Pregnancy, the 2nd Time Around

The first time I was pregnant, with my daughter Lexi, I have to admit I was a miserable mess. We were only 19, we had been married 7 months when we found out, and neither of us had a clue. My emotional ups and downs were severe, due partially to money stress and just the vast void of unknown, and my poor young husband had no idea how to handle it, or me.
Between the two of us, it was one long, miserable time.

But this is round 2. And it was SO much better.
For starters, we both have an idea of what we're doing. We're 23/24 now, which while still young, has given us several years parenting experience. Time to mellow out, get organized, and develop a plan based on our built up parenting skills.

A big part of what has made this pregnancy so much smoother is that I didn't gain nearly as much weight as I did my first time. At 19 I had never weighed over 112 lbs. Sick I know. I was rail thin by nature and I was in no way prepared for the changes that were about to consume my previously taut body, and transform it into a scarred, flabby mess. I had never had to work hard to stay thin, I just was. And I couldn't mentally process the changes it was going through. So I cried, a lot. I gave birth to my daughter weighing 166 lbs. Quite the jump there.
This time I started out at a toned 135 lbs (I had been going to the gym regularly, and a lot of that was muscle; husband makes a good gym partner!) and am finishing off at 160, which is only a 25 lb weight gain, perfectly with the range set by the doctors. And while it's only 6 lbs less than my end weight last time, I'm far thinner than I was then. Last time it was 54 pounds of fat, that I carried just about everywhere, including my face. This time it's 25 lbs, that I'm carrying mostly around my mid-section. So momma's feeling good about herself. And when momma feels good about herself, all is well!

Another huge part of this pregnancy going so much better has been my husband.
Last time he was a scared 19 year old boy with no experience with babies, or children, or pregnant women. Or really, women at all. Because I was a scared 19 year old girl, turning into a mother, not a woman yet. He didn't know how to deal with me, my feelings, his own feelings, the idea of having a baby, being a father...and because he didn't know how, he just didn't. I felt completely alone most days.
(You may have picked it up at this point, but our first was an un-planned pregnancy. I can attest that birth control is only 97% effective)
This time? So different. He has been a father for over 4 years, and that changes a man. Last time, he didn't know he could love a small, crying, pooping, "potato". And this time, well he can't imagine life without her, and I think that helps him. He knows that this little one will become just as big a part of our lives as Alexis has been.
He is excited, he is helpful, he is on my team, and we are on the same page. It has made such world of difference, never feeling alone in this. And seeing him get excited about things, even small things, is the best feeling. That's really key to an easy pregnancy, great support!

As stated before, we were very young. And an enormous part of what has made this pregnancy easier, is just being older. My hormone levels are much more balanced (zero mood-swings this pregnancy!), my body is more built to handle the physical stress, and we are at a more comfortable and settled place in our lives financially and otherwise. Those are all huge factors in pregnancy. The less stress you have going on in your life, the smoother this period of time is going to go. And being older has helped with that so much.
In fact, even though I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes this time, this pregnancy has been SO much easier, I know that if it had been this way last time we would already have more little ones.

The biggest factor though? Experience! We've already done this. And in worse circumstances than we're in now. We know we can handle it. We know how to prepare. And we have a tiny adorable 4-year-old distraction to help the time pass.

So good luck fellow mommies. I hope your pregnancies are smooth, and you have plenty of support. My next post will be after Talon is here, because tomorrow is the induction! ♥

Newest smith house

We've moved! Again. For the 9th time in 6 years, but who's counting? Me!
Luckily this is going to be our last move for a while. Says me. I even had the nerve to cut up and throw away our moving boxes this time. They needed it anyway, they were all falling apart from being used so many times.
Un-luckily this time we moved just 3 weeks before baby No. 2 was due! A little stressful. But finally worth it!
I've added the photos of the walk-through to the Smith Houses page, go check it out!

The apartment building is owned by my in-laws, and the building's name is Smithhaven; my brother in-law lives in one of the other 3 apartments with his wife, and my sister in-law lives in yet another one with her two boys. All the Smiths. :) Must be confusing for the post office.

The walk-through has it all, but here's the gist:

We went from this, and this

to this

And this!

100 by 30

You may or may not have noticed the new page over to the right labeled "100 by 30". This is a goal list I've given myself of 100 things to do before I turn 30.
I need this...I've never been a very exciting person. Even when I do something exciting, people get bored hearing about it because I can't even explain things in an exciting way. Like bungee jumping. Pretty exciting thing to do, but if I told you about it you'd probably end up saying "Oh, uh-huh? Is that right. How interesting".
But in my heart I am a VERY exciting person. I don't know if it's all the reading I did as a child, or just the nature of my childhood, but I just have this wildness inside of me that wants to get out. Wants to travel the world, create things, enjoy the wonders of life and also endure the struggle of survival.
So in order to sate the wildness inside, I've made a list. Haha! That sounds too funny.
There are a few things I may never get to do, all of the traveling, for instance, is a bit much altogether.
And then there are other things, like getting my license, that are really a necessity. Something I must do.
But nevertheless they are all goals I've set, and I would LOVE to have them all by the time I'm 30!
That gives me 7 years from this August.
And I think, I hope, I can get most or all of these in the next 7 years. We'll see!
Wish me luck!

