"Walls like these?"

Sorry for the annoying post yesterday. No excuses, I was just feeling a little loco. I am having trouble deciding what color to paint the bathrooms in the new house. They have black and white tile, and I want to redo the cabinets and sinks anyway. But I like the tile. What color scheme should I go with? I like red with black and white. I suppose I could do a stripe or pattern on the walls. Any input would be appreciated.
I heard the baby again this morning. Its little heart beat is so cute. Its funny that I can feel such a connection with peanut just by hearing his heart. I also am continually reminded he/she is there when I can't button my pants.
Today peanut's pancreas and gall bladder began functioning, and I learned why my back hurts. All of the ligaments in the low back/pelvis are stretching causing sharp pains. Sometimes I just want a diagnosis.

Mahlay and Femahlay

Who are you people who are voting for a girl? Not that I don't want a girl, but I just want to know what clues you are using. Are you voting based on what you would like us to have or is it a prediction? I wish I could tell who was voting for what. Idea! Why don't you post a comment on this post and let me know what you voted for? That way I will know!
Here is what I have so far:
Allison Godwin, Melanie Adams, Sydney Phillips all voted girl Girl.
Help me!! It's driving me crazy!

The quicker, the better.

The puppies are growing fast. In 8 days they have almost doubled in size. They are getting cuter by the second! They should be opening their eyes any day now.
I heard the baby's heartbeat with my Doppler yesterday! We had been hearing the placental swish of blood rushing in and out. When I went to let TJ hear, the baby had fallen asleep and I couldn't get him/her float up and let me listen! This morning Peanut was wide awake and TJ finally got to hear the very fast, little beat. TJ immediately decided that the baby had gotten that trait from him, because he can run so fast. (Everything is a competition isn't it? Never mind that I am the one who is rapidly losing my figure and urinating every 8 minutes to accommodate his "fast" child. But that's neither here nor there.)

My life: The Reality Show

Moving. In 1o days, we have to be completely moved out of our house. That's right, ten!!!! Our new house will need some remodeling, so we are moving to the lake house. At least until the end of August, maybe longer. Did I mention that we have to move 12 dogs and all of our stuff in 10 days? I know, I should shut up and be thankful that our house sold so quickly, especially in this market. I really thought we would have more time.
So, I should probably rush home to start this packing process, but I think I will procrastinate a little longer and go to the paint store instead. We have to paint the new house! Anyone with packing and/or painting slash dog sitting skills feel free to head to the Williford's and pitch in. All assistance is welcome.
Wouldn't MTV love our saga? Searcy, didn't you tryout for the Real World? Surely you could pull some strings and get us a time slot. On second thought, we might not be quite insane enough for MTV. Trust me, I would never confuse chicken and Chicken of the Sea.

Look's like somebody's gotta case of the Thursday's.

Uhh. So ready to go home. Want Mexican food....wait, didn't I just eat Mexican last night? Why do I crave everything bad for me and little peanut, or Esmerelda, as Veronica calls it? While I am only 13 weeks, I sure am ready for this baby to be out! I beleive its going to be a long hard ride. Speaking of Hank Junior and bad country music, did I mention I went to a George Jones concert on Saturday night? Wow, somebody felt like a pregnant teenager. The next youngest person there was 70. But, the old possum hasn't lost his flair. He plugged his own brand of water, "White Lightening", and his tennessee sausages on his website. Ha. These pregnancy hormones kill me, but it must have been rubbing off, 'cause I was not the only one crying when he finished "He stopped loving her today". Bravo George. Now, if you could just get some help on that slide show during "Whose gonna fill their shoes".

Call me fat, but just make sure you call me.

No more morning sickness!
Could I be more excited? I feel like a person again, a very chubby person, but a person no less. My pants wont button and my Victoria Secret collection is about to be a part of the garbage collection. C'est la vie. Luckily, maternity clothes are fairly inexpensive as well as comfy and roomy.
The puppies are doing great. Maggie is a great little mommy and the pups are getting cuter by the second. More pictures to come. I am waiting until their eyes open!

More good news.

My nurse called yesterday to confirm that all of my prenatal lab work came back normal. In all of the excitement, I totally forgot about it! Remember the needle stick from last week?
The Pups are so cute. They slept well last night, and Maggie will not leave them for a second. I had to force her to go outside and relieve herself this morning. I am in shock at how powerful her instincts are. It is truly amazing.

Happy Birthday!!!

