I wanna put you in my car and drive and turn you up loud, roll down all the windows and shout it out I love this girl oh If I could press play, repeat how happy I'd be wherever I'd go I'd have you there with me

Day 30: Favorite coffee table book
I chose the only one I have. And it's in my bookcase, not on our coffee table. I honestly, don't get the point to coffee table books. Also, I don't know if this is actually a coffee table book. But seriously, who puts books on their coffee table? Especially when you have pets and a child running around. Growing up my dad's second wife had a few books on the coffee table. But the coffee table was in a room the kids weren't allowed in, but for some reason it was okay if the stupid dogs went in there. Anyway, I digress...here's my pick:

there you go making my heart beat again, heart beat again, heart beat again there you go making me feel like a kid won't you do it and do it one time?

Day 29: Book you’re currently reading
I'm not reading this one cover to cover. Just picking and choosing parts of it to read. It's one of the books we checked out from the library a couple weeks ago. It's more of reference book when I don't feel like Googling something, lol.

I'm here fallin' for you my hearts callin' for you I know I never can get enough don't hold back one bit of your love strong and steady for you I'm all ready come on, baby, give me a little more you

Day 28: Last book you read
I finished reading this book before we moved from Michigan to Ohio. That's how long it's been since I read a whole book. :( But I finally have a library card and can check books out. As well as read what's on the Kindle. I <3 reading. I need to do more of it.

a little bit of guitar a little bit of truck a little bit of hound-dog an' a little bit of luck a little bit of bacon a little bit of beans a little bit of you lovin' up on me a little bit of how it's s'posed to be a little bit of life

Day 27: Favorite fiction book
Obviously, the book used twice already is actually my favorite. But another book I like a lot had to go here. :) So this isn't necessarily my favorite, just one I like a lot and enough to read more than once. But I can say that I like almost every book by Philippa Gregory that I have read. So far The Other Queen is the only one I'm not a fan of. I've been reading it for three months now. It's barely 200 pages and I can read 700+ pages of the last Harry Potter book in about two days. Do you really think the book is that hard to read?

they say in this town stars stay up all night don’t know can’t see ‘em for the glow of the neon lights and it's a long way from here to the place where the home fires burn

Yesterday I had my monthly OB appointment (every four weeks, there were two appointments in September) and some prenatal screening done. To be honest, I'm freaked out about what the results could be. I know there isn't a high risk of my baby having chromosomal abnormalities (e.g., Trisomy 18 and Down syndrome), but still... I only went ahead and had the quad screen done because my insurance will cover it and my fiancé asked that I have it done. I hate having my blood drawn and no matter how good the phlebotomist is at his/her job, it hurts and I don't like it. But at least, I didn't cry yesterday when she was taking my blood.

Anyway...I've been feeling pretty good lately, so naturally, I'm worried that something is wrong with the baby. Nope, Baby S has a good, strong heartbeat and is more than likely moving around a lot. I wouldn't know though because I don't know if it's my stomach/intestines being weird or if it's a baby moving around that I feel, lol. The nurse who does the check ins for my doctor asked if I'd been feeling baby move yet, and I had to say "no" because I don't know. As long as I can feel Baby S moving around in there by my next appointment (20 weeks, 5 days), I'm not worried. It's perfectly normal for a first time mom (FTM) not to be aware of what she's feeling until the movement is a bit stronger. And since I'm a FTM, I have nothing to worry about right now.

The next appointment is when we find out the baby's sex: an ultrasound followed by an OB appointment. I'm hoping for a girl, but a boy is just as good. I don't know why I want a girl so badly, but I do. ::shrug:: My fiancé wavers between wanting a boy and wanting a girl. So it appears that he just wants a healthy baby regardless of sex. :)

