22 weeks to go

Today I am 18 weeks pregnant! Almost halfway there! I feel really good. It is so true, the second trimester is a million times better than the first.

I can eat pretty much anything as long as I don't eat too much. When I do eat too much, I'm miserable. I have to eat about five times a day. I usually get hungry around 11 or 12 at night, go figure. When Travis left for an eight day road trip the other day (only 2 nights left!!!) I was hungry at five in the morning. And when I'm hungry, I'm hungry. It feels like I haven't eaten in two days even if I just ate three hours ago. As far as crazy dreams, I haven't really had any. Haven't had any major cravings other than Moe's nachos and a banana snow cone (which are very hard to find in Louisville, but I did and I was soo excited). My face is definitely more broken out than normal which will hopefully clear up soon. So all in all, I feel pretty good. I can still wear my normal clothes, they're just a little uncomfortable. I'm starting to get a few more maternity items to mix in with my normal clothes. I think I'm just going to live in dresses this summer. They're the most comfortable way to go.

We went to our second doctors appointment and heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time. It was amazing. It was a strong, healthy 156. The doctor said both mom and baby are healthy as a horse! She also set us up for an ultrasound on July 7 to find out the sex. She wanted to do it the last week of June, but Travis will be out of town. I decided I couldn't wait that long and found a clinic that does 3d and 4d ultrasounds and will also do a 2d ultrasound to find out the sex. So we are going this Thursday morning at 9:30!!! I'm so excited. I haven't bought this baby a single thing because I am waiting to find out the sex. Travis promises we can go do a little shopping after our appointment. Please pray that this baby cooperates with us Thursday morning.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day has always been a difficult holiday for me. My mother left over twenty years ago around Mother's Day so it's always been a very sad holiday. This year it has a different meaning. I'm actually celebrating Mother's Day because I'm going to be a mother in November. So from this day forward Mother's Day has taken on a different, happy, wonderful meaning for me. So this year I'm focusing on the wonderful mothers I have been blessed with in my life.

First, my Aunt Debbie. She is an incredible mother to her two boys that she wanted more than anything in the world. I want my child to always know, and never doubt that it was wanted and loved, and never an inconvenience. My aunt definitely shows her boys that every day. She's also been a mother to me. She's been there and supported me through every up and down in my life and I don't know where I would be without her. She's the only person in my life that has been around since I was born, and I know she will always be there for me and my family.

Second, my best friend's mother, Karen. Karen is an unbelievable mother and woman. She's strong, funny, and amazingly accepting. She took me into her home the middle of mine and Casey's senior year of high school and made me a part of their family. They took me to family reunions, holidays, and always made me feel welcome and loved. They have now welcomed Travis into their family with open arms. I truely don't know what I would have done without them.

Lastly, Travis's mom Dena. She accepted me from day one. Never questioned or doubted me. She is always willing to help us or do absolutely anything we need her to. She's always there for her kids and now that includes me and BJ's wife, Amberle. She has an amazing relationship with her sons and daughter in laws and always supports us. She raised my husband to be an amazing man and for that I'll be forever grateful. I hope I'll have half the patience she did, especially if I have boys.

So to all of the wonderful mothers God has blessed me with, thank you. I hope to take something from all of you as I become a parent. You are all incredible women and I would not be half the woman I am today without each and every one of you.

And to my co-mother to be's out there, Amberle and Heather, congratulations ladies. This time next year we will be celebrating with our little ones. I know you are both going to be incredible mommies and I'm so happy to be going through this crazy experience with you girls.

Nearing the end of the first trimester

Our Wonderful Baby

Due November 15, 2010

Update on how I'm feeling:

Well I am officially nearing the end of the first trimester and let me tell you, it hasn't been fun. Now, I don't want to complain because it is my child and it is completely worth every second of nausea, every strange thing my body is doing, and even the acne that has come about in some strange places (my thighs for example, what is that about?). But I am glad I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. The past two days I have even been able to brush my teeth without gagging. Quite an accomplishment these days. I still have practically no energy and I find myself dosing off at the most random times, but oh well. May as well sleep as much as possible right now because I won't be getting much come November.

