40 Weeks, Can You Believe It?

How Far Along 40 flipping weeks. I love being pregnant, but I just keep thinking about how big she's going to end up if she keeps cooking...yikes.

New Experiences Heartburn. Only once, but once was enough.

Gender Still assuming both doctors and three US techs are right, and we have a girl ;)

Total Weight Gain I almost made it to 25 LBS, but then I lost a few pounds. Apparently that's normal towards the end, though. Total is now 21 pounds of baby love.

Sleep I'm a bit tired of waking up before my alarm clock, but it could be worse.

Pregnancy nightmares Yup, and it was TERRIBLE.

Miss Anything At this point I know I'll be able to eat and drink the things I 'missed' soon, so now I could care even less. You better bet there will be a Jersey Mike's Sub in my future, though.

Cravings Nada.

Symptoms According to old wives' tales she's about to come out. My uterus has been super tight, I started breaking out from the hormone changes, I was in a 'mood' Thursday, and I'm less hungry. On top of that, the doc confirmed I was 1cm dilated, starting to efface, and she's moved down the canal. Friday also brought on some early labor signs,

Mood Mostly, I'm just thankful that we are more prepared for her arrival than I expected to be. However, Thursday I was most definitely in a mood. I was frustrated with everyone bugging me about when they should come like I miraculously know when she's going to make her appearance. I'm very appreciative that she has so many people that love her and want to be here, but I'm not a psychic and our house isn't a hotel. I can't tell you anything other than our home is open to you for the birth, but you will be sharing it with whomever else shows up at the time. I have one guest bedroom, one air mattress, and two couch slots. First come first serve people. #notmyproblem

Best Moment This Week I went to the doctor expecting to hear 'no change' for my 39 week appointment, but when he said 1cm and starting to efface I was elated! I know it's still up to her, but at least that meant my body was doing it's job.

Looking Forward to Meeting her, le duh.

Exercise Still going strong! I have to start off reeaaally slow and build up, but I'm determined not to quit. The thought of not working out for up to six weeks after is extremely motivating. Plus, anything that might move her along is a bonus.

On My Mind Labor is going to suck. That is all.

Before I forget, I'd like to send a special shout out to Kathryn who sent Charlie clothes and some adorable Origami Owl jewelry, Courtney and her Mia for the adorable romper and drawing, and P!nky who has been checking on us everyday via the sweetest text messages. In fact, everyone of you that has kept up with Charlie has meant the world to me,and you guys are all why I keep blogging! Now I hope you all have a great week, because I think we will too ;)

I Got Scammed

Buying second hand is an amazing thing, but there is always a chance you get a dud or worse...a scam. I'm usually very diligent about comparing the pictures from ads with the expected product and buying from specific sites that I trust, but I let my game slip since we were in Dothan and I found a great deal on an Ergo Baby Carrier. 

It wasn't a 'too good to be true' scenario, so I didn't question anything. Even after meeting the woman and physically holding the carrier I was satisfied with the quality. However, when I got back in the car I noticed the Chinese writing on the box and felt that sinking feeling in my stomach. I should have said something right then and there before she got too far away, but I was embarrassed, blamed myself, and simply believed that I would never get my money back. We even made it all the way home before I voiced my concern to Will, who immediately looked up the counterfeit information and confirmed I was right. He suggested I contact her, and I figured what have I got to lose? Surprisingly, she agreed to meet us the next morning and give us our money back while playing the victim herself saying she didn't know it was fake. She was a dern liar and I could see right through her, but I played along all the way up until I had the money in my hand and said 'deuces'. So here are a few tips to avoid this scenario:

#1 Giveaway: The box will not be in Chinese. {Duh...Janna}

#2 Giveaway: The padding won't be as thick on the straps.

#3 Giveaway: The Buckles will say 'STEALTH'. Although some fakes still do.

. Find even more tips here and here.

It's sad we live in a time where people peddle fake baby products, but to be honest, it was a really good knockoff. I think I would have kept it if she had charged something more like $25, but I'm thankful we will now have a carrier that I know will be safe and warrantied.

