Wedding Plans

To all of you women who have had normal weddings:

How did you do it?

My tiny little wedding has stressed me out beyond belief, and my mom has done everything she can to take the stress off it me. Is it because I'm pregnant? Is it because I'm already high strung as it is? I was worried about who was coming, more worried about who couldn't come, worried about pleasing everyone to the point that I didn't even want a wedding anymore.

[I mention being high strung because apparently the men in my life seem to believe this. Yes, father and Chris, I'm talking about you. Don't think I am unaware of your telephone chats. Yes, it's weird. Yes, it's unnerving that my fiance and father get along so well and talk about me when I'm in the other room. I prefer this over you not getting along, but sometimes I wonder what you talk about when I'm not listening!]

However, after meeting with the pastor last night, I feel 100% better about everything. Talking to him really put everything into perspective. We're getting married. That's the important part. Like my mom said, our families are coming together to celebrate our marriage. I can't really stress out about spending the rest of my life with the man I love.

The meeting with the pastor was interesting, but helpful. He asked us why we were in such a hurry. Chris kind of gestured towards my belly. Thanks, hon. The pastor said "well, why now? Why not 3 months ago?"

Yeah, why not 3 months ago?

Chris said he wanted to save up for the ring. Honestly, I didn't even want a ring. Not that I don't absolutely love the ring he got me. It's sparkly and beautiful and perfect. Okay, maybe I wanted a ring but I didn't absolutely need a ring. But I respect him for wanting to do things 'right.' And the ring is nice too.

We told the pastor we've been talking about marriage for quite a while. He said, "you've been doing more than talking!" Well, yes. Thanks for pointing that out.

He asked if we were living together. Yes. He just shook his head. For a minute I was kind of afraid that he was going to tell us he couldn't marry us because we were living in sin. Fortunately, he's not that kind of pastor. He said he wasn't judging us or criticizing us, just trying to get a complete picture of our relationship.

He asked Chris if he was ready to marry me. He asked him like 5 times. Does he think I'm not marriage material? Come on now! I thought he'd ask me if I was ready. No, he asked "do you think Chris is ready?" Poor Chris. I told him absolutely, without a doubt. We don't want to get married again someday, this is a forever decision and we know that. I don't want Chris around just because I think Emily needs a father. I want Chris around because I love him. We may have done things a little backwards, but I'm happy with the final result. I think we have a pretty awesome little family.

In other fun wedding news, I got my dress! I went shopping with my mom and sister last weekend and found a super cute black and white strapless dress at A Pea in the Pod. I also found shoes and jewelry and made an appointment to get my hair done Saturday morning. All I need is a pedicure tomorrow or Friday and I'll be ready! My mom ordered the cake, which is going to be delicious. Chris wasn't too excited about a cake at first (it was a simple wedding, remember?) but after I told him about it he changed his mind.

Is it bad that I'm almost as excited about the cake as I am about the rest of the wedding?

Mom is picking out flowers tomorrow and she is personally putting the bouquet and centerpieces together tomorrow night with a friend. It's going to be beautiful!

Most importantly, we got our license on Monday so the whole thing is legal. The marriage license is all sorts of official looking.

I'll be Jessica Tyre in three days! Three days!!

30 weeks!

30 weeks. That's 75%. When you think about it, that's a solid C. Passing, but nothing to brag about. I really want to be in the A+ range.

In baby related news, nothing too spectacular or new has been going on this past week. She is still moving around a lot, but not kicking so hard anymore. That might have something to do with the fact that she is running out of room and can't get as much force and speed on those kicks as she used to. In the next 10 weeks she's going to get very squished.

When I eat, I feel like I'm going to pop. Like, if you were to stick a pin in my belly I feel like I would pop. Like a big balloon. So uncomfortable.

Speaking of comfort, does anyone care to tell me what that feels like? I seem to have forgotten. I hurt when I lay down to sleep. I hurt when I'm sitting on the couch. I really hurt while I'm driving in the car. My back KILLS when I'm at my desk at work. I'm ok when I'm sitting on the toilet. When I walk for too long, I start to feel like someone kicked me in the crotch, really hard, and that hurts even if you're a girl.

I realized this week that I can't remember what my belly used to look like. You know, when it was flat? I thought I could stand to lose a few pounds back in January. What the heck ever, Jessica. Look at you now! Granted, I don't look bad. I'm sorry to those women who gained 80 pounds during pregnancy, but I am so glad my weight gain has been on track so far. At the beginning, I was honestly worried that my skin couldn't stretch. I mean, I know that it happens, I just couldn't imagine it.

