Black Friday

It's the day after Black Friday and I'm still slowly recovering from all the insanity. And by insanity, I don't mean the crowds...I mean, us. Jim and I. We were the insane ones. You'll shortly see why.

Before I said "I do", Black Friday meant squat to me. On Thanksgiving, I was all, "ads? what ads?" and when I heard about people waking up in the middle of the night in order to claim their spot in lines forming outside of stores, I was shocked. Ok, these people were clearly crazy. I'd rather sleep in thankyouverymuch. Well, the Black Friday bug hit Jim and I hard shortly after we got married. For three months, we lived without a computer [to this day, I have NO idea how we managed that] and on Thanksgiving, while aimlessly browsing the ads, we came across a stellar deal at Circuit City. Jim's family is HUGE on the after Thanksgiving sales so I'd be lying if I said I didn't want in on all the fun while hearing them discuss their plan of attack for the following day. So, Jim and I were naive little black friday virgins and decided to wake up at 3am in anticipation of getting our computer when Circuit City opened their doors at 5 am. Yes, we gave ourselves 2 measely hours to get in line at Circuit City....a gosh darn electronics store...on Black Friday!! I still can't believe how big of amateurs we were.

Long story short - we were at least 500 people deep in line and yet somehow, someway, we found ourselves first in the computer line once we were inside the store. Cluelessly we made our purchase and when we turned around 5 minutes later to leave, we were flabberghasted to see the computer line..the line we somehow managed to start...wrapped around the ENTIRE perimeter of the store! To this day, neither of us can explain this phenomenom. How on earth 500 people made their way into the store and yet we mozied right up on to that counter without a single soul ahead of us is still a big ol' mystery to me. Clearly this purchase was meant to be.....and clearly we were transformed into black friday addicts from that day on.

For the past two years, our after Thanksgiving purchases have been pretty tame. No big ticket items for us. Jim usually stood in line at Farm and Fleet [boooooring!] and hit up Menards and Ace while Elizabeth and I got our Victoria's Secret tote and cashed in our $10 coupon at Boston Store. By 8 am, I'd be back at home snuggling on my couch and admiring all my purchases. Yes, Black Friday was a good day.

Until this year....

You see, I've been on the market for a laptop for my photo editing. It's getting tough sharing a computer with a husband who loves the internet as much as I do, not to mention, I needed something with a little more "juice" to run Photoshop. My "always looking for a deal" husband researched the black friday specials and found a pretty good computer to fit my needs. There was one problem - it was on the stinkin' cover of Best Buy's ad! Front cover usually means two things: limited quantities and gluttonous consumers. For a few days we went back and forth. We fully knew that if we wanted a shot at the computer we had to play the game right and get in line at an ungodly hour of the morning. Did we want to do this? Was it worth it? You get the picture.

Well, we had a mini epiphany. The chances of Jim having this morning off were slim. He'd either be working or about to start a shift and this evening presented neither situation. He was off on Thanksgiving...he was off on Black Friday. The cards seemed to align themselves perfectly. Not to mention the fact that this was the last year we could really do something crazy on Black Friday. So, it was decided. The two of us crawled into bed around 8 pm on Thanksiving and woke up to our alarms at 11:45 pm! After layering up and making three thermoses of hot chocolate, these two crazies found themselves in line at Best Buy a little before 1 am! If you think we're crazy, just think of all those people already ahead of us. A quick estimate told us there were probably 100-150 people who had an advantage for the door...ugh. We knew at the moment, this was a huge crapshoot. There was no way of knowing for sure if that computer would be ours unless we braved the cold for another 4 hours. And goodness gracious - it was COLD! 3 layers on top, 5 on the bottom and a blanket wrapped around the two of us did little to keep that bitter cold away from our bones!

Oh, and I somehow missed the memo that I was pregnant and would probably have to go to the bathroom during those 4 hours. Naively I guzzled down an entire thermos of hot chocolate only to feel the famililar sensation of the peepee dance underway. After admitting defeat and sheepishly telling Jim my dilemma, I ran to the nearby George Webbs and almost died when I saw it was closed. Quickly, I ran back to Jim who told me to take the car and find a gas station. While driving, I had to pee so so bad, I considered pulling into a dark corner to do my job. Luckily I found an open gas station, sprinted inside and well...you know the rest.