My Worst Nightmare

There are many things that could fall into the 'my worst nightmare' category, but I'm actually referring to the nightmare I had Monday night that was the worst nightmare I've ever had in my life. They say that pregnancy dreams are extra vivid, but I hadn't really experienced that until I dreamed that Will was unhappy in our marriage and decided to divorce me while I was still pregnant. He didn't want to be tied down anymore, and although I kept waking up, every time I went back to sleep the dream dragged on. On top of or perhaps because of that, I also had heart burn in the form of acid reflux for the first time in my life to the point where I thought I'd choke because I couldn't swallow. Sounds lovely, huh?

I know this isn't a premonition or something I worry about, but it is my worst nightmare played out. There is no question how much I love this man, and I just never want to let him down or even worse...lose him. I made sure to show him that when he came home {teehee}, and he accused me of just trying to get Charlie to come early, but  either way- he wasn't complaining.

Me later that night: Sweet dreams, lover.

Will: Hope you have a nightmare.

Me: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You basically got makeup sex due to a dream.

Will: Well, it did work out in my favor.

To end on a positive note and have the obligatory post photo, here are some lovely gems that my MIL recently sent to me. I particularly enjoy the bath tub picture, but he's just darling across the board. Can you tell he likes playing sports?

Now wish me luck tonight in the heartburn department. I know I don't have room to complain with how easy this pregnancy has been, but that ish is TERRIBLE.

The Best Father's Day I Ever Had

Will was hoping to have Charlie make her appearance on Father's Day, so we started celebrating last Sunday. I was determined that Father's Day wouldn't be forgotten if I did go into labor, therefore he got his presents last Sunday and then the real fun kicked off Friday with a couples massage. It was his first spa massage and a first couples massage for both, which made it extra special. He had a check ride that morning and got his stress worked out, and the only pain I've had this pregnancy was my piriformis muscle, ergo my masseuse spent over half of it on my bootay and I couldn't have been more happy about it as strange as that sounds.

Saturday, we went to Dothan to play at our friend's pool/clubhouse and it was a blast. We had fun in the sun, grilled some amazing food, and played a few rounds of the most intense 'Timber Tower' Jenga you've ever seen. Yours truly even won once or twice, which never happens when I'm playing against Will for anything. I guess my balance exercises have paid off along with a new found level of patience I recently acquired.

Then come Sunday, Will and one of our sweet friends (that wants to remain nameless) surprised me with plans to have a cleaning party to get the house spotless for Charlie! I mean, can I be any luckier? Oh wait...I can...Will also made his famous ribs for us on top of it. I'm still in shock that these two came up with the plan to have a cleaning party, and I'm just so thankful for the wonderful people in my life. I almost feel bad that Will's first Father's Day weekend turned into something that was just as much for me, but I guess that just proves how great of a dad he already is. I wouldn't want to go "halfsies on a daughter" with anyone but him!

I Don't Want To 'Adult' Anymore This Week

It's not like this week has been a bad week and I actually feel very accomplished, buuuuut it's been a doozy. Let me break it down for ya: I had to call Direct TV to get our bill lowered when it went up $40 bucks at the year mark. Sure, I knew it was coming, but you know stuff like that doesn't fly with me. Our bill is now $20 cheaper and we have free movie channels. I had to call our insurance and every Medical Supply around to find out how and where to get a breast pump now that Tricare is covering them. I almost think it's too generous of them, but I'm not about to pass it up- you know me and 'free'. Then I discovered that our water usage had doubled and I crawled around in the dirt checking the meter to find we had a pipe leak in the yard. I think I'm most proud of the fact that I've been tracking our water usage and even though the bill only went up slightly, I knew something was wrong and probably saved our landlord a lot of money if that hole was never discovered or the pipe eventually burst. To top it all off, I paid bills, worked on paperwork, and tried to get some things done on our rental property so that if I go into labor it all won't be forgotten. Like I said...I feel pretty dern accomplished.

Luckily, my wonderful hubby did the part that I didn't want to do and that's backup/activate/setup/restore my new iPhone! My Lifeproof case finally came in, so I am now allowed to play with my new toy. I was pretty disappointed with the new Lifeproof colors, but then I stumbled upon The Skin Dudes and am way happier with a waterproof vinyl skin than just getting another colorful case. I guess I'm happy with the phone in general even though I haven't tested it out much. All I know is that the zoom setting is amazing, because I was getting too blind to read the tiny screen on the 5S. Will did get to upgrade to my 5S until his upgrade, and bonus: I sold his old 5 for almost what I paid for the new phone. Oh, and in case you've never thought about getting a Lifeproof case, we have saved $1,000+ by not having insurance on our phones for the last four years, and you can't beat that.

