. :)

I'm sleepy. It is, after all, almost 9:30. The dogs are already sleeping. Sabre is even in his crate. (His way of letting me know it's past time for bed.) And Baby is kicking and moving around lots (a sure sign it's time for me to try to fall asleep, hah!). Therefore, I bid you farewell as I make my way to a nice hot shower and cozy pajamas.

Sometimes Titles Are Too Hard.

This month is going to be a month of very intentional frugality. You see, last month was not. Back in November, I took the never-to-be-had-again opportunity to convince Travis that we should go on a "babymoon" since all the articles and books about pregnancy recommend it. Essentially, it's your "final" honeymoon before the baby arrives. (That's not to say that you'll never get a weekend away again, but it's far more complicated to make happen once you have babies.) I also happened to know that Wicked on Tour was going to be in Austin in February. So I asked my dear husband if he would be willing to go to Austin for a weekend in February so we could watch Wicked and enjoy a nice, clean hotel room, and the joys of not having to cook, and all such things. He was very sweet and agreed. :) Then some family stuff came up and we ended up needing to go to New Jersey the weekend before our "babymoon" which involved driving to Dallas, flying (not my favorite thing to do pregnant, I found) to New Jersey, staying in another hotel room, and, essentially, spending a tad bit more money than we'd originally planned. It was a wonderful time with Travis's family, and I have no regrets that we went. However, two weekends of traveling and hotels coupled with extra eating out (because what else are you going to do while you're traveling?) made for a very expensive month. And ironically, it was the shortest month of the year so Travis's paycheck was slightly less than usual. Go figure.

So this month we need to play catch-up! I don't know when or if we've ever played catch-up before, but I'm almost looking forward to the challenge. I had originally planned to go grocery shopping yesterday, but didn't. Then I was going to go today... but here's the thing: we're playing catch up! And in so doing, I think it would be an excellent time to eat the food we have. In terms of meat, we don't have much. But I think we'll be able to manage. I've been craving pancakes and we have some frozen sausage and bacon in the freezer and plenty of ingredients for pancakes! We have leftover spaghetti sauce in the fridge, spaghetti in the pantry, and frozen bread in the freezer! We have two boxes of macaroni and cheese in the pantry and two loaves (because we prefer different kinds) of bread for sandwiches! We have ham and cheese and lettuce... and we have LOTS of indomie! I'm almost tempted to see how long we can make it before we absolutely need to go to the store. I'm interested to see how resourceful we become with what we have when we don't have the option of just "running to the store" whenever we so please. (But then I do have a man to feed... so meat might be more of a necessity than I think it is.)

I've also been reading up on home-buying and saving money in small ways and all that incredibly exciting stuff. Unfortunately we don't have a whole lot we can cut out (which I guess is also a good thing, depending on how you look at it). I would cut out my data plan on my phone, but I'm stuck in a contract for another year or so. Too bad. We don't have a TV, so we don't have cable. (Travis broke our TV... I'm sure I've told you THAT story!) We try to keep our electricity bill down by never running the heat (and by "we" I mean Travis in this particular example). The dogs make things expensive at times (like when Sabre keeps breaking his nails), but they're not going anywhere. :) And you know what's incredibly amazing? We already have so much "baby stuff" that my aunt and uncle gave us! We have a crib, changing table/dresser, pack n' play, a heavy-duty and a lightweight stroller (for poor weak me when Travis isn't out with us!), a swing, two bouncers, two baby bathtubs, and about fifteen trunks of boy clothes from newborn size to at least 5T! We even have bibs and hooded towels and washcloths and adorable little baby shoes! God has provided us with wonderful family that help us manage something that, at one point in time, seemed utterly impossible! I'm dying to start setting up (I think they call it "nesting") the nursery, but since we might be moving, I'm holding off till we figure that out.

This was, perhaps, not the most exciting post in the world. But talking about managing money and preparing for baby makes me feel responsible and grown up. :) My belly is growing quite fast it seems. Yesterday I noticed that my bellybutton is starting to pop out. Travis is thoroughly fascinated by my stomach. It's cute. :) Baby kicks a lot! The dogs don't seem to have noticed anything different going on. Some people say their dog(s) acted completely different (more protective/clingy/etc.) while they were pregnant... my dogs haven't done that. This morning, Baby was kicking pretty hard while Tatum had her head on my belly and she didn't even notice. It's going to be very interesting how they handle our new addition in just about three months! Wow, time sure is flying by now!

My newest and most persistent craving is for ice cream with dark chocolate fudge sauce and strawberries. And we're almost out. It's going to be an interesting month. ;)