My munchkin? It's a GIRL....

Basically since month #2 I've felt I was having a girl. I would beam with excitement, and then think oh wait, what if it's a boy? I can't be disappointed... I mean, everyone knows I wanted a girl, but wasn't sure if it was possible. Hello! My sister has FOUR boys!!!!! Annnnnd Neil's family is run by males. What were my chances? Don't get me wrong, I would've been completely happy with a boy. A mini-Neil? How precious is that?
As the days, weeks progressed, my feelings only grew stronger and I would try and change them. Friday morning, the day of my appointment, I stood in front of the mirror and said it's a boy. I know it sounds silly...I just didn't want to be disappointed if the tech were to say it's a boy. My feelings of it being a girl were sooooo strong, so of course it didn't work.
It didn't help that last month Neil actually said, with much confidence "it's a girl, why do we even need to check?!" Ever since 'kid talk' he has loved the thought of having a daddy's girl....and would smile ear to ear picturing her being a mini-me. *tear
The day was finally here....boy or girl? We walked into the room, and we were asked "so, do you guys want to know what you're having?" We replied with a big "YES!" We start talking w/her and she asked if I thought the baby was one or the other...which I told her my feelings of it being a girl. She moves around my tummy and for what seems like forever she says "Well, it looks like you both are having a girl." I, of course, made her say it again. I couldn't believe I was right. Neil and I high-fived, and I started to tear up. So happy.
She was so tucked and turned the other way, that I didn't get any good sonogram photos. I do however have to go back in a week....since she was so tucked, and had her arm tucked under her chin, the tech couldn't see her heart. Her heart sounded very strong, but they like to see it. So, I go back in a week. Hopefully I'll get some good pictures then.
Annnnnnd I just realized I didn't take any photos of myself. Sorry. I do plan to go out and run errands tomorrow, so I'll attempt to get a shot in :)

Symptoms

The last couple of weeks I've gained some bizarre pregnancy symptoms:

Nose bleeds
Hands falling asleep
Carpal Tunnel

I just happened to read the nose bleed one in my book, and I thought it was the strangest thing I'd ever heard! Low and behold, 2 days later, nose bleed.
Then the hands falling asleep business....I'll wake up at night, and both are just snoozing away. And as of today, my right hand is choosing to give me signs of carpal tunnel. Great.

HOW STRANGE IS THIS?!!!!!
It really is entertaining to me...like, what's going to happen next?

4 months...

So I'm nearing my 5 month mark, but I wanted to talk a bit about month #4.
As soon as I woke up on the 8th of this month, I felt different. I felt normal. As the day progressed, I felt this surge of energy. It was wonderful!
And my appetite was back. Boy, was I missing that!!!!
I try and eat healthy as much as I can. A lot of the time though, I want pizza. Mmmm PIZZA. And as soon as I crave something, I pretty much need it - NOW. I have to stop myself though, because if I did that for every craving, we wouldn't have any money. I eat every hour on the hour. I feel like I can never catch up. And it doesn't help that I crave things that I can only obtain in California. For example: California Burrito from Albertos. My most favoritest burrito in the world: carne asada, french fries, cheese, sour cream. Only Albertos does it right. They don't add some crap pico de gallo, and they put sour cream in it automatically.
I mean, can someone just overnight me one? I've eaten day old CA burritos before... :)
I asked Neil for a quick trip to CA, and I said something like "to see my friends and my mom..." but in reality, I want a CA burrito :) !!!!!! j/k - sort of......

My maternity pants continue to loosen up on me, around the hip and thigh area, but tightening in the belly region. I'm losing weight in places, but gaining in others. Still. Even though my box office co-workers started saying things like "wide load coming through"...nice, right?

Well month # 4 has been tremendous, and I'm looking forward to #5. Boy or Girl? I should find out. Neil says girl. My sister Eva says girl. Shan says boy (and sticking to it!). Brooke says girl. I haven't heard many other opinions.....but next Friday, the 5th we'll see. EEEEEK! I'm so excited!!!!! (I just remembered I had a dream last night, I got a text message from my doctor saying "it's a boy" - and I immediately posted it on Facebook, without even telling Neil. Oooops!)