For the next three hours or so, Jim and I switched off sitting in the car. This worked wonders for both of us. Clearly the car provided the warm of actual heat and the person outside got to completely engulf themselves in the blanket which was perfect at keeping the cold at bay.

By 3 am, the Best Buy employees had the line nice and compact and in an orderly fashion.

By 4am, they started passing out the vouchers. First, camcorders...then cameras...TVs...followed by desktops. Finally, I heard laptop and painfully waited while they handed out vouchers for HP, Dell and Toshiba. Where on earth was my cherished Sony laptop?! Suddenly the vouchers stopped and I was convinced that they ran out immediately and didn't even have a chance to make it to our part of the line. After a few minutes I was about to take a walk and see what the deal was when I saw an employee a few feet ahead of us with an armful of vouchers - for MY SONY LAPTOP! So, yes, the 4 hours of waiting paid off!! Another hour inside to pay for the computer was all we had ahead of us and quite honestly, that time flew by.

Jim and I were home a little after 6 am and immediately crashed into bed. Exhastion doesn't even begin to explain how we felt. Staying up all night mixed with the anticipation of Black Friday taxed our bodies and minds and we planned on sleeping the day away if that's what it meant to feel better.

So, there you go. Our Black Friday journey. We can now say we did this day with a bang and I can assure you, we'll probably never ever do this again :)

Pregnancy - Week 14

Week 14 means I'm no doubt in my 2nd trimester! Woo hoo! I really never thought I'd get here. Or "be" here is more like it. Back in the summer when we were trying to conceive, if someone would have told me I'd be sporting a baby bump by Thanksgiving, I'd tell them they were crazy. But God is good and here I am!

I can honestly say the whole "feeling better in the 2nd trimester" concept is very much a true statement. Unfortunately, I'm still on my Zofran to help with the nausea. I decided to test the waters over the weekend and not refill my prescription but by Monday morning I was throwing up within 10 minutes of waking. I cannot tell you how horrible it is to violently vomit stomach bile. It's gross and disguisting and just the thought of what I'm doing, makes me hurl that much more. When I have mornings like these, I normally have no problem skipping class for the day. There's no need to embarass myself in front of a lecture hall of 100 students, right? Well, this was not an option on Monday since I had my 3rd Physics test. Since Jim was just getting off a shift, I decided to call and ask him to bring home one of his handy dandy EMT barf bags. And because my husband is the best husband in the entire world he offered to take me to school and run down by the lake while I sat through my classes. By mid morning I was feeling a little bit better but we had a mini set back on the drive home. Let's just say I got good use of the barf bag. There's nothing like rolling down the window and feeling the cool breeze across your face as you say good bye to all the hard candies you had been sucking on all morning long.

But seriously, enough of this talk. We refilled my Rx and within a few hours I felt back to my normal self. On top of that, my energy level has sky rocketed! This makes me so happy, you have no idea. I'm starting to wear make up again..and accessories...and I'm slowly beginning to learn how to turn on the hair dryer! Yes, indeed, it's an exciting week in the Weiss household. Poor Jim probably thought he lost the woman he married and was destined to reside with a frump for the rest of his life. He and I were both esctatic with the biggest accomplishment of all - exercising again! Yes, last week I was able to easily handle 5 days on the treadmill. I never though I'd be so thrilled about working out!

But you know what makes my heart skip a beat more than the treadmill? How about some shopping! I outgrew my jeans around week 9 but was able to still sport my normal winter sweaters. Last week however, I was getting kind of sick of feeling like a stuffed marshmellow and decided to hit the mall with my mom. I've officially decided shopping with my mom is the best possible thing I could have done. She takes her time browsing the racks, gives me her honest to goodness opinion and doesn't care if I want to hit up one more store. Mom and I had quite a laugh this past Saturday and I'm sure this story will come up many times in the future. At the first store we grabbed a handful of shirts and dresses and headed for the dressing room. Within a few minutes of me whipping my clothes off, my mom blantantly pointed out that I needed new bras. I was shocked...I mean, I knew my boobs had grown a bit but I was convinced they filled out a little more instead of increasing in cup size. After going back and forth about the quality of my Vicki's bra we decided to hit up the bra department and take a look. Being a dedicated Victoria's Secret buyer, I really have no desire to wear department store undergarments. Call me snooty but I never felt their quality lived up to the greatness that is VS. After searching high and low we found a bra with a good amount of coverage and once I put it on, I thought I died and went to heaven. So this is what comfort feels like?!?! I showed my mom and within a millisecond she said "Yes! MUCH better!!" We decided to try a size larger in anticipation of the girlies growing some more and my jaw hit the ground when I saw that a 34C fit me perfectly. I always always always wore a B cup....I never thought the day would come when I would flash my husband my new C cup bra and say "Look what I got!" The next day at church I leaned over to my mom and whispered something about how wonderful my new bra felt....she just looked at me as if to say "No kidding! I can't believe you were wearing that old dingy bra to begin with." Again, I love shopping with my mom. As they say...mother knows best!

