YAY!!!!

I am too excited and beyond busy…but I had to take a quick second to express my gratitude to the best Pickle ever. Froggy now has a crib and I am hoping Daddy will put it together tonight so we can make some serious head way with this nursery!!!! I will post pics soon.

He's a BIG boy now!!!

I just got off the phone with Lyric’s school…..and I hate to say it but he really is a big boy now. I mean I know he was growing but it’s kinda sad because my baby is now a big boy. I was nervous about today, because thanks to Me-Maw, Nikita, Papa, and Grandpa G he was able to stay home the summer while he/we got used to the new medications he had to be on..

His 1st day of school was today and Lyric seemed ready. Last night we had a tough time getting little man down. Thank God for Daddy…Tre had to do bedtime duty, because I can’t stand to hear him cry and of course he cries for mommy….which just kills me. But soon enough he was down for the count, and I was able to pick out and iron his clothes for the week. It feels so good to be getting on a schedule, and prayerfully Froggy will come and just fall into place.

Happy 1st Day of School Lyric!!!!!

Progress

We took full advantage of the 3 day weekend we were given and go to work on Casa de Gregory. The room has been painted, and I could not be happy with how it turned out. Tre started it on Thursday and Papa came over to help that evening. By dinner time Thursday the room was starting to take shape. And then on Saturday Papa surprised us and finished up the room repainting all the trim and doors and I think my vision is coming together.

Originally we were doing aqua and orange but after I started to but accents I kept seeing lime green so I went with it…and I am so glad I did. I found a shelf that matches the aqua color perfect as well as some amazing curtains. But not only did we make progress décor wise but functionality as well. I started to re-do the kid’s closet…and it’s still a work in progress but it is happening..

Shower Time

I just saw Froggy’s shower invite and am BEYOND excited. The girls have truly outdone themselves. I started to register for Froggy and I have to admit I started to feel overwhelmed. Since it’s over almost 4 years since Lyric’s shower, majority of the things we had is no longer up to current safety regulations. Not to mention there is sooo much new stuff out.

Letcia and I went out yesterday to BRU and just walked away and talked. It’s sooo nice to hang out with someone who is pregnant and is always ready and willing to talk baby. Letcia has put Froggy and I on a spending freeze until after the shower….but at least we can still window shop. I am going to finally break down and buy a few maternity pieces, pants, jeans and due to my night time shower now a cute pair of pajamas.

2nd Times a Charm....I hope!!!!!!

2nd times a charm I hope!!!!!!!

Well the print I ordered has arrived….and it is pretty darn cute if I say so myself. Tre didn’t get it and immediately wondered why I got something with 4 giraffes. But Lyric who is creative and imaginative like his mommy came running and identified each of the giraffes as a member of our new foursome. Tre looked so confused, and I just smiled…because when I saw the 4 giraffes that’s the first thought that came into my head. What can I say like Mother, like Son.

The special sheets I ordered also came in and I picked out the paint color and it looks so bright and cheery yet modern with the orange chair. LOVE IT!!!!! Papa and Tre are going to paint on Thursday. I think I suckered them into it since I was talking (non-stop) about having to get stuff done while they were trying to watch the game. Finally Papa (a man who can take a hint) turned to Tre and said let me know when you going to paint and I will help you knock it out. Tre who still was caught up in his brownies and the football game failed to answer. So I replied THIS Thursday. Now at that point of course Tre began to pay attention, and all of a sudden he didn’t know what or where we were painting. After a “loving” glance or two he laughed and said okay.

Oh how I LOVE how my hubby gets me!!!

Froggy Notes

At the recommendation of one of my friends who is a writer, I decided to add the little notes I have been writing to Froggy. She thought that people especially Froggy would get a kick out of being able to read them one day….and after thinking about it, it did seem pretty cool.