Just this week, our neighbors gave us a brand new, still factory sealed, in the box baby bath tub. But I'm not removing the one we have on the registry because I'm not sure if I like the design of the free one. It looks easy enough to use and safe enough, but I'm not sure yet. If I change my mind, I'll totally be removing the cute Fisher-Price whale one we have on the registry. But so far, they've given us 34 pieces of baby clothing (4 pairs of pants, 2 shirts, 28 onesies), 12 baby caps and 16 receiving blankets. Which by the way, all of it is brand new. They were given way more than they could use for their six week old son, and also, he was a big baby, so the newborn sizes didn't fit him at all. Pretty much anything smaller than 6-9 months size is off the registry thanks to the generosity of our neighbors (and the members of their church). All of my siblings and I were smaller babies and it sounds like my fiancé and his siblings were smaller babies, too. So...my fingers are crossed for a little baby!

sometimes it's a pair of old faded denim I know it's gonna fit me like a friend or some radio song you can't help but sing along wishing they'd spin it over and over again

Day 26: Favorite nonfiction book
Probably the only non-fiction book I've read that isn't a textbook. After seeing the movie and the documentary on the History Channel, I decided to get the book and read it. Probably the only time my 16 year old brother and I can agree on a genre: military history. LOL

I'm sorry for the demon I've become you should be sorry for the angel you are not I apologize for the cruel things that I did but I don't regret one single word I said

Day 25: Favorite book you read in school
Mostly I hated the books we were required to read in school and only read them because it was required and easy to do so. This one, I started out not liking it, but after a chapter or two, I liked it.

the dawn is breaking a light shining through you're barely waking and I'm tangled up in you

Day 24: Book that contains your favorite scene
A little confused why I chose this book. I've never read it, don't claim to have read it before. I've only seen the movie. I must be cheating and assuming the movie is like the book. Or just pulling a book out of my a**, lol. Anyway, if I am assuming the movie is a close follower of the book, I know that's wrong. So...yeah...guess away!

who's to say what's impossible well they forgot this world keeps spinning and with each new day I can feel a change in everything

Day 23: Book you tell people you’ve read, but haven’t (or haven’t actually finished)
This is an easy one. I loved the movie that came out in 1993 when I was a kid (still like it) and tried to read the book more than once. But never could get into it.

I met a girl and it was easy to see that she was falling hard for me that girl she wanted me to know

Day 22: Book you plan to read next
I plan on reading Philippa Gregory's second book in the Cousin's War series next. If it's still on the Kindle. If not, then I'm not sure if this will still be the next book that I read. I'm hoping for it still be next though.

all he could think about was I'm too young for this got my whole life ahead hell I'm just a kid myself how'm I gonna raise one

I'm bored and procrastinating doing something pretty important (oops). So I thought having a fun post with a pregnancy survey was a great idea. :)

Due date:
March 07, 2012

How far along are you now:
16 weeks, 1 day

Boy or girl:
Wouldn't you like to know? ;)

Was baby planned:
Not in the least, but that doesn't mean he or she is any less wanted. :)

Do you know who the babies father is:
No, not at all. (Very heavy sarcasm, I know that doesn't translate well in written text. But I think this is a stupid question.)

If so, who is it:
My fiancé.

How did you find out you were pregnant:
I felt flu-like symptoms and knew there was no reason that I would have gotten the flu. Plus, the negative/positive home pregnancy test worried me so I did a second one about five days later and it was a positive HPT.
"Well they have this test that you pee on. I thought I was doing it for a science experiment, but apparently my body had different plans!" <-- The answer given by the girl I copied this from. It made me giggle, so I'm leaving it here.

What were your first symptoms:
Nausea. Plain and simple.

Who did you tell first:
My fiancé. It went much better than I had expected it to. :)

Who was with you when you found out:
My cell phone, lol. I was using it as a stop watch to make sure I waited long enough before throwing away the pee stick. Freaked out and went downstairs to show my fiancé.

How far were you when you found out:
If you count my suspicious mind, then 4 weeks, 5 days. If you count the failed first HPT, then 5 weeks, 3 days. It was confirmed by the OB at 7 weeks, 5 days.

What was your reaction:
Oh, s***.

What was the baby's father's reaction:
Positive. That's the only word I'm going to use to describe it.

What were your parent's reactions:
Mostly positive. Definitely became excitement quickly.