I'll end this post with my weekly photo. We have the silhouette shot on the left to give you a good idea of what I look like nekkid. And of course the shot on the right shows me in my everday wear. Please note the adorable sweater I got from Motherhood.



So, there you go...week 14. Like I said earlier, I can't believe I'm already here. Before I know it, I'll be posting my 24 week update. Oh, how time flies!

First Trimester in Words

[Yikes! This ended up being a long one. Sorry about that...although it would make for a great lunch time read for all you office workers :) ]

Alright, let's get this show on the road! Apparently I'm not completely aware of the fact that this pregnancy is progressing at a pretty fast pace. I still feel like I just saw those two lines but I need a constant reminder that I'm not at 4/5/6weeks anymore. The following evidence should prove my point: a) A fellow firefighter asked Jim how I feel about showing already b) Last week a lady from church inquired how far along I was. When I told her 13 weeks, she followed with "ooooh, girl...you're showing nice and good!" and finally c) This past weekend I said goodbye to my love/hate relationship with my 34B bras and was shocked...SHOCKED to see a 34C fit me like perfection! I never knew perfection could feel soooooooo good.

Like I mentioned earlier, I've been keeping a pregnancy journal for myself. Instead of rehashing the last 12 weeks, I thought I'd highlight a few important sentences/statements. In a nutshell, the first trimester brought me one thing and one thing only - morning sickness. I really can't describe the agony of such a condition. It's the worst!!! Besides going to class, I spent the majority of my time on the couch wishing with all my might that I would feel SOME relief. Well, I finally got that relief - in the form of the tiniest pill in the world. Zofran, I love you.

Now here's the rest of the tri for your reading pleasure:

Week 4: "Still completely shocked, I'm slowly getting used to the wonderful idea that Jim and I are actually pregnant. This week I'm still feeling like my usual self, minus some major bloating. I was shocked however to see how rounded my stomach was during my 4 week belly photo.........The cravings have kicked in slightly. I went to Target one night this week to purchase “What to Expect..” and some more sports bras when I suddenly decided right then and there that I NEEDED orange juice and needed it now. So, I marched right over to the food section and searched high and low for my beloved orange juice. I couldn't find it anywhere. Why on earth would Target NOT have orange juice?? I browsed the aisles one more time and still nothing. My mind was dead set and there was NO turning back. I figured if I couldn't get OJ at Target, then I would make a stop at another store on my way home. [So this is what a pregnancy craving feels like, huh??] Thankfully, they had another freezer section that I completely missed and it was like finding an oasis in the desert! I bought my orange juice, came home and guzzled half the jug down. Delish!"

Week 5: "Can we talk morning sickness, please? Holy smokes, I feel like I'm coming down with a horrible case of the flu. I'm sick and nauseous all hours of the day and every smell in the world makes me want to vomit! It doesn't matter how pleasant the smell is, if it HAS A scent, I want to puke.....One morning before class I took out the garbage. Even though I held my nose while doing so, the smell still got to me, so I quickly ran to the backyard for fresh air. Well, it didn't work and I ended up throwing up my entire breakfast right there in the grass. Gross! The queasiness lasted for most of the morning and even though I drove to school, I still ended up skipping both of my classes. On my way home I called Jim and asked him to scrub the kitchen because the smell of our house was really getting to me and by the time I got home, everything was put away and clean (LOVE my husband!). However, the afternoon rolled around and I still wasn't feeling any better. In fact, I felt worse. In hopes of airing out our house some more I opened up the windows but this was also the time Jim started cutting the grass. Who knew the smell of freshly cut grass could make someone so sick?? I crawled in to bed and it was then and there that I decided to call my doctor. Within the hour, they had called a prescription into Walgreen's and I was on my way in hopes of saying good bye to morning sickness forever!"

