FRUSTRATED!

I am so mad at the University of Memphis that I could go up there and be VERY ugly right now....don't they know that pissing off a pregnant woman is not advisable! I am in quite a dilemma with my classes. Before pregnancy my plan was to be student teaching this semester (Spring 10). I would take the last class that I have left in the summer then my master's project in the fall of 2010 and graduate in December. When we found out I was pregnant, this changed a little and pushed everything back a semester. I am not able to student teach this semester, obviously, since I will be giving birth first of March and then out for 6 weeks. I wouldn't be able to get in enough hours to get credit as student teaching is 16 weeks. So I decided to go ahead and take my last class, Intro to Grad Research this semester, rest during the summer, student teach in the fall, Grad project spring 2011 and graduate May 2011. Justin and I have been preparing for this fall since we found out I was pregnant. We knew that I would not be working (or working 40 hours/week for FREE) so we have been getting our finances in order so that I would be able to do it, along with having a new born, and possibly trying to keep my job at Compass part time. I was scared, but prepared and ready! I logged onto my school account today to see that fees are due this Wednesday and my financial aid had not yet posted. So I called and they informed me that you must be enrolled in at least 5 hours to get financial aid....my one class is 3 hours. I asked if there were any exceptions, since I honestly don't have any other classes I could take. Of course the answer is no. We can't afford to pay my tuition at this time out of pocket....we have a baby due in 7 weeks!!!! Sooooooooo, it looks like I will be putting off graduation until December 2011! My baby will be almost 2! We can save money so that I can take the class this fall and pay for it out of pocket, student teach in spring 2011, Grad project fall 2011 and graduate December 2011. That seems like f-o-r-e-v-e-r. I do not have this kind of time people....I would like to be out of school and actually using my degree before I am 100 years old!

My New Years Resolutions

I realize that it is the 6th of January, but I really had to think long and hard before making my resolutions this year because for whatever reason, it is important to me to keep them. So I have made my decisions and am posting them publically so that I can be held accountable!

#1) I will keep my hands to myself and try to remember that I am a lady during labor and delivery. I do not want to physically assault my husband, because, although at the time I will be blaming all of the pain and torture on him....I know that I was a willing participant in the creation of our daughter and therefore consented to allowing my body to go through this trauma. I also want to remember that whatever flies out of my mouth may not be rememberd by me...but it will be remembered by everyone in the room, and I don't want to cause myself any more embarassment than normal labor already allows (hello..lady town up in the air for all to see!)

#2) I will run a 5K by October 2010. I had started running right before I got pregnant. I was no where near this goal at that time, but it was what I was working towards so I would like to pick up where I left off after Adalyn is born. I know this will be a great way for me to get back in shape after birth plus, if I am able to do this, the reward for me personally will be so great. I really REALLY want to accomplish this. Autism Solutions has an annual 5K in the fall (Sept. or Oct) and as this is a cause that is very dear to my heart, this will be my debut. I know it will be hard and seem almost impossible at times, but I am going to do it!

So there they are folks. Keep your fingers crossed for me!!

Birthday Girl

Today was my 28th birthday.....WOW....I have to take a minute and really process that number...t-w-e-n-t-y e-i-g-h-t. I know in my head that isn't old, but it is awfully close to 30, too close for my taste. But it is one of those inevitable things that you can't do anything about. It's crazy but I guess in my mind me and all of my friends are still 22ish, even though we are all basically married, with jobs, and babies (or babies on the way). It still seems unreal that I have friends that are turning 30, and that I am SO not far behind. When I am not thinking about the actual number....I have to admit that my life is pretty awesome. I am happily married to my wonderful husband, we have incredible family, I have the best group of girlfriends in the WORLD- ever, I have a great job and close to finishing my masters degree, and to top it off I only have 8 more weeks until I get to meet my daughter!

I had a great day today. There was no huge celebration, but it made me happy just the same. Justin and I went shopping, just for stuff. He got a new pair of tennis shoes and I got a new trashcan for the kitchen. It locks! Which means it is baby and doggie proof-I'm pretty excited about that! We came home, took a little nap (like some old folks) and then we went down town to eat dinner at Rendezvous then on to my favorite, Cheesecake Corner for delicious dessert. It was so nice to spend the day just the two of us. We don't get that chance very often without a list of things that we HAVE to do and I know that the chances will come even fewer and further between once Addy gets here, so for me today was extra special.

