Getting Focused

Why is this so difficult for me? I have the entire day to study at home. This is my last day to prepare for the CPP exam tomorrow and I need to pass. So why am I wandering around the house looking for something else to do?

I just called Comcast (cable company) because our bedroom cable box hasn't been working for about 3 months and I still need to call the EMC (electric company) about a utility light in our driveway that hasn't worked since we moved in. I'd like to get up to the attic and find my cooler weather maternity clothes. While I'm up there, I may as well start hauling down tubs of baby clothes and figure out what baby Ava can wear without looking like a little boy. I need to ship Jason's Xbox so that it can be fixed and I'd like to find another pair of jeans at Motherhood Maternity.

Where's the study time in all of that? There is none. So I need to put all of the above to the back of my mind and finish the PayTrain module on calculation of involuntary deductions. Sounds like fun, huh?

Wish me luck!

CFAB/ASC Scavenger Hunt

What in the heck is that you ask? Let's start with the basics.

CFAB = Chick-fil-A Bowl

For all of you that don't follow college football, there is a division here at the Chamber that is responsible for putting on the CFAB every January 1st. New to us this year was also the college kick off game in August.

ASC = Atlanta Sports Council

This division of the Chamber is responsible for everything "sporty" in Atlanta. They host RaceTown before the fall NASCAR race all the way to putting on the AVP/Crocs Tour here at Atlantic Station.

To explain the scavenger hunt part....

On the last Friday of each month we have a Chamber-wide staff meeting where we serve our staff some sort of breakfast and each SVP has an opportunity to share what's going on in their division. This tends to be a snooze-fest. Not that I'm not interested and/or proud of what the Chamber does, it's just that the SVPs can be slightly long winded and give out more information than actually necessary.

We made a change mid-year for 2008 and assigned each month's staff meeting to a specific division. They are supposed to come up with a fun and interactive way to teach the staff about current events in their division. So far we've been having a lot of fun! For September, CFAB/ASC came up with a "Digital Scavenger Hunt". They supplied us with a list of about 35 items that we either had to take a picture or video of us doing. Here are a few of the pictures from Team Central Services...

Directions: Picture of a team member holding a volleyball while standing in sand.

Our take: HR Director, Paul, holding a volleyball in his kids' sandbox.

Directions: Picture of team member standing on college or pro football field.

Our take: Me lying our way through security at the Georgia Dome to take this picture of Paul on the Falcon's field.

Direction: Picture of team member with a staff member of CBS-46.

Our take: Me convincing receptionist that it was a matter of life or death that Denise and I take our picture with news anchor Helen Neill.

Directions: Picture of team member in a boat or life jacket.

Our take: Me posing in a 7-year old's life jacket while almost 7 months pregnant. It wasn't pretty.

Directions: Picture of team member wearing any mascot head.

Our take: Track down the person who plays "Freddie the Falcon" and ask if we can quickly put on any of his mascot heads. I'm wearing the head from an old mascot for the Georgia Force.

This was a ton of fun, but a lot of work. Denise, Paul and I were completely exhausted after our one day journey through Atlanta to get the "perfect" pictures:) And if you noticed, my fellow team members made me do all the lying. Lying is not something that I'm really good at so I was completely drained from the stress of it all!

Worn Out

And going home.

I guess all of the work I put into the CFAB/ASC Scavenger Hunt, Kaiser Permanente Corporate Run/Walk and staff meeting this week is starting to show on my face. Both the CFO and Finance Director told me after the staff meeting today that I need to be out of here by noon...and that I'm to go to bed.

No problem.

I'll post pictures from last weekend's carnival, the scavenger hunt and corporate run some time this weekend. A good time was definitely had by all, but now I'm ready for a nice long nap!

Have a great weekend!

Ayden got his teeth tickled!