Back up to the first doctors appointment:

Travis and I had decided we would wait until we found out where we were going for the season to make the first doctor's appointment. If he ended up in Cincinnati we would have gone together, but he was sent to Louisville and they started on the road. So I went home and made an appointment there. I'm going to need a doctor at home because if everything goes as planned I'll be delivering at home (such an amazing blessing because Travis will not miss the birth and if it was baseball season, there's a big chance he could). I was sad he couldn't be there, but I will take what I can get and the two big appointments are when we find out what we're having and when we deliver so I'll be happy that he'll be there for those.

First ultrasound:

We did do an ultrasound while I was home and I must say, it was a much more difficult process than I ever imagined. I had to drink 48 ounces of water 2 hours before my appointment and once you start you're not supposed to go to the bathroom. I didn't think that sounded too hard, but the fact that you know you're not allowed to "go" makes it a million times worse I'm pretty sure. By the time the lady came to get me I was about ready to cuss her for taking her time walking to the door because she was texting. Then, after all of that we still had to do an endoscopic ultrasound because I wasn't as far along as they usually prefer. Luckily, I was allowed to "go" before they had to do that. My aunt and my best friend Casey were with me, and we were able to see the little arm buds and spine. The heartbeat was good and strong. It definitely was a relief to see the baby (I had taken 7 home pregnancy tests from the time we found out till going to the doctor, just to make sure nothing had changed).

Next doctors appointment:

My doctor at home said I could just see him twice during the season and then when we get home, or I could get a doctor in Louisville and then they'll just communicate. Being my first pregnancy I'm getting a doctor here in Louisville as well. They can't see me until June 3rd though and I'm really sad about it. Seems so long, but it's also a blessing because Travis and the boys have an off day that day so he will definitely be able to go with me and by that time I'll be 16 weeks or so, so hopefully we can find out if we're having a boy or a girl! We can't wait to find out.

Spring Training Update-Baseball Edition

After my long post as to what we've been doing I thought some of you may need a baseball update. So far, so good. Travis has really enjoyed being at Major League Spring training. They really have a lot of freedoms he's not used to in minor league camp. He gets to wear his pant legs down, which I think makes him look that much cuter in a baseball uniform, but his favorite is he's allowed to have facial hair. I prefer him without, but whatever.

He's pitched really well in spring training as well. We still don't know where we're going for the season, but I'm trying not to stress out about it. Our two options seem to be Louisville (where we do have an apartment set up) or Cincinnati (which is the big leagues, and I will not complain one bit about going there even though we have nowhere to live, we would figure it out). It's unbelievable to think about how far my husband has come in his career even in the few years we've been together. He's been working his whole life for a moment that could be just around the corner. It's an incredible process and amazing to watch.

*I must say my favorite spring training moment was watching Travis get Ken Griffey Jr. to strikeout. As a person that did not watch baseball or follow it at all until meeting my husband, Ken Griffey Jr. is someone I had even heard of before Travis. It was definitely a surreal moment. I just wish he had gotten to keep the ball.

This is why I've been MIA

I've been missing in the blog world, I know, I know. But I have really good excuses.

Excuse #1: We've officially stayed in four different homes during spring training. Yes, that's four homes in 2 months. Originally we were staying with a guy that had bought a house out here. Take my advice: do not rent from someone when they are going to be living at the house unless you know them very well before hand. Let's just say that was a learning experience for all of us. When we moved out of there we didn't really have a plan so the Denove's took us in for a few days before their family came in. Then we found a house we were going to rent, but it was rented for 9 days before we could get in, so the Lutz's took us into their home. We are so very grateful for our baseball family during the crazy times.

That brings me to Excuse #2: We lived in a 2 bedroom house with 6 adults, one teething, very sick 18 month old, 2 cats and 2 dogs for 9 days so needless to say I was not unpacking much and the computer did not leave it's bag. The Heisey's were in the living room and Travis and I were in a playroom/office separated from the Heisey's by a curtain. It worked. We had a good time, played Settlers, had a cookout, got some sun, and got to catch up with the Lutz's after missing them half of last season when Derrik had to have surgery.