Sam text me this morning laughing remembering my birthday four years ago and how much we have changed since then. I celebrated my birthday 2006 (turning 24) with a Gangsta themed keg party! I wish I had a picture on my computer of my outfit that night....it was interesting to say the least. Sara and I were Gangsta'd out. Just thinking about it made me laugh too...hysterically. What a crazy night!! But she is right, we have come a long way and grown so much, and changed...for the better.

So I'll take 28 and enjoy it for a year, and not think about 29...or any other unmentionable birthdays that follow that. I am still a 20-something for now.

Looking back...

As I look back on the year 2009, I realize WOW, we were busy people! It was truly an amazing year and I am thankful for all of the wonderful memories.

In January, we celebrated my birthday with a trip to Tunica to see Gary Allan with some of our best friends, Sam and Chris. I joined the rest of the world and started a Facebook page.

In March, Memphis saw the first big snow in years. I know 8-12 inches isn't a lot for many places, but it was something we don't see here in West Tennessee too often. Of course we took full advantage and got out and played! The dogs loved it, even though it was so deep Darby had a hard time getting around with her super short legs. Also, my best friend Misty gave birth to her first baby, Cade Gayton. He is one handsome little man!

In April, we "officially" welcomed John into our family as he and mom finally tied the knot in a beautiful outdoor ceremony. It was a gorgeous day and Mom looked absolutely beautiful. It was a joyous occasion! Also in April, we went to Wade and Elizabeth's wedding in Nashville, which was so beautiful and a lot of fun for Justin to see and spend time with so many of his old friends.

In May, we had family day at the Nashville zoo. I was a little sad that they didn't have any monkey shirts in adult sizes, but overall it was a very fun day! We celebrated the engagement of Esther and David with a big fiesta at our house. We wore sombreros, ate good Mexican food, and drank a few too many margaritas! Good times, good friends! Also, we took a shot at Camping with the family Memorial Day weekend. Unfortunately we got rained out, actually monsooned out!

In June, Justin and I took our highly anticipated, romantic vacation to Niagara Falls Canada. We had an amazing time! The Falls are breathtaking, I have never seen anything like it. We enjoyed the sights, the shopping, and the eating, but mostly we enjoyed the wine tour! Obviously....we enjoyed it all because we came home to discover a few weeks later that we were Pregnant!!

July was busy. The family went to Chattanooga for our annual white water rafting trip. I was not able to raft being that I was growing Baby Baker, but everyone had a great time. There were no near death experiences like last year which for most was a relief! We celebrated Don Fisher's (Justin's grandfather) 75th birthday and also Justin's 26th. Justin took me to the American Idol tour and I got to see Adam Lambert! Also, on July 23 we heard our baby's heartbeat for the very first time. It was the sweetest sound I have ever heard!

In August we vacationed on the beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama with family and friends. It was great to be on the beach without hurricanes heading our way like last year. The weather was fantastic all week. My favorite part was burying Justin in the sand! Also, our sweet Lucy turned 1 yr old!

In September the girls took on the big city of Nashville for Esther's bachelorette party!


October was also a big month for us. Justin and I went to our first Colts game and they kicked some Titan butt! We found out that Baby Baker is a GIRL and we announced her name, Adalyn Ryan Baker! Esther Plank became Esther Bledsoe in a beautiful ceremony at the Memphis Zoo. We started on Addy's nursery. Justin and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary!! John and Leeann were married on Halloween.

In November, we celebrated Mom's birthday. Also, Justin and I successfully cooked our 2nd big Thanksgiving dinner at our home.

And last, but not least, December. We kicked off the month with a birthday party/ugly Christmas sweat party for Sara. I entered the last trimester of my pregnancy. We celebrated the holidays with all of our wonderful family and friends.