Summer rolls around again

A lot has changed since my last post!
Cameron has only 2 more quarters to go, and Alexis and I will only be living here in auburn for one more quarter of it. Hurray! I can't describe how much I am looking forward to no longer working in fast food!
This is good news for more than that of course. Cameron will no longer be worrying over tests and homework, I will finally be able to preschool Alexis at home, we can start trying for another baby, we can be closer to our families...the list goes on.
More things have changed, Alexis is 3 now, Cameron and I got a membership at the gym (I've lost almost all the baby weight!), my younger sister is 14 weeks pregnant, my brother-in-law got married, and my whole family is together again all living in Longview! I'm so glad to have all my sisters together again.
Pinterest has taken over my life, and I've grown an interest in knitting and crocheting. I've also been reading more, and I've found that I love spending time in Pikes Place Market. That's one of the things I will miss about living near Seattle.
I'll add some pictures illustrating some of these things at the bottom. I love having an iPhone!

Load, Move, Unload…in 2 days

It took us roughly 1 week to pack up our house. About 6 days. Which was mostly out of our unwillingness to stay active at it for more than a few hours at a time. We just didn’t want to say goodbye to our house. 
Or to our home town, our family, our friends, the places we grew up, the people of our childhood…and the sooner the house was empty the sooner that would all be a reality. 
So we took our sweet time.
We packed books & movies the first night.
We took the second night off because we couldn’t figure out what to pack next.
Went and bought more boxes on the third day, and packed up anything hanging on the walls from pictures to shelves to sconces.
Started getting rid of stuff we didn’t need on the fourth day. Like Lexi’s baby-sized Halloween costumes, which I set aside for a friend, and gifts reluctantly accepted and never used, which went to the goodwill.
On the fifth day we started getting serious. We set aside clothes and bathroom necessities for a night at my mother’s house, and got down to business. 
We packed up our room. All of our clothes, and everything that had been sitting on our dresser, nightstands, or shelves went into boxes.
We packed up the kitchen, all pots and pans, all silverware but the plastic, all plates but the paper, all our portable appliances like the coffee maker, the toaster, the blender. The bake ware, the glassware, etc. etc.
We packed up everything but Lexi’s room, because she can only sleep if everything in her room is where it should be.
On the sixth day we took a break. We watched movies. We had dinner at my mom’s (where they gifted us with money, out of the awesomeness of their hearts). And we went to a movie with friends (the Hangover 2, which was pretty funny, even though it followed the same pattern as the first one).


And then the real work started!
The truck came on the 7th day. And we filled it with boxes, our couches, our tables…And we realized we weren’t quite as packed up as we’d thought we were. Which was an unpleasant realization!)
We still had all of lexis room, her toys, clothes, wardrobe, bed, and bedding. We had our TV, our xbox360, our internet router. Our bed and bedding. We had to disassemble the dining room table to load it. The list goes on, and it was a mess.
Lucky for us (!) Cameron’s family paid their housekeeper to come clean our house for us instead of their own. I’ve never had someone else clean my house before! It was fantastic. She did a great job. And it took 3 hours of cleaning off of my to-do list that day.
They also paid a family friend to come mow our lawn for us, which was awesome.
And my mom and step-dad decided to surprise me with a new cell-phone.
Have I mentioned our families are super awesome??


Once the truck was loaded we took it to my parent’s house where we spent the night.
The next day we drove the 2 ½ hours here, unloaded the truck, and my family stayed to help unpack for a while before leaving to go home.


So now here we are. In a new town, with new people. In an apartment, soon to be with a room mate. With 1,100$ in bills, and currently no job.
Life is scary, and new, and exciting. Stay tuned!

Playing Catch up...

Long time no see!
Wow, it's been a while. So the monkey is 18 months old now...can you believe it? I can't. Not long until we're celebrating birthday number 2.
Texas is still the current plan...husband submitted his application for transfer and we are hoping to hear on it soon.
I decided (in order to motivate myself) that we won't remove my Mirena (aka. try for baby numero dos) until I've got my license. Husbands response to this epiphany? Let me play it out for you:

Me: "So, I've decided not to take the Mirena out until I get my license. There's no way I can survive with two babies and no way to get around."

Husband: "So, when did you decide we aren't having any more kids?"

Me: ".................... Ouch."

Husband: "Hahahahahaha....oh me."

That last part is embelished a bit, but whatevs. You get the gist.
And yes, I am 20 years old and still without ever having had a license. No real driving experience to speak of. Still in need of therapy (most likely) to get over the driving fears. But come on! Have a little faith husband huh?
Anyhoo.
I'm back to painting, and loving it. I've found a style I really like. I've never painted anything cartoony, it's always been realistic, even if it's kind of abstract...but this is a cartoony style and like I said, I'm loving it. I ran out of paper though. :( So I'll have to wait until this weekend to finish the one I'm working on.

Okay, well monkey just woke up, so I'm off!