I also don't remember the last time I zipped up a pair of pants. I'm going to be walking around with my fly down for weeks after I get out of these maternity pants. Now I just pull up and go. Like a 4 year old.

I read that Emily can see light when her eyes are open. Kind of like when you shine a flashlight through the palm of your hand- she sees the light in a red tint. You could say she sees her world through rose colored glasses right now. I like to think she's fairly content in there. I've been feeding her well. Lots of fruit, as many veggies as I can stomach (read: not many, but they're there) and the occasional (almost daily) bowl of ice cream. What a life.

She's also finally losing her body hair. According to the books I've read, up until recently she's been covered in a kind of fur, like Roger I guess. It kept her warm. Now she's starting to fatten up so she doesn't need it anymore. Go Emily! Put some meat on those bones!

Now I'm off to meet my mom to plan my wedding. Because I'm getting married. Next weekend. With a pretty dress and flowers and family and the most amazing man in the world. I can't wait.

I'm getting married in 10 days and...

My grandparents from Pennsylvania are going to be here!!!!

I can't tell you how happy that makes me, it's going to be the best wedding ever. I thought that with such short notice they wouldn't be able to make it. I really wanted them here but knew it was a longshot. But now they're coming!

July 31st is my wedding day AND my grandpa's birthday. He said he couldn't ask for a better birthday present, they're just so excited.

Happy dance!

I'm Engaged!!!

It's a sad day for the single women of our tiny little town. One of Blanco's finest bachelors is officially off the market. Not that anyone would have gotten near him before we were engaged, considering he had a crazy pregnant woman following him around everywhere.

I can't help it. You'd be the same way if you managed to sink your claws into trap trick enchant a man like him.

Now, it wasn't a complete surprise. We have been talking about marriage for a while now. A long while, I may add. We discussed getting married before the baby arrives. Considering she is going to be here about 10 weeks from now, I was really hoping he'd ask me soon. I'll admit that I haven't been very patient.

Last Tuesday, Chris asked if I'd like to go out to dinner with him the following night. So I don't have to cook, he said. Well, we had just discussed a new budget in which we would not go out to eat, but cook at home instead. He said he knew I'd had a few rough days at work and he thought he'd treat me to a nice dinner. I couldn't argue, it sounded great. He told me to pick out a restaurant on the Riverwalk in San Antonio.

Wait, so he's taking me to a nice dinner AND he's driving out to San Antonio on a Wednesday...

Maybe my cooking has been lacking? Honestly, I was more concerned over which restaurant to pick because I was tired of cooking. It's hard to cook when you have to stand a foot away from the stove so you don't burn your belly. I picked one- I can't remember what it was now, but I even looked up prices and reviews to make sure it was good, but not too good, so I didn't feel guilty about it.

He met me at work on Wednesday. I had packed a cute dress so I didn't have to wear my smelly work clothes out. He looked good, I told him. He didn't seem nervous, so I figured we were just going to dinner. As we were driving out, he said "It's a little too early for dinner, I'm not really that hungry yet. Let's go there, I think you can pay to go up to the top and see the view of San Antonio." [points to the Tower of Americas]

I'm in. That thing looks awesome. We discuss how tall it is. Is it as tall as the Space Needle? Isn't there one like that in Dallas, but it's a big ball or something? Yeah, I think there's a restaurant at the top of the one in Dallas. How the heck do we get over there?

We found it, we parked, I stopped to look at a map. I act like I know what I'm doing. "We want to go to that elevator, the one that goes to the observation deck." Chris politely pretends to listen to me. We walk inside. We get in line for the elevator. The WRONG elevator. "Chris, we aren't going to the restaurant, we're in the wrong line."

"I think this is the right one. I'm starving, let's just eat here."

Okay? When the man is hungry it's best to feed him right away, so I don't complain. I begin to get suspicious, but I don't complain. The ride up was awesome. You get to look out a glass window as you go up a million stories (I don't know how high it was but I got a little dizzy at one point). We walked into the restaurant, Chris says "reservation for Tyre."

Mmm hmm, he's up to something. Is he going to propose? No, if I think he's going to then he's not going to and I'm going to get all excited over nothing. Just enjoy your dinner. Hey, that steak looks good...

We're seated and Chris points out that the room is slowly rotating. I freak out a bit. Once I realize we're moving, I get a little dizzy. Like if I stay in my car when it's parked on the ferry going over to Port Aransas. We start talking and the dizziness goes away. We order our meal, we both got steak and shrimp. It was delicious. We ordered dessert even though I was stuffed. I ate it all, it was delicious. I had stopped wondering about what he was up to by now because I was distracted by the food and the view.