Any names:
Yep. But those are sealed up with sex of the baby. ;)

Have you heard the heartbeat? If so what was the HR:
Yep. At my first appointment, we heard the little one's HB during the ultrasound. It was a healthy 164 (if my memory is correct, if not then 160something). I've heard it again at my second appointment Sept. 1^st, but didn't get a HR that time.

Baby ancestral types:
Mom (me) - Belgian, Romanian, Italian, Czechoslovakian, English...that's all I can remember, but I know it's a long list.
Dad (fiancé) - Portuguese...and that's all I know of off the top of my head. I know there is more, but don't know it.

Will baby have any siblings:
Biological, no. My fiancé has already decided he's never getting me pregnant again (I guess I've been that bad, lol). Maybe at some point, we'll look into adoption. But probably not. So we're going to have one human kid and multiple animal ones. :)

Have you and dad felt baby move:
Nope. It's possible that I've been feeling it, but since I have no idea what to feel for, it all just feels like weird stomach rumblings to me. So until there's definite baby kicks happening, Dad won't be feeling anything.

Who will be in the delivery room:
The necessary medical personnel and hopefully my fiancé. Right the plan is that he will be there, but he's not sure if he wants to be in the same room as me while I'm delivering a baby. Apparently he's a little afraid of me. -_-

Will you use medication:
Probably not. :( I hate needles, so I'm not sure how well getting an epidural or an IV will work for me.

Did you have morning sickness:
Yes. It could have been worse and probably would have had I been able to eat more often than I was. I did learn quickly though that my prenatal vitamin could cause me to go from feeling okay to vomiting. So it took me less than a week to learn: take it with food or milk and close to bed time.

Cravings:
Yep yep. Usually it's weird stuff like cherry tomatoes. I actually sent my fiancé out to buy some in the middle of me making dinner one day. I basically told him, "Go buy these now, or I won't make dinner."
I'm lucky he loves me, otherwise...

Did you have any mood swings:
::sigh:: My poor fiancé, he's such a good sport. I try to pay attention to what I'm doing and how my mood is, but I don't always catch it right away. I can be a moody b**** as it is, so add in the influx of hormones and...yeah, you get the picture.

Formula or breastfeeding:
For the sheer fact that it costs less, I am willing to try breastfeeding. I know it's supposed to be better for baby and blah, blah, blah. But to be honest, I don't want the sore nipples. I don't want to be the only one who can feed the baby. So while I plan on trying and getting a breast pump and bottles so my fiancé (and anyone else) can help with feeding, I'm not opposed to formula. Because formula is not that bad. There are plenty of babies who are solely fed formula and they grow up perfectly healthy. Besides, what if I'm sick or need a medication? Can't breastfeed then. So yeah, our kid will be getting formula. It just might not be the primary food source.

When did you start to show:
I haven't been able to suck in my gut for the last few weeks. So...I'm guessing that means around 14 weeks, I was showing. I did have one stranger notice when I was about 12 weeks along. She was a nice, older woman and wasn't trying to embarrass me. And last week, the head maintenance guy for the complex asked my fiancé while I wasn't in earshot if I was pregnant. He didn't want to put his foot in his mouth and still have to come work on our apartment, lol.

Are you excited:
Yep. ♥

Who will help with baby after he or she is born:
Right now, no one is expected to come help. I know that's kind of stubborn, but I like that. Yes, help could be nice. But I don't want other people coming in and telling me what to do right away. Let me and him figure out what to do, and if we need help, we have a phone. :)

What is your favorite thing about being pregnant:
Umm...eating a lot and losing weight. :/ Yeah, that happened. But as long as I stay healthy and the baby stays healthy, my OB isn't worried.

What is the worst thing about being pregnant:
The entire first trimester (minus weeks 1 and 2, when I technically wasn't pregnant yet) and the new pains associated with a growing uterus. And here I thought menstrual cramps could be bad. I might never complain about those again, lol.

What one thing do you miss doing since being pregnant:
Strangely enough, it's being able to drink. I don't drink much as it is, so that's weird to me. I think it's just because now I can't drink and I don't like being told what to do.