And because of all of this moving and craziness I was very tired, but that also brings me to Excuse #3, if you haven't heard yet, I'm pregnant! We found out last week and we're so excited. So far, so good. I'm just really, really tired. Last night I experienced my first nauseousness, and I hope that doesn't happen often. We haven't been to the doctor yet because we're trying to wait and see one either when I go home or wherever we end up going, just depending on where they send us. But I have taken 6 tests at all different times of the day, on a few different days just to make sure I wasn't getting some faulty test. All said "pregnant." We are so very excited. It seems as though we may have "planned" perfectly and I should be due the middle of November/early December. "Planned" is in parenthesis because we weren't trying, but we weren't preventing. Travis is already talking to my belly, I'm taking my vitamins, and I have already started applying the cocoa butter.

So that's why I've been MIA this spring training.

Making Memories on Valentine's Day

One of the places we heard we had to go see while in Arizona was Sedona. The boys didn't have to go to the field on Sunday (Valentine's Day) and we had no real plans for the day, so we decided to hop in the car and go, and I'm so glad we did because it was beautiful. There are cute little shops and restaurants. We ate lunch on the patio of one of the restaurants and took in some of the gorgeous weather, went through a couple shops, and then went and climbed one of the mountains. Lisa and I would have liked to do some more shopping, but the boys were too excited about the large mountains in the area.

The boys while we were still on the trail and on the very mild part of the hike. They scared Lisa and I to death.

So glad to be reunited with our baseball family

That night, Mike and Katie (the couple whose house we're staying at) made us all a wonderful dinner and then we all got in the hot tub. All in all, it was a wonderful day with great friends, new and old, and a great day spent with the man I love.

It's experiences like this that make this life so wonderful and special, and make me feel so blessed to be living the life I am. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with the people they love!

Snow Days!!!

So the one thing I wanted to happen this off season before we left again was to see some snow. It seems it always snows a few days after we head off to spring training. Well, not this year. Not only did I get to see snow on two different occasions, we even got so much that we could play in it. Even build a snow man, a huge one, not just one that's a foot tall, but one that was taller than me! We ended up getting around 6 inches, which is a lot for us. Travis's brother, BJ, and his wife, Amberle, were snowed in with us so we all got to play in it together. The boys decided to maneuver a "sled" to be pulled behind the four wheelers. It was like tubing in the snow and was soooo much fun. The bad part about the snow was that it pushed back our leaving by a day and kept us from getting to see and say goodbye to some family, but hopefully they'll be able to make a trip out to visit during the season.

What we woke up to. We were shocked because the news said we would get a light dusting to an inch, and it wasn't supposed to come till the next day.

Our last week at home

Right now Travis and I are in the process of going through our things and deciding what we absolutely must have to survive for the next eight months. We have to fit both of our wardrobes for all four seasons, kitchen, bath, bedroom stuff (including our bed, the trusty air mattress), baseball bags (two HUGE bags), and of course, golf clubs, all in our car. Luckily, we have a large gas guzzling SUV (despite how green I want to be, we just can't get rid of it yet), but it's still quite a challenge. You would think I would be a pro after three years of doing it, but I'm not. We are really trying to simplify and bring as little as possible, but we'll see.

I can not express how excited I am about spring training this year. This is the Reds first year out in Goodyear, AZ and I can't wait to get there. I've never been out west at all and can't wait to see everything. I hope we have lots of time for sightseeing (which probably won't happen, but I can dream). I can't even name what all I want to see and do while we're out there. I just want to experience it all. The Grand Canyon, Vegas, Sedona, anything and everything we can fit in, I want to.

I'm also looking forward to catching back up with all of the baseball girls. Kalee Maloney is heading up a book club for us. Our first book is "The Pilot's Wife" by Anita Shreve (which I ended up getting on Amazon for $5.48 with shipping!). I haven't started it yet, but I have a 20 hour car ride that I think I'll be able to finish it in. Kalee is also a personal trainer and plans on doing a boot camp with all of us. I'm super excited about it because I need motivation to work out. I was doing pretty good for about two weeks, and then failed miserably by letting life get in the way and just quit. Which is horrible, but I'm going to get on track when I get to AZ.