Ayden had his first dentist appointment yesterday afternoon. To help prepare him, I said we were going to get his teeth tickled. I didn't feel like that was too far fetched...I laugh hysterically when they polish the insides of my teeth. Apparently the roof of my mouth is quite sensitive.

Ms Angie came out to introduce herself and told me that today was just a "fun" day. Ayden would get to see/touch all of the tools and get comfortable in the dentist environment. Most kids don't make it to the actually cleaning part of the visit out of fear. I just knew that Ayden would do great and walk out of there with polished teeth!Mr. Ayden sitting patiently in the waiting room. His paparazzi mom couldn't wait to start snapping pictures!

Ayden was introduced to "Mr. Thirsty"...aka saliva/water suckerupper.

Here we are showing Ms. Angie how wide we can open our mouth. Not a bad start!

Getting our teeth counted. 10 on the top and 10 on the bottom.

After all the flavors of polish were listed, he chose mint. MINT? I so would have gone for the grape! He's actually laughing in this picture.

A little squirt of water and some Mr. Thirsty action. Ayden had it all figured out by this point.

All polished up posing with Ms. Angie. She was fantastic and and I couldn't thank her enough for making first cleaning an enjoyable experience!

Great job buddy! I'm so proud of you for being such a big boy!!!

Lack of sleep and a Moo Moo Mr. Cow

I'm pretty darn tired because I got up with Jameson at 3am. The little turd just woke up and wanted to hang out. It wasn't until 5am that he finally fell back asleep but then it was time for mommy to get in the shower. I think I'm functioning pretty well considering I got totally screwed in the sleep department. I made sure to tell Jason about it this morning so that he'd feel bad for me and appreciate that I don't subject him to Jameson's poor sleeping habits. I'm not so sure that he felt bad for me since he rushed out the door after giving me a kiss to the forehead and a slightly (okay barely) sympathetic look. Sigh.

I almost ripped someone's head off at work today. I decided to take a break from studying by hitting the treadmill. As I made my way to the front door with my gym bag, a co-worker (who we'll call butthead throughout the rest of this post), stopped me in the hallway.

Butthead: Going over to the gym today?
Me: I sure am...trying to stay motivated.
Butthead: Are you sure it's doing any good?

Now, it's a good thing I know this butthead pretty well because I was about 75% positive that he was just joking around. So I responded with....

Are you sure your daily trip to Moe's is doing you any good?

Oh ya. That felt good.

BTW - For those of you who don't know, Moe's is mexican fast food. I love Moe's. I've become addicted to the "Moo Moo Mr. Cow", the kidsize burrito. Butthead didn't need to know that though:)

Because I was still slightly ticked off after my 30 minutes on the treadmill and some light weights, I treated myself to a Moo Moo Mr. Cow but snuck it in the building via my gym bag.

My body can't sit still even when I want it to....

Last night I wasn't feeling my best. I think I may have some sort of stomach virus that's working itself out of my system right now. So after making dinner, cleaning the kitchen, bathing the boys and getting backpacks ready for this morning I plopped my butt down on the couch for a 5 minute breather. Ayden and Jameson were already in their room watching their 15 minutes of Scooby Doo before bedtime. I'm sure that if I had closed my eyes, I would have fallen asleep immediately.

As my body was slowly starting to relax I heard a little boy's breathing to my left. I opened an eyeball and found Ayden staring down at me.

Me: What's up buddy?
Ayden: I want to be by you. (He's been saying this a lot lately)
Me: Let's snuggle for a few minutes before bedtime.

Ayden got all snuggled in next to me with his head on my belly. I had the TV off so I heard nothing but his sweet breathing and there was no movement except for me running my fingers through his hair. All was calm. Next thing I know he bolted up and was looking at me with a very perturbed look on his face.

Ayden: SIT STILL!
Me: Baby, I'm not moving.
Ayden: I was talking to my sister, duh.

