Patience...

I have PLENTY of patience. Granted, I use most of it on my husband so that we don't argue as much. Not that we argue a lot but the pregnancy hormones make me crazy and I have to take a breather and think about how I'm feeling and what I want to say before I say it just incase it's my hormones talking and not actually me. Bless his heart for not moving into the shed in the back yard just to get away from me.

Anyways, my whole point about this is people telling me that I need to be patient while waiting for Abigail and that she will come when she is ready. Umm, DURR??!?!?!? I know that. I'm just extremely excited to meet our little girl and I don't know what to do with myself so the time passes by. I don't want her to come earlier than when she's ready, I'm not stupid.

So annoyed. Please don't tell me I need to be patient. I'm fully aware that she will come when she is ready. I just can't control my excitement while waiting.

Disgusted

I had a post up a while ago about entering to win a free pair of Petrol Jeans from their give away on Facebook. First of all, Thank You to all who sent my name in :-) I really appreciate it. We should know next week who the winners are.

Secondly, why do people feel that they are owed things? Let me give you a little info on this give away. It started off by the company saying that anyone who received 20 or more nominations would win a free pair of jeans. I am unsure if it was stated in the beginning that they had to post the names under the Win A Pair! tab or not but that was part of the rules. They then changed the rules to only the first 1,000 people with 20 or more nominations would win a free pair.

People are actually getting angry with this company for this now. First of all, the company had a link right on the contest page with all of the rules listed. They had it listed that the company has the right to change the give away whenever and however they so choose. They also have all of the rules stated such as having to post the name under the Win A Pair tab and NOT on their wall.

So as far as I can see the only real issue SHOULD be that they are now only giving out 1,000 pair instead of an infinite amount. I mean can you blame them though? Yes, it was poor planning to not expect a lot of people to enter this contest, BUT they can't go out of business because of this either.

My problem is not with the company at all. I am still very thankful for even an opportunity to get something free, especially in this economy. What really bothers me are all of the comments people are leaving on this page because of the rule changes.

People are getting angry saying that they got their 20 nominations and they DESERVE the free pair of jeans. Or even worse, saying that they better win their pair of jeans. People are bad mouthing this company simply because they MIGHT not win a free pair of jeans.

It is really sad. It would be one thing if they had to pay to enter this contest and then later the rules were changed that not everyone would win. Then they at least have a little equity into it that they MIGHT lose. But to get angry about something that barely took any effort and will gives you a very good chance at winning something free is beyond me.

The worst part is that Petrol Jeans has made remarks back to all of these complaining people that if they have their 20 nominations, and they are posted in the right spot, that they will receive their jeans because they have no yet reached their 1,000 pairs yet. AND PEOPLE WERE STILL ARGUING ABOUT IT!!

I'm so disappointed in humanity sometimes. Please remember that none of us are owed anything. Everything we receive is a blessing and a gift.

For heavens sake, take your eyes off of Facebook and your mind off of a free pair of JEANS and avert your attention to what is happening in Egypt! People are dying. They actually have something to fight for and you're wasting your time acting like a child over jeans. Seriously, ashamed.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about in Egypt then I highly recommend doing a simple google search or turning on your television. It's devastating and is actually something that deserves attention.

Baby Update

I had my weekly appointment this afternoon.

Abigail is growing right on schedule. My doctor said that we will be scheduling my c section at my appointment next week! She wants to schedule it for my 39th week but I am going to try and push for my 38th week at most. I don't have a good feeling about Abigail being in there for too much longer.

I'm uncomfortable and in pain all the time and it worries me that the longer she stays in the same position all squished up that she is going to have something wrong with her.

If we are going to schedule a c section I would much rather it be scheduled at 38 weeks. Plus that would give Mr. Sykes just about 2 weeks with her. I would rather have her all ready to move home when he leaves then have her the week before he goes and still have to stay here longer.

Ugh. Even when her birth is planned it's stressful! Give me a break already!

Here is my 34 week photo for you guys. I decided not to wait until week 35 since there is still a chance of preterm labor and that means I could miss my opportunity to take one next week.

True Love

I was watching American Idol tonight and the last contestants story was heart breaking.

He has been with his girlfriend for 8 years and they were engaged for 2. Their wedding was 2 months away when she got into an accident. She now has severe brain damage and needs to be taken care of 24/7. She has to be in a wheel chair and needs everything done for her. I'm not sure if she can talk or not but it doesn't look like she can communicate very well if she can.