Any days you wish you weren't pregnant:
Yes, but no. I'm happy we're going to have a child, but I'm not happy being pregnant. It's not as great as other moms like to make it sound. Don't get me wrong, it's not super horrible, it's just not the great thing many women make it sound like. :)

How many kids do you want:
Just one. Maybe down the road, we'll decide that a second one is a good idea, but probably not.

How many pregnant women do you know:
A few. Most of them, I'm happy and excited for them. One or two, I've got an irrational anger towards. Oh, well...I'll get over it. :)

Are you ready for baby?
Sure...about as ready as anyone can be for a life-altering change with no ideas of what is going to happen.
We have a crib, mattress, baby clothes, receiving blankets, caps, a diaper bag, a cradle swing from Fisher-Price and a baby registry. That's really all we can do to be ready. Have a plan and wait for it to implode because babies don't live according to their parents' plans.


Ahahahaha! I opened Pandora to use the first song that played as the lyrics for the post title and Kenny Chesney's "There Goes My Life" started playing! Slightly fitting as this baby is an unexpected surprise. :)

I’m giving up on doing this alone now 'cause I’ve failed and I’m ready to be shown how he’s told me the way and I’m trying to get there and this life sentence that I’m serving I admit that I’m every bit deserving but the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair

Day 21: Favorite picture book from childhood
This book has possibly the most beautiful paintings in it. Okay, so I haven't looked at the book since I was about 12, but this is definitely a book that the fiancé and I will be reading to the little one. <3 It's still on my bookshelf because it's one of my picture books that I never got rid of.

this is more than just romance it's an endless summer I can feel the butterflies, leading me through it take my heart, I'll take your hand

Day 20: Book you’ve read the most number of times
Okay, so I know that I already used this book this challenge. But being my all-time favorite book, it also happens to be the book that I've read the most amount of times. When I was a kid, when I'd read all the books in the house, I would go back to this one when I wanted something to read. True, it started out the abridged version, but since I have read the unabridged version more than once. :)

oh it's what you do to me oh it's what you do to me oh it's what you do to me oh it's what you do to me what you do to me

Day 19: Book that turned you on
Just like the post on Day 14 was slightly embarrassing, so is this one. But seriously, books are not a turn on for me. Potential TMI, but if I want fiction to turn me on, I'll just watch porn with the fiancé. But anyway, I took the easy way out and chose the only romance novel I've read (complete waste of my time). And to be honest, I'm not even sure if this is the correct title. I know it was one of the three in the trilogy, just can't remember which one. Sorry.

I dare you to move I dare you to move I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor

Day 18: Book you’re most embarrassed to say you like
Meh, I'm not really embarrassed to say that I like any book. But since so many people bash the books, I figured it was a good one to use today. Books are meant to be entertainment. Not every book you choose to read has to be a literary classic. Lighten up and have fun every once in a while. :P

if I could, then I would I'll go wherever you will go way up high or down low I'll go wherever you will go

Day 17: Shortest book you’ve read
I'm guessing here. I know I read this book to my younger brothers when they were little. But I honestly don't know what the shortest book I read was. Sorry.

so long ago, I don't remember when that's when they say I lost my only friend

Day 16: Longest book you’ve read
This is pretty easy because I haven't read many super long books. Most of the long books I know of, didn't have much interest to me.

I said, "hey girl, what's your name? haven't I seen you before? I recognize them dark green eyes when you walked through the door. are you alone, or are you with someone?

Day 15: First “chapter book” you can remember reading as a child
I remember reading this in kindergarten and near the beginning of it. So I was four years old, maybe within a few weeks of my fifth birthday. Yeah, I was that kid doing everything way before my classmates. My grandma taught me to read because I was her granddaughter and her favorite. :) She has three sons and no daughters, she wanted a daughter, but settled for her firstborn grandchild. <3

if I had just one tear running down your cheek maybe I could cope maybe I'd get some sleep if I had just one moment at your expense maybe all my misery would be well spent

So...I know soon enough I'm going to have one of my own and expect everyone to agree just how cute little baby S is, but newborns are ugly! Seriously, why must people constantly post pictures and be like isn't my wrinkled old man, raisin baby adorable? Lol, in six to seven months, when I'm posting loads of pictures about my little demon spawn, please don't remind me of this rant.

