My newest photo shoot

So since I turned 30 weeks yesterday, I knew it was time to take pictures again. Suddenly I got an idea to use a sheet as my background. I used a scrapbook layout I had seen in a magazine to figure out poses to use. It was quite challenging to set the camera for each pose. I was crawling all over the floor and almost got stuck a few times. Yes, it's true my belly gets me to where I can't move sometimes. It was so crazy I was laughing at myself. I had a lot of fun doing all the pics. I guess that's what happens when you have nothing else to do by clean house.

Oops, I didn't know my belly was hanging out the bottom! This was a terribly hard pose to get into, can't you tell by the way my eyes are? Believe me my belly was hurting with this one.
Getting out there! Whoa! White makes things look bigger right?
From behind you would never know I had all that in front of me. At least I hope not. Humor me people!
Loving my belly! Well usually, sometimes it's a big pain, literally.
Loving the thought of her! I am getting so anxious to see her, it get s me all excited!
Giving God all the praise, without him it wouldn't be possible! I saw someone do this pose in a magazine and that's what I thought about.
This is one of my favorites, it looks sweet.
From behind, I have a little bit of a waist left. Yes I know I have a booty, always have, always will!

Pretty kitty

Chloe is always a bum around here. She loves Maddy's bedroom; I think she believes it is her own. She sleeps with Maddy everynight and sits with her while she takes a bath. They are quite the pair those two. When Maddy leaves, I know I will have to console the cat for sure. The other day I found her sleeping on Maddy's bed and snapped a few pics after she woke up. She's looking mighty nice now that her hair has grown back, don't you think?

Picture day!

So it was time for spring pictures and I picked out a cute blue jean dress for Maddy to wear to school. I saw one of my neighbors girls pics from last years spring ones and the background was so pretty with flowers and greenery (and they sat on a log). However, when I asked Maddy what her background was she said it was the American Flag. I will admit that I was a bit disappointed. Not that I don't like the American Flag, because I totally do (what American doesn't?), but what if I had dressed her in a bright pink? It would have looked crazy. It irritated me that they gave no insight as to what her background would be. But I guess that's how it goes sometimes. I really hope the pics come out cute. I of course LOVE pictures!!! Here's some practice pics we took that morning. Notice her new short hair do, too cute!

You can never have a photo shoot with her without some crazy pics. LOL

Smiling pretty!

Printer issues

I tried to load my printer on my computer after it had crashed and it wouldn't work without the disc, which I apparently had thrown away. I was very angry trying to figure out what to do. I called my father in law, Randey, to get him to help me. He told me how to download it from the Internet. So I got it going and right before it was done it said it had failed. So I get my husband up here to help and turns out we have to buy the disc. That was a two weeks ago....

So a few days ago I get the disc in the mail. I was so excited. What is a scrapbooker without pictures??? I have been going nuts not being able to print pics out from my mom's visit. So I get everything set up and put the disc in. It goes almost all the way and says it failed again. I get my father in law's advice again, maybe it's my antivirus blocking it. So I try again with it turned off and still it doesn't work. I am at a loss for what to do. It is driving me bananas. I have my baby shower this weekend and won't be able to scrapbook the prints??? That is not cool. Sure I could put all my pics on a disc and go print them at the BX, but at 33cent a pic, I don't think so. So here I am mad and irritable because I can't scrapbook anything new. YUCK, YUCK, YUCK!!

Valentine treats

These were our Valentine cookies, they were so yummy, but so full of sugar. What better way to enjoy Valentine's day???

Valentine cutie

She was so excited that she got a valentine gift too. I got her the chocolates and Hannah Montana movie and her daddy got her a card and flowers. I remember loving the holidays as a kid, it was so exciting. Oh and if you are wondering why she's doing the peace sign it's because she got it from the Okinawans. They always do that in pictures. Too funny. Oh and notice her new do, it's short and she loves it!!!

Reality

The other day I was talking to my mother-in-law about how I think turning 30 is going to be really hard for me. She said that 30 was harder for her than any other age. We concluded that it's because when you are younger you think 30 is old. No, I don't think that anymore, but I do believe that my 30th birthday will bother me.