We have so much to look forward to in 2010. Justin and I are going to become parents!!! Our daughter, Adalyn is due March 2nd. I am going to go ahead and call 2010 the year of the babies because after Addy, we look forward to Riley Thomas Murley in mid March, Baby Lane in June, and Baby Holliday in August. I can't wait to see what else the year will have in store for us. Happy New Year everyone!!

I'll just call her Suzie! (Christmas 2009)

What a weekend!! We kept the road hot from Thursday to Sunday traveling around to see our family for the Christmas holiday. We had a wonderful time and made a lot of memories. We spend Christmas Eve at my Mom and John's. Santa brought MJ a new video camera....it will probably take her 10 years to figure that one out, thanks John! We also put a call in to Pog and Lisa and Lisa read aloud Twas the Night Before Christmas. We tried to tell Mom that since she gave us the recorded books, we didn't need to read it aloud as a family any more. She then told us that those were for when she kicks the bucket, and until that time, we would be calling and reading it aloud every Christmas Eve...that's my momma for ya!!

We got up Christmas morning to head to Dee's for breakfast. We spent the morning with Dee and Pawpaw, Maine and Don, and Uncle Rob, Cyndi, and Ms. Mott. We got some very nice gifts, including cash (which we love) and Justin declared this the beginning of "the breast pump fund". Thanks for announcing that honey! Next we headed to DB and Wanda's for the Baker family Christmas. Hanging out with the Baker clan is always entertaining. I challenged Uncle Jerry to a belly comparison, and unfortunately, even 30 weeks pregnant, I could not beat his belly! We ate A LOT and enjoyed some of Wanda's ooey gooey cake, which is basically a ton of powdered sugar and some cream cheese all baked together. Yep, it was like sugar crack...and delicious! We headed back to MJ's that evening because we dog sat for her all weekend while she and John went to North Carolina to visit with Rob, Dawn, and the girls. We had 7...yes I repeat SEVEN dogs for the weekend. Justin probably said "get somewhere" 80million times over the last 3 days.

Saturday we headed back to Dee's to see Julie, Brandon, and Lucy and open Santa Clause from Dee. Lucy got some bracelets, so cute! She loved them, I hate to break Brandon's heart, but he may have a princess on his hands instead of the next women's NBA star. We got some more awesome gifts, and some more cash....which Justin again explained that he was adding to "the breast pump fund." At this point, we were getting pretty close...he was very excited! After lunch and presents, Justin and I left to go to Halls early to stop by and see Gran and Anmaw before going to Maine and Don's for the always entertaining Fisher Family Christmas. How amazing is it that Justin still has two great grandparents that are still alive. Our visit with Gran and Anmaw was great, and actually my favorite part of the entire weekend. Keep in mind that they are both in their 80s. On our way out the door we were telling them that we would be back in the spring so they could see the baby. They loooove 5th generation pictures with the great-great grand babies. Gran asked what her name was. I told him Adalyn. He said "What?" I repeated "Adalyn", he said "Addalee?" and Justin clarified again "No, Adalyn". Grand stood there for a minute processing and he said, "Yeah, that's too hard. I'll just call her Suzie". Classic!! I love it! And last but not least, Saturday night was the Fisher Family Christmas. There is never a dull moment at this holiday gathering, and this year did not disappoint. We play Dirty Santa every year and there is one very special gift that is passed along year to year during this game. Aunt Buddy's vibrator....gross huh!? So the story goes, Aunt Buddy died an 80 something year old virgin who was single her entire life due to her very busy, very classified job with the CIA (or something like that). When she passed away, the family who was cleaning our her personal belongings found her very personal, neatly labeled "the vibrator" in her closet. It has been passed along in Dirty Santa since. I was the lucky recipient last year so I had to bring it back this year. Everyone always avoids the large packages during the game because they are afraid it is the vibrator, so Justin and I got a little sneaky this year and took a picture of the vibrator with a message "Got ya!" written on the back and put it in a very small bag. It was pretty funny.