Anyway...while I plan on trying to keep my complaints to a minimum, today I feel the need to whine and whimper. For the past few days I've been having terrible [intermittent] pain down the left side of body. If I hadn't already mentioned this to my doctor and been told it was normal, I'd be freaking out. But one of those lovely pregnancy aches and pains can be sciatic nerve pain. Oh, joy. I'm 26 (minus 19 days) and I hobble around like a 90 year old woman some days. Seriously, worse pain I have ever had in my life. And that's saying a lot since I get terrible migraines that last for days and no medications seem to help. I've strained muscles, hurt nerves and sprained joints before. None compare to the random pain of sciatica. Here's to the hope that it's going to go away once my uterus shrinks back to normal size. Because really, there isn't any damage to my sciatic nerve, just pressure that will increase over the next few months. Please excuse me while I go cry into my Yoplait® Greek strawberry yogurt over that thought. :'(

leave it on cruise control I'm gonna hold it all inside 'til the right time comes down the road I got a feelin' my head's a reelin' my heart is screamin' I'm about to bust loose bottled up emotion

Day 14: Book whose main character you want to marry
This is embarrassing. I think I lost my mind in choosing this book for today, lol. I'm going to go with I was being silly and chose at random. I've never wanted to marry a character in a book. I've thought a few characters were pretty awesome and I'd love to meet a real person like that, but never fantasizing about a fictional character.
I should point out that the main character I'm referring to must be Jacob Black, since I find Bella and Edward to be whiny weirdos. Which is funny, since I do like the books as entertainment. But then again, I'm not a snob who thinks a book can't be liked if it's not literary classic material.

I'm beautiful in my way 'cause God makes no mistakes I'm on the right track, baby I was born this way

So...I started a list of pregnancy milestones. If interested, click on the milestones link and check it out. There's really nothing too personal on there, so I don't mind it being public.

In other baby news, this past weekend the fiancé and I went to a garage sale on Saturday after his class and we got a nearly new crib and swing/cradle for $60. We do need to get a new mattress for the crib, but that costs a lot less than a crib. I know it's still early to buy anything, but everything is going well. So it's okay to buy a couple things here and there. Especially when they're used and we haven't even spent $65 yet. Also, our neighbor with the newborn has given us a few onesies that his son already outgrew. :)

Yay for making it to Week 15! <3 Only 35 more to go, lol.

And not related at all...

Right-click and view image in a new tab to magnify if needed. :)

I woke up early this morning around 4am with the moon shining bright as headlights on the interstate I pulled the covers over my head and tried to catch some sleep but thoughts of us kept keeping me awake

Day 13: Book whose main character is most like you
The Elizabeth I portrayed in this story is pretty similar to me. Stubborn, worried about the future. At least, similar to me before I found out I'm pregnant. Since finding out, I can't think of a character that I've read that I feel similar to.

laid back swervin' like I'm George Jones smoke rollin' out the window an' ice cold beer sittin' in the console

Day 12: Book that is most like your life
Okay, obviously, this book is nothing like my life at the moment. I'm not an adolescent girl. But when I read this book as a younger girl, I felt like it me, just in the 70s. To be honest, I can't remember much about the book (plot, characters, etc.), just that I liked it and felt a connection to Margaret.

'cause boy, you came around and you knocked me down knocked me down sometimes love comes around and it knocks you down

Day 11: Book from your favorite author
Instead of choosing one book by my favorite author, I found a picture that is a collage of his books. Of course, it's not all of the books he's written. Just a few of the Alex Cross books. :)

I throw my hands up in the air sometimes, saying AYO! gotta let go! I wanna celebrate and live my life, saying AYO! baby, let’s go!