My first reaction was how amazing this guy was for standing by her through all of that. Then I realized I was thinking he was amazing because in the back of my head I was thinking how awful it is that the love of his life is like that and he has to take care of her forever.

I don't know if I had a blonde moment or what but how stupid of me to think that. Of course he is going to take care of her. He loves her.

I immediately put myself into the situation and without a doubt I would take care of my husband. No hesitation. He is my world and no matter what I'll always be by his side.

I think that is the true test of true love. If you can put yourself into a situation like that and know without a doubt that you would to anything for the person you love. Leaving would never be an option. Just thinking about it makes my heart break. I couldn't ever be without my husband.

So I turned on American Idol tonight to get a good laugh at all of the ridiculous people trying out. I ended up getting an amazing message and a wonderful reminder of how much I love my husband.

Revelation

I don't know how many people in the world have actually read the bible front to back, but I am not one of them. Until now. I have been wanting to read it for a while now I just haven't had the motivation to sit down and do it.

I started it yesterday and reading the story of Adam and Eve made me want to knock Eve upside the head. God cursed all women to have painful child births because of her actions. I knew there was a reason we were being punished.

Now I can't wait to get further along and eventually finish the bible. I feel like I've been missing so much by not reading it. I want to have a closer relationship with God and I know I can't do that unless I read the bible.

I kind of wish my bible wasn't of the smaller stature making the words super tiny. But I do love how adorable it is and easy to take with me! I just need to pull out the old reading glasses and stop pretending like I don't need them.

Anyways, now you know what I'll be doing the next couple of weeks. Reading, reading and more reading. When I finish one book I'll pick up another. Hopefully all my books can keep me occupied until this little girl decides to make her appearance!

Question

Me: "What are you up to?"
Mr. Sykes: "No more texts. You got me in trouble."

Has anyone ever gotten this text? Is it just me or would that completely urk you too?

How is it that I got HIM in trouble when HE is the one who keeps HIS phone turned on and in HIS breast pocket when HE shouldn't be texting?

I"m not physic. I don't know when and when he can't text.

Sometimes I feel like he's trying to push my buttons. He should have said "No more text. I got in trouble." How simple would that have been?

I hate my buttons being pushed. Then again I don't know anyone who does. I don't know why men can't ever just get it.

Ok, jokes over.

Seriously, pregnancy takes for everrrrrrr.

I don't think I normally have a patience problem but at this point I'm just done with being pregnant.

I have all my preparations done which is one less thing to keep me occupied. I seriously don't know what to do with myself. I've been reading to stay busy but I can't finish a book and start a new one in the same day. I need at least a day to rest my eye balls.

Yea, there is always television but I feel pathetic when I sit around watching tv all day. PLUS, there is hardly EVER anything on during the day worth watching.

I keep telling myself that she's worth the wait and everything you want is worth waiting for.

I Love You Abigail! I'm sooo anxious to meet you!

The mail came!!

And look what I got!

I had a custom car seat cover made for Abigail. I know she will only be in it for a year TOPS but I couldn't resist. It says Abigail with two hearts around it and that gorgeous blingy pink flower. I love it!! 

Also, by total surprise, I got 2 cans of free similac baby formula. I plan on breast feeding but it actually feels pretty good having them just incase. Besides, they're free! How awesome is that? 

So today started out pretty lousy but now I'm all excited! :-)

Well, it's snowing...again.

Did I move to North Carolina? I'm pretty sure I did but all of this snow is throwing me off.

It's pretty much a white out at my house right now. Of course Mr. Sykes would have to be working today too so I can't even enjoy a snow day with him. I'm hoping the mail still comes today because I am expecting a package. What is in that package will be for another post so that I can include pictures :-)

Hint: It's for Abigail so you know it's adorable.

I'm from New York so I love snow, when it serves a purpose. I can't do anything with it down here so it's just kind of a drag. I can't wait until I move back home and get to enjoy a good NY snow again.

As for now, I'll be looking out my window every couple of minutes waiting to see the mail man drive by.

Oh, and reading. My mom sent me a package full of books to keep myself occupied these last couple of weeks before Abigail is born. Isn't she wonderful?

Free Petrol Jeans!

So will you do me a favor? If you go to the link below, Petrol Jeans FB Page, and like them, then make sure you are under their Win A Pair! tab, there should be a comment button right above the orangy/yellow bar, click that and leave a comment saying I sent you!

