Place Bets Now.. Gender Coming Soon!

Yesterday was a pretty big day for this momma and her man!

Besides it being my grandmother's birthday (shoutout to her.. Love you!), it was the day of The Ultrasound. Technology has advanced enough that they can now tell the baby's gender at sixteen weeks (four months, for those of you who don't think in pregnancy terms). Since I was at seventeen weeks, two days.. it's the perfect time. Am I right?

Well, the doctor checks the usual stuff: size, heart rate (145 bpm.. so fast for a little thing!). We watched my little honey singing (it looked like singing) and striking little poses. The doctor shows me the basic outline of the baby's body, so I can see where to look what we're looking for.

Finally, Doc starts looking around for any signs of a gender. The way the baby was positioned, though, his (or her) little feet were resting upward on my back, and the head was up towards the front.

Long story short, the doctor could only make a guess as to who our baby is. She said not to go painting any walls or buying any clothes yet, though, because of how the baby was laying (in that crazy awkward position). 

For now, there is only a limited number of people who know what the projected gender is (the doctor, me, Cris, my dad, my boss, and a few trusted coworkers). Other than that, we've decided to keep it a secret until next month, when we find out for sure. 

According to some of the old wives' tales, we're having a girl. According to Delia, one of the kitchen workers, we're having a boy (and they say Mexican women always know).

What do you think? Are Cris and I going to raise a little princess? Or are we going to be proud parents of our all-star athlete? Who do you think our little Army brat's gonna be? 

An Army Wife is the Strongest Kind

Okay. I'm not actually an army wife yet.  Cris and I aren't married.  I get that.  But I think its safe to say close enough for now, cause first of all, I paid a ton of money to get there.  Second, I've been up since three-thirty. Why?

Because I love my soldier and would do anything for him..  even if it means waking up super early to bring him his birth certificate because he almost sent it home with me.

Two nights before, on Family Day, he had decided to empty out his locker into my arms.  That made it my job to carry all that crap home, somehow (I did make it work, because I am, after all, a genius).  Last night I was feeling sentimental, having said my last teary goodbye to his face just a few minutes before, and still relishing that sweet little peck-on-the-lips that he wasn't technically allowed to give me.  But to me, it was beautiful, it provoked a lot of crying, and it somehow led me into snooping through his bag.
I pulled out all his civilian clothing, flipped through his Bible, and continued to do my little happy-sad deal.  Then I came upon a folder.  Just a camo-printed folder.  I thought at first, I probably shouldn't look in there..  but then I thought, if he didn't want me to see it, he shouldn't've given it to me.  Lucky for him, that I did.  When I started going through the pages I found his birth certificate, immunizations record, all those things that he KIND OF needs to have...  in my possession.  So I send a message to the number that he last contacted me from letting him know, then I decide to stop my blubbering and go to sleep.
Next thing I remember is my phone's going off. I look over.. THREE THIRTY in the morning?!  I debated whether or not I should even bother to look at the message before I've had a full eight hours..  then figured it's gotta be important, or Cris.. and if it's Cris and I don't answer, I'll start crying again.  The message read something along the lines of "Baby. I need those papers. DS knows you're coming. Be here precisely at 7."
Then at 5:15, the phone rings.
 "Uh, honey. I'm leaving at 6:30, so I need those papers, like.. NOW."
So I was in a bit of a hurry. I decided to wear one of his shirts with leggings, for the selfish purpose of my own comfort (Hey. I'm pregnant, I'm allowed to dress lazy. And to be honest, his clothes make me feel sexy. Since I'm getting fat, it's about the only thing that does). When I was driving, I somehow figured out how to time the lights (which was easy.. no traffic and all), so I made it in about 13 minutes. No time to talk, though, no time for another emotional goodbye. Run out, grab the papers, run in. Bye-bye, honey.
Okay, goal: get off base without falling asleep at the wheel. So, 5:30 in the morning, I head towards the gate..
and it's blocked off.  Just my luck. The gates were all closed for PT until 7.  So I had to sit in the parking lot, in the car, for an hour and a half.  So close to him..  But I couldn't see him.

So yeah, I'm gonna call myself an Army Wife, and come this February, we are gonna have a little Army Brat. Plus, it's not like we aren't gonna get married anyway. 'Cause everyone who's anyone says it's gonna happen. But, baby please, Fourth of July. I told him thats so cheesey.. But he wants to get married on the Fourth of July. Jeeeeez.