Our last Christmas was Sunday. We spend the afternoon at DB and Wanda's. We had a great time playing Dominoes while waiting for Wanda to get home from work. After dinner, we got into the presents. I think Justin felt satisfied receiving the last installment of "the breast pump fund." Lucy got what we all called, the Pooh Train. It was a cute Winnie the Pooh train thing she could ride and it made lots and lots of noise. Lucy LOVED it! The best part of the night was when Brandon took the Pooh Train to try to look for a volume and Lucy absolutely freaked out and threw a fit! It was very cute, it just broker her heart that Daddy took her Pooh train away. I can't believe she has gotten so big. She is the sweetest, prettiest baby in the world, and I am not just saying that because I am a proud Aunt, she really is! Justin and I both love her to pieces! I can't wait for her to teach her cousin Adalyn the ropes! I hope they get the chance to be close. I never had cousins to be close to so I look forward to watching our girls (and boys...when we have some) grow up together.

Spending Christmas with our family was such a blessing....however, we were never so happy to see home Sunday night. It felt like it had been forever! Even the dogs were happy to see home and they took their spots beside us passed out on the couch, after they opened their Santa Clause of course! Thank you family, for making our holidays merry and bright! We love you all so very much!!

The Toy Box Legacy lives on!

We spent the weekend at my Mom and John's for my family Christmas. It was a great weekend full of laughs, fun games (new family favorite Apples to Apples), classic movies (The Grinch), food (an unmentionable number of sausage balls), and of course presents. Justin and I "made our like bandits" as we like to say, and received a lot of great gifts from my family as always. Justin's favorite gift was probably his lovely set of snowman hand towels from Pog and Jackie. If you follow me on facebook, you know the notorious Justin and the snowman towel tale.....if not, that is definately a story you should ask one of us about, its a hiliarious holiday classic! I was also very excited about my "real" Uggs! I have lots of boots, don't get me wrong, but my shallow vanity comes out just a little in my over enthusiasm to have the word UGG written on the back of my new chocolate boots!! I can't wait to wear them, although sadly it will have to be next fall when I don't have elephant cankles. My sweet, thoughtful Mom also gave me a wonderful gift that I will cherish forever. She bought one of those recordable books with the story Twas the Night Before Christmas and had recorded herself reading the story. It has been a family tradition for as long as I can remember for one of us in my family to read that story aloud on Christmas Eve. Even now, when we aren't all together on Christmas Eve, Mom makes us call Ryan on speaker phone so he can hear too....he's always thrilled :) I can't wait to share this someday with my kids.

We also enjoyed making snowman Christmas cookies on Saturday, as a group, which was interesting. However I must say that our first attempt at group baking was successful. The cookies, even with their slow and questionable production, turned out very cute and quite delicious!

With all of that....my favorite part of the weekend and my all time favorite gift, was from my brother Ryan (who I have so lovingly called Pog since we were kids...??don't know why). A little background for you.... When we were little, Pog had a football shaped toy box. Poor Pog spend a great deal of his early childhood inside of this toy box. I remember dumping all of his toys out of it on a regular basis and putting Pog inside. I would sit on top of the toy box and when Mom would come upstairs she would ask "Where is Ryan" and I would just shrug and look cute and innocent, like I was :) They key you see, was the two small holes that were located in the back of the box. They were about the size of quarters and I would tell Pog that if he made a peep I would plug my fingers into those holes cutting off his air and light supply. It worked like a charm! What are big sisters good for?? Apparantly torture and giving baby brothers post traumatic stress syndrome, because Poor Pog has never forgotten this. We laugh now.... I guess I hope he never sends me the bill for his therapy heehee. Anyway, he had a very big surprise for me Friday night and made me sit on the couch and close my eyes. I heard the sound of something big being drug down the hallway and when I opened my eyes, there in front of my was an original Little Tykes football shaped toy box with Adalyn's name neatly written on it in pink paint pen. Also, conveniently, he labeled each one of the two holes in the back, Uncle Pog's safety hole. I was in total shock and could not stop laughing! How awesome is that!?! My first thought was OMG that is SO small, how in the world did Pog ever fit in there! I guess I forget that my 6'2 250lbs+ brother was once 4 yrs old and tiny! Pog said that he had to search and search and finally found one on ebay. I can NOT wait until sweet little Addy is putting her little brother or sister in that toy box one day! It will bring them closer together and lay the foundation for so many wonderful memories of sibling rivalry (wonderful memories, right Pog?) My brother is a big turd (I say that with love) I would never have imagined such a thoughtful gift from him. As absolutely hilarious as it was, it was also so very heart warming and made me feel so thankful that Addy has an Uncle Pog. It was the greatest gift ever!