I am sad to say that I won't be heading out to CA before the baby is born. I'm super sad about it, but know that it's just financially not possible. With nursery preparations, fixing up of the basement, snow tires for my car, and winter boots for myself :) .....I just need to stay put. And I'm okay with that decision. I wasn't at first. You all know me, and my stubborn ways.

Cindy - my mother in law - is already in prep mode for my baby shower.... how cute is she?
Neil has been absolutely amazing.....very attentive. He has his moments, but are you surprised? This is Neil A. Hartman I married. :) I love him. xo

I don't have a new picture of my baby bump yet - and I didn't want to post the same one you all have seen. Let's face it, the only people who read this, have seen my ghetto shot on FB.... I'll take some new ones next week.

3 and 3/4

I am almost at my 4 month mark...
Anything new pregnant-wise with me?
Yep.
It's called puking.
I know, gross.
And it occurs just after 5pm everyday.
Everyone who said after you hit 3 months and start your 2nd trimester, you'll feel soooo much better...
You're wrong.
In my case anyway.
I started wearing maternity pants. Originally I was focused on just switching out my work pants only...because I sit all day, and my "regular" pants were making me uncomfortable. Buuuut, I got such cute maternity jeans - and they're so ding dang darn comfortable, I just made a full transfer over to them. :) Don't judge me.
I have been losing weight - everywhere on my body but my stomach and chest. I can see a big difference in my arms. And my pants, from above my hips down, don't fit at all. I now wear sports bras during the day, and sleeping bras at night. Nightmare. These suckers haven't grown in size, just got thicker. Does that make sense? Dear God, if they eventually get a lot bigger, I may just duct tape them in. Not kidding.
Still tired/exhausted. Don't work out at all. It's sad. I really miss it.
My eating habits haven't changed. I get hungry every couple hours, but don't want to eat. Haven't craved anything really....

My sleep is nuts. I usually get a really good nights sleep...and then randomly, like last night, got up to pee at 3am, and then couldn't fall back asleep until 6am. I always make my way out to the living room, put a dvd in, and get comfortable on the couch.

I just ordered "What to Expect when Expecting" - finally. I'm really looking forward to reading it. But I have learned to have an open mind about this experience...no matter what I read, or have been told - this is my pregnancy, and it is already very different.
I've been taking one month at a time. I am the most impatient person I know....and I have to play these mind games with myself. I refuse to think about the month of March. It seems like sooooo far away. Right now, let's get to 16 weeks (which is possibly this week OR next week...I'm going with this week - fyi.) And then after that....20 weeks.
I am dying to know if we are having a boy or girl!
I hear that I possibly could find out at 4 months...but again, am not depending on that. I just focus on the 20 week mark, when my doctor told me we could find out. Eeeeek! What do I think it is? A girl. But that could just be my wishful thinking playing tricks with me. :) But I would love to have a boy as well, a little mini-Neil. A sarcastic, trouble making, boy....scary, I know.

That's it for now.
I know, I know...I need to post baby bump pictures (Nataleeeee, I know!). But right now, I just look full.

my pregnancy moments....

So far, the last 8 weeks that I've been pregnant-aware, I've had some moments....

When it comes to eating, I'm hungry every 2-3 hours...and it's just a bite of something, or a snack. To find the right food to eat? Now, that's the challenge. The worst days, are the days I work. I am packing my La La Land bag FULL of stuff. Anything from apples, raisins, fruit snacks, oranges to crackers, and then there's my actual lunch. OH! And don't get me started on breakfast. I just don't want to eat anything. If we had a Del Taco here, I'd be hittin' that place up EVERY. DAY. Not kidding. Mmmmmm, breakfast burrito, add bacon please. Yum. (I did attempt to make my own burrito yesterday morning, but no bacon. It was topped off with Del Taco's del scorchio sauce, courtesy of Brooke Lacy - it was pretty dang good!)
Some have asked if I've had any caffeine headaches... nope! It's so great. And strange. I really could care less for coffee. ME?! Not want an iced carmel macciato? Nope. Weird, right? Everywhere I've read that I should stay away from spicy foods, I could get heart burn really bad. Guess what? No heart burn. This baby loves spicy! Thank God. And I know you're all thinking she must be eating hot cheetos everyday then! Buuuuut, I'm not. I'm just not craving them. I did once, and Neil went out and got me some (love him!)...but that's all.
I really and truly am a California girl because I would kill for some great Mexican food, and In 'n Out.... Annnnnnd I have literally dreamed of food. Last night for instance, dreamed we got a Jack in the Box here in Erie. I woke up craving their tacos. It's just silly.