Then he stands up. To "stretch." Except he gives me this funny look as he's standing. I go back to looking out the window, thinking this "stretch" is a walk to the bathroom or something. Then he's on the ground next to me. No, not passed out. On his knee. Oh good God.

He starts talking to me. It makes me cry. I buried my face in his neck because I thought everyone was looking and I didn't want them to see the pregnant girl crying. He says everything right but I can't really remember exactly what it was he was saying. I just kept nodding my head. He stopped talking, I may have continued nodding, I'm not sure. "Is that a yes?" I nod a little harder.

There are few times in my life that I am completely speechless. This was one of them.

I managed to get out "You made me cry in front of everyone!" Smooth, Jess. I know I said "I love you" at some point. He put the ring on my finger and everyone clapped. Like in a movie, it was kind of weird.

Everything after that is pretty unimportant because I was just SO happy that I kind of floated through the rest of the evening. The people at the table next to us took a picture.

You can tell we're genuinely happy because our eyes are all squinty.

29 weeks, glucose test

I had my glucose test this week. I was scared. Last time they drew blood I passed out, so I feel like I'm a little justified in being scared. I had to fast for 8 hours so I scheduled my appointment at 8am so I just skipped breakfast instead of starving myself all day. Chris wasn't sure if he'd be able to get out of work to come with me and that made me even more scared.

Yeah, I'll be giving birth to a baby soon and I'm afraid of having some blood drawn. Awesome.

He called when I was driving to the doctor and said he'd be there a little late. Whatever, he'll be there, I was happy. I asked if his boss gave him a hard time- apparently he said "she's a bigger wuss than my wife!" Wow, thanks a lot a-hole. I was already so upset about the appointment that I just started crying. Ugh.

I finally got to see the nurse around 8:40 and Chris came in with me. I thought I'd drink my gross orange drink, wait an hour, then give up my veins. They had some confusion with my paperwork, left the room, said they needed to call someone because I wasn't their patient... this just made me more upset. They said they had to take blood before AND after the drink. Cool. I managed to get through it just feeling a little lightheaded. The drink was okay at first and pretty disgusting towards the end.

My doctor's assistant stopped by and said she was ready to see me so we went back to her office. She saw the bandaid on my arm, asked why they poked me already and then told me they shouldn't have done that. Great. She said I felt clammy then asked if I was going to cry. I told her no, but I thought I might just because I didn't know why everyone was so confused about what they were doing with my blood. Totally not a big deal but I was tired, hungry, and thirsty.

Part of the fasting was no water, which sucks when they ask you to pee in a cup when you arrive. I said sorry, I've got none, maybe after the test.

She said everything looked good, confirmed that the pains I've been having about once a day are contractions and told me to call if I had them 5 times within an hour. Can we talk about these contractions? Sharp pain wrapping around my poor little baby that would literally bring me to my knees if I happened to be standing when they hit. Luckily I've been laying down or sitting when I get them. Labor is going to be fun! Yay!

The doctor went and scolded the nurse for poking me before my glucose test.

Back in the waiting room, Chris said he had to leave because his boss needed him back at work and he didn't know we'd be there this long. I started crying AGAIN. What is my problem? He felt bad but had to go and I wasn't really that upset, I felt like a little kid on her first day of school. I didn't want him to leave.

I calmed down and went back inside, read a book for a while and was a very brave girl when I went back in to let them take my blood again. I did NOT pass out, I only felt a little dizzy if I was standing for too long afterwards.

I decided I needed to eat. Let me rephrase that, I decided I needed to eat chinese food, and I needed it now. I drove a mile down the road to a chinese place to find that it was closed for another 30 minutes. No good, I have to get back to work. Then I remembered that there is a chinese place right next door to my doctor, so I drove back that way, and they were closed! Damn it! Surprisingly, I didn't cry. I got some nuggets at Wendy's and started driving to SA.

About halfway to Blanco I started feeling sick. Not going to throw up sick, but going to pass out sick. I stopped at the house, called my boss and told her I couldn't make the drive. Thank goodness she understood. I climbed into bed and didn't get out until Chris called 3 hours later.

Interesting day. I felt a lot better the next day, and my week got exponentially better. More on that in my next blog.

Oh, did I mention that I have a HUGE bruise on my arm now? Thanks a lot, confused nurse. Now I look like a drug addict mother. Oh, I finally managed to pee in a cup before I left. Guess what? The cup had a hole in the bottom! Funny joke, guys! I got to clean pee off of the seat and floor while desperately trying to reach for another cup to put my faulty cup in. That just wasn't my day.

Baby Shower!

