Random Thought for the Day...

I might have ruined the idea, or thought of pregnancy for my poor baby sister. I like to share with her all of the lovely details that can accompany pregnancy, mainly just to shock her. My Mom tells me not to gross her out, because she will never want to have a baby. Oh well. After I told her I was pregnant, she told me that she and her roommates were sitting around talking about it, and that they concluded: "Ewww...you are GROWING something inside of you!" And I agree, it is kind of bizarre...but I like to think of it as a miracle, not as an alien growing inside of me. (Which she suggested). She is, after all, only 21, in college, having the time of her life, and definitely not thinking about babies. I like to call her and share with her the weekly updates that I get in my e-mail on how the baby is growing that week - you know the ones that tell you your baby is the size of some piece of fruit? (Which totally disgusts me - because if you know me, you know that I HATE fruit. Hate it. The taste. The smell. Seeing it. The thought. Eww. And don't worry, I am eating plenty of veggies and taking supplements, and I realize that I have to overcome my phobia to feed my baby fruit. Ugh.). The one that really grossed her out - and I forget what week this was - was the e-mail that said my baby's kidneys are fully functioning, and that urine was passing through his/her system. She shrieked over the phone, "Ewwwwwww....he is PEEING inside of you?!?!" She didn't like that one.

Yesterday I was complaining her to her on the phone about how tired I was, and how I had something every/day night for the past few weeks, and she asked, "Is the baby sucking the life out of you?" Which got me thinking about life, and how even though this baby, or the growth of the baby, does make me more tired, and cranky - can I blame cranky on the baby? I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world...and how even though I don't even KNOW this baby, know whether it's a boy or a girl, what it looks like, what kind of personality it has, that I would give up my life in an instant for the life of this little one! Have I turned into a Mom? How does this happen? I know I feel that way about Justin...but I have known and loved him for a few years now! ;) How can you feel this way about someone you don't know? I don't know the answer...but I love the feeling!

Deck the Halls!

I got this e-mail from Becky as a Christmas Survey...but thought it would be fun to put on here!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? COORDINATED wrapping paper.
2. Real tree or Artificial? Real!
3. When do you put up the tree? In my family, it was always the day after Thanksgiving...but since we usually spend Thanksgiving with each other's families out of town...it has turned into the weekend after!
4. When do you take the tree down? New Years Day, usually!
5. Do you like eggnog? Yes!!! It has turned into a craving, I won't tell you how many Horizon pints are in the fridge right now - embarrassing!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Either my American Girl Doll (Kirsten) or "Oooopsy Daisy" - Anyone else have one of those? She crawled, then would fall down and cry!
7. Hardest person to buy for? Justin.
8. Easiest person to buy for? Is there someone who is easy to shop for?
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Several - I collect them!
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? If I were to send out Christmas cards this year, they would be mailed...maybe next year!
11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? If you ask me in person, I will tell you...it's a good one!
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? The Christmas Story - I love it!
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Mid-Novemberish
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Nope!
15.Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Well...my favorite thing to drink is hot chocolate with a soft peppermint stick melting in the chocolate
16. Lights on the tree? Lots of white lights!
17. Favorite Christmas song? On the radio: Breath of Heaven. In church: O Holy Night.
18.Travel at Christmas or stay home? We travel...but after the baby, we will be staying at home!
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? I cannot!
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? We have a big red bow
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? On Christmas Eve we open one present, always matching pajamas from my Mom. It used to be just for my Mom, sisters and I - but now that I am married, Justin and my Dad get to match too! ha ha! The rest of the presents are opened Christmas morning.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? I think the traffic gets worse...
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Glass ornaments...I have been collecting Radko ornaments for several years now, and the collection is starting to get impressive!
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Tenderloin, home made rolls, and all the other great stuff my Mom makes to go with it!
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A healthy baby!

Oh, Christmas Tree!

On Saturday Justin and I planned to decorate the house for Christmas. I was especially excited about this year because both Justin and I grew up with "real" trees, and after two years of living in an apartment and not being able to have a real tree, we could finally go pick one out! So Friday night before a Christmas party, we pulled all of the decorations out of the attic, and I even made a special trip to the store to buy a few more strands of lights, to match the lights we bought last year. Saturday the plan was to wake up early, pick up around the house, go pick out a tree, and spend the rest of the day decorating the inside and outside of the house. We woke up early, picked up, and headed out...and one flat tire, three new tires, and SEVERAL hours later, we checked out two different stores before picking out that perfect tree. Exhausted, we headed home and started stringing lights on the tree only to discover that 4 boxes of lights was not enough to finish the tree. So, two stores later, we finally located two more boxes of matching lights and headed home. After all of that, we didn't even want to look at the tree! Needless to say, we didn't finish decorating the tree and mantle until Sunday afternoon, and we still have to work on the outside of the house. Maybe this week?

Here is the final product (without a flash - because I don't know what is wrong with the camera):

On a "prego" note...I have noticed, from very early on, that I have had the strangest cravings (strange to me). You have to know, I am not a "carb" person, and never craved bread, or pasta. Those diets where you have to give up carbs? That would NOT be a problem for me. I also HATE milk. I have never liked it - even as a child. I will have it in cereal only, and even then, not that much of it. Well...lately I cannot get enough baked potatoes, mac and cheese, and milk. So bizarre. I think I bought the store out out of the boxed mac and cheese. Gross, I know. I drink milk now - also bizarre. Today, at a Sunday School Christmas lunch, I sat down with my plate and realized all that was on the plate was mashed potatoes, potatoes au gratin, pasta salad and two rolls. Of course, I got back up and put some "green" on my plate. I just think it is so WEIRD that I crave things that I could have cared less about before!

16 Week Bump?

It looks more like I am severely bloated than like a baby "bump" - but things are definitely changing! I can't wait to have an actual bump - and to look prego, even though EVERYONE tells me to embrace the bloated look and enjoy sleeping comfortably while I can. I guess I just want a more visible sign of pregnancy (besides the lovely acne these hormones are giving me). It has been two weeks since I have been sick or queasy - yea! And I definitely feel like I might have a tad more energy, so things are good in the Sparks Household! Only a few more weeks, and we will know whether to dress this little baby in blue or pink! We can't wait!

A Blog...

Well...whether Justin likes it or not (he doesn't) I have finally started a blog! We have agreed that once we have a baby to post pictures of - that it will go private - all thanks to a specific Law & Order SVU episode that we just happened to catch - and we never watch that show! I just think it will be so much fun to document our lives right now and have something to actually look back to! So here we are!