Coming soon: I relay and recap the ENTIRE trip, not just what happened this morning.

Busy, busy.. But I'm Oh, So Lazy!

Sunday night..

I'm only a few days away from seeing my Cris's graduation from basic. I've packed probably, about eighty times.
Only fifty more to go!
I'm just so excited to see what he's been up to the past nine weeks. All I've done is work, and sleep, and work, and watch my belly grow. Meanwhile he's learned hand-to-hand combat, made new friends, and thrown live hand grenades.. Boy, do I feel inferior! I bet so much has changed about him (like, more structured, he'll be skinnier, and you can bet he'll have a niiiiice body) but at the same time.. he's gonna be the same (totally overprotective, thinking I need to be babied, and quite the piggy). So, maybe I'll only see him for two days. But then, there's only seven more weeks until he comes home.
The loser wants his job at Harley and Buck's back. That's cool, you've only got the most honorable job in the country right now, and you want to pair it with.. bussing. Awesome. Who knows, maybe he'll get to be a server. I mean, he won't be able to serve alcohol yet.. but serving up there does make a-fella quite a decent amount of money. Haha, and it's pretty much the funnest job ever. That's why it's so hard for people to quit. Ha.

I'm having one of those days where all I want to do is sit around and rub my belly. Which, I guess sounds kind of weird. And I suppose it's not very big yet.. But it's enough that it stands out from my generally slim body, and makes a prominent round shape out of my abdomen. So out of place. But it's so fun for me to stroke, and talk softly to the teeny, tiny, little piece of my heart and soul that is growing inside. I always remind my little sweetheart that Cris and I will always, always, always love him/her. We want love to be the base of everything we do as a family. Because we do love each other, and we love our sweet little baby.

I know I'm only a few days into the second trimester, but I am already loving it! My energy is starting to return to normal, as well as the oil levels on my skin. I almost feel like my non-pregnant self again.. except I find myself crying a bit more than I used to. I tend to overwhelm myself with projects, too. It's so easy to do when I'm already feeling sooo good!
I keep forgetting to take my vitamins, though. I knowwww, I'm supposed to, but ugh.. I get to doing something and then all of a sudden it's 11:30 at night, too late to eat anything, so "I'll just take it tomorrow." And so on and so forth. I'll have to set an alarm, or something. Cause the baby and I need those vitamins. But Momma's got to remember, first. :o

Maybe it's the Progesterone, or Perhaps I'm Just a Train-wreck.

Today, the Pregnancy Tracker app on my Droid reads that the gestational age of my baby is 14 weeks, 3 days. That makes only 25 weeks and 4 days to go. According to this app, the baby is about the size of a navel orange, anywhere between 3 and 4.5 inches in length. Last week's surprise ultrasound proved that my sleepy little baby-to-be is shy, and a thumb sucker. In a few days time, I'm going to be on an airplane from Salt Lake City to Dallas, then from there, to Lawton, Oklahoma, to watch my Soldier's graduation from Basic Training at Fort Sill. I have so much to be happy about right now..

..So why am I being so mopey?

I guess I'm kind of allowed to be emotional. I can't help it that everything's making me bawl. Looking at old pictures from high school- water works. Reading my mail- tear-jerker. Just sitting around- crying yet again! I've gotta leave for work in a half hour.. I'm thinking next I'm gonna bawl about the dead skunk on the side of the road, a customer doesn't like the table I give them, or if my lovely coworker Jake (jokingly) gives me the 'tude. Guess I better put my Big Girl Panties on and pack a box of Kleenex, cause Momma's got a busy night ahead of her. 

MyFirstFashionPrediction for Love,Jaysee

If you remember from last year, I had a little fashion-prediction article on my old blog (Shown here!) and I'd say it turned out pretty successful. I thought I'd do it again, but I got a little lazy. Since I've got nothing better to do today, (and because I've been thinking a lot about outfits- I got a big trip coming up that I want to look FABULOUS for, even with my growing pregnant bell-ay), I decided to make a few more predictions for this year, that might help anyone who (like me), can never decide what to buy.



(Images courtesy of Google)

Trend: Lace Skirts

I just love lace. It's so classy. This year it's back in dress form, sort of. I own a white one, actually, and I love it. I like to wear it with my bronze thrift-store flats and a black ribbed tank with some pearls, but it can be worn with almost anyone's personal style.

Trend: Mystic Jewelry.

