Pregnancy: 23 weeks!

 23 Weeks

How Far Along: 23 weeks (and 4 days)

Size of Baby: At his 20 week ultrasound he was 10.1 oz!

Picture of Baby: Haven't seen the OB in about a month, so I'm sure he's changed since we last saw him!

23 weeks: He's measuring right along schedule, and giving mommy some pretty good jabs!

Weight Gain: Pre-pregnancy I was at 140, at 23 weeks I weigh 159.

Belly Pic:

Sleep: It's ok for the most part. I wake up about 3 times a night to pee. My mind wanders, but after laying down for about 30 minutes I fall right to sleep.

Best Moment of the Week: Daddy felt a HUGE kick from Tristan. :)

Movement: He's pretty active the same time every day, after I eat, or when daddy talks to him.

Symptoms: I'm Braxton Hicksin' it up all the time now!I went to L&D last week because I had them for so long I was a little concerned. Everything was fine though, just some major broad ligament pain and BH.

Food Cravings: Everything I look at. LOL!

What I Miss: How tan I was before pregnancy. Now I look pasty... which is just fine though. It's all worth it in the end!

What I'm Looking Forward to: Seeing Tristan's handsome face, his lips, his nose, hands, fingers, feet, toes, elbows... I could go on and on!

Milestones: I'm past the halfway mark, and the risk of miscarriage is slim. He grows stronger with every passing day, and with help from the NICU, he would have a fighting chance at survival if I went into pre-term labor.

Mommy loves you Tristan! Can't wait to meet you!

I've been meaning to write more about my pregnancy, so here we go. 

As of now I'm 20 weeks along. We found out at 17 weeks that our little bundle of joy is a HE.

 You can imagine the excitement my husband was feeling. Lol. Everything is going great. He's measuring right along schedule and looks to be very healthy.

 We are naming him after his great grandpa like I had stated in my last post, so his name will be Tristan Darrell.

 Here he is showing us his boy parts. :)

Waving to mommy and daddy. :)

It finally has started to sink in and feel real. I never knew I could love something this much and I haven't even met him yet. Just shows you the power of love is stronger than anything.

 God has truly blessed us with an amazing gift and I thank Him every day for blessing us with Tristan.

I'm finally getting to the stage where I look pregnant! I'm very excited to show off my bump!

I really wanted a pair of skinny maternity jeans for this winter, but didn't want to pay a fortune, so I found a tutorial on a blog about how to turn pre-pregnancy jeans into maternity jeans. 

I just finished them today and they are going to work great, and best of all, didn't cost me a thing. I used a pair of old jeans and a really small cami that doesn't fit me anymore.

Aren't they cute!

I'm also planning on making the bedding for our nursery myself. I want to incorporate some of his daddy's old uniforms and thought it would be a lot more personal and full of love!

This pregnancy seems to be flying by. Between doctor's appointments, crafting, and just staying busy in general, it has gone by so fast I didn't even realize it! 

We're just ready to hold our little boy in our arms and add one more addition to our growing family.

I hate to be such a Debbie Downer on my own post, but I didn't want to start off with bad news.

On my last post I talked about how my Papaw was very sick and in the hospital. They sent him to hospice and he passed away last Thursday. It's been hard dealing with that and pregnancy hormones. One minute I'm fine, but then I see something that reminds me of him and I lose it again. I'm so glad I got to see him earlier this year, and I talked to him on the phone twice while he was in the hospital.

He was cremated, so the day after he passed was the day of the viewing, there wasn't a funeral.

I couldn't have gone to Texas on that short of notice and I feel horrible because neither my sister, brother or I were there for my mom. I know she needed us there for support, and I guess I'm beating myself up over that.

Before he passed away I did get to tell him his great grandson would be carrying on his name, and he was overjoyed. I'm glad my husband was on board with it.

Every time I see my little Tristan I will think of all the memories I shared with my Papaw.

Keep moving forward...

Things in my life right now seem to be all over the place and I can't seem to get them together.