While driving down the road a few days ago, I realized my birthday isn't too far away. I will be turning 27, which is still kind of your mid-twenties, so it shouldn't bother me. However, I believe it does. I certainly don't feel that old, I feel more of a 20 year old. Why does age matter? It is after all a number. Like I said, I don't feel that old. Sometimes I still feel like that same girl I was in high school, just more mature. I wouldn't want to go back to being a teenager, but my early twenties were a fun age. My teenage years were filled with endless drama that now would drive me insane. I know people say they want to go back to that age because you have less responsibility and worries, but I just don't think it's for me. I have become so much more independent since high school and I like that. I know that I can be in a house by myself and not be scared. I have lived by myself for months at a time and been fine with it. I don't necessarily ever want to live that way again, but I at least know I can do it. I remember one night in high school, I spent by myself and was scared to death. Every noise made me jump and I barely slept. I feel fortunate to know that I can take care of myself. However, having said that, I am not sure I enjoy that my age keeps going up. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to lock into an age and stay that way for you whole life? Getting older reminds me that everyone I know is getting older too. The older you get the more people die, the bigger your kids get, and time goes by quicker and quicker. I guess the only thing to do is enjoy whatever age you are in and never take things for granted. Live you life in whatever age you feel you are not what age you actually are. Life is certainly more fun that way.

What a difference two weeks can make!!!

Front view
Side view
Look at that belly, WOW!!! I think I was poking it out a little. :)
Man my face is filling out too, YUCK! I need a tan so bad, can't wait for one this summer!!!

I need help!!!

So I had my crib set picked out and tonight I was looking and found another one that is really cute and cheaper. So if you have the time, I would appreciate if you would to look at them both and tell me which one I should choose. Of course when it comes down to it, I will choose my favorite, but for now I don't know which one that is. So if you want go to http://www.babysupermall.com/ and type in Sugar Plum by Cocalo and then Lilac Garden by Kidsline and tell me which one is cuter. They are very similar, which makes it harder. Just needing advice that's all. Hope you have a great day!!

*Nick picked the Lilac Garden before knowing it was the cheaper one. So we will see......

My top ten reasons I dislike living in Okinawa

1. Of course my number one reason is being away from family and friends. There is nothing that is ever going to make up all the time we are losing with them and it really, really stinks!

2. Having to take that long flight everytime we want to go home, which is usually a day of travel. I am going to include how much it cost in this one too. The price of plane tickets is insane!!

3. Knowing that Kara isn't going to know her family until she's over 2 years old, it breaks my heart.

4. Sushi and the other weird foods they eat. It wouldn't be so bad if you didn't smell it on every corner. I have no idea how they manage to eat that stuff; it smells so horrid!

5. The weather is horrible. Your seasons here go as followes: Jan-May: cool tempuratures with rain, rain, and more rain, and lots of wind. May-Dec: Hot, hotter, and hottest with terrible humidity. Sometimes wind, which helps the heat a little. For someone who doesn't like being hot or rain, this really sucks!

6. Not knowing where in the world you are going because a) you can't read the signs and b) their signs are just as backwards as their driving is.

7. The Shopping is horrible, that is unless you like asian decor (I don't at all), which here isn't like the asian decor in the states. Here it looks cheaply made and minature everything. This should have been my #2 reason. I miss the malls, Walmart, Target, all of it.

8. You can't get the food you want. I want some Cracker Barrel, Olive Garden, Wendy's, Dominos, Taco Bueno (Nick would die for some of it), and so many other restaurants. Man now I am hungary. :(

9. Here's some gripes about living on base: we have no fence for my dogs to run in, so I have to walk them everytime they need to go out, you have to show your ID almost everywhere you go, and they keep all the movies at the BX at $19.95, this my friends is not a deal!!

10. Living over here, we have to get everything shipped in so we have spent probably over $1000 in shipping things from (for family and friend gifts) and to here. I am not exaggerating this one. YUCK!

Okay so I will stop, I know I sound incredibly mean with some of the things, but they get old. I could actually add a few more things to the list like the road tax and lack of clothes here, but I don't want to sound too bad, now do I???

My top ten reasons I like living in Okinawa

1. It has given me a little culture, which is always nice to learn. Use both hands when giving and receiving money, bow when saying thank you (Arigato), and never leave your chopsticks on your plate after you've eaten to name a few...

2. Capital Steak House- they have the best teppanyaki EVER! We eat there at least once a month. They serve it with rice/bread, soup, salad, potatoes, and bean sprouts, it's quite a meal.

3. I feel tall a lot of times, which never happened in the states. The Okinawans are so cute and little. Sometimes I can see the top of their heads. I find it amusing.

4. The Tex Mex restaurant!! Yes it's true, we enjoy a mexican restaurant in Japan. It has the best mexican food. If only it weren't so durn expensive.

5. The trees are pretty awesome. They come in all shapes and sizes. A lot of them have funny roots too!

6. The 100 yen stores, because they have such weird little things. You always find stuff and pick it up thinking, "What in the world is this for?"

7. It's kind of cool to say you live in another country and Kara will get to have that on her birth certificate, so that is neat!

8. Okay so now I am struggling.....um... the beach I guess because it's so close. It's just hard to say that's a reason because of growing up in Florida, I always had it near.

9. My house and view are nice too. I always wanted stairs for some reason, which I now have. I am hoping it is keeping my butt in shape somewhat. And the veiw is really nice. We can see the flight line and the ocean.

10. I guess my final reason would be because I now know how to drive on the left side of the road. I was scared to death at first but now it's so natural. Even when I came back to the states it was an easy transition, so I have to appriciate that!!

No more ultrasounds :(

So I went to my high risk doc yesterday for the last time, assuming that nothing crazy happens, and she said all is perfect with Kara. She weighs about 2lb 10 oz. and should be between 7 1/2 to 8 pounds at birth if she goes full term. She said my cervix looked long so no chance of her trying to escape anytime soon. I told her about my 4D ultrasound and how big the baby's foot was so she went to look at it. Then she asked me how tall Nick is, stating that she may just end up being tall. But I wear a size 8 1/2 shoe and am only 5'3 so I guess maybe she's getting it from me. Who knows?? I was very relieved as always to know that everything is good with Kara. It has been a breath of fresh air from my last experience. I find myself dreaming about her almost everynight. My anticipation of seeing her is growing, but at the same time I know I have so much more to get done before her arrival. Hopefully I will have most things worked out by the first week of March after my baby shower. My friend and I will be working on the invitations this week, so we can get them out by next Wednesday. Did I mention my baby shower (on March 1st) is going to be luau themed? I am very excited about it. I will be sure to post pics for all to see!!

Almost 7 months, whoo hoo!

Okay so I figured I could put up my new belly pic from the other day. Yeah I know my butts as big as my belly, but hey baby got back. LOL. I've been having printer issues so I can't scan in some pics from my newest 4D. I have a pic of me as a baby that looks just like one of the new pics. It's pretty weird. Watch she'll come out looking just like Nick. I really hope she gets his eyes, but if she gets mine that'll be okay too. So I went to my friend's little boy's birthday party last night and this girl says to me, "See how big you are, that's how big I was at 9 months!" I was like, "Okay!?!" I told her I was almost 7, what did she want me to say to that??? The funny part was the girl was bigger than I am now and her daughters 5 years old. I guess she's still working on losing that baby weight. I know it sounds mean, but you know it peeves me when people make dumb comments like that. What was the point really? I just don't get it. Anyway, things are going good, I go for another ultrsound tomorrow with my high risk doc. Unfortunatley I probably won't get to scan any pics she gives me. If I feel calm later I may try again, maybe. Yesterday I was ready to throw the whole thing out the window.

Dumb thing

Okay so I realize her video isn't working on here but after 4 tries that took me literally all night, I am spent. Sorry guys!! Maybe if I am up to it I will try again, but to be honest I doubt it.

Needing advice

Okay so being that I have never raised a baby I am a little clueless on what all I need. I have compiled a list of the things I already have. Therefore I am asking all you mothers out there to advise me on what else I need to buy.

0-3 Months:

25 sleepers

11 newborn onesies

14 0-3 months onesies

5 outfits

2 shirts

6 pair of pants

3-6 Months:

7 sleepers

9 onesies

8 outfits

1 shirt

2 pair of pants

1 pair of shorts

6-9 Months:

2 sleepers

11 onesies

10 outfits

2 shirts

1 pair of pants


I have 12 month clothes too but I figure by then I will know what I do and don't need. I also made a list of the other things I have.