Week 6: "Yes, indeed! The medicine worked!! It took a day or two to fully kick in but around mid-week I FINALLY felt some relief from this horrible nausea. It felt good to be a newly pregnant mom without feeling like I needed to lie down all the time.....Because the morning sickness wasn't taking up all of my energy, I was able to really think about the baby we will hopefully meet in May 2010. On my way to class I was thinking about next summer and how we are going to have a little one on our hands. I had visions of little tiny sandals and chunky baby thighs. And the following summer, we'll have a one year old (!) and all I could think about were those chunky baby thighs on the move. Those images make me smile :) It's really sinking in that at the end of all of this, we are going to have a baby!"

Week 7: "Week 7 marked the week of renewed energy! I was able to get back to exercising (even if it was only 2 or 3 times this week). On Monday night I even took the plunge and decided to run on the treadmill downstairs. Running [and working out in general] has always been a time when I exerted myself above and beyond my normal daily activities – hence it was marked with feelings of a little pain and exhaustion. But during pregnancy, I'm finding my workouts to be a time when I'm given relief from the normal pains and nausea associated with my days."

Week 8: "What on earth happened to my newfound energy and motivation? Things definitely took a turn for the worse this week. Raging hunger has taken over my body and by noon, most days, I'm absolutely starving! I've noticed that I'll be craving something for hours and by the time I make it and eat, it majorly fails to satisfy my appetite. Which of course leads to frustration and crabbiness. I haven't been able to work out this week since all I want to do is eat and sleep and eat and sleep and eat and sleep......Another thing that is kind of getting to me is the fact that Jim and I have kept this secret for a month now. I know it doesn't seem like that long of a time but I'm getting really antsy. I noticed that I wasn't paying attention in class this week because I was thinking and getting really excited about telling people soon! Jim and I have our first prenatal appointment next week [yay!] and while I'm not sure if it's going to happen, I'm really hoping they do an ultrasound. All I want to do is see baby's heartbeat and know everything is okay."

Week 9: "We had our appointment on Thursday of this week [October 15, 2009] and it was by far one of the best days of my life. The first thing they did was weigh me...yikes! But I was thrilled to see that even with my clothes and shoes on, I was still exactly at [ha! like i'd reveal that to the blogophere!]...so, no weight gain yet! Shortly after meeting the nurse practitioner, it was clear that they do not perform an ultrasound at the first prenatal appointment. Despite the fact that I was secretly hoping to see our little bean, I found myself surprisingly okay with waiting another week or so.

I thought it was funny when the NP asked for the reason for our appointment. When I told her we were pregnant, she handed me a piece of paper with their results for that day. Right on top it said “Pregnancy test – Positive”. Although I saw that result for myself a few weeks ago and haven't gotten a period in two months, there was something so surreal about seeing it confirmed by a doctor's office. The NP offered to make a photocopy of the test result so Jim and I could keep it :) She then ran through some regular questions, performed a pap and felt my uterus and ovaries. For some reason, I let out a teary laugh when she informed me my uterus felt like it was “10 weeks”. So my body is actually pregnant and doing what it should be doing?!?!?! We ended with some blood work and the seasonal flu shot which I would regret getting later on that day [fought a major migraine for 2 days straight!]. On our way out, the NP informed us to make an appointment for our ultrasound in one week as well as a few othern necessary appointments. We were standing at the counter when all of a sudden I felt the NP tap me on the shoulder. She then informed me the ultrasound tech had a free afternoon and asked if Jim and I wanted the u/s right now!! I can't explain how thrilled I was! Of course we said yes and were led back to the examining rooms.

The ultrasound tech was super nice. I was a bit nervous....what if she couldn't see the baby because the baby wasn't even there?!?! My fears were proven wrong, though, shortly after she started the u/s. Right there on the screen we saw our baby! And even better, I immediately saw the ticking heart in his or her chest. Talk about a range of emotions! - relief, amazement and love. I even started tearing up...there was our baby...all fine and well. Jim held my hand during the entire time we watched our baby on the screen. One of the coolest things was when we saw the baby move and when we got to actually hear the heartbeat. So fast!! - 183 beats per minute! It was a little disappointing to be done with the procedure but we got about 6 photos of our baby which looks like the most adorable teddy bear ever. All the way home I kept looking at the photos in complete amazement."