Now I just hope Charlie doesn't make her appearance this weekend...we have Father's Day activities scheduled, a pool party with friends, a trip to Dothan, and another surprise happening for me on Sunday. I guess we will be finishing this pregnancy with a bang either way. Cheers to all the fathers and baby daddies out there. It's your weekend!

Charlie Will Have Some Strong Women In Her Life

About a month ago my parents came to visit us and rub the baby belly. It was AWESOME to have them for a day of fun, but my mom totally tried to guilt me into coming to her retirement ceremony. Normally a jaunt down to Pensacola is no big thing, but the ceremony was after the cutoff for when I was supposed to travel and especially since I'd have to go alone.

However, it's not everyday you get to witness your mom retire from teaching after THIRTY-FIVE years, so I went and surprised her anyways. Apparently my oldest sister thought the same thing, because she surprised us all when she showed up all the way from North Carolina too! There were 50+ retirees, but our mom had the loudest cheering section. I can honestly say, she earned every bit of recognition she got and then some.

She was the one in the red for reference.  I dropped the ball on getting a closeup in all the excitement, but here's a closeup for ya...

That would be my incredible Mother-In-LOVE that retired from the Air Force after twenty-two years, BEAT Breast Cancer, and has re-entered the workforce running the show of her own department in an Aviation manufacturing company.

You don't have to be as badass as these two to be a strong woman, but I'm most certainly happy that they will be in Charlie's life. Heck, I'm happy they are an inspiration in my life too. Congrats to both of our momma's making big impacts and kicking butt in their careers. This one's for you ;)

Here Comes Peter Cottontail...

If you are on baby watch, we've made it another week without any indication that miss thang will make her appearance. Technically, my doctor was supposed to begin checking me for dilation two weeks ago, but a) I'm not ready for that process {they have to get all up in your cervix and that is just as uncomfortable as it sounds}, and b) he has seen no indication that I've been remotely close to starting this labor.

I'm happy to say we have crossed all the must haves off the list to bring her home, so if I can make it through this next week I have no doubt in my mind the rest will fall into place. However, I still haven't made it to that 'cleaning phase' that everyone talks about, so we will see how that goes. I told Will that worst case scenario, if I go into labor the first thing he needs to do is call someone to clean. I know we will have family in town and the last thing I want to worry about is them showing up to a messy house. I know most relatives would understand, but you don't know how much of a cleaning nazi my grandmother is. Oy vey.

One of the main reasons I wanted to at least make it this far was that our friend Jo's baby shower was this weekend, and I was kinda in charge of decor. I had it all ready for them in case I did go into labor, but luckily I was able to attend the event and stuff my face. The theme was Peter Cottontail, which I happen to think turned out beautifully with help from Hannah's bomb.com diaper cake, and in an unrelated note...Karie made me Jo a watermelon cake again!

It's funny, when Jo told me she was pregnant, I was super happy for her but thanked my lucky stars that we were still child free. Little did I know...I was not only pregnant, but three weeks ahead of her. Whoops. Well, at least we got to go through this together and now we are both in the home stretch. The gang is actually taking bets to see which of us will pop first since she's already having contractions, so I'm just gonna guess we go into labor together. Women 'cycle' together, so maybe we've synced up our pregnancies too. Man what a great story that would be if our betrothed children are also born together.

When You Witness Good Deeds First Hand

It's Friday, and I like keeping things light to kick off the weekend. Luckily, we've had some amazing stuff happen here in Enterprise lately, so that's easy. Now, you know how you see all these viral feel good stories and some of them almost seem to good to be true? I try to take them at face value and just appreciate the positive vibes, but lately I've gotten to witness these types of good deeds firsthand, and I feel very blessed.

Good Deed #1
A lady was having a yard sale to raise money for her son's youth group. Her son got sick in the middle, so she put everything on the curb and said Free or for donation for her child's Youth Group trip. When they returned from the ER, she found a pile of cash in place of the goods.

Good Deed #2
A woman with no connection to this soldier whatsoever, drove two hours down to Panama City and scoured the beach for a stranger's wedding ring. Not only did she find it, but the community helped her reunite the ring with the thankful husband.

Good Deed #3
When soldiers witness someone in need, they ALWAYS step up. I've seen it time and time again, and just recently we had a soldier that immediately took charge when he witnessed a terrible car accident. On top of that, he physically laid in gasoline with a family until they were rescued from the car and then disappeared without needing to be thanked. When the victim posted about it on our Fort Rucker Spouse Club site, everyone knew that he had to be found and 324 'shares' later, they were reunited in a matter of days.

And this is why I can't imagine being anywhere else during this pregnancy and for the beginning of Charlie's life. It is such a positive environment and unlike any other I've ever experienced. All of these scenarios happened in a matter of weeks, and this is how it always is here. We may not be able to stay here past the Fall, but at least I know we will always come back here since it's the "Home of Army Aviation". Alabama, I love you!

Anchor Habits

I was reading Holly's blog, and her post about Anchor Habits really stuck with me. Anchor habits are those habits that we develop that keep us steady and feeling secured, and as a creature of habit in general this totally made sense! I've never been one to have any 'vices', so I guess these are what keep me going. Plus. this was further proven when I looked back at a Day In The Life post that I did and I pretty much have the same anchors two years later.

Daily, it is an absolute must to start my day with coffee while blogging, I have to follow the exact same face wash routine, and I either workout or find some way to be active each day.

Financially, I balance our accounts at least once a month and adjusting our budget really makes me feel at peace. I've blogged about my budget obsession, so of course this is an anchor.

Marital-ly, isn't a word, but you know what I mean. Most of these could fall in the 'Daily' category, but their significance falls here. I text Will "Morning lover" every morning without fail, we have dinner together at the dinner table without distractions every night, we put away social media while we cuddle before bed, and I always go to bed with him. Even if I stay up to blog, watch tv, or get up after he goes to sleep to work on something I always try to be there as he goes to sleep. Add in date nights, and you have the anchors that really form our relationship.

Now I know things are going to change drastically here in the near future, but I will still love my coffee even if I have to drink it cold, budgeting will be even more important to me, and I hope with all my heart that we can maintain the habits that Will and I share after Charlie comes. It's strange to think about how much things are about to change, but I'm looking forward to creating new habits that include her. What are your Anchor Habits?

I'm A Sucker For...

I like to think that I make pretty rational decisions most of the time, but I guess I will always be a sucker for some things. Aaaand it doesn't help to be in the home stretch of pregnancy where my will power is slightly diminishing. Don't judge me.

Anything 'Cake Batter', and if you want to know what heaven is:

Donuts on National Donut Day and taking Will to Krispy Kreme for the first time. He's had a Krispy Kreme donut, but we all know that unless you have them hot off the line it's not the same. Although, he still didn't even want one, so that meant more for me! Seriously though, I don't know how you can watch the freshly glazed jewels come down the line and say no.

A good deal, and even better, a good deal on an iPhone. Yeeaaaahhhh, I know I wanted to break up with Apple, but most of you told me you were happy with the 6's and I already knew I liked the camera from trying a friend's. What sealed the deal, though, was the sale that Sam's had last week. I got the 64GB for a whopping $197, which is unheard of. That's a HUNDRED BUCKS off, and I can get minimum $115 for our old phone. We also save money by using Lifeproof cases instead of buying insurance, but since it's not here yet I've had the phone since Friday and it's just sitting on my dresser. I'm telling you, Will gets on to me if I even look at it longingly. Hurry up Mr. Postman! Oh, and anyone need an iPhone 5?

Tubing down the river against my doctors advice. Technically, he never said "don't tube down the river", but I'm pretty sure it was implied when he gave me a long speech about not traveling at this point, staying near the hospital, taking it easy, etc, etc. Sorry doc...we had to get one trip in this year, because we probably won't be here next summer.

As usual, it was an absolute blast to leisurely float down a river on a warm Alabama day with some of our best friends. It's sad that we've got the whole trip down to a science now that it's probably the last time we will go, but oh well. We will most definitely end up stationed here in the future, and it will be a whole new adventure we can share with Charlie. Perhaps a little more G-Rated when she comes, but fun nonetheless.