16 bibs

7 hats

15 burp cloths

12 blankets

6 recieveing blankets

6 pacifiers (newborn and stage 1)

2 pair of slippers

8 pair of booties

29 pair of socks (from newborn up to 9 months)

2 robes (they say 0-9 months)

2 crib sheets

4 pair of newborn shoes ( I have shoes ranging up to size 4)

1 pack of 40 newborn diapers

1 pack of 60 size 1 diapers

1 large pack of baby wipes

1 nail clipper

10 bottles

1 bottle cleaner

2 containers to put formula in for on the go

3 baby towels

10 baby washclothes

1 baby brush and comb

baby book

strollers (both regular and jogging)

car seat

swing

crib

diaper changing table

rocker




Okay so that's about it. I know that I will of course need more diapers and wipes. I have also been told to buy more crib sheets. I know I will get some things I need at my shower (March 1) so I am waiting until after that to buy much more. Although the baby sale here is at the end of the month so I am going to buy my pack n play then. So anyway, if you have any advice, please let me know. I hope you all have a nice weekend.

A shy little girl....

Okay so Nick and I were very anxious to find out if the baby was a girl or boy for sure so I went and got another 4D done. I wasn't going to do it and just wait for my appointment on Monday, but Nick insisted. He said it was worth the extra $50 to not be wondering anymore. He had to stay home to study (he tested for tech on Thursday, keep your fingers crossed) while I went. When I got there I told the girl my main reason for coming was to find out the sex of the baby. She looked and said that it may be a girl but the legs were too close together. We tried to shaker her around so she would move them, but she wouldn't budge. She called in another nurse to look, who couldn't tell either. Finally they called the Japanese doctor in and he said "Girl, girl!!!" I asked him if he was sure and he said he was. So there you have it, she is a girl. I was happy that it didn't change because I have all the girl clothes and ideas of how to do her nursery bouncing around in my head. It would have been hard to convert everything to a boy this late in the game, but it could have been done. I am just so thankful and excited to know for sure. I can't wait to see my sweet baby Kara. Only a few months until I can hold her in my arms.

HER video

So here is the first video. You have to tell me if you saw what Nick and I did. I was so glad to figure out how to convert the video to a DVD. I am sending both my mother in law and mom one. Technology is just so awesome these days. I tried to put the whole video on here but apparently that is too large of a file so I cut it down, but you get the best part of it. You can also see her enormous foot!!! But she's a beauty isn't she? I didn't notice a pointed nose or that she was fat, just some chubby cheeks. Guess my doctor doesn't really know what she's talking about. LOL

*This post has been the biggest pain in my rear just to let you know. Being that my blogger has converted itself back to Japanese doesn't help the matter. LOL

4D ultrasound

The arm and the face.
Arm and face with the best view.
Arm covering the face.
Looks like she's scratching her head.
Arm over head, some body and the knee.
Maybe she had a headache.
Chubby cheeks.
Her pretty face.

Finally after all the wait, I got to see my baby's sweet face. It was so awesome, I couldn't believe it. At first you couldn't see the face because the arm, hand, and foot (which was huge) were in the way. As of right now she's breech, luckily there's time for her to change. Bad news is that both Nick and I believe we saw boy parts rather than girl ones. It really freaked me out. I thought it was just me but then Nick said he saw it too so we got the girl to go check and then the foot was blocking that area. So maybe what we saw was a toe or something else, I don't know. I guess I will have to wait on the cute purple, pink, and brown things I had planned on ordering today. YUCK!!! I hate waiting, I am terribly impatient. I have an ultrasound scheduled for the 11th (next Monday) so hopefully they can easy my worries then. I would of course love a boy too, but I have so much pink and purple already. Oh well, I know it will work out for the best. As long as it's healthy it won't matter. I got a tape of the whole ultrasound that I am going to try to convert to DVD. If I figure it out I will post it on my blog so you can see if you see what I saw. I am going to keep calling the baby a girl for now. Could you imagine me having to bring my son home in a princess outfit? Nick would die. He would probably make me put him in only a diaper and blanket. So until next week, I will be sitting here wondering, waiting, going nuts. Wish me luck. I know Aunt Sandi, I need to stop, I hear you echoing in my head.

Comment problem

Sorry for my comments not being available. I guess it must have reset when my computer got all wacky. I believe I have fixed the problem. Now bring on those comments. LOL Oh and I am also having problems using my spell check it won't work. Any ideas? (So now you know I am not always the best speller. Oh well!!)