It's the most wonderful time of the year!

And no. I'm not talking about Christmas.

It's College Football time!!!

The Buckeyes take on Marshall tonight....K-State plays UCLA on Saturday.
Does it get much better than that??

Since the time I was about 14 I've been a self proclaimed college football fanatic.

My family has had season tickets to Kansas State since 1996,

We've travelled to more bowl games, away games and Big 12 championships than I can count.

Seeing Willy the Wildcat brings a smile to my face.

I've cheered them on through good seasons and bad....the pouring rain and the scorching heat.

I've slowly turned my husband into a fan.

One of the first things we bought for Jamie....was a K-State onesie.

I love the Wildcats.

I went to THE Ohio State University.

I had coveted season tickets to the Horseshoe all four years I was there.

I travelled to Purdue.

I watched them beat Michigan....3 times.

I have a Block "O" tattooed on my ankle.

My Senior year, me and 3 of my best friends travelled to Tempe, AZ to watch our Buckeyes win the National Championship.

I actually cried when they won.

That's when I knew I was officially a football nut.

So while I'm sad to see summer coming to end, I'm like a kid in a candy store knowing that it's football time again!!

Here's to hoping both my teams have a great season!

Look at me! I do nothing...and now I'm famous...Part Deux

As you all know by now I love...and watch....a lot of crappy reality TV.

Teen Mom? Check.

16 and Pregnant? Check.

Bethanny's Getting Married? Check.

The list goes on....and on.....and on.

I never got the Jersey Shore.

I tried to watch it.

But it was too much of a train wreck, even for me.

So someone please explain to me how "the Situation" is going to earn 5 million dollars this year.

Seriously?

For what?

Being a trashy guido with a 6 pack and flaunting it on MTV?

Wow.

If that's all it takes these days to make 5 million bucks, I better start working on my abs!

I'm 3 weeks old today!

(Age Blocks from BB Blocks.com)

Hi everyone! Now that I'm 3 weeks old, mommy thought it was about time I wrote my own blog post. I think she's just too tired to write it herself....which is probably my fault for being such a grumpy gus lately...so I thought I'd help her out.

I had a busy week. Grandma came in town for a few days. We all went shopping and out to lunch. I love cruising around town in my stroller and always get lots of attention when we're out. I'm a true ladies man already! But really who can blame them....I am pretty adorable! Mommy even got to go out one afternoon for a few hours and get her toes done and run a few errands without me. I think she really liked the break and I love hanging out with grandma. In fact Thursday night mom and dad went out for a date and then grandma slept over and took the graveyard shift. Mommy got like 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, I'd never seen her look so happy! She told me it had been months since she'd slept that long.....I told her it will probably be months before she does again. This weekend daddy went home to Ohio for his 10 year high school reunion. (Wow, dad's old!) Me and mom weren't quite ready for the trip so we stayed home alone from Friday afternoon until tonight. Mommy told me she must have been having a crazy moment before I was born to think it was a good idea to send daddy away for a whole weekend when I was this little, but I think we did ok. Plus Auntie Nikki came into town on Saturday and Sunday and we had so much fun! I was bummed she didn't bring my future wife Harper along too, but 2 babies plus 2 crazy dogs probably would have been too much! We went to the mall for lunch and shopping and Sunday we got bagels and coffee at Panera. Mom said it was just like old times hanging out and she was so glad to have the extra hands...being a single mom is tough work! Especially since I've decided I don't want to sleep for more than an hour or so at night now and I never like to be put down. Ever. I like to be held and snuggled all the time. Mommy said she wants to marry the person who invented the Moby wrap, otherwise she'd never eat or go to the bathroom.
That pretty much wraps up my third week of life. Mommy can't believe how big I am already, even though I still fit into all my newborn clothes, I fill them out pretty well now so it's only a matter of time before she has to put them away. She also told me that she's half way through her maternity leave and in 3 short weeks has to go back to work. That makes us both sad so we try not to think about it just yet. Anyways, time to go take a nap....see you all again soon! ~Jamie

Let's get physical...physical

So I'm channeling my inner Olivia Newton John in an effort to lose this baby weight....and the extra pounds I put on after the wedding..... and with the move to KC.