We had our baby shower last Saturday, it was awesome. I'll admit that we were both pretty stressed out about it, but it was great. We weren't stressed because we had any doubts that the hostesses (Lauren and Hayley) would do anything less than spectacular, we were just nervous about all of the people! After I called everyone for rsvps we realized that most of the people we invited were going to be there. Like, 40-50 people. At my mom's house. That's a lot. So, naturally we both laid in bed the night before wondering what could go wrong with all of those people in one place.

Nothing went wrong. It was beautiful.

We got there a little early so Chris could set up his redneck golf game. He spent all of Friday afternoon making it, and I'll admit that I was pretty impressed with the final product. I didn't get a picture of it. Honestly, I didn't get pictures of much. After everyone had left, I said "oh crap! I didn't take pictures of anyone!" Here's a few I took before the guests arrived:

The table with the sweets! (there was also a table with fruits and vegetables but this one is far more interesting, I think you know why)

The proud papa and big brother.



My sister, Rachel.

My other sister Melissa and my mom. (Miss, why did you make that face?)

Lauren's husband, Travis. He made the sliders. They were delicious.

Lauren scrubbing some dishes. Thanks, Lauren!

A few people showed up at 2. We had that awkward 30 minutes where we kind of sat around and tried not to look at each other while we came up with some lame small talk. After more people arrived, everyone began to mingle and I felt a lot better. I wish I could have spent time with every person who came, but it was really hard! I finally just sat down and let people come to me. I mean, it was my party. Oh, Chris' too.

It was great to see everyone. I had some friends there that I hadn't seen in over a year! It was so awesome that they came. Chris' mom's side of the family was there, I don't get to see them often so that was really nice.

We only played one game, and we both really liked it! Lauren put it together. She would ask Chris a question (like "How many younger siblings do you want Emily to have?") and he would write it on a board without showing me. I'd guess his answer and then he'd show it to everyone. If I got it wrong, I had to stick a piece of gum in my mouth. I was doing pretty good until about halfway through, haha. I think we both ended up getting 4/8 right. Not too shabby. It was fun, a more personalized game than most shower games and I think everyone else enjoyed it.

After that, we opened the gifts. SO MANY PINK BAGS. Haha, I didn't know where to start! That was the only stressful part of the day. I felt a little weird opening them while everyone watched. I know everyone wants to see the cute baby clothes, but I still felt uncomfortable. I was sweating like crazy and kept asking my mom to turn the AC down. Chris galliantly sat next to me the entire time, folding bags and throwing away tissue paper. We received some super cute stuff! I'm almost done with thank you notes, which is kind of a big deal for me. I generally wait until the following year to get around to things like that. It hasn't even been a week and I'm almost done! Go me!

After the gifts everyone filed out pretty quick. My friend Laine showed up late so she stayed behind and I actually got to spend some one on one time with her and her man Jeremiah, so it actually worked out that she was running a little late. I didn't feel like I ignored her like everyone else there. We sat around on the couch, cleaned up, and headed home.

Baby shower = Success.

Thank you SO MUCH, Hayley and Lauren! You guys are awesome!

28 weeks!

The countdown continues. 12 weeks left. That's 3 months. 3 months! I have a feeling she's going to wait until October, but we're so close now!

We spent our last week with Audrey and I had to drop her off at her aunt's house yesterday morning. We have been talking to her a lot about going back to Arkansas and trying our best to explain why she can't stay with us. It breaks my heart when she gets so upset about leaving. I know she loves her daddy, and I know she would miss her mom if she couldn't see her either. It's just so hard to see someone her age have to deal with all of this stress. I just wanted her to know that we're not sending her away, it's just time to go back! We finally got her to understand and told her that when she is older, she can decide where she wants to stay.
Yesterday morning she finally sounded happy about going home. I talked to her about her mom and her brothers and she told me that she missed her brothers (even though they're not big enough to play with yet, which is very frustrating for a 4 year old). I cried when I pulled out of the driveway. I couldn't help it. That little girl drives me crazy but I really do love her and I hate to see her go.

It was so quiet at home last night. Chris and I didn't know what to do with ourselves. Our evenings had felt so short the past month. Get home, playtime, clean up, make dinner, attempt to eat dinner, bathtime, get in our pjs, read a book, read another book, read another 3 books, and pass out. Last night we just sat on the couch trying to figure out what to do with all the time we had.

It won't be quiet for much longer. 12 more weeks and I'll be wondering why I ever complained about it!

My baby shower is tomorrow. I am SO EXCITED. I get to see all kinds of friends and family that I haven't seen in months or years! Hooray!