Hmmmm. I guess I had been enjoying the moment with Ayden so much that I didn't even notice that Ava was bouncing around in my belly like a gymnast. Apparently the need to be by me was now gone because he got up and pouted his way to bed. Oh well, it's not like I can help it:)

Tuesday Goodness

It's gloomy outside. The perfect weather to curl up on the couch to. So how does a person climb out of the dark, dreary clouds that are threatening to spill rain? With a whole bunch of goodness!!!

1. Despite the apparent gas shortage (my favorite gas station is bone dry) I'm confident that after my truck guzzles down it's last 1/4 of a tank, I will have no problem filling up for under $4.25 a gallon.
2. When Ayden saw his Soccer Shots t-shirt laying out this morning, his beautiful face lit up with excitement.
3. Jameson fell asleep at 8pm last night and didn't venture into our room until 4:35am. I say progress, Jason says it's about time.
4. Ayden has started calling me a "Sleeping Beauty Princess". I'm just fine with that.
5. When we got home last night, the boys played outside while I made dinner, washed their hands, ate, played outside some more and then took a nice spill-free bath. Ah...sweet routine.
6. After blogging, I plan on spending the rest of my day studying for the CPP exam. I love that I have such a supportive boss that insists that I shut my office door so I'm not interrupted.
7. My request for Debbie's (MIL) airfare was approved yesterday. So glad that she's coming down to help Jason out while I'm in Connecticut.
8. I love that besides nail night, we have nothing going on this week.
9. I couldn't help but giggle this morning as I listened to Ayden in the bathroom, showing daddy his new karate moves that he learned last week...for like the 3rd time.
10. I almost bawled my eyes out as we were walking out the door and Jameson handed Ayden is sippy cup. Jameson's "Here brudder" got me weepy but it was when Ayden gave Jameson a hug and said "Thanks best friend" that pushed me over the edge.
11. And because I can't stop at 10 good things...I love that Ava kicks me all of the time. It's not always comfortable, but it reminds me of the beautiful life growing inside of me. I can't wait to meet our precious baby girl in approximately 9 weeks.

Edited: I accidentally skipped a month when looking at my due date. Ava won't be here for another 13 weeks. Sorry!

So whether it's gloomy or sunny by you, here's wishing you lots of Tuesday goodness!

They Make Me Smile

It was a good weekend. I got some things accomplished at home, we ran a few errands and spent a couple hours at the pool to relax. I couldn't help but snap a few pics of the boys after they were done swimming. Their beautiful faces make me smile....Hope you had a good weekend too!

The Decision!

Yesterday I chose the Twix over the gym. I ended up running into my work spouse, who had a horrible day, and I donated half of my Twix to him. I felt better about my decision after only eating half.

Today I'm in a meeting from 9am - 5:30pm. Fun, fun!

This is a HUGE decision!

I'm right in the middle of studying for the CPP exam. Yes, I was finally able to carve out some time before I'm in an all day meeting tomorrow.

So...do I scoot over to the gym for an hour of excercise to clear out my brain? I haven't been over there all week! Or do I go downstairs, buy a much wanted Twix bar and then start on module 2 of my payroll training program?

I'll let you know what I decide in tomorrow's post.....

Public or Private

Where we would send our children to school was not something we took into consideration when we moved to Georgia. Jason and I both grew up in the Midwest where we were offered an excellent education through the public school system. My high school was very competitive. You were not in the "in" crowd unless you were in honors classes and played a varsity sport. My teachers wanted us to excel and worked with us to make sure we did well. My parents very rarely had to help me with homework and never had to monitor my progress at school. Report cards were sent out, I got patted on the head and life moved on.

I'm not sure if things have changed in the Midwest (I graduated 13 years ago), but things are definitely very different in the south. The school systems in Georgia are deplorable. Parents spend 3-4 hours each night with their children working on homework. Grades, quizzes and tests are monitored via online services. Parents are forever having to work with the schools and teachers to get the best for their children. Now, I'm all for parent participation but I feel like it should be because I "want" to...not because the school is failing my child and I have no choice. Georgia schools teach kids to take tests...simple as that. I want my children to walk away from 13 years of school with knowledge, not just the ability to memorize.

