Pregnancy: 23 Weeks ... Kick, Kick City

 Special Thanks to Emily for her guest Chalkboard Art!

How far along? 23 Weeks 2 Days
Total weight gain/loss: I put on too much weight over Thanksgiving and Christmas :( I am up 17 pounds.  Means I gained 8 pounds in a month... This blog must be about honesty because it sort of kills me to admit that. I am, however, walking and getting back to exercising. [yes, it could have something to do with gaining a little too much, too fast.]  All in all, if I can STAY at this or close to it for about another month I can get back on track!
Maternity clothes?  Yes...!
Stretch marks? No, and the regiment continues!
Sleep:Today is last day of our Christmas break, so I have enjoyed as much sleeping in as I could!  Sleeping later seems to be the trick.  Hopefully, this week won't wear me out too much!
Best moment(s) this week: Hanging out with my wonderful friends & soaking up as much relaxation with my hubby as possible. 
Have you told family and friends: Yes
Miss Anything? I miss laying on my back.  Watching Rebekah play on the floor with Baby Elliott this weekend made me miss that so much!
Movement:  Yes, yes, yes... This boy seems to have found his legs this week.  He is a kick machine.
Food cravings: Do not ask me why or how, but somewhere about 9:00 three nights in row I distinctly want Spaghetti and Meatballs & a Hot Fudge Sundae.  I have not indulged on this, and I don't want them mixed together or anything.  I just want one bite of one, then another of the other? Idk why
Anything making you queasy or sick: The smell of dog food bothers me a little bit, but nothing otherwise! Praise the Lord! 
Have you started to show yet: Yes...
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: no
Belly Button in or out? in, though stretching....
Wedding rings on or off? ON
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy mostly!
Weekly Wisdom: Sleep when you can! :)
Looking forward to: Getting back to a routine and back to healthy eating!!

Emily the artist brought her handsome assistant (& son) to help design this week's board!  Rebekah came with them and entertained us all. :) Thank you for a much needed girls afternoon ladies!

Tomorrow we go back to school from Christmas break.  I think it's the most depressing day for teachers everywhere.  At least we get one day before the kiddos come back.  It's crazy to think that in this semester I will be having a baby!  It just dawned on Sam earlier in the week that labor could occur at any place.  I don't mean that my husband thinks the baby will come now, just that he hadn't thought of the location of me going into labor.  In his head, I think we were just hanging out on the couch together and I say, "Oh honey, it's time to go."  Somehow it came up, though, that I could realistically go into labor in the middle of class.  Watching his face trying to comprehend this was AWESOME! 

At this point I want to work until I go into labor, but we will just wait and see how it all works out.  It would be somewhat funny for one of my sophomore students to run down the hall to my husband's room.  "Mrs. Riley is having the baby!"  I can only imagine the chaos... oh what fun :) 

Here's to whatever the future holds!!! :) 

Six Months Ago... We said "I DO!"
Another realization occurred to me today... Tomorrow is January 7th, which means that Sam and I have been married for 6 months! We got married in July of this year in Fort Worth.  Thinking back on the day, I cannot think of one thing I would change.  Our anniversary is July 7th, and our color scheme was a very patriotic red, white, and blue.  I am truly blessed to have enjoy such an incredible wedding day! Here's my original post about our wedding and some pictures to enjoy as I remember this awesome day!

The chalkboard's original use...

 

One of my favorite things that we did.  In lieu of a guestbook, we got this chalkboard piggie bank.  We had pennies and skinny sharpies, and everyone signed a penny and put it in the pig for good luck.  You'd be surprised how much a person can manage to write on a penny!  It made for fun sorting through them... and at some point I am going to create a picture frame mat with them!

Our first dance song was "Forever and Ever, Amen" by Randy Travis.  I love when Sam will sing the part about "if your hair fell out, I'd love you anyways."

Our rings on top of a very sentiment filled mason jar.  Not only did this match our Texas/Fourth of July/Mason Jar Theme, but this was an awesome way to include so many of the pieces of jewelry that Sam's dad, "Big Sam," had made before he passed away.  It was a nice way to include them in the ceremony! 

Thanks to so many people for all the hard work that they put into my wedding and making it everything I ever could have dreamed! 

And THANK YOU ALL for keeping up with the blog!  :)