We have a busy last few days in Arkansas. Saturday is Travis's birthday and he's going fishing all day with his dad. If they catch a lot, I'm going to go with them Sunday morning. Then we have a Super Bowl party to go to that afternoon. We have dinner with my aunt, uncle, and cousins Monday night. We have to go to by all of our families and say our goodbyes which is always hard. We're heading out Tuesday morning and should be in Phoenix Wednesday night. I'm making Travis take his time and stay the night along the way, which he is fighting, but I'm insisting.

The worst part for me is that we're not taking Abbi, our puppy, to spring training with us. I hate leaving her, but hopefully this will be the last year. She will stay with Travis's parents again. Hopefully she won't gain four pounds like she did last year, and they'll bring her up when they come to visit us at the beginning of the season.

I leave you with a few random pictures from the past few weeks.

Travis showing off his new suit

Bella trying to get a better view of the Crawfish Boil
We went bowling Tuesday night with some friends
Travis bowling a strike I'm sure

As you know, my husband is a huge hunter. He made me kill this poor squirrel. It was the first thing I've ever killed so he made me take a picture with it. I shot it out of a tree :( I now I'm smiling in this picture, but it's just so I could put the poor thing down. I was really sad about this.

Crawfish in the snow, yes please!

Travis decided he wanted to have a big cookout before we leave for spring training. We normally have some sort of big gathering/going away party where we get our friends together one last time. He wanted to try out a new way to cook his duck (which I didn't get any pictures of because it was gone too quick, but it was amazing) and his friends decided they wanted crawfish. None of them had cooked crawfish before, but we had a savior who owns his own restaurant that specializes in catfish, and now he's also serving crawfish. Check Travis Hester out at Eatmycatfish.com or go by and try it out first hand. Eat My Catsfish is located in the Benton Wal Mart parking lot. He makes his own seasoning for the crawfish, and it was absolutely amazing. Sooo spicy, and sooo good.
The day before our cookout we had a bit of an ice storm and even SNOW! I was so excited because every year we seem to miss out on the snow. This year I've seen snow twice, but this was the first time there was a little bit left the next day. So we made a fire and pigged out. It was really a great time and I think we may have started a new tradition!

Mouthwatering

My outfit for the day. Camo was the only thing warm enough.

Everyone pigging out

Enjoying the fire

Sweet, sweet husband

I came home from work one day and found the bedroom completely clean, all of the laundry clean and put away, and these wonderful flowers, card, and stuffed animal. And before you ask, no, he didn't do anything wrong, he was just doing something sweet.

Oprah, you've disappointed me

I recently came across a Facebook group banding together against Oprah because on one of her shows she said that it would be fine to tip 10% while dining out because of the poor economy. Let me just say, no matter what state the economy is in, tipping less is not the answer (unless you've just been an obscene tipper). If you have never waited tables, it is not easy. Servers work very, very hard. No, it's not challenging mentally, but it requires someone to be on their toes, be aware of every one's needs, and to have the stomach to deal with the complainers (that's really the hardest part). I have waited tables during the off seasons for 3 years, and let me tell you, every dollar I make is well earned. Servers make less than $3 an hour before taxes! So tips are their income. Also, servers normally must tip out a percentage of their sales to bartenders/hosts/kitchen/table bussers. So if someone comes in and tips me 10% I have to tip out 3%, so I've made 7%. Normally, someone sits at a table for at least an hour. Say their tab is $40, I've just made $2.80 for an hour! Woohoo, take that straight to the bank. Not only did I make $2.80, but you just took up a table from someone that could have been a great tipper. Then, there are those people that tip nothing at all and then I literally have to pay to wait on them. Yes, if you do not tip your server, they still have to pay that tip out. Now I'm not saying that a server always deserves 20%, but if you've had good service, not had to wait on anything, then you need to tip adequately. Just imagine waiting on 12 people at once, all needing refills, ranch, more napkins, etc. all at different times. Also, look around you. If your server is extremely busy because maybe someone called in and their section is double what it's supposed to be, but they are truly working as hard as they can to take care of everyone, make sure you're aware of that. There have been times during Razorback football games that I have been waiting on over 100 people by myself. If people follow Oprah's policy, all of the good servers are going to leave the industry, everyone is going to get bad service, or restaurants will have to raise prices to compensate and pay the servers more. Neither of which is good, so just tip accordingly for the service you are given.