So, if I don't trust the public schools to do this what other option is there? Right now there is a lot of hype on charter schools. You can find charter schools all across the nation, but they're just starting to get popular in Georgia. These schools are public schools but teach with a more hands on approach and are allowed to be more flexible with their curriculum. Test scores are actually higher (possibly because the students are actually learning) and graduation rates are almost 100%. After hearing such great things about charter schools I decided to look into it for Ayden. Hmmmm. Apparently these schools are mostly being developed in Metro Atlanta...not down in the sticks by us. There is one charter school in Coweta County just west of us but it would be waaaaay out of my way for work and since we live in Fayette County, we'd be last on the list.

If charter schools are out of the question, then all we're left with is private. $$$ That's all I can think of. $$$ We don't have a lot of $$$ just sitting around. I plan on picking up some financial aid forms while I'm on maternity leave and we'll cross our fingers and pray we qualify. I'm hoping that because we'll have Ava in daycare, Jameson in daycare/preschool and Ayden in private school (and the fact that plumbers and payroll accountants don't make a boat load of cash), we'll get some sort of help and be able to send Ayden off for a another year of quality education next fall.

NOTE: I do realize that not ALL of Georgia's schools suck. There are some great schools in Peachtree City! But we really want to buy a larger home for our growing family and we prefer to not live in congested Peachtree City.

So, keep your fingers crossed that Jason and I are as broke as we think we are so that we can get a great discount on a private school education for our kids:)

Ayden Conversation

Yesterday I wasn't in the mood to cook but I wasn't in the mood to go out for dinner either. Jason was in Peachtree City at the shop and offered to get take out at Chili's. He wanted me to call him when I had picked up Ayden and was on my way to get Jameson so the timing would be right. I had just picked up Ayden and was cruising down Dogwood when I called Jason...

Me: Hey bunny. I'm on Dogwood right now and about to turn down Farr Road.

Ayden: NO MOMMY! It's not "far", you're supposed to turn right there to pick up Jameson!!

He had screamed so loud out of concern that I might miss our turn to pick up his brother that I almost dropped the phone. Leave it to Ayden to keep mommy on track:)

BTW - Today is his first day of soccer. I can't wait to find out if he likes it. Karate went well last Friday. Apparently they were using a "noodle" (I think he was referring to one of those swimming noodles) to kick at. Ayden tends to be a bit dramatic so I'm sure that the sounds and hand gestures he made to accompany his demonstration were not things he learned at karate that day. He seriously cracks me up!

5th Ultrasound & 25 Weeks

First of all, please let me mention that I seem to have finally caught Jameson's cold. I'm congested and sneezing like a lunatic. I just ran out of Kleenex and it's taking all of my restrain to not go rip the toilet paper off the wall in the ladies room.

Okay, about today's ultrasound. I loved it! I always love ultrasounds, but today was amazing. As soon as she popped up on the screen, I got a cute view of her butt...with legs spread wide open...and a vagina. Please understand how excited this made me since this was the first time I actually got VISUAL proof that this baby is a girl. So far, I've just been taking Dr. Korotkin's word for it. Yes, he's an expert but even experts sometimes make a mistake. I made Julie (the ultrasound tech) take a picture...which my mom has offered to scan so that I can post it.

Ava (I can say that with more confidence now) was moving everywhere. There is nothing more fun that to see your baby move on the screen and feel it at the same time. For a while she was playing with her toes (another Jameson?), then she put her hand up to her mouth (sucking her thumb?) and then a nice karate chop with her leg which I felt on my bladder. Next thing I knew, her foot was smack dab in the center of the screen and then we saw/felt the ultrasound-wand-thingy jump on my belly. Fun!