Welcome to the world little pups. We are so fortunate. Maggie's morning started off at 6am. She woke me up whimpering. I took her temperature, 97.9. Same as last night. She followed me around while I was getting ready, making sure that I didn't get too far away. Then, I realized she might actually not be faking this time. So, I called the vet, and was about to load her up in the car, and out the first one popped! She was so stunned, and so was I, we forgot what to do. Then my mind came back, and I realized that this little guy couldn't breathe until I pulled the sack off its face. Welcome chocolate boy #1. After some frantic phone calls to Drake(the father)'s Dad, Wes, we waited an hour and a half for number two. She arrived at 9:10, and was a black female. #3 came about ten minutes later, and is a brindle male. Next a black male with white paws and a white stripe on his forehead. Fifth was another black male, but with brown paws. We finally got another little girl who was brindle at 10:10am. Number 7 was another chocolate male, and lastly was a black male with white paws. Now I am sure you are thinking, "hey, I thought there was only 6". Well, you can imagine our surprise, as we were cleaning up thinking we were through after our little girl. Out pops another, and then another. After a quick trip to the vet, we have a clean bill of health for everyone. Maggie is a very attentive momma, and is nursing wonderfully. Currently, everyone is napping...except Drake, who is out acting a fool in the yard probably eating his own poop. Just kidding.

Sherlock Holmes, That's me!

Maggie is 199% ready to pop. Searcy spent the night with us last night, and Mags slept with her, and I dreamed that she had puppies and Searcy didn't tell me!! Then I woke up and realized that Searce would never do that, and Maggie knows I would be super pissed if I missed out.
Here are my clues that we are nearing the end:
She's lactating on her own
Her temp dropped to 97.9 F this morning
I can feel the little monsters roaming around in there
I heard their little heartbeats loud and clear yesterday with my Doppler(which might be the coolest thing ever invented. Allison, you have got to come try it!)

All Day Sickness

I should be nearing the end of the morning sickness. Tomorrow will start the 12th week, and sooner or later I should be feeling perky again. But not today.
TJ is probably getting tired of my incessant sleepiness. I want to have energy again, but the sleep is so good. (And, if I am asleep, I don't feel nauseous.)
I ordered a Dopplar Radar to hear the baby's heartbeat whenever I want to! It came in two days ago, and I have since used it 5 times! It is comforting to know that little baby is hanging out, turning flips, and beating its little heart away. We are settling into a comfortable 145-155 bpm range. Next time you are at my house, I will let you listen!

Our first ultrasound showed a very, very tiny heartbeat. At 6 weeks and 4 days, "peanut's" heart was beating 119 times a minute. In three short weeks we were up to 179 beats a minute (and one inch long head to rump), and we saw a much better picture of the newest member of the family.

Doctor's Appointment Blues

I went to the Doctor this morning. Ugh. For an 11am appointment, I saw her at 12:45. Are you kidding me? And...for all my patience, what do I get? Nothing...not a heartbeat, not an ultrasound. Just a needle poke and urine sample. They, of all people, should know not to keep a pregnant woman waiting for lunch.
Maggie still has not manufactured any pupsters. Mental torture here. I am ready for them to be born! I did take a picture of her belly for the blog...I will post that later.

Hump and Heidi

I know, I know...How could I leave them out? I have taken ownership of this blog thing for 24 hours and I just added Humphrey and Heidi (See pictures below). I do have to work in between blog posts!
Yes...that's right. We have four dogs and puppies on the way. Are we stupid? Maybe. I prefer to think of it as generous with our love. Its crazy how much you get back from a dog. I am probably seriously self centered to think we make their lives better. Sure we feed and clothe them, but who else would be so excited to see me every time I return home? Look at Hank's face and tell me who loves who more. It is wonderful to be so loved. No, make that adored. Heidi can not stand for TJ to go to work without her. So my new motto..."Get a dog...it will help your self esteem."

Maggie + ___________= 6????

Maggie, our miniature labradoodle is also expecting. The vet tells us that she has "at least six puppies in there". Poop. She looks like she swallowed a pumpkin, and has cried wolf several times. And yet...no puppies. Maybe I should interject that I am very happy about becoming a Grandma before a mom, but still, the looming responsibility is sinking in.
Her labor should be any day (or night) now.
Oh, did I mention, she will not tell us who the father is!!! TJ and I have it narrowed down to Bandit the ugly Beagle or Drake the beautiful but very stupid Chocolate Lab.
Get excited for late nights and tiny whiny puppy screams.

Do not judge, lest ye be judged.

Friends and Family,
Not being a writer makes me skeptical of posting blogs. My comfort zone is photography, but hopefully my prose will inspire a new side of me. Simply the idea of motherhood has opened lots of doors already. I am hopeful that writing will become something that I become less concerned with the judgement of others and more about the art that it is. Feel free to post your own comments, but as they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words". So i am sticking to photos with some brief commentary.