An unsuccessful day at the track...

Yesterday Travis and I went to the horse races in Hot Springs with several of my friends from work. We had a great time, but we left broke, only cashing in two tickets the entire day. One for $40 and one for $12 (I picked the horse for that ticket!) It was a great time getting to hang out with everyone and we don't ever take more money than we would be sad to lose, so better luck next time I guess. The weather was perfect for the races because I personally like to stand outside and yell for my horse. I was sure the louder I yelled, the better my horse would perform (obviously, I was wrong). After the eighth race, we were tired of losing, so we decided to go check out the gaming room Oaklawn offers. There are no actual casinos in Arkansas, and the closest thing we get is Oaklawn's gaming room. They offer slot machines, black jack, and poker. It's all computerized though, so it's legal somehow. I don't really get it. I played the slot machines because that's all I know how to do and lost $20 within about 15 minutes so I gave up on gambling for the day. Travis went and tried his luck at the black jack tables, but once again, left empty handed. Oh well. It was a fun day.

Now for a long gripe:

On our way to the horse track Travis texted his workout/throwing partner Cliff Lee to tell him he wouldn't be working out till much later and Cliff told him he was going to the track too. Cliff played with the Indians and won a Cy Young award (highest award for a pitcher), got traded to the Phillies and won 2 games in the World Series, and just recently got traded to the Mariners. So needless to say, over the past two years, he's become quite a big deal especially in the Saline County area. While we were at the races, several people came up and wanted to get their pictures taken with him. He agreed to every single one of them. Now, he's not at the races making an appearance. He's there to have a good time and hang out with his friends, but he signed and took pictures with everyone that asked. A guy came over and asked if his girlfriend could take a picture of them, Cliff said sure. Today I get on facebook and the picture is posted and a friend of mine had commented on it (the girlfriend went to high school with me, and her photos weren't set to private so I could see it) under the photo the caption says "Jeremy with Cliff Lee (he's a rick jerk btw)." How dare you. I was standing there the entire time, and Cliff was not a jerk. He agreed to take the picture. No, he didn't have much small talk for the guy. But we were all standing there in the middle of trying to decide what horses to bet on the next race. He's not at a baseball camp, or anything to do with baseball. He's in the middle of what little personal time he does have, leave him alone. I know he's a professional baseball player and he's a "big deal" to some people, but he still deserves to be able to go out with friends and be left alone. And if you don't leave him alone and you do interrupt what he's doing, and he does take the time to take a picture with you, how dare you say he's rude.

Sorry to rant for so long, but it just hit a nerve.

P90X: Round Two

And by round two, I don't mean I've already finished the 90 day program and I'm coming back for 90 more days. I mean I'm trying to finish a full 90 days. I completed two full weeks back when I started, but then life happened, and I got behind on my workouts and just quit. You have a specific workout for six days and then rest on the seventh, but if something would come up I would just double up workouts. Then I got a few days behind and there was no way I was going to be able to do four P90X workouts in a day, and I just gave up on it. This time around I just have to make time for it. Whether that means getting up before work, or suffering through a workout after...NO EXCUSES. This time I plan on at least making it until we leave for spring training, and then I can start running again. I'll be bringing the dvds just in case I feel motivated to continue the program, so be prepared Lisa. I'll even bring along my extra yoga mat :)
I'm excited to get to spring training because all of the girls are so motivating. Everyone's in such great shape, many of them are personal trainers and very into working out. When Lisa and I lived together last spring training, she always made me get out and run. She was an athlete in college and still has that drive I guess. I just don't have it. I want to have it, and once I get started I can motivate myself, but this cold weather really makes it hard for me to get motivated. What are y'alls motivations for working out?
I really, really want to run a marathon one day, and I'm definitely thinking the sooner the better. I mean, I'm not getting any younger. But when I'm running I always get to the 2 or 3 mile mark and just bottom out. What are your motivations to get past that slump, to add more reps, or more weight, or add distance, etc? I don't know what to tell myself to get past it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!