I know I posted about my Papaw being ill in an earlier post, but things have taken a turn for the worse. I am so glad I went home when I did because now he's in Hospice. He took a major fall and fractured his hip. Upon going to the hospital they found pneumonia. They found some stuff in his lungs awhile back and they did a biopsy on it not too long ago, but it came back malignant then.

Now they are telling my mom that they think he is terminally ill, and that it might actually be cancer after all. I got to talk to him very briefly on the phone the other day and told him I loved him and missed him so much. He seemed very disoriented and it took everything in me not to burst into tears and upset him. I asked him if it would be ok if we named our son (Oh yeah, It's a Boy! Things have been so crazy I forgot to mention that. I'll write a post later) after him. He didn't say anything, at first, I'm assuming because of all the meds he's on it's hard to comprehend people, but after awhile he said he'd like that a lot.

I wanted to take my Papaw's middle name, which is Darrell, and use it as the baby's middle name.

I'm still running that by my husband. 

Anyway, I'm worried about my mom and how much stress this is causing her. She keeps telling me everything is fine, but I know she's just trying to keep my stress level down for mine and the baby's health. 

A ticket to go back home would cost me $800, I'm assuming because of the Holidays, and my husband won't let me drive 26 hours alone.

I know everyone has gone through what I'm feeling, not thinking you spent enough time with someone or didn't let them know how much you cared. I told him every time I saw him how much he meant to me, but I just don't think it's enough. 

I would really appreciate it if you could just take a second to pray for my family and Papaw.

Thanks everyone.

Staying Positive

Lately I've been feeling a little down in the dumps. I'm not too sure why, but I can't shake this feeling I have. 

I've been getting a lot of migraines lately, I'm guessing from the extra surge of hormones, and that hinders me from doing a lot of the things I was use to doing before. 

I started my second trimester last week and although I'm thankful the nausea has let up, I think I've gained migraines and fatigue in it's place. It's all for a good cause though. 

Once I hold our precious little miracle in my arms all the pregnancy woes will quickly fade away.

Here is the newest picture of our little one. 

When my husband saw this picture (he didn't get to go to the appointment) he was smiling from ear to ear and said that it was so beautiful and he could not wait to hold our baby. 

I love how supportive and legitimately excited he has been.

That's honestly what keeps me going.

He is my best friend and soul mate, and I'm so glad I get to share this wonderful life changing experience with him.

On another note, we got a new laptop. The reason why I hadn't blogged in quite sometime was because our old laptop completely died out.

I love our new one. The screen is 17.5 inches!

We finally have a laptop with a webcam, and were able to Skype with my family a few days ago. 

We also watched the episodes of True Blood we needed to catch up on the other day and it was great!

That's our final big purchase before the baby arrives though, besides baby furniture, carseat, stroller, etc.

From now on it's save, save, save. :)

The Mister is training right now, and between Ajax having all these health issues and hauling him to the vet, getting baby stuff ready, and looking for houses, I need a break. 

Just something to do for myself.

My real life bloggy friend, Brittney, came over last night and we had a girl's night filled with chick flicks and chocolate. 

It was nice to not think about anything else going on. I think this weekend we may see a movie and go get some pedicures. That's exactly the kind of thing I was talking about when I said something to do for myself!

Not this coming weekend but the next we find out the sex of the baby!

I'm am so overly ecstatic. I'm counting the days!

A trip home!

In my last update I said I would be going home very soon to visit with my family.

I got back this past weekend and couldn't have had a better time!

I got to see my PaPaw, and I missed him so much!

I think the last time I saw him was the year before last.

He is getting weaker and has shortness of breath a lot, but that didn't manage to stop him from going to eat out a few times with me. I ate catfish while I was there of course. 

We went to his favorite fish place in Oklahoma, Bill's Catfish.

That's one thing I miss about home! Fried Catfish. 

Can't get it here in Virginia, and if you do it's at places like Cracker Barrel and it isn't the same AT ALL!

I could tell he was very happy to see me and was always talking about my "Anchor Clanker", a little nickname he has given the Mister.