August 23rd
Dear Froggy...Must you make me appear 2 be so greedy whenever we smell food. I promise I will feed you, no need 2 twist my stomach and kick me so hard me eyes water. I know you like food....I know your growing...but we have got to get you some manners...Lets try to work on this....Love Mommy

August 22nd
Dear Froggy....Thanks so much for working with mommy today. Besides the heartburn you gave me for about 2 hours, you were my perfect little angel. You were so good I was able to get ALL my work done and pick out the paint colors for your and Lyric’s room. Now we just have to get Daddy painting…Thanks Again, Mommy


August 21st
Dear Froggy, please be on your best behavior today and tomorrow...mommy has LOTS of work that has to get done and although we both LOVE lazy weekends, we will spend ours working away at CBN. I hope to squeeze in some naps and good food to make up for our working weekend. Thanks Mommy

Double Digits

I knew this day was coming, but I just thought I would have completed a lot more of my wonderful to do list before it hit. But nope I am officially in my double digits and have NOTHING to show for it. The nursery is still not painted and I have not organized our room yet. I know it’s not really the end of the world or anything…it’s just that in 2 weeks it will be September. Then as I am sure you all know after that comes October and November. So needless to say this pregnant mama is kicking it into fast gear…..well as fast as a woman in her 3rd trimester in the dead of summer can get.

Off to Home Depot I go....

Rev's House

Grandpa G is in the house for the week and Lyric is BEYOND excited. He came in late last night and Lyric was up and waiting. I would have loved to wait up but Froggy had other plans. This morning when Lyric woke up the 1st thing he did was to run to the hallway to check to make sure Grandpa G was still there. He was and Lyric gave one of the biggest smiles I have ever seen. Lyric has lots of plans for Grandpa over the next few days, hopefully Grandpa G has no plans of being allowed to rest or relax…

ROAR!!!!!!!!!

Its amazing how something so small can make you feel soooo old. Last week Lyric made this pregnant momma feel ancient….when he started to talk about the Lion King. At first when he started to “roar” around the house I assumed it was another “boy” thing. Everyday Lyric is something or someone else…sometimes a Robot, sometimes Superman etc. So I thought this was just his way of being a Lion until I heard a song I used to love from my child hood. And then suddenly it all made sense. Lyric had seen and fell in love with the Lion King. So imagine my excitement when I realized finally I could share a cartoon with him that I actually liked, not pretended to like.

So like the crazy pregnant lady I am, I had Tre drive me around that night so I could find and buy Lyric (and I) the Lion King DVD. Well imagine my frustration when I couldn’t find it. I swear it’s at times like these I realize I am really spoiled, because I was so disappointed and upset I could barely even sleep. The next day I got up extra early to do 2 things get Lyric’s back to school shopping done and to buy Lion King. Well 4 hours, and 6 shopping bags later…I still had one item on my to do list. Thankfully Tre had a co-worker who let us borrow the Lion King….and now whenever I ask Lyric to do something he starts to sing “Oh I just can’t wait to be King”…

November 18th

As majority of you know I am a planner….LOL. Well today after meeting with HR, I realized the perfect due date….November 18th. Now considered Lyric came early, the likely hood of me delivering early is greater. But after looking at the calendar I am trusting and believing that Froggy can and will wait until his time. Since my job has maternity leave under short term disability I get paid to stay home and bond with Froggy. However I have to put up the 1st 2 weeks using my sick, and vacation time, so after calculating if I give birth any day after November 18th I will only have to use 64 hours of my time rather than 80.

Somehow this makes me feel like I am getting a bargain deal…and we all know how I like to shop!!!!

It's a GIRL!!!!!!!

Okay so I m always excited about 2 things weddings and babies…..but its extra exciting when you are there to witness the “journey” an amazing couple takes from courting, to engagement, to marriage and now parenthood. Rachel and I have been apart of the pregnant mommy club for the last 6 months…and I have to say it would not have been nearly as much fun without Rachel laughing and cracking jokes the whole way.

Thank God for unlimited text messaging plans because for the last 2 months we have texted each other from sun up to sun down. Well I guess tonight she has a new reason to stay up late. They just welcomed a precious baby girl named Journey Zoe Thomas. Like Tre and I they decided to be surprised, so there was an extra element of surprise when Rach delivered.

This makes the impending delivery of Froggy feel that much more real. So now all we do is wait to find out if Froggy will be the 3rd girl in this trio…or the only boy J

Congrats Rachel and Trav…I can not wait to meet baby Journey over breakfast tomorrow!!!!!

Storage....

