Oh Maine

I got up and out of bed at 4:30 so that I could catch my flight and get to Maine.  I slept some on the flight, but not too much.  I hadn't been feeling well and felt bad for the people on the plane that I kept hacking on :)  Overall it was a good flight though.  I went from Atlanta to Detroit to Bangor.  I haven't flown in to Bangor since December of 2000...it was great to be there and not have to drive for another 4 hours!

As soon as I got there, Dad and Susan were waiting for me.  They took me to Christina house where I picked up Isabel and took her to her basketball game.  It was great to see her play and she did a really good job, but basketball just isn't my sport, no matter what the skill level is.

 

 Isabel is in the back in the middle with the black shorts

 

 Bel is second from left on the floor

When we got home, everyone was there and it was GREAT to see my nieces and nephew!  I miss them so much!!!  All the kids love the newest addition Jillian so much.  They kept fighting over who got told hold her and even Genevieve was trying to help and wanted to touch and love on the baby.

 

Alex loving on Jillian

 

 Christina, Genevieve & Jillian

Overall we didn't do an whole lot.  Christina wasn't up for moving around much so we hung around the house and visited.  I tried to keep the kids out of her hair, but I just couldn't do all 3 of them.  I tried my hardest.

 

 Nixon messing with Alex and Genevieve

Genevieve has changed so much since the last time I saw her.  She is so damn cute!  She's talking a lot and getting in to everything.

 

 Genevieve shy when I first got there

 

 Genevieve showing me her new teeth

Alex is getting so big!  I got to go to his school concert and he was so cute!  I wanted to run up on stage and hug him!  Also, I got to see one of his basketball games too...too cute.  The kids just kept running and dribbling maybe 1 or 2 times down the length of their court :)

 

 Alex on the left in the front row

 

 Alex, in the red shorts, taking a shot

Isabel has grown to a become beautiful girl.  She helped me a lot with the smaller kids and snuggled with me when ever I wanted.  We had some girl time one night and painted our nails so that was nice.

 

 Celebrating Isabel's birthday

 

 Isabel and Alex - See? They get along sometimes

The newest niece, Jillian, is simply adorable!  If Christina wasn't feeding her or someone else holding her, I was.  I got all kinds of Jillian love in while I was there!
 

 Jillian Ruth

 Sleeping baby girl...so sweet

I got to see Nana and Ralph a few times.  I was lucky to get Genevieve for the day and take her to Nana's with me! :)   I also got to see Grammie a few times.  Then at the end of my trip, I got some time with Elaine too.  It was great to see all of them!  Nana and Ralph came down for the wedding but that was over a year ago.  Grammie I saw when I was up there in Jan 07.  And Elaine, I don't remember the last time.  I don't think I saw her in 07. 

Mom and I had planned it so that I would need to be at the airport at about the time she would be getting in so that whoever would only have to make one trip.  So when I got there to check in, the little kiosk wasn't working.  I stood around waiting for a Delta attendent to come help me.  Here's kinda how it went:

Me: The kiosk isn't working.
Delta guy: Yeah
Me: Well, I need to check in.
DG: ???
Me: For the flight to Detroit?
DG:  That flight left already
Me: What? The 4:40 flight is gone?
DG: Yeah, it left at 2:15
Me: (wtf? they didn't tell me?!)  Ok....umm....so the 4:40 flight left at 2:15
DG: yes, flight 440 left at 2:15.
Me: (look at board behind counter)  shit.

So one morning about a week or so before the trip, mom called to see when my flight left so she could by her ticket.  I looked real quick at my email and told her 4:40.  I would have to be there at 3:40.  She found a flight that got in at 3:10.  PERFECT!  I never looked at my itinerary again.  Had I, I may have noticed that it was flight 440 that leaves at 2:15...just like Delta Guy said.  There wasn't any other flights leaving that day.  I had to pay an extra $100 to get my ticket switched to leave the next morning.  Thank God I had planned on leaving on Sat so I didn't have to worry about missing a day of work!