He adores my husband since my PaPaw's a prior Navy man himself.

We talked a bit about the baby and he asked me if I had thought of names. I told him we had thrown around a few, but nothing's set in stone. 

He told me I was gonna have a girl and that I should name her after him, Edwina, since his name is Edwin. :)

He can always make me laugh and put a smile on my face!

It was extremely hard saying goodbye to him. Since they go down south to warmer weather in the winter, I won't be seeing him at Christmas. 

I'm hoping my parents will come up for the birth of the baby and bring him and my Granny.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Texas, although it seemed to go by way too fast!

Mom and I looked for Maternity clothes, and went to little baby boutiques a couple days when I was there.

She said she cannot wait until we know the sex so she can start buying stuff!

It's all so surreal to me. I guess it will actually hit me once I start to show more, but it all just seems like a dream. 

The Mister and I have waited so long for this moment, and after one angel baby it is finally here!

On another note, the weather here in Virginia is nuts!

Yesterday we had a 5.8 Earthquake, and this weekend we are supposed to see the effects of Hurricane Irene.

I'm hoping it doesn't get so bad to where we have to evacuate.

Hubby would have to stay here even if the dogs and I have to leave.

Praying is about all I'm able to do at this point.

I hope everyone has a good weekend and if you are in the path of Irene, stay safe!

It's been awhile, but I have exciting news!

Hey everyone, I know I've been MIA, but after my trip to Florida with my family I came home to later find out the best news of my life.

The Mister and I are expecting our first baby in March of 2012!

I had my first appointment yesterday and the baby has a strong heartbeat and all is well.

When we found out it was about a month ago, and if I was to get on here I would've spilled the beans!

I just told Facebook yesterday.

My husband was so excited when I told him the news. It was a great moment in our household, and we are so blessed to get a second chance that many families don't have the privilege to experience.

We are truly blessed by the Lord our God.

I will keep y'all updated on what is going on.

Today I fly back home to visit my family. My PaPaw is not in the best of shape and I just need some time with him. I'm very excited to see my family. 

It will be the first time they'll see me since I told them the news last month. 

I also can't wait to indulge my pregnancy cravings with all the yummy food from back home! 

Here's the sonogram picture from our first visit!

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week and a good weekend!

A new name

I've been wanting to change my blog name for awhile now. 

I just felt like My Life as a Crafty Boatswainsmates Wife was too directed to me being a Navy wife.

There are other aspects to me that I would like you guys to see.

I felt limited to what I wrote about because it would always need to be about the Navy or crafting.

So, I thought long and hard and decided that what it needed to be was something about the changes I'm going through moving from Texas to Virginia. I've lived here for about a year and a half already, but it's all still very new to me. Coast life is nothing like country life.

I constantly think about my home state. I miss family and friends, the atmosphere and especially the food!!!!

I will be flying back to Texas next month though. My grandpa just had a new pacemaker put in and I would like to spend some quality time with him. He is very special to me. 

Call me a daddy's girl or Papaw's girl and I wouldn't be able to tell you differently. :)

Thank you guys or still continuing to follow me and read up on the things I'm doing.

Nautical fever!

My husband and I have been throwing the idea of using a nautical/beach theme in our bathroom, and upon bringing sand and shells back from Florida I thought let's get this project started!

For days I have been looking at lighthouses, seashells, blues and tans, and anchors!!!

I have lots of ideas floating around in my head, so I decided to put them to work.

I ended up making sand filled votives for the top of the toilet and I plan on painting some canvases today.

Here's what the votives look like:

Next I want to get a mirror and glue shells all around the frame.

I'm also looking at framing some shells in shadowboxes.

I just so happened to look at Tatertots and Jello today, and she has the gorgeous Anthro-Inspired Nautical necklace tutorial. I have to try it!

Hope everyone had a good Monday! My 2 year wedding anniversary is in 8 days, so I am very excited for next week!

The Sunshine State

I haven't written in what feels like forever!

I was extremely busy planning our trip to Florida.

We came home last week. It was so bittersweet. 

I had to watch my family pack up their car to go back to Texas while we were packing ours for Virginia.

The trip was amazing. I got to see my family for the first time in 8 months. My sister, her children and my parents.

We stayed in a condo right by Miramar Beach. Every morning we got up, ate breakfast, and crossed the street to enjoy some sunshine on the beach.
My handsome Mister cooked his "healthy" breakfast while everyone else had Krispy Kreme donuts and pancakes!


The Mr. and his little helpers, my niece and nephew, cooking breakfast!

We have beaches here in Virginia, but they don't even compare to the beaches of Florida.

Perfect white sand and emerald water. We could even see the fish that were down at the bottom of the ocean!
 

We spent the majority of our time body surfing the waves and snorkeling to find seashells and fish!

And burying my nephew Jaxson in the sand!

We also rented a pontoon boat and went out to the party barge on the water and snorkeled.
We found so many hermit crabs! We took Ajax with us and he loved the ride on the boat, but hated the water. Every time we put him in, he'd swim right back to the boat!



We even got him a little life jacket.
He loved to just look at us while we were in the water.




We got tired, so Ajax and I decided we were going to sunbathe on the back of the boat.

On our trip we also went to Fudpuckers.
They had live gators outside of the restaurant and a gator show as well. After we ate we went to the gator show and I got chosen to come and help the handlers hold one of their alligators.
I had never held an alligator before. He was dry and scaly!

Another restaurant we went to while we were there was Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
Everything in the restaurant had some kind of reference to Forrest Gump!





I got the Shrimper's Heaven.
It had three different dipping sauces, coconut shrimp, fried shrimp, and tempura shrimp... Man was it yummy!

Outside of the restaurant they had a bench and a box of chocolates just like the movie!



They even had sneakers you could put your feet in to look even more like Forrest!

On 4th of July weekend, HarborWalk had a flyover for all the people that have served and are serving in our military.
There were live bands, facepainting, and lots of little shops.
They also had fireworks later that night.

It was a great week with family and I hated to see it end.
We came back sunburned, but it was well worth it.
Time with my family is something I hold dear to my heart.
Since the Mister is in the Navy it's extremely hard to just take a trip somewhere to see them.
This was our first family vacation that my husband was a part of.



He loved getting away from his duties for awhile and hanging out with family.



Lexie and Ajax enjoyed themselves as well!
They had three kids that wanted to hold and play with them every second of the day. Spoiled rotten I tell ya.

I hope we'll get to have another get-together soon.
One where I can see my brother and his family.
He had just gotten back from deployment, so they weren't able to make it.

Since we've been back it's been unpacking and getting the house back in order.

An Update!

It has been such a long time since I wrote! 

The Mister got back from his surge about a week and a half ago, so we've just been spending every moment together cherishing it!
On Saturday we went to see The Hangover 2 with Brittney! Funny movie! I don't think I liked it quite as much as I did Bridesmaids though. If you haven't seen Bridesmaids, please take the time to go! It's hilarious!

Yesterday was Memorial Day and we had family pictures taken by the lovely Jessica Quinonez Photography.

She is seriously SO Sweet and patient. 

The Mister and I had a great time! I'll post pictures once she finishes them!

On an even more exciting note... I will be vacationing in Florida next month with my lovely family.

I haven't seen them since Christmas and I am super excited! 

Can't wait to snorkel, golf, and just spend some quality time on the beach with them!

I finally got off my migraine medicine since we are still trying for a baby.

I've had lots of headaches, but I'm coping... I cannot be on Topamax while planning.

Praying for everything to go smoothly if we do conceive. 

Having had a miscarriage, that's always in the back of my mind. :(

The Mister leaves again soon for training so I'm gonna try to save up so we can enjoy our Florida vacation together. 

Hope everyone had a blessed Memorial Day with friends and family and a great weekend!

Retro Glam!

Yesterday Brittney and I went shopping... Again!

We actually had an agenda though. 

I was trying to find a cute pin-up style outfit to wear for my Vroom Pin Up shoot next week. 

I will be having photos taken with various classic and muscle cars. 

I thought pin-up/retro glam would be perfect for this occasion!

It is nearly impossible to find anything cute nowadays that ties into that era and style, unless you're ordering online and are willing to shell out some hefty change!

I wanted to try and thrift shop for something vintage, but I just don't even know where to start!

Luckily I found a very cute dress at my favorite store: Forever 21.

It is a halter dress with a sweetheart neckline.

I love the polka dots and the three button detail. 

So modern day pin-up in my opinion!

It looks stellar on and I'm so excited to get to wear it for my shoot!

I have some red Mary Jane pumps that are going to look so cute with it. 

I'm gonna try and look for a red flower for my hair today as well.

Bridesmaids was amazing yesterday Ya'll!!!! 

You need to go see it. It's like the female version of the Hangover. 

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.

My first award!

A fellow navy wife blogger, which I just so happened to meet in real life the other day, has given me an award!

Cassie from over at A Barton kind of Family has given it to me!

This is my first one and I couldn't be happier! 

I didn't think people actually read anything I write! lol.

There are some rules with this award of course.
First you are to thank the person who gave you the award!
Thank You Cassie!
Second post 7 different things about yourself, and third pass it along!

1. I love to play video games with my husband. It's pretty much all we do unless Glee is on!

2. I only own two pairs of heels. I'm already 5'9'' and it's just embarrassing to look like an amazon woman all the time.

3. I'm a big pushover. I never can say no to anyone or stick up for myself.
Hopefully that will change as I get older and won't want to take anyone's crap.

 4. I'm a daddy's girl. Not to the extent of anything I want I get, but I just enjoy his presence.
Playing golf with him on his days off was the highlight of my high school years.

5. I can't cook anything but fried food very well.
I'm from Texas, where everything comes battered and fried.

6. I'm addicted to Facebook. There, I said it!
When you have access to it 24/7 on your mobile device, it's hard not to check it every couple of hours.
That's normal right?!?

7. I don't have many friends I trust, but the ones I do have will last a lifetime. Quality vs. Quantity.

As for passing this award on, I'm going to give it to:

Brittany from Tales From a Sailor's Soul Mate!

Brittney from A Day in the Life of a Navy Wife

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekends!
I'm going to see Bridesmaids today, which I am super excited about!

Not too much longer til my Mister is back either.
Hanging out with friends sure has made this time go by faster.
We've had no communication at all this whole time, so it's been a little rough not knowing whether or not he's safe.
It sure has made me realize how much I truly love that man.

Where is it?

Has anyone else had this happen to them? I wrote a post on Wednesday I think it was, and when I came to my dashboard to start a new post for today it was gone! I linked it to my Facebook the night I posted it, so I went back today and clicked on the link and it says it doesn't exist! Where in the world could it have gone?

Shopping, shopping, more shopping, and a night of pampering!

I don't know if this is because both of our husband's are gone right now, but Brittney and I have an addiction.

To shopping! We shop every weekend it seems like! 

It's not crazy shopping sprees, but something little each time.

Brittney and I usually hang out on her days off and she'll stay the night, so Saturday she stayed over and we got up extra early Sunday to get the new Silver Shatter and the Pirates of the Carribean, both by O.P.I nail color.

I'm in LOVE with all my nail polishes I got!
My favorite is Sparrow Me the Drama, which is the pink color.


Yesterday , Brittany, Brittney and I went to Evening Under the Stars.
It's a night where spouses of military personnel can get together and get pampered.
Brittney and I finally got to meet Brittany after what seemed like forever!
A blogger friend turned into a real life friend!
It was so fun! We did a wine tasting which was amazing! Loved the Moscato they had of course!
There was also a massage room but we didn't get to that in time.
We got a HUGE bag of goodies from all the vendors giving us free samples and brochures!
The NEX provided this bag for us so that we could carry all our great stuff we got!




My favorite booth was the Military Ministry.
They provided all these inspirational books and even camouflage bibles!
I can't wait until my Mister gets home so I can show him his books and bible!
I've already started The Power of a Praying Wife and I love it!




