Venting...

You other prego girls probably know the feeling that apparently hits close to the 3rd trimester when you no longer feel attractive AT ALL! I'm a big complainer lately but if pregnancy wasn't hard, I guess it wouldn't be as special or rewarding. And I mean, I've wanted a baby since I was like 12 and being the oldest of 6+ kids, I just had a natural tendency to want a cute precious baby that was MINE (and we were pretty blessed to get pregnant as soon as we wanted to, I realize other people are not that lucky). But no one and nothing prepares you for this emotional roller coaster! How did I not anticipate this?!
Aaron's basketball shorts and t-shirts have become the most comfortable thing to wear, and since I'm stuck in the house and go nowhere, it works! My mom emphasized to me the importance of getting ready everyday, just for yourself so you don't go crazy about your deteriorating looks and get depressed, and she's right!
I've always been an active person.. I don't think I've gone an entire week without exercise in my entire life so the fact that walking on a treadmill is strenuous is rather sad to me. I've told Aaron a few times that I feel physically handicapped.. I've gained such an appreciation for the size and weight that I used to be.. which never quite seemed to be good enough.. til now! I can't wait to run again, to sleep on my stomach, to not be so concerned about "am I eating enough for my baby? Am I eating too much and gaining too much weight?!" And don't even get me started about my bras cutting off my circulation.. I can't even breathe anymore!
But alas, the sacrifices we make for that unseen creature kicking away in our belly! Three months seems like so close, yet so far away, and I'm sure having a newborn brings lots of exhaustion and more sacrifices but there's a reason people keep having babies! And I'm lucky that Carter is healthy and that I've had a great first and second trimester compared to lots of people. I just never expected the emotional craziness and insecurities.. for some reason I thought I'd be tough enough to handle it!

25 1/2 weeks!

Carter is getting big! I've been very whiny to Aaron lately because bending over has gotten difficult and I'm starting to feel more and more uncomfortable. When you're short, baby has nowhere to go but out!

This is hilarious!

The SNUGGIE

Me and Aaron saw this in the local news this morning and we laughed our heads off! Click on the link above.. I can't believe us Americans are this retarded!

The latest

To combat my recent boredom, I took on a project... My mom is redecorating my little sister, Melanie's room back home to a nautical theme (I think she's quite spoiled! She's switched decor like 100 times!) But I had seen some cute decorating ideas online at Better Homes and Gardens that I used to spend hours on when I had internet. Taking advantage of being in Florida, I found some fun starfish and shells and made little shadow box displays for Melanie's wall! They didn't turn out quite how I wanted, but I liked the idea.. and you can always switch out the displays so I figure it was worth it =)

Fourth of July: Our husbands just never get a break in summer sales! We drove a half hour down to South Beach, in an attempt to meet our guys halfway, but even getting off an hour earlier, they didn't make it in time for the fireworks. But they didn't miss much since the fireworks where we were sitting only lasted like 10 minutes, it was ridiculous!! BUT we did go to Outback Steakhouse after meeting up with them, and I had the BEST meal I have ever had at a restaurant, it was soooo good, I'm craving more!
Here's Paula, Holly & Candice

Us girls hangin out on the beach, awaiting fireworks. Okay I look really gross in this picture, but me and Aaron were comparing bellies.. I clearly won.

The other day, us girls went to the beach- only 5 minutes from our apartments and it was SO BEAUTIFUL! Me and Candice, sitting while the sand rides up in our swimsuits!

Bienvenido a Miami

So we're officially moved to Miami and it's SO different from Fort Myers. Fort Myers was lots of older white people, kind of in a smaller town with not much to do. Miami, or Sunny Isles where we live is so much busier and it's definitely a big city! We live in a high rise apartment building that seems more like a hotel, but it's starting to feel like home already. I'll post some pics of the complex when I take some... it's very fancy on the outside but quite deceiving as you walk into the actual apartments. Since we've been here, it's been stormy and rainy and we're anticipating the day we can actually lay out by the pool and see some sun!
I took this picture off our balcony. We have a very cool view! Me and Craig- he's living with us for the last 2 months of the summer to save some rent.
Me, Aaron and Craig went down to the beach on Sunday just to check out what's there. It was rainy, and thus deserted but it's only 10 minutes walking distance from our place!

As soon as the anxiety and business of moving settled down and we got all unpacked, the boys got really bored...Craig gave us a good laugh in his "Tom Sawyer" pants.

I made this about a week ago, and I was proud to show off my best fruit salad ever, that you really could only make in a place like Florida where you have like 20 fruits to choose from!!

Cute Family

Well the Packard's had a family reunion.. without us. We no longer have the luxury of attending any kind of get-together during the summer, but thanks to my cousin who shot this pic, I can see that I missed out on getting a green t-shirt!My bro-in-law, Taylor & sister Val, my stepmom Aimee with baby Ali, Dad, Melanie, Kent, James, then Luke and Mia in front. (Just me, Aaron and Craig missing). Yep those 3 youngest blondies are my siblings, and YES my stepmom is pregnant! My child will be older than my brother/sister. It's like Father of the Bride part 2 and I just KNEW it was gonna happen!

Love at First Sight: MY QUEST FOR THE ULTIMATE CRIB BEDDING

WOW, can I just say I have not been so stressed in my life as I have the past 2 days. And for what? Baby bedding... that's right, my husband and brother think I'm crazy, but once you find "that one," there's no turning back and you will stop at nothing til you get it!
Let's recap what I have been through to get this...First of all, this is the 4th baby collection that I have decided on, and obviously those decisions are subject to change... until NOW. So I saw the pillow on amazon and thought wow that's really cute. Then saw the whole set on target.com, and thought I gotta have that... it's modern but still cute, and has fun colors that aren't too babyish. However much to my dismay, neither amazon or target had the whole set as pictured below...

TADA!! Beautiful!!

So I search the brand directly, bablicious.com and call them up about 4 times til I get through, and what do I find out?? THEY NO LONGER MAKE IT!!! Due to "economic disaster," the factory in China was shut down 4 months ago and they lost all their fabrics. I'm about to cry when the lady gives me one last hope... they sold hundreds of this set to Home Goods stores across the nation, and they are selling them for only $99. Dream come true!!!

Naturally, I pull up the Home Goods website and call every store within a 30-mile radius of every person I know, so they can go buy it for me. And NO ONE has it!!!!!!!!! But there has to be more of this collection floating around somewhere and I am not giving up, so I continue my web search, until I find macrobaby.com, which has the set!! So after calling THEM 4 times before I get through, the man says, "oh I'm sorry, our website must not be updated, but if the company no longer sells it, we don't either, because we order it from them." My poor baby is going to be CRIBLESS!!!!!!!!! Doesn't anyone care?!!

But being a good man, he says, "you know, you should try overstock or amazon." Already did bro!! "How about ebay?" EBAY!!!!! How did I not think of that!!!!!??

I am the luckiest person in the world, for ebay had not only the 4-piece set I was looking for, but it had a 7-piece set!!! Without hesitating or even consulting my husband, I bought the dang thing for $209 and am keeping my fingers crossed until that is delivered on my sister's front door in Utah!!! This may have taken about 8 hours out of the past 2 days of my life, searching for something that has become more valuable just because it's not easily available, but hey I am okay with that!