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Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Can We Talk About Pregnancy Hormones?

It is that time of the pregnancy already! Hormones are starting to get all crazy and act up. I do have to say that it started a little later this time around but it has started none the less. And at least they are sappy, 'I wanna cry over stupid things' hormones and not the 'I want to kill my husband or other random person' hormones. 

Not that Nick and I ever threaten to kill each other over an empty toilet paper roll or anything. Never ever. 

Eh, I did wish the burning down of a local plaza but that was just Italian talk, not pregnancy hormones. But I digress. 

So I am 25 weeks along this week which means I am in the sixth month of pregnancy. I have one more monthly visit with the OB and then I start bi-weekly visits! Holy moly, where did the time go? Oh and it is a boy! Did I mention this yet? Say hello to the blog world Nicholas James II...



Another happy, healthy baby and I can speak for both Nick and I when I say that we are absolutely thrilled and blessed. God has been good to the Hough family. 

Ok now back to these hormones. Marlee is a huge source of these meltdowns because she is getting so big and smart and beautiful! She has been so great with nap times lately which is a huge relief because working midnights is rough enough as is - add in a pregnancy plus a busy night in the ER - and it can be a recipe for disaster. Marlee has pretty much learned that when she is tired, she is tired. There is no amount of TV, food, playtime, or music that can distract her from being sleepy. She takes her bear and heads back to her room. Just like that. I place her in her crib and we both take a nap. Normal people would be ecstatic to this new development in routine. I on the other hand cried about three times about this. She is just getting so big and is now making decisions for herself. When did she get so big!? 

I also cried the other day over a space heater. Of course this all circles back to Marlee but it was essentially the fact that it was cold and Nick placed a space heater in her room. I have this serious issue with temperature management. It is the same thing with hot or cold weather. I cannot figure out for the life of me how to tell if Marlee is temperature appropriate. Last winter, my child never wore coats. I do not like them. First, they do not fit into car seats and second, I have this unreasonable fear of her getting too hot. She can't tell me so how do I know? Well, since the weather is starting to get a little chilly at night, I worry that she is cold. I am not cold but I sleep with a blanket on. Of course, I express this fear with Nicholas who is confident that Marlee is fine. After checking on her for the tenth time to makes sure her extremities are warm, Nick went to the basement and retrieved the space heater to place in her room. No questions asked. Cue the tears. I went to the bathroom and cried. It was just so nice of him. He knew I was being crazy but appeased my fears anyways. I went to the bathroom because I literally know how ridiculous this sounds! It was nice though. My husband has always been so nice. I may or may not have checked on her a couple times that night to make sure it wasn't too hot but that is irrelevant. 

Pretty sure these will not be the only instances of crying that come up during the rest of my pregnancy. Last year it was the snow that cued tears. We haven't even hit that nuisance yet. 
Although everyone should cry over snow. It is an awful, awful thing. 

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Better Late Than Never Vacation Post

Marlee has put herself down for a nap for the third day in a row and I am still astonished but I am taking this little bit of free time to put up some vacation pictures! 

Let me say that vacation was great. No work. Great weather. Amazing food! And lots of time to spend with the family. With that being said, vacation with children is hard. Marlee thrives on routine and vacation does not always allow for this routine to be followed. Big brother of course wanted to be at the beach all day and swim at the pool all night - which is what vacation is all about - but Marlee was not having it. And being large and sweaty most of the time, I was not exactly down for hours at the beach either. I really just wanted to nap and eat - ha! We figured it all out but it separated Nick and I for a lot of the vacation. Lots of memories and pictures from the trip though made it 100% worth it. 

I just needed a vacation after vacation. 

Most of the days started around 5AM when Marlee woke up and realized that she was in the same room as us, which obviously meant it was play time. So we started with the beach before it was hell hot. Marlee was not so sure about all the dirty sand and water that attacked her from every angle but she did warm up to it and loved running into the ocean. 