Busy Body Baby

Being in a uterus must be fun, because my daughter is having a party in there! She really moves all of the time. I wonder when she sleeps....which makes me wonder when will I sleep after she gets here. Sometimes I think she must be working on some type of project in there and is going to pop out with a model airplane or something. She is busy! I asked my doctor last week if all babies move this much, or she really is just her father's child and finds it impossible to be still for more than 5 seconds. Justin has ants in his pants so I guess the ants run in her genes. It is really cool at times. She even entertained the cashier at JC Pennys yesterday while I was checking out. She was kicking Mommy very hard and the lady could see her and commented. I was there looking for nursing bras. All I have to say about that is WTF? Who makes these things? They can't possibly fit anyone in a flattering fashion. Ok I know they are for nursing, but seriously, I can't wear these to work under actual clothes once I go back to work and am pumping every day. First of all, they don't make them in enough sizes for larger breasted moms to be (and arent all moms to be fairly large breasted by this time). Who is 7 months pregnant and wearing a 32A?? The largest that they run is DD. However, I hope you are huge if you are a DD because the smallest band size you are going to find is a 42! I started out a D to a DD before pregnancy. So I am beyond anything that Motherhood Maternity or JCPennys can offer me, but who likes to order some super expensive nursing bra that you can't try on and can only return by mail. SOOoooo I did leave Pennys with two bras. They are basically just cotton almost sports bra type of nursing bras except they hook in the back like a normal bra. They are 42 DDs, and entirely too big in the band and ride up...but it will save those of you who will be visiting me in the hospital from cathing the eyeful that you NEVER wanted to see! Until I get ready to pack my hospital bag I am also sleeping in them for now. I can rotate those and my nursing tanks because I cannot bare to be without support (even minimal) for any legnth of time now. These suckers are HEAVY! Its almost all I can do to shower without a bra on. I'm afraid that during that short 15 mintue period of each day they are just gonna stretch and fall down to my feet because they seriously weigh a ton each. Is it possible that I am carrying 5 babies without any of my doctors knowing...I'm thinking there is one in the belly, one in each gigantic thigh, and then one in each melon sized breast. Nice! As I am typing Adalyn is attempting to kick my laptop into the floor. I have also started experiencing this strage tingling sensation around my ribs. It is right under my breasts and does happen on each side, but its more frequent under my left breast. It doesn't hurt, the best way I can describe it really is just a light tingleing, buzzing, almost asleep type of feeling. Sort of like a light shock that you might get if you plugged your hair dryer in and your hand was a little wet...you know the feeling. Not painful just strange. Who knows what that is. I am carrying so low that I don't think it is possible for it to be her feet in that area. I never feel kicks or movement up high. Its just weird. But other than the uncontrollable boobs, tingling rib cage, swollen oversized sasquatch feet, and shortness of breath...I am still feeling pretty good. I am really starting to get excited as we are counting down in weeks instead of months. Once we hit Christmas we are about 2 months (8weeks) away from her arrival. I just can't wait for her to get here! We are working on finalizing some things for her nursery and showers are now in the works, which is very fun and exciting. I am so blessed with such amazing friends and family. This girl has NO IDEA how loved she already is by so many people. She is so rotten already, its sad! She is getting Christmas presents and she lives in my belly!! I do have an udpate on the letter situation....Trash! That really never worked out for me and I was lucky enough to come upon some very cute name signs this past weekend at a festival/fair thing in Franklin TN and I ordered one for her. They are super cute and all I have to do is pay for it...perfect! I have officially learned my lesson and I'm just not going to be "that" Mom, the cute crafty one with all the handmade this and that. Oh well, she will still be cute!

We start our holiday dash this weekend and I'm looking forward to it. We are non stop traveling for the next two weeknds making our way to all the family. I know it is going to be very tiring, but I love this time of year!