So as many of you know I went into preterm labor with Lyric the first time at 27 weeks. And although he was able to continue baking until 34 weeks when he was delivered….I am very mindful of how blessed we are and want Froggy to be a full term baby. Thankfully my Dr. also is pretty mindful of my history and is always running test and looking at me closely to help ensure a healthy and non eventful pregnancy. So I was not surprised when she sat me down yesterday and told me my body was going into storage mode.

Apparently while most pregnant women bodies go into storage mode around 8 months or so at which time you usually start gaining a pound a week and then even while you aren't gaining pounds you are gaining inches. My body likes to start the storage process earlier which means I gain weight faster and my body sends signals saying its ready even though it's not. Maybe if I would have know this last time I would have not gained over 50 pounds with Lyric :)

So I am to start eating small meals and snacking all day long. So my trying to eat 3 well balanced meals a day is a memory and now I have got to start packing enough food with me to eat 4 times at work. Potatoes are also a memory since she thinks that may be one of my trigger foods, I also have to start walking/jogging at least 30 mins a day 7 days a week. Since 2010, we have many BIG events coming up (Daddo's 60th birthday, Tre's 30th birthday and our group 5 year anniversary trip), I really don’t mind trying to change my habits and lose weight. But it does sound pretty crazy that I am trying to not gain weight since I am almost in my 3rd trimester and have only gained 12 pounds. Nonetheless I am willing to do anything to make sure froggy comes out happy and healthy. One perk to thsi whole thing is now Tre has to let me go shopping, because walking around the mall is great exercise :)

4 years down!!!!

This past week Tre and I celebrated our 4th anniversary. Ordinarily we would exchange cards, gifts and he would be tasked with planning a special night out. But instead we spent the day taking care of mommy who is recuperating from her surgery. While some people may have been disappointed in not being able to do something more flashy, Tre told me he considered it an honor to take care of mommy. In that very ordinary day I realized 100 times over why I fell in love with that man all over again. From building forts with Lyric, to watching Law and Order episodes with mom, to an amazing foot rub while we laughed and talked…it was a great ….it was a beautifully ordinary day. We couldn't help but to think how blessed we are, how much we have grown and changed and how much stronger we are. I can honestly say the trials and tribulations were blessings to make and mold us into "US". I like this us even better then I liked last year's "us" and I am sure next year's "us" will be even better then who we are now.

While so many people are yearning for more it's nice to be able to look over at Tre playing GI Joe's with Lyric, touch my belly and know this is what God has for me, and like always he dreams a bigger and better dream then we ever dream for ourselves.

So Much To Do!!!!!

I am surprised by how cool, calm and collected I have been regarding getting everything ready for Froggy /Baby G. As majority of you know I am quite the planner….but somehow with everything that has been going on I have allowed us to get to almost double digits with nothing completed. I have quite the list of things that need to be done before October 10th. I sent the list to Tre for him to see what I was thinking and in true Tre fashion he laughed at me. Well probably not at me more or less at the list. Nonetheless somehow this week I came home feeling inspired and got all the stuff on the 1st level checked off. Tre must have been surprised at my motivation, because Tre and even Lyric pitched in. The second floor pretty much has been completed since we moved in, besides organizing the closet.

Which leads me to the 3rd floor. You would think since we just moved in less than a year ago we would be settled. Well maybe you wouldn’t think that but I would. And although we are settled we have some major issues to work out. Such as storage, Tre was VERY insistent he did not want any furniture in our bedroom, he wanted lots of space. At the time I was so distracted with paint colors and decorating, I didn’t object. But now since we are using clothes baskets as drawers, I think we have both come to the conclusion we have to have somewhere to put our folded clothes.

But our biggest most challenging item on our to do list involves Pumpkin and Froggy’s room. If I had my way I would have kept Lyric’s big boy room and moved Froggy into the guest room. But since I was out voted, the kids will be sharing a room, which means I have to come up with a theme old enough for Pumpkin yet baby enough for Froggy. That probably does not sound to hard but factor in the unknown gender and its quite complicated.