When it's all said and done I'd like to lose about 50 pounds.

Whew. That sounds like a lot.

Here's where we stand right now.......

38 weeks pregnant.

2 weeks post partum

Here I am at my goal. A few weeks before my wedding in Dec 2008. Sad thing is I thought I was fat then. Haha. I was crazy.

I've already lost 25 pounds since giving birth 2 weeks ago....12 more to go to be at my pre-pregnancy weight. You'd think I'd be feeling pretty good about myself, but I'm still sporting maternity clothes with a ways to go before zippers and buttons are going to happen. I just feel gross and flabby since all the weight is in my stomach. Even through all my ups and downs with my weight I've always manged to have a flat tummy, so this is a foreign concept to me and I don't like it! Let's not even talk about the stretch marks. I have hopes that the next 12 pounds should be gone by the time I return to work at 6 weeks since I barely have time to eat anymore and I've ditched the ice cream and gummy worm addiction from my pregnancy. Since I can't work out until I get the a-ok from my OB, eating right is the first step. So far so good...with the exception of a few treats here and there....you didn't expect me to go cold turkey did you?! Plus I am still pumping, so I like to think I'm burning all those extra calories in my vein attempt to produce even a little breast milk.

Once I get the green light I'm actually looking forward to working out. That may be a first for me....I detest, LOATHE working out. Now that we're in the house, I don't have access to a gym and paying for a membership is out of our budget right now. I'd like to try the couch to 5K plan I've heard so much about....and I think after sitting in it's original packaging for a year and half, it's finally time to break out my 30 day shred DVD. Jillian Michaels scares me and I'm already slightly afraid of how out of shape I am. I may not survive her wrath! I'm also considering Jazzercise. I know right? The 80s called and they want their workout back....but I know several people who have really enjoyed it and I think I will get more out of it than mindless running on a treadmill or elliptical machine. I need to keep things interesting if I'm going to keep it up.

Anyone have any good, inexpensive workouts to try? Thoughts on the Wii Fit? I'm open to anything!

2 weeks and counting

Hard to believe yesterday was two weeks already!

On one hand it's flown by....on the other it seems like he's been here forever!

Yesterday was our first whole day together...just me and Jamie.

With the hubs back at work and my mom back at home it was just the two of us.

Honestly I didn't even realize this until late last night, so it must not have stressed me out too much!

We're slowly settling into a routine. As much routine as you can have with a newborn. His days and nights are slowly adjusting which makes for one happy mama. Usually takes his last bottle around 11, asleep by 12. Up at 3ish to eat and again around 5 or 6....then we sleep till after 9, it's glorious. We're up just in time to catch the last part of Regis and Kelly and the Price is Right. (I miss you Bob Barker! Drew Carey is kind of a tool) He's a bit more alert during the day now, but there really isn't much to entertain him at this point. Whoever put the 0-3 month age range on all those Baby Einstein toys must be on crack. Either that or they've never been around a newborn. Hopefully he gets more into them soon cause mama's singing isn't very good, I only remember like 4 songs from childhood and I think he pretends to sleep so I will stop. Hey.... I never claimed to be the next American Idol. He likes his bouncy seat and swing and much to my dismay seems to enjoy the weird nature music they play. Makes me feel like I'm in one of those hippie wholistic salons or a yoga studio....but if he likes it, I'll learn to deal. I also recently discovered he LOVES the moby wrap. Now I'm not gonna lie, when I have the wrap on it looks crazy ridiculous, but if it stops the blood curdling screams I'm not too concerned about making a fashion statement. Most of my clothes are covered in spit up and drool anyways, so the moby is probably an improvement!
He surpassed his birth weight last Friday weighing in at a whopping 7 pounds 12 ounces. He had dropped all the way down to 7.3 when we left the hospital so it's nice to see he's packing the pounds back on. His face has filled out quite a bit and he's already rocking the double chin. Still barely fills out his 0-3 mos clothes...again with the crazy people who come up with these age ranges! I put a pair of shorts on him, they looked like pants and were busting some serious sag. Not cool. We hit up the mall this weekend and scored some sweet deals on all the summer clearance racks. To all the moms out there I have two words for you...Crazy 8. Best kids store ever. Plus it's nice to have some things that actually fit, even if it's only for a few weeks. Still fitting into newborn disposable diapers with room to grow, but now that his umbilical stump is finally gone (it hung on by a thread for days, totally grossing out my husband) we are going full time with cloth and loving it. No more leaks, yay! Breastfeeding is no more, but I am still pumping so he gets some with almost every bottle. After working with 2 different lactation consultants they're baffled at why my supply is so low. Apparently size really doesn't matter and my girls are purely for looks. I've tried it all, oatmeal, fenugreek, beer, mother's tea....still nothing. I figure as long as he's happy and fed....then I'm happy too. No need to be upset over something out of my control.
I know. I know. All this baby talk is probably boring you all. I'm trying my best not to turn into a mommy blog, but these days, a trip to the mail box is about as exciting as my life gets! At least I can bribe you to read all the way through with pictures! :) I promise I have a few non-Jamie post in the works! Happy Tuesday!