Week 10: "One of the things that blew me away this week is the fact that I'm beginning to show in my clothing. I got dressed one night and was shocked to see a small baby bump sticking out of my shirt. Thank goodness Jim and I didn't decide to wait until 12 weeks to spill the beans....I don't think I could hide the bloat that much longer! People would probably assume I've been enjoying food way to much these days [I mean..I am...but still.] Anyway, this early showing has me a tad nervous. If I'm looking pregnant now, what on earth am I going to look like at 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40 weeks?!?!?!? Googlesearch has been my friend but there really doesn't seem to a clear explanation for the early show. I thought maybe short girls pooch out a little early but really, everyone is just different, I guess. But dang..so soon?"

Week 11: "Oh, maternity jeans....how I love thee, let me count the ways. Yes, this was the week I finally said goodbye to that awful bella band and finally purchased some awesome stretchy jeans!.....I'm irritated with the fact that the morning sickness is still in full swing. Since I'm coming to the end of my first trimester I thought maybe...just maybe, the sickness would be gone by now so I slowly stopped taking my Zofran. A day and a half later I woke up feeling absolutely awful and within minutes I was throwing up in the downstairs bathroom. Still feeling crummy, I decided to skip my classes for the day and sleep the nausea away. I definitely learned my lesson--- TAKE THE ZOFRAN! TAKE THE ZOFRAN!!"

Week 12: "Jim and I had our second prenatal appointment this week.....the best part of the whole afternoon was hearing our peanut's heartbeat again. It took a few minutes for the nurse to find it with the doppler but sure enough she found it on my right side, which I'm assuming that's where baby is. The heartbeat sounded nice and strong and it registered in at 134 beats/minute. I didn't hit me but after Jim and I walked out of the room, I got the most overwhelming sense that we are having a boy. I've heard people tell me they think we're having a girl or boy and up to this point, I haven't felt a strong pull in either direction. But on Wednesday when I realized boy's heartbeats are generally slower [under 140 beats per minute], I just felt boy, boy, boy running through my veins! It was quite the surreal, “mom intuition” moment."

So, there you have it. The first 12 weeks. The ironic thing is...half way through composing this post, I darted to the bathroom and was forced to bow down to the porcelain god yet again. Guess this stupid, stupid, stupid morning sickness is here to stay. But hey, at least I get a baby out of the deal :)

New Moon? Why, yes.

Despite the fact that I'm a year older and am carrying my husband's child, I was giddy as heck yesterday knowing that I was going to feast my eyes on Edward Cullen for a solid 2 hours.



Yes, I saw the sneak peak of New Moon last night and I'm STILL thinking about Edward..I mean, the movie. I'm still thinking about THE MOVIE.

Being bff's with a girl in the biz really rocks! Elizabeth Kay got us tickets to the sneak peak which was freakin' awesome. When we arrived at the theater there was this massive line of teens just waiting and hoping to get a seat for the showing but Elizabeth and I were able to bypass the crowd and take our seats immediately! Oh, and they were perfectly situated reserved seats. Really, what more could a Twilight fan ask for?!

So, the movie? I won't give anything away because I know there are so many of you out there planning on seeing it tonight or tomorrow. But I will give my thoughts without ruining anything.

1. The production of New Moon is hands down MUCH better than Twilight. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE Twilight because I fall into the category of "obsessed", but there was a lot less giggling going on in the theaters this time around.

2. I thought the special effects were pretty cool and not so cheesy. No, you don't see Edward's twinkle toes in New Moon but you do get to see some awesome fight scenes. At one point, I even cringed and emitted an audible, "oooooh!" while looking away. The Volturi scene was that good!

3. The tense scenes evoked a good amount of suspense which was awesome. When Laurent and Bella met face to face, I got majorly creeped out and all goose-bumpy. Even better, when Bella was running through the courtyard in Italy, I felt myself saying "hurry up! hurry up!" in my head. I mean...I knew how it ended but I still felt the tension so another thumbs up to production!

4. Ok, so do you remember in the book how Stephenie Meyer's described the Cullens as pale white yet absolutely gorgeous? And then you watched Twilight and all you saw was a whole lotta pale white and not a whole lotta gorgeous? Especially Rosalie. She is supposedly the most beautiful woman in the world and yet that didn't come across as it should have in Twlight. Well, they definitely upgraded their make up crew. The Cullens were absolutely beautiful...pale AND beautiful. A hard combination to pull off, if I do say so myself.