Sunday morning, I got up at 4:00 am again to catch my flight home.  I do not like getting up at 4:00 am.  I flew from Bangor to JFK.  I had a few hour layover at JFK so I hung out in the Burger King area because they had bench seats so I could sleep some.  My flight was delayed and I didn't leave there till 12ish.  By the time I got back to Macon, I had been traveling for 13 hours.  So what did I do after not having seen my husband for over a week?  I took at nap :)

Overall, my trip was awesome.  I loved being back in Maine.  For the most part, the weather was great.  I got to see it snow twice and enjoy what makes Maine, Maine.  Everything was great, except for the end.

 The whole gang!!  Isabel 10, Alex 5, Genevieve 2, and Jillian 2 weeks

Weeks 5-13

I know that by the time you read this, I will be much further along but I wanted to write weekly blogs just for myself and for later, to keep everyone up to date!  So even though its probably mid Feb, I'm writing this as it comes along.



Week 5

Today is New Years Day and I am 5 weeks if you go by when my last period was.  I'm still feeling good.  I've had a cold so I don't know if what I was feeling was cold stuff or prego stuff.  I don't have much of an appetite and don't care what I eat.  Its annoying to Bliss that I have no opinion on where/what we eat :)
I'm not sick so thats good but the books say that may wait till 6 weeks to start so we'll keep our fingers crossed. If I eat too much (but not as much as would have been too much before), I feel sick.  The other night we went out for pizza.  I had 2 slices of a large pizza and thought I was going to chuck right there at the Mellow Mushroom. 

I am sleepy and I get to the point that I need a nap easily.  If I do stuff, then I get worn out but if I'm just lazy all day, or even at work where I just sit there, I'm fine.  For example, we went shopping for a few hours then I came home and took at 3 hour nap.  Maybe this mean Bliss will do the grocery shopping :)  Probably not, but a girl can dream!


Week 6

I had prepared myself to be prego.  I was ready for the having to pee all the time, ready for being tired and I bought extra tums for the morning sickness. 

This stuff isn't really happening to me.  I'm a little sleepy around 4:00 at work, but by the time I get home, I'm good.  AND I keep waking up all night.  I'm not sleeping well at all.  But its not due to having to pee.  I don't.  I probably pee less then I did before.  I only get a little nauseous when I don't eat, so I have a snack and I'm fine. 

I do feel a little off though.  I'm not sure what it is, but I'm not quite right.  Who knows.

Thursday I have my first appt.  It will be the first time Bliss gets to see another man shove something up my hoo-ha.  I'm sure it will be an exciting day!


Week 7

Yesterday Bliss and I went to my first OB appt.  The doctor said that everything looked great.  He did an ultra sound so we could see the little blob.  He measured the baby at 6 weeks 5 days and according to my last period, I would be 6 weeks 6 days so we're right on.  My due date is Sept 4th!  We didn't get to hear the heart but we did get to see the little flicker that its heart was making.  I only got a little teary :)

6 weeks 5 days

I"m still feeling the same.  Overall I feel pretty good until I get hungry then I feel like crap.  Still a little off but I'll get though it :)  No weight gain yet.  Thank god for that.  I've been eating more then I normally would but I don't want to gain 50 lbs!  I've been trying to make healthier choices so lets hope I can keep that up.

Oh!  I did have my 1st food aversion this week!  I made us a pork tenderloin and sweet potatoes for dinner.  As I was cutting up the pork, I did not like the smell.  I was going to try to eat it because I like pork and I was hungry.  Didn't happen.  I took one bite and had to spit it out.  So, I had a sweet potato for dinner :)


Week 8

So nothing new on the prego side of things.  I got sick again.  It just a lot of stuff in my chest and keeps me coughing all the time.  I ended up staying home on Wed because I was coughing so much my throat was killing me and my voice was going.  One of the crappy parts of being pregnant is that I can't take any good meds :(

I'm leaving tomorrow for Maine and although I am excited about going home, I am not excited about going up there sick.  I usually get sick when I go so we'll see if this gets worse before it gets better.