Okay, enough about food...
As far as being sick, and having morning sickness, I really haven't had it too bad. The nausea lingers all day, but that's about it. That doesn't count the last 2 days though...throwing up, not wanting to eat a single thing! So nuts. And here I thought, since I was starting my 2nd trimester, things would start to feel normal. (So far today, I'm feeling pretty good. Hoping it won't turn for the worst as the day progresses...)
I sleep a lot. I love sleeping, so that's fine with me. Unless I'm at work, then that's an issue...but I just drink cold water, and that wakes me up a little. On occasion, I'll wake up at night to use the bathroom, sometimes twice. Which sucks because I hate the dark. There are some nights when I'll wake up, and just can't fall back asleep. That's usually when I take myself out to the living room and watch tv. Those nights are not so fun.
My lower back seems to hate me right now. If I sit the wrong way, or get up a certain way, the pain is just awful...it takes my breath away sometimes. I'm sure it's only going to get worse. So I started stretching my back out more, which seems to help. And taking baths helps out too.
Now, physically. My belly is getting thicker. It's the only place my clothes don't fit. This week, I've been wearing my "when I feel fat & bloated pants" - and those are getting snug in the belly area. It's freakin' me out a bit because this munchkin is only the size of a lime right now... Everywhere else on my body, the clothes are loose. I think it might be time to go shopping. My mother-in-law is taking me out, and I'm quite nervous about it...but also real excited. I mean, what girl doesn't love to be able to let her belly out, and not have to suck in? :)

Pregnant!

Eeeeek!
I am pregnant.
It's crazy.
This whole thing came to life about 7 weeks ago, our anniversary weekend. I was a week late, and had lost some energy. I've been late before, so I didn't think too much about it. I kept thinking I'll start tomorrow, I'm sure. 6 days later, I go to Walgreens and pick up a 2 pack pregnancy test. (I told Neil I needed tampons - I know, I lied! ....but if you know Neil, he would've FREAKED if he knew what I was really buying.) I also just happened to be in the middle of packing for our camping trip...great timing Dawna. So, just as we're done packing up the car, I decide to take the test. I am literally screaming - in a whisper - at this test. The 2nd line meant you're pregnant, and it just wasn't bright enough!!!!!!! I hide the test in my purse. The hour & 1/2 drive was just awful. I was feeling gross, and tired, and just wanted to go back home....and I was dying to talk to Neil about it.
We get to camp.
Set up.
It starts to rain. Great.
It stops raining. We go sit in our chairs.
And I break the news....soooo Neil, there's something I need to tell you.
His reply: oh no, what happened?
Me: ummmmm, I think I'm pregnant.
His eyes could not of been bigger, and this look of fright came across his face.
He says: how do you know? Did you take a test?
Me: Yes, and I have it with me...do you want to see?
Neil: Yeeeeah, let's see if you read it right. (Thanks Neil) Well, it looks like you are. How do you feel? Are you okay?
Me: I'm okay, just a little freaked, and not accepting it. I need a doctor.
The rest of the evening we discussed anything and everything about it. I wasn't accepting it. Not sure what was up with that. It's not that I didn't want it. I've been wanting kids for as long as I can remember. I was at a point in my life where I thought maybe it wasn't meant to be...God showed me!!!! The rest of our time out camping, we got scared with the idea, then excited, then scared, then SUPER excited. We saw all these families everywhere, spending time together, and it made us real emotional with the idea of having that. We loved that.
We came home the next day, and I took the 2nd test - because I couldn't help myself. And sure enough - it was positive....again:

The following Monday, I called OB/GYN Associates of Erie at random because they were in Neil's health insurance book :) They were able to get me in on August 6th. The office was amazing!!!! Very happy with this... There are like 7 or 8 doctors, and they suggest I meet with all of them, because you just never know who will be on call the day I go into labor. I'm fine with that. But I do have a main doctor, Dr. Scutella. He's wonderful! Annnnd reminds me of Neil's brother - a lot. Dr. S. confirms I'm pregnant...I actually make him say it out loud by the way... and then suggests I get a sonogram to verify how far along I am. Just seeing the little peanut in there brightened up both of our faces...and the tech pointed out the heart flutter. Amazing. At just 7 weeks, you can see the heart.
At this point, we decide to only tell our closest friends, and family. I start making calls. (Of course, we told our parents the weekend I took the tests, and all grandparents involved are very happy...and very emotional about it.) My friends are so great by the way...and apparently, I'm predictable because some answered the phone "you're pregnant." Geez.
I really wanted to hold onto this news as long as possible. I wanted to complete my 3 month before I officially announced it to the world (aka Facebook)..and on here.
So...I'm 3 months (possibly 3 months & a week...Due date tentatively March 21st, or March 28) along. These last 7 weeks have been utterly strange to me. Why? Because I wasn't myself. I had no energy to do anything - let alone take my most favoritist class at the Y. It really bummed me out. I was (and still am) nauseous throughout the day, have a strange sleep pattern, and I've become even more pickier with food then I normally am. Not good. Neil has been quite wonderful in that department. He may *sigh* when I ask for a specific food item, but he goes and gets it....and does a really big *SIGH* when I ask to go out to eat - to get that certain meal that is on the tip of my taste buds....but that's my husband. I love him. It really makes me laugh. He knows I can't help the way I feel... this is something he has to deal with...and yes, that makes me laugh. If you know him, you know what I mean. <3 .
On the list for today's appointment was, hear heartbeat, see baby via sonogram, and take some blood. We did sonogram first. Immediately the tech says "Whoa, look at it move around!" You could literally see this sweet babe bend it's legs and jump. Over and over and over again. She had a hard time getting a shot, but we ended up with these:

I go back in 4 weeks... :) I really wish I could go every week. I just like being in the know.

Whether it's a boy or girl....we're extremely excited for this new chapter in our lives...
The other day, Neil started goofing around and I immediately pictured a mini-Neil...and them teaming up on me. Great.

Annnnnd look what we got in the mail last week from the Ensors!!!!!!

We can't wait for this kid to rock this shirt. We've set ground rules already....like, no eating with this shirt on.....

My 2 favorite shows right now.....

I know, a lot of violence.
But another thing that is so great about these shows? Neil likes them! So, we get to watch them together. Believe me, he doesn't like much when it comes to television. And I'll basically watch anything....almost.

We're just about caught up with Dexter. Just a disc and a half left of the 4th season. I have to be careful with what time I watch it though. I can't let it be the last thing I watch before I fall asleep. For the fact I am routing for Dexter to go after the bad guy, makes me nervous as to what I'd dream about.... So, I have been playing Friends in my bedroom....just as I doze off.

The 2nd season of Sons of Anarchy could not come out soon enough! With the date of the dvd release, and the start of the 3rd season...that gives us about a week to watch season 2. Not a problem, that's for sure!

6.0

When planning our 6 year anniversary weekend - it was a mess, to say the least. We just couldn't decide what we wanted to do. But then camping came up in conversation. Interesting. I love camping. I grew up camping. The issue? We didn't have a lick of camping gear. Then began the hunt for the right tent, lantern, camp site, etc....

Location: Cook's Forest. Campsite: Locust Lodge/MacBeth Camp Grounds
As we drove the 1.5 hours it took to get there, we pretty much drove in the rain the entire trip, and were trying to beat out even darker clouds that were following us... This place was amazing. So green. So quaint. This campground was definitely a LOT smaller then the others, which is why we decided on it, and we were happy we did. Here are some pictures:

We got set up, and hauled our belongings into the tent - just in time. We decided on an "electric" site just for this very reason. We brought along our portable dvd player. Boy, did it come in handy. We had a slight break around 8pm, and we quickly made dinner...

And since we were basically on the Clarion River (picture below):

We canoed!
We originally planned on doing the 10 mile trip, but it was too expensive. So, 4 mile it was... it was breathtaking....the weather was perfect. We had such a good time. (And I'm aware that these pictures look familiar to last years anniversary weekend because we canoed Lake Erie. Oh well. Maybe this is a new tradition...)

And everytime...

My husband is a doofus.

We ended up leaving a couple hours after canoeing - the air was so thick with humidity, that we both just couldn't take it. The 1st night of not sleeping was enough. Regardless, it was the best camping trip I've ever been on. Why? Besides the obvious of just being out in the forest with my best friend - they had clean bathrooms and showers, and the camp crew (the MacBeths) were so helpful and pleasant.... We already can't wait to go back in the Fall.