However I am pleased to say after much research, 3 gallons of paint, 1 coat of primer and a few tears. I think I have finally come up with a room that everyone will love. Although Tre is not thrilled with the idea of painting again (he just painted last week), he surprisingly is not opposed to it either. Maybe he is taking that saying “Happy Wife = Happy Life” to heart.

Froggy

As I mentioned earlier in a previous post, this kid likes to move it A LOT. Since the gender is going to be a surprise I have had to come up with a nickname for the baby for our daily conversations. Well although I had every intention of coming up with a cute food friendly nickname such as Gummi (what I call my niece),Babycakes (what I now call Baby Thomas) or even Candy Corn , which kinda goes along with the nicknames I call Tre and Lyric. I somehow ended up with Froggy. There is nothing super cute about it, but it is VERY fitting. Although Me-Maw doesn’t like it…until Froggy makes his or her appearance in November and we come up with an official name….that’s all I got.

23 Weeks!!!!

I am over half way there…and less then a month away from my 3rd trimester. Time is flying sooo fast. How far along?:

23 weeks

Total weight gain: 6 lbs.
Maternity clothes?: Some maternity clothes LOTS of empire waist dresses and shirts
Stretch marks?: No new ones, just the ones Lyric left behind ….I think
Sleep?: Has never been so good!!!
Best moment this week?: Getting inspired by a great idea for the baby/Lyric’s room
Movement?: Lots …hence the babys name froggy
Food cravings?: Finally froggy is showing her/his Virginia Beach roots…and is LOVING some crabs
Belly button in or out?: Still in What I miss: A Christmas Tree Roll…and Verdi…am seriously thinking about having both in the hospital.
What I'm looking forward to: Bi weekly appointments, the nursery getting started…again.
Milestone: Froggys downstairs closet is all organized

I hope I don't get in trouble.....

I can’t believe I am going to admit this….but the other day when I was journaling I overheard my sister discussing baby shower themes. The moment she said demin and diamond I thought that would be a cute title for this baby/family blog…and since no matter if the baby is a boy or girl I thought adding the word diapers would be appropriate. So hopefully Pickle won’t be to mad when she sees I kinda stole her theme for the title of our blog. After all finding a theme that could incorporate 3 boys and 1 girl or 2boy and 2 girls is really hard.

So I Changed my Mind

I originally created a blog documenting this pregnancy as a way for me to remember…like my own personal journal. But after reading and following the arrival of Josiah I thought this would be a great way to keep everyone in the loop. The last month has been the longest and hardest of our lives. But throughout all the trials I have never been assured in WHO we serve and who we are. It’s amazing if someone would have told me that Lyric would have gotten TB, been diagnosed with a lug defect and I would still be laughing, smiling and maintaining and going strong….I would have thought they were crazy. But here we are almost a month into Lyric’s treatment and everything is going great. Having a nurse come to the house every day is a bit of a pain but when we continue to hear about how Lyric should be, as opposed to how he is….we can’t complain.

17 weeks

I went to the OBGYN yesterday and this baby is making her/his appearance known. I have lost 3 pounds but the baby is “HUGE” and very active. We have our BIG ultrasound in 3 weeks…and although I thought I would be tempted I am very content in being surprised. Lyric is getting better each and every day and in a few days we go back for the last round of tests…which I KNOW will show everything is exactly how God plans for it to be PERFECT.

Tre and I have a little over a week to prepare for the girls coming down and of course that means I am the one planning activities. I am thinking of doing the pool, the beach, and of course the children’s museum. I think it will be fun, and Lyric is super excited. I am excited that while Lyric is gone I will be able to make a real dent in nursery makeover. I have found the crib set, and will be making Lyric’s comforter. I know I am kinda scared but really excited to make his comforter and pillows for him and the baby.

Originally we were going to just keep him in his toddler bed, but after really thinking about it I have convinced Tre he deserves a new bed like the baby. I have found a mini loft bed that I think he can climb in and out of very easily and the best part it will have a little place underneath for him to read a book or play with his blocks.

It's Here!!!!!

The bump has arrived. I think some where between Lyric being sick and us going back and forth to CHKD, this kid decided to make his/her presence known. I didn’t really realize it till today when I got dressed and turned side ways, and there it was. Its kinda exciting because that means Baby G is growing and since I am just over 3 weeks till being at the half way point it is kicking my butt into high gear.