The one where I pushed out a watermelon....

"On the night you were born,
the moon smiled with such wonder
that the stars peeked in to see you

and the night wind whispered,

'Life will never be the same.'"

~Nancy Tillman

At my last doctor's appt on Wednesday 8/4/10....2 days before my due date my lady bits were still locked up tight. I kept hoping a miracle would happen and Jamie would come all on his own before our scheduled eviction that Monday, but the look on my doctor's face led me to believe this would probably not be the case. I finished out work that week....hearing lots of "That baby isn't here YET?!" and just nodding and smiling, "No, not yet." All the while thinking, I'm still here you freaking idiots...what do you think?!

My due date came and went. Hubby and I had a date night instead of having a baby. Saturday came and went. My in laws arrived from Ohio. My mother in law officially told the baby it was all right to come now. Still nothing. Sunday comes. Ok Jamie. This is your last chance. Nothin' I spent most of that day a bit of an emotional wreck. I don't like drugs. They make me feel funny and out of control. I'd heard nothing but horror stories from women about pitocin...the evil induction drug. My mom came that evening. Time was quickly ticking away and still no signs of labor. I took a shower and attempted to calm my growing nerves. Finally 8:30pm rolled around and it was time to leave. We got to the hospital just about 9pm. This wasn't how I was supposed to have a baby. I wasn't even in labor. It felt kinda backwards. But alas, I was there...it was go time.

The nurse got me all checked in, IV in place. She did an exam....apparently I was an anomaly. Lucky me. The baby was LOW but my cervix was still high and very much closed. With the baby's head in the way it made the exams very difficult and VERY uncomfortable. At one point I asked my husband if she lost her whole arm in there trying to see if I was dilated. They got the cervadil placed...aka the pre-induction cocktail...and left me to cook for 2 hours. I started feeling some contractions, nothing major, but at least something was going on. Around midnight the nurse said I could have my last meal....I wasn't hungry so I ate some orange sherbet and called it a day. She gave me some sleeping pills and said they would be back at 5:00am to get everything ready for the pitocin to start around 6. Needless to say, even with the pills, I didn't sleep much. Every hour the machine would take my blood pressure...maybe the worst part of my labor I kid you not...I swear my fingers turned blue every time that damn thing went on. Like a boa constrictor on my arm. It would beep first, like warning you of what was to come. Even when the cuff wasn't on, I would jump at the sound of the beep. It truly was torture.