Day 10: Book that changed your life
Hmm...so the other day, I went through the whole list of challenges for this challenge and saved images to use for each day. I completely forgot what my reasoning for choosing this book as the life changer, lol.

but when I look at the stars, when I look at the stars, when I look at the stars I see someone else when I look at the stars, the stars, I feel like myself

Day 9: Book that makes you sick
While this particular story is a work of fiction, there are plenty of true stories similar to it. And while the positive parts of the book don't make me sick, knowing that people can act the way the antagonists of the book do is what makes me sick. Hopefully history never repeats to the same extent. (I know there is similar genocide in Africa.)

ven a gozar ahora ven a bailar si quieres ser mas libre ven a bailar sigue tu instinto ya

Day 8: Book that scares you
Sorry, this is another semi-cheat. It's a scary story book.

let's try it one more time with feeling darlin', take it from the top let me feel those tears a fallin' girl I don't want to miss a single drop darlin' make believe you're makin' me believe each word you say try it once more with feeling and we'll call it a day

Day 7: Book that you can quote/recite
So...I'm cheating and picking a book that is quotes from a tv show that I can quote. But I can't quote any books. I may have read a few more than once, but it's much harder to quote a book than tv. For me anyway.

and when they got married and decided to have one of their own she said, "Be honest, tell me what you want" and he said, "Honey you outta know, a sweet, little, beautiful one just like you I want a beautiful, wonderful, perfect all American girl

Today is officially the start of the second trimester. So I figure it's okay to tell everyone through this blog. So if you've recently been on the page (not just looking at it through Google Reader) and noticed the pregnancy ticker along the top. This is why. :)

We won't be finding out the sex of the baby until the day s/he gets here. According to my mom, that makes me "no fun."

She keeps seeing adorable items in the store and wants to buy them, but they're gender-specific items. Sorry, but I don't want a deluge of pink items if we're having a girl. Or a deluge of trucks if we're having a boy.

And another way we're not going to be any fun: we won't tell anyone the name until the baby is born and the birth certificate is signed. People have opinions and I don't want them. It's harder for someone to give his/her negative opinion of the name if the kid already has it. No changing Mom and Dad's minds at that point.

it doesn't matter if you love him, or capital H-I-M just put your paws up 'cause you were born this way, baby

Day 6: Favorite young adult book
This is easy. I could read the series more than once and not get bored with the books. So I'm going to choose the first book in the series. :)

California...knows how to party California...knows how to party in the citaaay of L.A. in the citaaay of good ol' Watts in the citaaay, the city of Compton we keep it rockin! we keep it rockin!

Day 5: Book you wish you could live in
When I was a younger teen and reading this series, I wanted to be part of it. The characters were realistic and I liked 'em.

when I lost him ache shudder shock of pale my my true love Niccoló Donati these days are smoking days though he won't see

Day 4: Book that makes you cry
I can't really say that I cried when reading this. But I can say that it's a very saddening book. The movie released in 2009 was pretty awful and not worth seeing if you've read the book. Maybe if you've never read the book it's a decent movie, but I don't know.

and so it seems like we'll never have the chance ain't it funny how some feelings you just can't deny and you can't move on even though you try

Day 3: Book that makes you laugh out loud
For about $9USD you can pick up this book from a bookstore, and less online. It's ridiculous some of the answers real students have given to real test questions.

and if that mockingbird don't sing and that ring don't shine I'mma break that birdies neck I'll go back to the jeweler who sold it to ya and make him eat every carat don't f*** with dad

Day 2: Least favorite book
Since I've read a lot of books and usually when I don't like a book, I don't finish it, this is a harder day to do. So I'm going to go with one of the books I hated reading and never would've finished if I didn't have to. Plenty of people love this book and the movie of the same name (actually a very good book to movie translation), but I just can't like it.

here we come a-wassailing among the leaves so green here we come a-wand'ring so fair to be seen

It's time for another 30 Day Challenge. I thought, we'd take a break from the musical challenges and try a book challenge.

Day 1: Favorite book
This is hard because I have a few books that I would consider my favorite book. I think I will chose the book that I have read the most: