5 Years Ago...

Five years ago today I moved to Michigan.  Looking back I can still say that leaving my family in NC was one of the, if not THE, hardest thing I have ever done - it took me months to really move past it.  I resented Michigan and decided that I would hate it here.  And that's exactly what I did for a very long time and then I decided that I needed to let it go and learn to accept it.  I have done just that and whereas I can say that I still don't feel Michigan is my home, I have definitely come to accept it as the place I live and am raising our family...for now anyways!  I always find myself holding out and wishing that we will one day move back East.

But for now...I moved to Michigan five years ago and I haven't been warm since!!!

Great News...

Today we received some great news!  I told you a few weeks ago that we made an offer on a condo and were all set to close except we wanted to get the complex FHA approved which would allow us to put only 3.5% down.  The documents were sent in to HUD about a week and a half ago and today we got the news that the complex has been approved.  We were amazed at how quickly it all happened, we were told to expect at least 30 days.  To say that we're extremely happy is an understatement, we are so very grateful that things have gone so smoothly and so quickly.  Now we're just waiting on the appraisal, and seeing as we're buying it for so cheap we don't see that being an issue.  As of right now we're still scheduled to close on July 20th and honestly I don't think I've ever been so excited to pack boxes!

Settling In, Calming Worries and NSTs

Where should I start?!?! I guess by saying it's been a long week but everything has successfully been put in its place with the exception of a few pictures that I still need to hang. I am really actually looking forward to getting all those things hung because after that I will start on Y's room. All of the larger furniture items have officially been purchased and with the exception of the mattress and changing table combo, which is due to arrive at the beginning of next week, everything else is piled in her room waiting for me to attack it and start working on it. We are really settling in quite nicely in the new apartment and liking it a lot, especially all the extra room.

On to other topics...I've had numerous people tell me that I do not look as far along as I am (32 weeks). I frequently get asked if the baby is really small and once I was even asked if I had miscarried. So I am going to take this opportunity to calm all worries. No, our baby is not small, according to the doctor she is the right size for her gestational age. This is a huge relief to us considering gestational diabetics can have abnormally large babies. As for me not looking like I'm 32 weeks pregnant: at today's doctor appointment I asked the doctor if I was measuring small and in fact I am measuring at 33 weeks instead of 32 weeks. All I know to tell you is that I'm a tall girl and not small by any means, so maybe that affects how big my bump appears to everyone else. As for me and B, we get to see all the details, and take our word for it, I'm HUGE!!! haha

Today, I sat through my first NST (non-stress test). Basically they strap these two elastic, Velcro belts to me. One around the abdomen and another just below the boobs. Each belt has a monitor attached, the lower monitor measures the fetal heart rate while the upper monitor measures the contractions. Basically they want to see how the baby's heart rate reacts to her movements. She should have a higher heart rate when she is moving and a lower heart rate when she is resting. They monitor the baby for about 30 minutes and I'll be doing this every week up until I deliver. As of today everything looked fine and we're just hoping it stays that way!

I Survived!

Well, we survived moving and a weekend without internet! Now the fun of putting everything in it's place which will begin promptly so this will be a short post. We accomplished a lot this weekend and learned that we have a lot more stuff than we thought. We were also able to go and buy Y's crib, playard, car seat, stroller, swing and a couple other items so aside from her changing table/dresser combo and her mattress we have purchased all of the big necessary items. When I get everything ready I'll take some pictures for everyone to see but as for now...I got a lot of work to do!

Motivation...

I have NONE!!! Today is Thursday, we move on Saturday, and I feel as if I've accomplished nothing. This shouldn't be hard, I mean really it's only a matter of packing the living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and a storage closet. When you think about it, it's really not that much in comparison to packing up a whole house or something. But I am amazed at the amount of stuff that I have been able to fit in such small quarters - it took 4 big boxes and 2 medium sized boxes just for me to get most of the living room done - and I still haven't started taking things off the wall yet! In case I haven't said this before...I really hate packing!