The anniversary weekend continued with a date night to the movies. Church on Sunday, and a visit down to the yearly "Discover Presque Isle"

What a crazy week this has been.
JW on a mini-tour.
I feel like I should get into what kind of crazy ordeal they've gone through, before they even hit the road - and then it continued...but I'm just glad to put it behind us and just pray God uses these boys for the next 3 days. Without another glitch? That would be amazing.

I do, however, want to talk about the ordeal in this house - her name is Cali. What is wrong with her? Allergies. What is she allergic to? No clue. But we're officially on the road to finding out. About 93% of her life, she has been scratching, rubbing, gnawing some part of her body...and we've done just about everything. I think I even posted last fall about taking her to a dermatologist about an hour and a 1/2 away in hopes they had answers. Unfortunately, because she was still considered a puppy, they really didn't want to do too much. Hoping "she'll grow out of it." Gave us a prescription, and told us we were to keep them posted as this summer came along... Well. It's so much worse this year. After speaking with her dermatologist, we are having blood drawn and then shipped, and tested in their office. (Shhh, she has no idea. And I'm pretty sure she'd go squeeze herself under my bed if she found out.) Thankfully we can just have her vet here do the drawing of the blood, and then shipping it off.
I am scared to hear what the results are...new food? New laundry detergent for us? Throwing out of the new mulch that was put in our backyard just months ago? I have no idea what to expect. We love her, and just want what's best for her - so we'll accommodate...
Look how cute she is:

And yes, she's sleeping on my pillow. She's a very clean baby-doggie and I just love her oh so much!

The weather has been tremendous!!!!! Other than a few thunderstorms, we've truly had great summer weather so far. Not that I've taken advantage of it. I haven't been to the beach yet. Shocked? I know, I am too. No tennis or bicycling or running. I'm hoping to make it out to the beach this weekend...but guess what? It's supposed to rain on Friday. BOO! Of course, the weather is great up until then...while I'm at work. Maybe I'll just bring my beach gear with me to work tomorrow, and head over there afterwards.....sounds great to me!

This past weekend was a ton of fun! (Except the actual 4th of July holiday...I'll get to that later)
Friday, Autumn, Taiya, Carly and I went to the 11am showing of Eclipse. We think, it's been out 3 days, it's the 1st showing of the day, how crowded could it get?! Autumn and I casually got breakfast at Cracker Barrel and took our precious time heading over to the theater. As we pull up, around 10:30, Autumn says "What the crap?!" Two lines. TWO LINES have formed outside of the theater. Is this a joke? We get in line. And we feel completely and totally silly. We're 30, standing in line for a movie made for teenagers....We weren't the oldest of the bunch, let me tell you...and there were even some kids there, 10 & under. To me, inappropriate. Whatever. I had bought our tickets a few days before, so we were covered...and it seems a majority of the people needed their tickets still. We got good seats, and were very, very happy about it. The movie was good. Why they make movies based from books - and then change things and leave stuff out, is just beyond me. I wish I could ask someone...
Regardless, it was a good time.
That night, the Q's came over and we hung out. Dan, Jon, and Adam were there as well. Sean was M.I.A.!!! It was soooo great to see the Q's, and spend time with them. Everytime they're here, I instantly have to remind myself I'm in Erie. And that they still live in CA. It just doesn't make sense that Shan and I have switched states...
Saturday was a blur. I really can't remember a dang thing! I do remember the Q's and Adam coming over again that night...and we did s'mores out back. Did I take pictures of this? Nope.

Now, the 4th. Everyone else had places to go, people to see....annnnnnd we didn't. We tried to be okay with it, but as we started hearing the fireworks going off, we felt a little left out. There really wasn't anywhere worth going to, to see fireworks...the last 2 years, we've gone to the Lake, but they didn't do that this year....

Welp. It's July. Anniversary Month for us Hartmans. What are we doing? We have no clue. Every year we do this to ourselves. We've come up with either camping, Niagara Falls, Williamsburg...and I just recently thought to go to Chicago. With Neil just coming back from tour the weekend before, he won't want to travel too far. So, who knows what we'll end up doing.