Will Spills All: What A New Dad Is Really Thinking

I've had my dear husband on the blog multiple times when he so sweetly entertains my interviews, but it's usually upbeat and mostly a joking tone. When I came up with a few questions that I thought we would all be interested in a man's perspective, I assumed he would approach it in the same manner. However, I found tears streaming down my face very quickly and in complete shock that he took it so seriously. I'll just let him do the talking...

1. How surprised were you when I told you?
I was pretty much flabbergasted (sweet word, right?), the possibility of you being pregnant literally never crossed my mind. You just kept complaining about how big your boobs were getting, so I naturally kept pretending to be upset too, haha.

2. What were you thinking when we found out how far along we were at the first US?
Definitely pure shock, because it honestly didn't feel real up until that point. Being told is one thing, and seeing it is another...Seeing an almost fully formed mini-me inside you made it very real, very fast. Followed by "What the hell do we do now?"

3. How do you really feel about this pregnancy? I won't get mad, pinky promise.
It's honestly been the first time I have ever thought about money in the long run. She's gonna want fancy stuff and need even more, and we both know that I love toys- the more expensive the better, haha. I also feel kind of left out with school, homework, or studying to do, so I leave you at home all day to plan everything and make decisions for her. Now she's coming in less than two months, and I have no idea how to be prepared or what to do.

4. What makes you the most nervous?
With us finding out so late the doctors gave us several speeches about how not taking prenatals and other medicines that you had been prescribed could affect her growth and development among other things. I am just very thankful Janna isn't a drinker and we are very healthy other than that. My only hope is that she's healthy, and so far she's perfect.

5. What was important from your childhood that you hope to share with our daughter?
SPORTS, lots of SPORTS! Not that I want to force her into anything she doesn't want to do or make her a Tom boy, but I feel sports will help her build self confidence and a positive self image.  Be it from soccer or chess club, I don't care. Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I find watching sports boring, I will gladly play any sport at any time, but watching them is just dull aside from the big events. However, growing up playing sports kept me mostly out of trouble, and also made sure I had friends everywhere we went when my family moved every two years with the military. Other than that, I want her to be self sufficient. I was a latchkey kid from about 4th grade on. My parents were gone when I woke up and came home after me in time to make dinner. This forced me to take care of myself, get to school on time, get cleaned up after practice, and make myself snacks when I wanted them. I want her to rely on us, but also be capable of taking care of herself.

6. What are you looking forward to the most?
Probably to her being a toddler, because at that point she will officially be my little minion to train and unleash on the unsuspecting masses, MUHAHAHAHA! Also, Janna seems to have some skewed vision that she has some say in whether or not she becomes a daddy's girl. So, I'm looking forward to seeing how that lifelong battle plays out, should be fun, haha.

7. You've come up with a daddy daughter name, would you like to share?
CHUCK! I know, I'm a genius. I figure she will be around thirteen when she starts begging me to stop greeting her with "What's up, Chuck?" in front of her friends and in public. So of course I will begrudgingly agree to stop, only to absentmindedly continue and blame it on old age.

8. Anything else you'd like to share?
Pizza should be it's own food group. That is all...

I'm going to get really real here...I felt really guilty that Will felt in the dark. I know a big part of it is that he spends every bit of spare time learning to fly helicopters, but I also realize that maybe I underestimated how involved he wanted to be, not to mention I'm terrible at asking for help. I'm sure it's a combination of just being a doer, but I'm ashamed to admit that I don't always trust other people. Part of it is 'If you want it done right, do it yourself', but a big part of it is that I don't trust that people actually want to help when they offer. I figure if they really mean it, they'll just step up and join in like I will, and since most people aren't like that I do a lot by myself. Will steps up a LOT, don't get me wrong, but there are many times I want to ask him to do things, and I don't because I don't want to add more to his plate. He tells me over and over that he will do anything I need, and I should have been trusting him when he said that.

It's still strange for me to refer to Will as a Dad, but he is and I love saying it. Dad, DAD, DADDY!! He has even proven it when he sold his precious GTO to get a Volvo, every time he makes dinner when he can tell I'm tired, when he's attended baby classes, checked out baby books from the library, researched the perfect jogging stroller, helped me pick out the fabric for the crib set, and a million other little gestures. I happen to think that he's probably more prepared than a good bit of expectant fathers, but I have still been working harder to make him more included since I read his responses last month. I know hardly anyone is ever really ready, but I think we've both come along way in a very short time and that's more than enough.