The morning finally comes. The nurse takes out the cervadil (it's like a tampon for lack of other comparisons) and checks me again. 1 cm. Hmph. Well I suppose it's 1 more than I was when I came in. She starts the pitocin and is off for the day. Enter my sister in law Jade. For those that didn't know...Jade is a labor and delivery nurse and coincidentally is scheduled to work both Monday and Tuesday. She would have been there regardless, but I felt better knowing she didn't have to come in on her day off. And for those who are wondering, it was not weird at all to have my sister in law so up close and personal with my lady parts. At this point, you don't really care who sees you. Modesty is pretty much checked at the door. Having her there the whole day was actually very comforting and almost made it feel like I was delivering at home. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way!

So the pitocin gets going and we watch the contractions on the monitor. Jamie wasn't responding very well to some of them so they kept having me change positions. Eventually we discover that sitting on the big yoga ball is best, both for me and for him. So far so good. I'm able to breath though most of the contractions and it's not so bad. Around 10:30 my OB is making the rounds and checks, I'm now 1.5cm. Really? A half more...it's been several hours already! My doctor breaks my water. Gross. Kinda glad it didn't happen at home. I wasn't expecting quite so much...little man practically has an Olympic sized swimming pool in there! They discover there is meconium present...for the non-baby people, that basically means he's already had his first poop. Charming. It doesn't change much about the labor process, just means a respiratory therapist will have to be present at birth to make sure he didn't/doesn't suck any of it into his lungs.

Once my water had been broken things pretty much took off and my body finally got with the program. The contractions were STRONG and coming about 2 -3 minutes apart, lasting about 1 minute each....so basically I had 60 seconds to re-coop before the next one came. Every last one of them was in my back. I was doing so much breathing I thought I might hyperventilate, but it kept me focused. I was also able to stay on the yoga ball which was a godsend. My husband was amazing and helped me get through them. I surprisingly stayed pretty calm, there were no mom-zilla moments or "YOU DID THIS TO ME!" tantrums. I have to say I was rather impressed with how well I handled it all. The worst was when during my "breaks" the blood pressure cuff would go off, I literally had to breath through that too. Two hours after they broke my water I begged my sister in law to check. Surely I had dilated enough to get an epidural because I was wearing down fast and wasn't sure I would last much longer with the back labor. Thank god I was 3.5. My goal was to make it to at least 3 before getting the epi. I was there.

My new best friend aka the anesthesiologist came in and got the epidural placed. Shortly after I was in heaven. I watched the contractions on the monitor spike continually and felt nothing. Who cares if I couldn't move my toes and my legs felt like they weighed 1000 pounds...I was happy as a clam. Things moved pretty fast after that. The next time they checked me I was 5 cm. An hour and a half later I told my sister in law I was feeling a lot of pressure, kind of like I had to poop. She checked again and actually said, "Holy crap! You're ready. You're 10 cm!" Woah. I'm going to have a baby. By now it's about 4:00pm. They let me continue to stew, waiting for my doctor to arrive. At 4:50 the pushing began. Now it's kind of hard to push when you can't feel anything below the waist, but they kept reassuring me I was doing great and making progress. I was exhausted. Starving. And the pressure was pretty intense. I was so ready for it all to be over. Finally at 5:50 pm, after exactly 1 hour of pushing Jamie made his grand entrance.

They quickly wisked him away to make sure his lungs were clear. We quietly waited until finally we heard a loud cry....the most glorious sound to a new mother's ears. They got him all cleaned up and suctioned out and brought him over to me. I was still in disbelief that just moments ago this little guy was inside, and now here he is. Ten fingers. Ten toes. Just perfect.

For once I'm speechless....

I'm still here I swear!

Being a mom really is a full time job....

even my computer addiction has fallen to the way side!

Who can blame me when I have this sweet little guy to love all over!

Our first days home have been about as good as can be expected. Jamie seems to have his days and nights a bit confused, and to say nursing has been a challenge would be the understatement of the century. I don't really blame the little man's frustration though.... Let's just say I wouldn't want to go to the bar that wasn't serving me drinks either. Apparently my boobs missed the memo that now that baby is here they need to do something....I hear beer can boost milk production....now that's a solution I can get on board with!

And for old times sake, here's my "41 week" belly pic....not so bad for giving birth 4 days ago.

Happy Friday everyone!!