5. I think Kristen Stewart had a lesson or two in acting since Twilight! I could actually stomach her drama - minus the nightmare scenes. Those were still hard to swallow. It was like watching the stuttering hospital scene all over again.

6. Right off the bat, you get straight up kissing and the infamous crooked smile....and oh, what a crooked smile it is. Elizabeth and I had a girly moment and squeezed each other's hand while swooning.

7. The one bad thing...and I suppose it really isn't a bad thing considering the movie is based on the book..is during the film all you want is Edward to come back. New Moon was by far my least favorite book in the series [for obvious reasons] so I wasn't really shocked that I had those same feelings during the movie. Who cares about Jacob Black and his wolf pack, I want the sexy vampire and I want him now!

8. Ok, there was *one* super cheesy scene that got a stifled laugh from me. I'm not going to say anything but I'm curious to see if anyone catches it. If so, comment me!

9. I give two enthusiastic thumbs up to the way they ended New Moon. Twilight had the dramatic ending with Victoria slithering her way down the staircase and if I recall correctly, the crowd was wild in the theater. It totally left you hanging and craving the next movie RIGHT NOW. Well, the Twilight extraordinaries delivered once again - the New Moon ending got a rise out of the crowd and now I can't wait to see Eclipse [which, as I just realized, is coming out in June! As in THIS June!!]

So, that's it. Everyone seeing the movie in the next 24-48 hours, ENJOY! I'm sure all Twilight-ers will adore it.

First Trimester in Pictures

I've been a good pregnant lady and have been keeping a pregnancy journal ever since finding out the wonderful, amazing, spectacular good news. The plan is to condense the first trimester into one entry but before I do that, I wanted to share pictures throughout this time. Being the major dork that I am, I put the photos to a song that always made me think of our future child even before we got pregnant. In fact...I heard this song on a run about a week or so before we conceived and envisioned all sorts of cute photo montages! So imagine my delight that I finally get to do this :) Embrace my inner dorkness and enjoy the show.

Before you watch..a quick note. I realized the belly photos are bit annoying to handle. They apparently haven't been composed the same each week thanks to my lovely photographer/husband. I really didn't notice this until the actual sequence but of course, I'm too lazy and tired to do some editing :) Please forgive me.

Now go and watch the video before the weiners at youtube disable the audio! I'm giving this video 5 days or so before it's trashed!

Finding out the Good News

[post written on September 12, 2009].

In case any of you are wondering, I'm sitting here at my computer at 6:02 am on a Saturday morning. That's ludicrous is you ask me....After my first week back at school, I should be sleeping in enjoying some much needed R&R.

Problem is...I can't.

I've been tossing and turning since 4:30 am.

Why?

Because approximately 15 hours ago, I found out I was pregnant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, wow, wow....I'm pregnant!!! I have the beginning of a human being in my belly :) I can't believe it. I simply CANNOT fathom it.

I'm. Pregnant.

[!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]



Deep breath. Okay, I'm better now.

So, finding out. This is how it all went down.

On Monday, September 7th, 2009 [Labor Day, none the less!], before heading to bed I noticed some light spotting and I figured my lovely period was due to show within the next 12 hours. While crawling into bed, I mentioned to Jim that we were out this month. While disappointed, we weren't necessarily down in the dumps. We weren't trying...in fact this was sort of a "not trying" month. No temperature taking, no timed lovin', no butt propping...nothing. In fact, this was more of a white water rafting- margarita drinking - oops I forgot to take my vitamins sort of month for me.

Well, for the next few days the spotting was sporadic and never turned into much more. This rarely, if ever, happens to me. You see, aunt flow is not a considerate guest in my house. She doesn't call ahead of time or give me a heads up concerning her arrival. She doesn't beep in the driveway to let me know she's here. Instead, she's more of the type to barge into my front door, raid my fridge and prop her feet up on the coffee table while watching my beloved flatscreen. She has absolutely no problem letting me know loud and clear that she's here so you can imagine my confusion when the spotting turning into nothing more. I even attempted to "get things going" and hit the gym hardcore this week. An hour of cardio or some grueling resistance training surely should have got things moving in that general vicinity but again...nothing.