It was a great night to just get together and relax with people you know experience the same things you go through.
I also met a couple of other Navy wives who I am Facebook friends with.



A picture of Brittney and I with the Geico gecko and our huge NEX bags!

 Great night. I think we're all going to see Bridesmaids this weekend together.
Can't wait to see that movie. It looks hilarious!

Happy MilSpouse Day!

The Friday before Mother's Day is always dedicated to Military Spouse Appreciation Day!

You guys are so much more special than you can ever imagine. 

It is because of you that our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, and Coasties can do what they do.

It's your selfless acts, and unconditional love for your family that put you above the rest. 

I found this poem I'd like to share.

A Day for You, the Military Spouse

by Sara Horn

A day where no uniforms need mending or patches sewn on;
A day where nothing breaks down when you are all alone;
A day when children listen and there are no tears to dry;
A day where there are no questions and you don’t have to answer why;
This is the day I wish for you, the Military Spouse.

A day filled with peace and love and solidarity
A day where a phone call is just the start of the great day you’ll see
A day when you realize that what you do has fantastic enormous worth
A day where for the first time in months you can breathe without the hurt
This is the day I wish for you, The Military Spouse

A day that’s 24 hours closer to your loved one coming home
A day for webcams and Skype and soft I love you’s before dawn
A day where there are no silly arguments, just constant mutual grace
A day filled with blue skies, happiness and faith.
This is the day I wish for you, The Military Spouse

Thank you for YOU and YOUR service-member's contribution to this country.

Stay Strong!

All Dressed Up! A weekend with Brittney!

It's Wednesday and time for All Dressed Up!

I feel like I'm re-living my days as a little girl playing with all the beautiful clothes!

This past weekend Brittney and I had a full on girls weekend! 

I already posted about it, but I didn't show you what outfits I wore!

This was the outfit I wore out to dinner on Saturday at Guadalajara. 

Another floral skirt! I'm kindof obsessed!

Top: Forever 21

Skirt: Forever 21

Neklace: Forever 21. Do you see a pattern here? It's my go to store! So cheap!

Sandals: TARGET!

Next up is the outfit I wore to run errands and shop in on Sunday.

Top: Old Navy

Shorts: Forever 21 :):)

Sandals: Target 

Told you I had a thing for floral!!!

I know I already showed you a picture of my new sandals in a previous post, but they are too darn cute, I just have to show you a closer look!

Well that's it folks! Head on over to No Model Lady and link up!

Clay! My new craft.

I'm kind of obessed with the stuff right now. 

I stumbled upon a nail tutorial blog and the lady had little polymer clay fruit on her nail designs!

As soon as I saw them I thought I had to have them. I've seen them on Etsy numerous times. 

These are just a few pictures of the VERY FIRST two I've done, so they're not nearly as good as I'm hoping to get.

I want to make nautical pieces, food, figurines, and a lot more stuff!

Since the Mister is off doing his thing, I have a lot of time to make plenty.

The first one I tried was a simple pink pig. 

His ears are my favorite thing. You can't really see the detail from the picture, but they're really floppy!

Second thing I made was a Hello Kitty pendant for my friend. She LOVES all things Hello Kitty and it was her birthday recently, so this is going to be a late birthday gift!

It's waayyy past my bedtime, but I really want to stay up and make more!

I guess that's how you know you love doing something huh? 

I think I found my new hobby.

Share the LOVE

Pure Bliss Photography in conjuction with many other vendors is hosting an awesome giveaway, that I am sure to take part in! 

There is 3 photo sessions being given away in the NC, MO, and VA areas, and over 280.00 worth of other merchandise!

Baby items, wooden signs, jewelry, bakery items, and much much more!!!!

I am so excited for this! 

All you have to do is fill out their form on their blog and for an extra entry blog about it! So simple!

Hope you guys snatch this simple giveaway up! 

If you don't here is a link to their Facebook page to still check out their amazing photography!

http://www.facebook.com/PureBlissPhotography.Net

Thanks guys!