Last month, she was about 1 week behind (sizewise) and today she was 1 day ahead of schedule. I guess that made me feel better about the 5lb weight gain last month. It's all for a good cause:) Right now she's weighing in just under 2lbs and is about 13 inches long.

I see Dr. McSwain again on the 23rd for the glucose screening (yuck!) and we'll visit Dr. Korotkin on 10/6 for another ultrasound. It'll be nice to know that everything is going well inside before I hop on a plane for Connecticut.

Here's what's going on this week:

Your little grower’s physical proportions are evening out at this point and most of their remaining development will largely be weight gain and lots and lots of nervous system development. The good news is: if your child is born premature now they’ll be more likely to survive without too much trauma as their lungs began to produce “surfactant” last week, which means their tiny respiratory system is getting stronger with each passing day. Yes, now’s a good time for a minor sigh of relief and a quick pat on the back. All that hard work and conscientious living is really getting your child prepared for a healthy delivery. Keep up the fabulous work mama! This week they’ll be scootching slowly out of the old breech position and start rotating (already!) into a better position for exit during their birth. Their head and feet are slowly rotating so that the head is pointed down towards the birth canal. Time is short (or really long, depending on who you ask)—just (still!) 14 weeks left before you can go back to being a single-resident human.

Beyond Blessed

Wow. I hadn't realized until today that I've been posting on this blog for over a year now! My first post was on 8/8/07. Jameson had just turned 1 and Ayden's 3rd birthday was right around the corner. That was also around the time when Jason and I started arguing about adding to our family. I was so sure that I would never feel new life in me again.

Now look at us! Jameson is a 2 year old potty training machine and big boy Ayden just turned 4 years old and started "real" school. And then there's the new life getting bigger and bigger inside of me every day. I am seriously so blessed! I have a husband who tells me he loves me at least 10 times every day, still chases me around the house to pinch my butt (despite it's growth after the birth/pregnancy of above mentioned children) and works very hard to support us and make sure we're happy. I have my two little boys with such different personalities that sometimes it's hard to keep up with them. They add so much to our family though and I love watching them grow and learn. And then there's this new little person who will be joining the hectic Payne family in December. I can't wait to see her, touch her and...okay...dress her! I feel like it's only fair that if she gets to kick me for 4 months, I get to use her as my personal Barbie doll.

We have also gotten very lucky with Ayden's school this year. He loves Royal Learners and has so much to tell me every night when I pick him up. Today he starts karate class and next week he starts soccer. I love that we have the option to pay for these extra classes during the day (thanks for helping Mimi & Bumpa!). The con is that I don't get to watch him practice and grow at these sports but the pro is that they're not cutting into our home time. Now if only they offered swim lessons....

So life may be hectic (who's isn't?) but when I stop to take a good look around me, I know that I'm beyond blessed.

We've Been Busy

I feel like that's the understatement of the year. We've had birthdays, illness, swim lessons, festivals, new school and oh so much more going on during the past month. Things seem to calming down...finally. Daddy is laying down with the boys so that I can take a few minutes to download/edit photos and actually post a few. I love it when my husband is home!

So we should probably start out with Ayden's birthday. We had a very quiet/low-key celebration with just Mimi & Bumpa in attendance.

And then we had swim lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the month of August. I was very proud of Ayden's progress during the 8 lessons. I can't wait for him to continue with PreLevel 2 in December. Unfortunately Ms. Nicole left the dive shop for a more full time job, but I'm sure Ayden's next instructor will be just as patient and caring.

Last weekend we went to the Powers Crossroads Festival in Cowetta County. Basically it's just another excuse to take pictures of my children:)

And I couldn't possibly leave out the addition of 3 new tattoos...on Ayden! Daddy humored Ayden and put all 3 smack-dab in the middle of his chest.