On Tuesday night I went over to my parent's house to wish Don a Happy Birthday. Later on, my mom and I were sitting in the kitchen discussing this situation when I finally caved in and busted out a calendar. Even though I wasn't counting days, I wanted a general sense of where I was in my cycle based on my history. It was then that I realized I was NOT late...in fact, the spotting started around 10 days past ovulation [dpo]. After making this realization, I quickly told my mom I wasn't late and that I was certain my period would arrive within the next day or two. I didn't tell her about the 10dpo realization or the possibility of implantation bleeding. Because really...even then I didn't believe it.

On Friday, September 11th, I was certain this would be the start of a new cycle and mentally prepared myself for letdown. Shortly after my 9am class started, I felt the all-too-familiar symptoms of cycle day 1 and left for the bathroom. And yet again...Nothing.

After class I did 30 minutes of cardio and a crazy amount of weight lifting. Still....NOTHING.

Are you guys getting annoyed yet with my mention of the word "nothing"? Are you like "get on with the story already!" Because, I can assure you, that's nothing compared to the frustration I felt going through this entire ordeal. I finally decided to end this crazy rollercoaster ride and take a home pregnancy test. I just wanted to see a negative result so I could accept this month's fate and mentally and emotionally move on. And really - nothing brings on aunt flow faster than negative pregnancy test. At times I think she hides in the wings teasing and taunting, only to jump out and yell "Hahhahaha....gotcha! Made you take a test! Na-Na-Na-Boo-Boo! I win!"

So, I got home from the gym, took a shower and before dressing, grabbed my LAST Dollar Store test. I quickly did what I had to do and before I knew it, I saw the faintest test line appear. At first, I thought "no way...no STINKIN' way!" But within a minute I saw two of the most beautiful pink lines of my entire life. I've seen a lot of double lines in my lifetime but these were MY pink lines - from MY pee!!!

I immediately started crying and shaking. I just keep looking down at the test and repeatedly saying "oh my gosh. oh my gosh! I'm pregnant!" Just typing this now, I'm getting really emotional. I never thought I would experience that moment and at the time it just felt so surreal. After glancing up from the test, I would look myself in the mirror and just lose it again. I was pregnant. No matter what happened the next hour, day or month, at that moment, I was pregnant. The miracle of conception took place in my body and the realization just blew me away. After a few minutes, right there in my bathroom, in nothing but a towel, I fell to my knees and just thanked God. He heard my prayers. He heard our prayers. And despite my up and down faith and grumpiness, in His goodness, He answered our prayers.

Looking back, I can sort of see a few symptoms that may have signaled I had a little bambino snuggling away in my body. They were so slight, however, that I can only say they were pregnancy symptoms because now I know that I truly have a bun in the oven. For instance a little over a week ago, I broke out hard core. The left side of my face sprouted about 5 zits and I wasn't happy about it. Also one night this week, I woke up around 11 pm and felt like the room was a sauna. I quickly told Jim to open the window and put the fan on full blast. He thought I was crazy. They say progesterone is a heating hormone and I couldn't agree more!

Of course there was the spotting and unfortunately my body is all about bloat right now. More so than my usual pre-period bloat. I'm kind of sad that my 4 week photos are going to show me out of shape. Oh well...

Let's see..what else? Ah yes, the infamous sore/hard boobs. This one threw me for a loop though because this is usual for me. But the pain started MUCH earlier than normal and instead of subsiding like it always does, I can confidently say it feels like someone is using my chest as a punching bag at the moment.

I had some light headedness but one of the most disturbing things that happened to me was a short burst of memory loss. Yesterday at the gym, I headed back to the locker room and as soon as I was about to open my locker, I had zero recollection of my combination. Now I've had this lock for 4 years so this should NOT have been happening. I made a few attempts and after failing, I just sat down on the bench, starring at my lock, willing myself to remember. After a minute or so, those three numbers popped into my head and I quickly opened my locker before I forgot again! I've heard of pregnancy brain but does it really begin so early? If so, this is going to be one interesting semester...with two physics classes, none the less!

That's the story for now. I think I'll write a post about telling Jim. I need to warn you that's it's not at all cute and creative. I really wish I could say that is was but unfortunately he was at the beginning of a 48 hour shift and there was NO way on God's green earth, I was going to keep this to myself that long :)

Do you Believe?

Do you believe in miracles?



How about answered prayers?



What about love at first sight?



I do.

Because Baby Weiss is set to make his or her grand entrance into this world on (or around) May 20, 2010!!!!!!!!!

Today I am 12 WEEKS PREGNANT! Thank you God!

And of course....more juicy details are to come.

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" - Psalm 37:4