We ate out for dinner every night and tried to eat as much seafood as possible! Marlee discovered her love for ketchup and it was literally the only thing she would eat for dinner while on vacation. Nick and I would have to dip a fry in ketchup a million times over during dinner. The dinner locations down in Florida though lead to some great photo opportunities. And it allowed Marlee to run around a little while waiting for food. 







We always spent a little time at the pool before, after, or in between trips. Marlee loved the water a little too much. She is so independent though that she wanted to 'swim' on her own. She did not want to be in her tube and did not want to be held. She just wanted to jump in - and obviously sink to the bottom of we would let her. So she spent a lot of time walking around the sides waiting for her chance to jump. It was a bit exhausting to say the least but she loved it which makes it all worth while. 




A couple of the nights we went to the pier and had ice cream. Marlee loved being able to have some freedom and run around. 








Little did I know that Marlee was being eaten alive by sand fleas in those last pictures which lead to lots of benadryl and cream for the trip home.


Poor babe.

As you can see, we had a great trip and it was definitely well deserved! I wish it was that beautiful everyday. Two more years and we will be on our way back - a vacation every two years is plenty! And by then, we will have an 11 year old, a 3 year old, and an 18 month old. We will have our hands full!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!







Friday, September 5, 2014

Quick Update!

So I am well aware that I am behind on Marlee's one year photo shoot (which turned out amazing!) and vacation posts but figured I would do a quick overall update till then. Marlee is asleep so I need to use my time wisely!


First, baby number two is getting bigger everyday! I am now 21 weeks and starting to pack on the pounds. My extreme love for sugar in all forms does not help but I am trying to stay as active as possible. Baby number two has proven to make him/herself well known in the past couple of weeks. Literally a pain in the stomach. After a couple doctors visits, I was reassured that second pregnancy is harder on the body, which still makes no sense to me, but baby is healthy and right on track. I just have to walk around pretending like there isn't an occasional knife in my belly with the desire to curl into a tiny ball. The doctor also advised that I try not to carry Marlee around as much - yea that is going to go over really well. The good news is that we finally get to find out the sex next week! Nick and I are counting down the days till then! I should also tell my job soon about maternity leave but that is another story... 

Marlee Jo on the other hand has been such a peach! We have been really in sync with our nap times and she has even been a little bit of a cuddle bug which is so unlike her. Is it possible she knows a baby is coming? Or that I have not exactly been feeling the best? Either way, we have been really good with routine and keeping her on a schedule. The past two days, I have asked her if she was ready for a nap and she grabbed her bear and went to the bedroom. Sweetest little thing I have ever seen. Hard to believe that she is going to be a BIG sister soon! 

Work for Nick and I has been great. Nick works too much but he is doing a great job and selling cars like a mad man! We were actually able to do a little Christmas shopping with our checks this week - Christmas shopping - in September! As far as working in the ER goes, I absolutely love it. I have learned so much in the last two months and adore everyone I work with. The ER is something else though - never a dull moment! Love, love, love what I do!



I think that is a good run down of life as of now. Work and babies. I have three days off so am going to clean this house, watch some football, and kick my feet up! 
Happy Friday everyone!

Friday, August 8, 2014

Happy Birthday Great Grandma!

I meant to do this yesterday but YouTube was not cooperating!

If there is one thing (besides eating) that Marlee loves to do, its dance! Any song, atHappy  any time, she will do her little dance moves. 

So Happy Belated Birthday Grandma! Marlee is doing a little dance for you! 
Lots of kisses from Marlee and me! Love you bunches!


Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Marlee on Vacation - Part 1

I am planning a vacation post once we are home and all settled in but Marlee is asleep and the boys are at the pool so I had a couple seconds to review some of the vacation pictures from the last couple of days. One thing I have noticed is that Marlee makes some pretty funny faces. Keep in mind that I have taken about four hundred pictures in the last couple of days but it is still enjoyable to see the full spectrum of Marlee's personality.
So here she is, the many faces of Marlee on vacation. 








Oh and I bought a new phone since I shattered mine before vacation so I can post videos on YouTube again! Here is a short one from the beach. 


She was not this excited about the beach on day one but by day three, she grew to like it. More on that later! Enjoy.