Week 9

I had a great time in Maine.  I told everyone that I saw about the new addition to the Jourdan family when I was there.  Everyone was very excited for us.  I showed off the pic of my little blob.  Funny story about telling my father...I wore Christina's Mom-to-be pin over to Dad and Susan's house just to see how long it would take for them to put 2 and 2 together.  I knew Susan would be quick so I stayed in the entry way with my dad for a few minutes after Susan and Christina took the kids in to the living room.  I took off my coat and talked to Dad.  He looked me straight in the eye, not at the big pink bow I had on my shirt.  Finally I pointed to it.  He read it then asked if I was talking about myself.  I said yes and he said congratulations! and shook my hand.  Oh, Daddy... :)

Christina pointed out that hanging out with Jillian (2 weeks) and Genevieve (2 years) will help me decide how far apart I want my kids :)  It was strange to look at Jillian and think that I'm going to have one soon.  I mean, I'm sure its crazy to see a baby and think, wow, that was in me...but you still have somewhat of a belly and just  few days prior you could feel the baby and see your belly.  Now here I am with very little belly (I'm naturally blessed to carry all my weight in my ass) and to think, shit, thats going to be in me.  My belly is going to be huge.

This isn't a great pic of Jillian, but you can see her whole size

 Here is a cutie pic of my newest niece

I got over my cold.  With that I've also gotten over the whole feeling like crap when I'm just a little hungry so that's great.  I can actually hold on for a bit and wait for dinner to be ready.  I still haven't gained any weight.  I'm ok with that :)


Week 10

I'm 1/4 of the way there!!!

Nothing else to report about this week.  Same ol' same ol'.


Week 11

This week we told the rest of our friends at a Super Bowl party.  All the guys made jokes and the girls congratulated us.  We have a few more people to tell then I can post this and make the "official" announcement on facebook.

Also, I had an Old Navy gift card left over from my birthday so I was looking on line and found some summer shirts in the maternity section that were really cheap so I ordered a bunch!  I'll probably need pants before shirts but hey, you can't beat a $5 shirt.  Speaking of pants....I have 2 pairs that I feel totally comfortable in.  2-3 more that I wear but I know look like shit on me.  I know I'm not showing yet, but I don't like any tightness on my belly.  Also, I gained some weight just before I got knocked up.  A big thank you to the cruise and holidays for that.  So I know its not pregnant related but I don't want to buy new ones and its not like I can work on loosing the weight.  Anyway, enough about that.  I'm excited for my new shirts :)


Week 12

My clothes came in!  I tried them on with a half deflated balloon up my shirt to try to get an idea of what they would look like on.  Bliss just sat there an laughed at me.

Usually for Valentine's Day Bliss and I cook a nice meal together and just hang out at home.  Now I love to cook.  I love to bake.  I love to spend time in the kitchen.  For whatever reason, I have had no desire to do any of it lately.  Not even like its ok, it has to be done so let me cook.  I don't want to.  It's like doing dishes or cleaning the tub.  Anyway, we didn't cook for Valentines.  Instead, we went to Sticky Fingers for bbq.  It wasn't the most romantic, but we did spend the evening together :)

I had an appointment on Wednesday and got to hear the heartbeat!  It was 158 :)  There were two other sounds that the lady said was a kick and a flip.  I have no idea so we'll go with that!  I wish I had known that we were going to listen so that Bliss would have come.  Maybe next time!


Week 13

I had a bit of an over reaction this week.  Sunday I spotted a little then Monday morning I was crampy and it wouldn't stop.  Then I spotted again that morning.  I started freaking out cause that's what I do.  I called the doctors office and made an appointment for that afternoon.  Bliss came home for the appointment and we went.  Of course everything was fine.  The doctor went over some things that could have caused my cramping and spotting.  I did get to see the baby again.  It waved at us.  :)

12 weeks 2 days

I wore my first maternity shirt today!  Not that I need it.  We just needed some laundry done :)  It doesn't look like a maternity shirt so I think its ok :)

So....