The past few days we have been just focusing on Lyric and helping him get better….I have to admit it I have LOVED LOVED LOVED having my big baby home almost every night. I am soooo prayerful that within the next year he can move shifts and we can have that time home together. Although Tre would hate to admit it he loved being home, we are going to start spending more quality time together as a family. To help us out in that area my amazing hubby just got me…I mean us a DVR.

Anyone who knows me, knows I have a serious love for TV. So this way I can have the best of both worlds….spend time with my 2 favorite little guys and still keep up with all my must watch TV. This DVR is going to allow me to concentrate on more important things as well. I hope to get back to reading, I have a new author I plan on checking out, and since I am trying very hard to stay on budget I am going to check out books through the library. I am hoping to get Lyric a card too and he can check out books weekly with me. I wish to pass on my love to books to him, as opposed to my love of tv.

Lyric

Little man I sick and all I can think about is where did my baby go? He has been battling a cough for about 6 weeks and of course being the worry wart I am I took him to the dr for him to get checked out. Not only did I take him in, but I called 3 times to make sure a cough for over a month was “normal”. Well after starting to think his pediatrician office was incompetent, I researched and switched to a new practice. Well after waking up to one of Lyric’s coughing spells I decided to call his new doctor and get a second opinion. A quick phone call and 3 follow up calls to Me-Maw, and we were off to the doctor. Thank God Me-Maw was off and could pick up Lyric and meet me at the Dr. Office.

At first the appointment went exactly how his last one did, but then the Dr. said what I knew and felt and had been saying to Tre for weeks…”It’s not normal to have a cough this long, so something is going on”. It seriously took self restraint to not call his previous pediatrician right then, to just say told you so. After an examination and asking lots of questions many of which Lyric answered by himself, we did a breathing treatment.

As I have said before and will say many times throughout this blog, Thank God for Me-Maw. When Lyric saw the contraption he would have to put over his face he lost it and like she always does Me-Maw came to the rescue. Between him sitting on my lap, and Me-Maw rubbing his hands we were able to get him to calm down and even a quick story time.

I seriously thought the breathing treatment would be the end of it but, the Dr. wanted X rays so off to the CHKD outpatient testing center we went. I figured the X-Rays would be easy, anyone who knows Lyric knows he LOVES the camera….but I forgot how still you have to be when taking the x rays. Since I am prego I had to go behind the glass screen and watch as Lyric and Me Maw took pictures. It was quite amusing since my mom HATES getting her picture taken.

Once we were released we were told we would get the results back within 2 hours and sure enough about an hour later the doctor called saying Lyric has pneumonia of the right lung. So off to get more medicine and start the treatment….tomorrow is the BIG day. If there have been no signs of improvement we have to get admitted. I surprisingly am not worried, I know everything is going to work out fine, and whenever I forget Lyric is there to tell me ….out of the mouths of babes :)

He was soooo right!!!!!

My best friend whom I love and adore got married less then 3 months after I did. So between living in DC, and planning a wedding I never really got a chance to know his bride to be. In fact my Mitchie a.k.a my Man of Honor told me he was getting married the night after my bridal shower. Imagine my surprise to find out that his friend who came to my shower was really his soon to be wife. That night as he talked about her I realized 2 things….1. He really loved her and 2. I would have to share him. As we wrapped up our 2 hour conversation, Mitchie told me “when you get to know her you will love her, trust me”.

Well almost 4 years later to the day of that exact conversation I can say HE WAS RIGHT!!!! Letcia and I started building this relationship and slowly but surely we have built one of those life anchoring friendships. She pushes me to be the best I can and allows me to take my time getting to where I need to be. She encourages me in ways I sometimes I never knew I needed encouragement. She so often knows what I need to hear before I even know I needed to hear it. She is kind, generous, caring and oh so funny. We can talk about nothing or something for hours and no matter what’s going on whenever we part ways I feel better and happier.

I have been BEYOND ready for her and my Mitchie to start their family. I am sure Mitchie got tired of me asking him when Lyric was going to have a cousin to play with….so imagine my excitement when I found out 2 of my favorite people were going to have a baby. Lectia and I had talked about our kids growing up together and I think we both were excited and surprised when we realized we were going to be due 2 weeks apart.