Ayden ended up with all 3 tattoos because Jameson wouldn't stop squirming long enough for daddy to apply anything on him. He still wanted his picture taken though...

Why does my plea for brotherly love have to turn into more of a choke hold?September brings more festivals and active weekends. Ayden starts karate classes this Friday and goes in for his first dental cleaning later in the month. You can bet my camera will be on hand to capture it all!

Weight Gain Estimator

My friend, Roxanne, sent this link to me yesterday after she read my depressing post. Here are the results to my Weight Gain Estimator....

You should gain roughly 15-25 lbs. during your pregnancy. Over the last two trimesters you should gain about 2.6 lbs. every 4 weeks.

How it breaks down - If you gained the average of range above, this is where the weight would go (totals are rounded):

Maternal:
Uterus 1.33 lbs.
Breasts 0.55 lbs. (Um, they have this one waaaaay underestimated)
Blood 1.71 lbs.
Water 2.3 lbs.
Fat 4.59 lbs.
Subtotal 10.48 lbs.

Fetal:
Fetus 7.5 lbs. (Apparently they don't know about my love for pushing out babies no larger than 6.5 lbs)
Placenta 0.89 lbs.
Amniotic Fluid 1.09 lbs.
Subtotal 9.48 lbs.

Total 19.96 lbs. (I'd prefer to keep it between 15 and 17 thank you very much)

BTW - Our benefits administrator was in yesterday to process a new eligible employee. After our meeting regarding 2009's open enrollment, she took me to lunch at Taco Mac. What I really wanted to do was drown my sorrows in beer, but settled for the loaded nachos. This is an appetizer and could easily feed a family of 10. I put down half of it and ate the rest for breakfast this morning. And I wonder why I'm constantly suffering from heartburn! I think my pittyfest is now over and I'll be making my usual appearance at Turner Athletic Club today.

Look for pictures tomorrow!

Excuse me...how much weight did you say I gained??????

Yup. An hour later and this question is still buzzing through my head. I walked into today's 6 month check up so very confident that my time at the gym was going to pay off. Don't get me wrong. I know I have to gain weight ...I'm pregnant after all...but I was hoping to keep it to 1-2 pounds per month. So after I got on the scale and snuck a peek at my chart, I just about fell off my chair! 5 lbs...in one month? That's after hitting the gym 4 days a week for the past month. Dr. McSwain tried to console me by giving the "muscle weighs more than fat" speech but I wasn't listening. I was still stuck on the fact that I gained 5lbs in one freakin month. I promised myself during my drive to the office that I wouldn't give up. I will continue to schlep my gym bag across the street even though all I really want to do is waive the white flag and do a face plant in an order of Moe's nachos.

To make matters even worse? After calling Jason to cry out my frustrations, he informed me that I shouldn't feel bad because all of my weight gain is in my boobs. Stupid, stupid man. It's a good thing I love him so much or there would be a dead plumber at Tyler Perry's brand new studio right now! Don't worry...I'll make him pay for his momentary lapse in judgement.

Here's what's going on with Ava during week 24....

This is another big week for your magical growing baby! Just take a look at the checklist for this week: 1) ears: done; 2) fingernails: done; 3) (if you have a boy) testicles: taking their 3-4 day trip from the abdominal wall to the scrotum; and 4) lungs walls: secreting “surfactant”. What’s that? Well, surfactant is sort of what it sounds like: a surface-activated fat whose main purpose is to assist the your baby's little lungs during inflation (as in, filling with air, not getting more expensive). Just in case you’re curious, your submerged baby is still breathing in amniotic fluid, preparing and rehearsing the lungs an oxygen-filled life outside the womb. By the end of this week, your child will be weighing around 2 lbs and 14 inches long. Your cutie-patootie may even be a little more plump, but isn't anywhere near their full baby-fatted cute-self. Most of the “filling out” is coming up in that long awaited (and slightly dreaded?) third trimester. Woo-hoo! Get ready!