I didn't write about this at Christmas time because there was some other stuff that needed to be done first but I wanted to tell you about one of the Christmas gifts Bliss and I got:

yay!!

We have been trying since the cruise...so not very long, but I really didn't think that it happened in December.  I don't want to go in to too much detail about my woman parts, but things happened that lead me to believe it would be a different month.  One of the websites said that Christmas day would be the first day I could test so I took a test with us to Louisiana just in case.  I figure it would be a great Christmas gift if it was positive but not a big deal if it wasn't.  Since we didn't get each other much for gifts we lucked out that it was positive :)

I got up and started my day like any other, in the bathroom.  I did the test then went to brush my teeth while I waited.  When I looked at it, I totally expected it to say "Not Pregnant" so I had to stare at it for a min to make sure my eyes were working right.  I went back in to the bedroom and work Bliss up.  Here is somewhat of how our conversation went:

Me: Baby, wake up...I have another Christmas present for you.

(I handed stick to Bliss and he looked at it for a few seconds)

Bliss: Are you really pregnant?

Me: That's what it says!

There was some more after that but I don't really remember...I just thought it was cute that he asked if I really was.  No, Baby, I had some prego woman pee in a cup for me to bring down here with me to try to fool you.

We ended up telling his mother that morning since he wanted to be with her when he told her and we're not sure when we'll see her again.  He told her that it was a secret but that I took at test that morning.  She looked at me and I just smiled.  She started crying.  Since we got together she has been saying that she can't wait for us to have a grand baby for her :)  She told me later that she thinks she would have had the same reaction if we had just told her we were trying!

 The Christmas we got the best gift ever!  (and the last on that it will be about us)

 

i have some news!!!

We bought a new washer and dryer!!!!  

 Two weekends ago our washing machine broke :(  We had been having some problems with it leaking or not spinning and things like that.  Bliss kept fixing it the best he could and we made it work.  Well, that unfortunate Sunday, it was making awful noises and just stopped.  Bliss did everything he could, but it was dead.  Thank God we had most of the laundry done for the week!

I'm not positive, but I believe this washer was bought in 2000 by my friend Kelly.  I'm not sure when she bought it, but that's when she got her apt so it may have been used at that point.  Anyway, the dryer was bought in like 02 or 03 (I think) when Kelly's other dryer died.  Bliss' old roommate, Zach, bought both off Kelly when she moved to MN and Bliss and Zach got an appt.  When Bliss and I moved in together in 04, we bought the pair off Zach for $50.  He was dumb to sell them to us so cheap, but it worked well for me!

When the washer broke, we debated on if we should just get a new/used washer or if we should get a set.  This past weekend we went looking for a new one.  At Best Buy, we found a really nice set that was a display model so we got  it like 40% off!! So we came home and put the dryer on Craig's List and sold it in 45 min for $175!!  Not a bad profit if I do say so!

Our friend Stefan was headed up to NYC for the week and had asked us to watch his cats.  We said that wouldn't be a problem, but we were going to use his washer too :)  We made smart choices about what we would need clean and only had to do two loads between then and when our new washer was delivered thursday!

Aren't they pretty??

I'm leaving on a jet plane

I just booked my ticket to Maine to see the newest addition to the Rios' Family!  She's not here yet but better be by the time I get there! 

Its been such a long time since I've been to Maine...Jan '07 I believe. WAY too long.  I did see some of my family when they came down for the wedding, then Dad and Susan came again in March '09.  Even since then its been too long!

I'm flying up 1/23 and staying until 1/30.  I'm really excited to see everyone, eat a lobster roll, and have some fun.  I am not looking forward to the cold.  My "winter" jacket is a Georgia winter jacket.  Oh well!  I'll make it work :)

The Holidays

Since I'm behind, I'm just going to put Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Eve together. 
We stayed home for Thanksgiving and invited our parents to join us.  Bliss' mother came but Jeff had back surgery not too long before turkey day so Mom and Jeff weren't able to make it.  We also invited over some friends that didn't have anywhere to go....I know the feeling well :)  

We made it all....turkey, ham, dressing, sweet potatoes, squash casserole, pies and cakes....so much food.  It was all SO good!!!