Our pregnancies are so much a mirror image of one another’s, and we have come to understand no topic is too personal these days. When Mitchie told me I would love her, I never doubted it….I just didn’t think I would love and like her THIS much…and I am sure he never thought he would end up sharing her with his best friend.

15 weeks

Ok I still can't believe I only have less then 5 weeks before I am at the halfway point. I'm in awe. I feel like this pregnancy is going by so fast & I know it will only move quicker.

How far along?: 15 weeks.
Total weight gain: 0 lbs.
Maternity clothes?: Nope, I hope to just wear lots of maxi dresses
Stretch marks?: No new ones, just the ones Lyric left behind J
Sleep?: Can’t get enough of it…Lyric has to tell me numerous times its wake up time.
Best moment this week?: Lyric saying he loves this baby.
Movement?: I feel fluttering almost everyday…more often when Tre is talking to the belly.
Food cravings?: Spicy and Salty…ummmm Thai food
Belly button in or out?: In…my belly button stayed in my whole pregnancy before
What I miss: A Christmas Tree Roll….yummo
What I'm looking forward to: Having our nieces come for a week.
Milestone: I could find out the gender this month….wow….curiosity wont kill this cat!!

Excitement

One thing I love about this time of the year is everyone is getting excited for one reason or another. Kids are getting excited because summer is almost here. Parents are getting excited because they won’t have to help with anymore homework. Not to mention some parents get to have a little break from the kiddos while they go to camp or stay with grandparents.

For the first time EVER….Tre and I are one of those parents. Lyric will be spending 2 weeks away from home, as exciting as that may sound and should be I am already starting to get so sad. Lyric has never been away from home longer than a weekend. Last September Tre and I took a week vacation and we seriously went through withdrawals. Well I did, Tre was good until the last day and then he started to sing the I miss my Lil Man song I had been singing all week. Although we do have some fun things planned during the 2 weeks Lyric is going to be gone (John legend concert and a mommy day trip with Alectia), we also hope to get a lot accomplished. As much as I am looking forward to get some major things done off my to- do lists, I am seriously going to miss my little boy. Somewhere between him turning 3 and now he has already matured so much. Now don’t get me wrong he has his moments (don’t we all) but he is really turning into a little boy instead of my BIG baby.

So yesterday I went to pick up Lyric after work like I usually do, and was greeted by the Director of Lyric school telling me congratulations. I am assuming the look on my face probably clues her in I had no idea what she was talking about, because she went on to tell me how Lyric was telling all his classmates he was going to be “not only going to be a BIG brother but the bestest big brother ever”. She said she had not seen a little boy this excited about a new sibling in quite some time if ever. As we walked to the car I felt a small nudge and I immediately wondered why I had worried about Lyric adjusting at all. As much as I hate to still admit it I often pray about something and then continue to worry and stress like I can make it right. I have talks with Lyric quite often about asking for help but not letting Me- Maw, Daddy or I actually help. I can even say how many times I have asked Lyric why he asks for help if he doesn’t really want help and wants to keep trying to do it himself. And here I am doing the same thing. Like mother, like son.

Changes

Since my life is beginning to drastically change, I thought it would be nice to keep an account of this amazing journey. A record of all the things that I am sure one day I will forget, but really hope I always remember. It seems like a lifetime ago we were expanded our twosome into this threesome. A threesome that for the last 3 years, have given my life more joy, laughter and love than I ever thought possible.

Being the over thinker I am, I have already spent many days trying to prepare Lyric for his new role. To say I have cried numerous times thinking about this task is an understatement. Logically I know I can love him and this new baby at the same time and neither feel slighted, but somehow my heart (or hormones) can’t quite get its head wrapped around this idea.

Needless to say all my concern and apprehension was much to do about nothing. My amazing little boy within 2 weeks has not only grasped the idea of him being a BIG brother, but has become quite my protector rubbing my back nightly, asking me how I am feeling and always running up to me right before he goes to sleep scream I LOVE YOU BABY!!

This baby is going to be so blessed to have Lyric for a BIG brother, the same way I am so blessed to have him for my son :)