Let's face it. When someone's got a necklace on that looks like it should belong to a Voodoo Queen or in a wizarding movie (think, Sorcerer's Apprentice), you just wanna look at it and touch it and see what magic it might hold in the real world. And trust me, when you wear it, you feel like you could just zap away any bothers or bumps in your day. Plus, they look cool.

Trend: A Big Leather Bag

If you're like me, and not really into leather, don't throw the idea of this away just yet. Nothing's wrong woth faux. Right now I'm sporting a pretty burgundy one and it just makes me feel rich. Plus, big bags are so roomy. I can fit almost anything into mine.. but while packing it in I somehow managed to lose my dog.. :o

Trend: Feathers

I like to wear mine in my hair, but a lot of people these days are enjoying the tickle of feathers in their ears. It's an easy way to look you belong at a psychedelic rock gathering, or maybe show off your love to Mother Earth. If you wear the hair clip like me (mine's like the one shown above), try the look with some tousled curls and a few wooden bead and hemp braided bracelets. Isn't nature fun?

Trend: Tucking in the Shirt

Now, obviously with this one you need to be a little more careful. Tucking a tee shirt is pretty dangerous to all that is fashion. But if you buy your blouse in a half size bigger so it's slightly baggy, and tuck in the very ends, you can pull off a cute, smart, dressy look. Try pairing a floral blouse tucked in to show off the belt you'll see below.

Trend: Braided Leathery Belts

Whether you're a cowgirl or a girly girl, you'll probably love this belt as much as I do. If you're not careful, though, you might make yourself look straight out of the 90's. And nobody wants to repeat that disaster. I have a string leather belt that I braid by hand before I wear it, and it really does go with pretty much everything.

Trend: Blue Eyeliner

The first thing I want to say, is the darker blue, the better. For me anyway. I just don't think many people can pull off the Harajuku girl makeup, unless you happen to be one. The reason I like blue is because it makes every eye color pop, and because it's not exactly black, it'll make your eyes look more open and doe-like. (Tip: if you use white in the inside corner of your eye with the blue on the outsides, it'll open the eye even more!)

Trend: Beige/Brown/Tan Pants

It's not like you have to buy grandma-style pants. I personally love the beige because, first off, I'm kind of into the indie look right now, and it's also an easy way to tone down anything extreme you might have going on (think, platform ankle booties, which are in style right now, but definitely not for the faint of style). Pair these with your favorite top (any top will do) and a pretty scarf. I promise, you'll love it.

Trend: Red Fingernail Polish

A classy way to look classy no matter what you wear. My favorite shade is the a deep red, kind of an old style Hollywood thing. Red fingernails just make a girl feel pretty. Go ahead, paint them red and start talking cliche pictures of yourself covering your mouth or playing with your lip. Now, how cute are you?! Lovely!

Trend: Floral Hair Accessories

Now, if you aren't careful, you'll come out looking like a six-year-old. Stay away from anything labeled Hannah Montana or Sweet Child of Mine, because honey.. you're way to old for those. Instead, try some pastel colored flowers pinned to your low, mussed-up bun and see how that feels. Young, but not too young.

Jaysee and the Army Brat.. Episode 1

Now I gotta figure out what to write, since I've been meaning to blog since.. February.

I have finished my second peanut butter sandwich, and my first bowl of Ramen noodles.
Finally I got around to washing my #%@& work shirt, so I can actually wear it to work later.
I'm thinking, at some point I've got to go pick up the mail. I've been waiting on a letter from Cris for a few days now.. eventually it will get here. Then maybe I'll write him back, let him know that everything's going well and my next doctor's appointment is Thursday, then in July. It'd be easier to let him know if he were here, but the Army doesn't allow for a home-study basic training.
I'm still pretty hungry.
I haven't had a Dr. Pepper in almost a week now and I'm pretty sure I want to just explode from a lack of caffeine. But I'm doing my best and fulfilling my promise to be healthier, but in the meantime, it is kicking my butt.
I kind of wish I didn't have to work today, then maybe I could spend a little time with Cris's family.. or my family.. or maybe have a little more time to sit around, be lazy, and pack on a few pounds. It's not like I'll be totally lazy, though.. I mean, I could always research low-fat snacks, gorrilas, or Australian Rules Football. Or, I could take a much-needed nap.

Right now I'm kind of in love with fruit juice. Naked Juice is really good, but I'm still a sucker for classic apple juice. I really can't bring myself to drink much else. I was thinking of buying some fruit-flavored V8 juice, since I need more vegetable intake.. but I hate tomato juice with a living, burning passion.