For Christmas, we went down to Louisiana.  It was great to get to see everyone and we had a wonderful time!

Christmas Eve we went to see Up In The Air.  It was a really good movie but not the cheery, pick you up kind of movie you usually want to see on Christmas Eve.  Oh well!  That night we went over to Granny and Howard's and spent some time with them and Robert and his kids.  Then Christmas morning, Granny and Howard came over to Vicki's to open gifts. 

Then we went over to Bliss' Uncle and Aunt's house to join everyone for Christmas dinner.  There were at least 30 people there and SO much food!  Bliss and I had fried turkey for the first time.  Bliss doesn't even like turkey but couldn't stop talking about it.  So good.

That night we went to the casino and lost some money.  Well, Bliss and I did.  Vicki was rolling in it! 

The next day we to the horse races.  I lost some more money.  Just a tip for people who go in the future...picking based on their names doesn't work very well.  I did get one horse that came in 3rd.  It was a $3 bet and I won $1.60 :)  Friends of Vicki's bread and race horses so they had a box on the upper level that we got to use.  It was really chilly so it was nice to be inside!

After the tack, we went to see Avatar.  We wanted to see it at the IMAX in New Orleans, but they were sold out so we went back to Covington and watched it in 3D there.  It was a really good movie!

We enjoyed a nice long weekend but then had to come home and get back to work.  I hate that my tip blogs always have to end with that.

For New Years, I was sick so Bliss and I stayed home.  It was a normal evening for us...watched a movie, messed around on the computer.  Just before midnight, I called him in to the living room so we could watch the ball drop.  Then I went to bed.  A pretty boring New Years, but just what I needed!

We hope everyone has a safe, happy, and healthy 2010!!!!

sorry...

so I've been MIA for awhile. things have been a little busy and I've been a little lazy :)

So our trip...

We had an AMAZING time! We drove down to Mom's house Friday night. The next morning Mom and Jeff drove us to the port to get on the boat. We started eating as soon as we got on the boat :)

 

  Us just before we left Tampa

The first day was at sea and we had a good time just being lazy around the boat.

 

 

Our first port was Grand Cayman. We planned on doing some shopping then laying on the beach for the afternoon. Mother Nature had something else planned.

 

So we shopped some more, got a great lunch and headed back to the boat.  That night was formal night as well as our anniversary so we dressed up a bit :)

The next day we went to Cozumel. We rented a Jeep and drove all around the island. The side were the boat docked had nice calm waters but the other side had HUGE waves. We went swimming for a bit and enjoyed the waves. We then went to eat a little hole in the wall and had some amazing food. I don't understand why people go to the big chain restaurants in places like that. Anyway, we went swimming again after that and got beat up by some more waves. I loved it.

 

 

 

 

 

The hole in the wall where we ate....it was awesome!

The last day was a day as sea again so we messed around on board.  We played in the casino some.  Bliss entered a black jack tournament but didn't make it very far.  We played some mini golf up on the top deck.  Let me tell you, it was hard...the wind was blowing and it kept taking our balls!

The food was great. We ate all the time. We'd get up and eat breakfast. Then a few hours later, lunch. Then at 5 the sushi bar opened so we ate then. Maybe a piece of pizza or dessert around 7 then dinner at 8:30. Of course the late night buffet too. We sat with three couples for dinner. They were really nice and it was great to have other people to talk to and hang out with.

Our servers

The shows were good. There were a few comedians that we enjoyed. The did late night r rated shows too that were really funny. The other shows were good too...mostly dancing and singing.

After the cruise was over, we went back to mom and Jeff's for a few nights and visited with them and some friends. Unfortunately, we had to come back to Macon and back to work.

We had an amazing time.  It was great to get away from everything and just have some time to ourselves!  I really hope that in the future we can continue to go on trips...just the two of us :)