Reading? What's Reading?

Before Social Media {and specifically blogging} I used to devour books. Technically I'm still 'reading' other blogs and I will always love writing as my main creative outlet, but I do really miss getting lost in a new book each week. This past month reading was a goal priority, and still I only halfway accomplished while trying to cram in all things baby related.

The good news is I made it to the library and rechecked my overdue books. The bad news is I realize I've been trying to read the same book for nine months according to Instagram:

A photo posted by Janna renee (@jrbogert) on Aug 27, 2014 at 2:08pm PDT

I really, really want to get into this book because Will raved about  it after he read it, but I haven't been able to get past the beginning yet. I love running, so I want to delve into the crazy running feats this Mexican tribe has accomplished in Born To Run {like running for days on end, all the races they conquer, running from enemies, etc}, and I've heard that it's 'riveting', so I just hope I get to the riveting part before they won't let me check it out again.

Other than that, I've been loving my Kindle App because I can read in the dark. For the past few months I've found myself wide awake early in the morning, so I click into the app and read until I get sleepy again. I've made it through the following this way and am now reading Home To Stay. It takes me a pretty long time to get through each book this way and every now and then the plot keeps me up, but  I do enjoy the solitary time I have reading without distractions.

Meant To Be If you like travel, Europe, Shakespeare, and/or a young love story, then this is right up your alley. It follows a young girl on a school trip to London, and as the story unfolds she learns to let go in general and in love.

This Is What Happy Looks Like might be my favorite lately. It's another young adult fiction where  a teenage movie star accidentally sends an email to a small town girl, they make a connection turning into pen pals, and he moves an entire movie set to her town to meet her face to face. It's summer love at it's finest with a few surprise twists, including a mother in hiding and a political father that's never been in the picture, and a fun read.

Home To Stay This one is a little 'Safe Haven' esque with a woman moving to a small island to hide from her past, but the story focuses on the island and it's inhabitants, as they work together to build up the tourism, plan a wedding, and seem like real people until a new love story unfolds. It's gotten pretty steamy lately, which I wasn't expecting, but I'm looking forward to how it all turns out. I know something big is coming...dundunDUN.

It's probably strange that I like Young Adult Fiction so much, but YA is like the PG-13 of books, and there's a reason that Will tells me that movies are PG-13 when he's trying to get me to watch them. Whether it's a book or movie, I just don't enjoy horror, gore, overly sexualized characters, or shock value just for the sake of shock value. That being said, any good recommendations that fall into the PG-13 category? Have you guys read any of these?

NINE Months, What??

Cheesy, I know, but I guess I'm just feeling pretty strong and ready for this baby. Well, as ready as I'll ever be, which is good considering she's practically here. I'd like her to cook as long as possible, but I am starting to feel antsy about meeting her ;) It's funny, I told the kiddos I was watching that I would bring her over after she's born so they can meet her, and Jackson chimed in with "Uh...we've kinda already met her." Man, leave it to a ten year old to put me in my place. I do feel like I already know her and I think it's cute that it's possible for others to feel that way too. She really is quite the character already.

In other news, at nine months pregnant I'm officially a SAHW again. Technically I'm almost a SAHM now, but I think she actually has to go through the birthing canal before that applies. Anyhoo, we got word this weekend that ten people had to be cut from the Fort Rucker exercise I was supposed to work in two weeks. They took volunteers, but obviously everyone wanted to work. I knew that it wouldn't really be fair for me to take a spot when there was no guarantee that I would even make it to the middle of June before labor {let alone all the way to July}, so I didn't make the cut. I'm a little sad because it's a super fun job, I love the people I work with, and who doesn't want to make easy money, but in the grand scheme of things it was really bad timing and I already had that in the back of my mind. I still plan to get as much done in the next two weeks as I can because who knows when little miss thang will decide to make her appearance, but at least I won't be feeling the pressure.

Speaking of which, you can find the bumpdate on the baby blog, and these are the questions on my mind right now. Questions This Month:

Have you tried Amazon Mom?

How many bottles does one need to start out with if you plan on breastfeeding?

What are you tips for last minute baby preparation?

What was in your hospital bag?