If you haven't done this for someone else already though. If you have, it wont count for me I don't believe. Make sure you don't leave the comment on their wall or else it wont count!

I only need 20 people to do this for me and I win a free pair of Petrol Jeans! I need to start my post pregnancy wardrobe and what better way than to get free jeans??

You can also enter yourself! Everyone who gets 20 people to leave a comment with their name wins, it's great!!

Oh, and if you don't know my full name, which you probably don't it's Breanna Sykes.

Thank you so much!!


http://www.facebook.com/PetrolJeans?v=app_143514705695397&ref=ts

Baby Update

I haven't baby updated in quite a while it seems.

Well, I am now 33 weeks and like 3 days along. I had my weekly appointment this morning.
Good news is that Abigail is growing right on schedule. Bad news is my body isn't giving her enough room to grow anymore. Worse news, I almost passed out in the chair, again.

Last week I was feeling normal, for a pregnant lady. This whole week I have been having lots of contractions and cramping. They started the day after my doctor's appointment last week and have been non stop since. Thankfully they aren't really painful, just super uncomfortable. The cramping is a little painful but nothing that makes me stop what I'm doing and fall to the ground or anything.

So now I have to drink tons of water, as if I wasn't already, and lay on my left side for an hour every couple hours. This should stop the contractions. I tried it last night but I fell asleep. I don't know if I have contractions in my sleep or not. Since they aren't painful I might sleep right through them.

But anyways, with my condition preterm labor is a huge risk. My doctor hasn't been worried about it too much up until now. She says I need to take it easy and keep tract of warning signs.

There has to be a reason that pregnancy is this torturous. Maybe women are naturally evil and this is our punishment?

That actually makes you think... if that's true then the women who can't get pregnant should consider themselves goddesses or something.

Anyways, off topic. I also had a revelation today while in the doctors office waiting for my doctor. They have a poster of all the different birth controls out there. Now I've wanted to get Mirena after the baby is born so that I don't have to take a pill every day. BUT then I was thinking about how I have 2 cervix and that Mirena is inserted into the cervix, so either I would have to have 2 Mirena OR I wouldn't be able to use it. Bummer right?

I hate the pill because it's awful to have to remember to take that every day at the same time. Plus they always make me sick. I don't want the shot because everyone I've known who has gotten the shot has ballooned up at least 25 lbs. I also don't want the nuva ring because that just creeps me out. I know there is a little plastic stick like thing that they can insert into your arm or something. I don't know how I feel about that one yet. Kind of creeped out but I would probably take it over the pill.

Anywho... there is my update and severe rant for the day.

And since I haven't shared any belly pics with you guys I'll put the whole lot of them up now.

12 weeks

19 weeks

21 weeks

 24 weeks

 31 weeks

I will take my next picture probably at 35 weeks. I'll keep you posted :-)

Getting Closer!!

One more step done! Thanks to Nicole over at Flip Flops and Combat Boots I now have a beautiful new header :-)

Is there anything you would like to see on my blog that isn't already there? I know so many blogs have all sorts of neat things so let me know if you have any ideas!

Thanks again Nicole!! :-)

I want one!!

I want a pregnancy massage soooooo badly! I think I might ask my doctor if it's ok at my appointment in the morning.

I would be in heaven is this discomfort could go away even for 60 minutes or so.

Then again, I don't want to get addicted to them. They are pretty pricey. Maybe I'll just bat my eye lashes at the hubby and see what that gets me.


P.S. Still working on the make over. If anyone knows how to make super pretty headers and would like to help me out I would greatly appreciate it :-)

Makeover

My blog will be slowly going through a make over starting this week and probably finishing sometime next week.

Bare with me please :-) This could get ugly. But should end beautifully!

I don't understand

I don't understand tanning. And don't think "well you can't knock it till you try it" because I have. I tanned for the 3 proms I went to back in high school. I found it tedious, gross, and overall just unnecessary.

The only positive I got out of it was going during the winter. When it was below 0 out the heat in that tanning bed felt amazing. But not amazing enough to ruin the look of my skin for life.

BUT I'm not here to judge people who tan. It's your life and your skin and if it makes you feel beautiful then by all means have at it.

What urks me is a girl who recently blogged about being sick and tired of being pasty, WHILE PREGNANT. Yea... She wants to tan while she is pregnant. Now in her defense she knows the dangers of tanning beds so she doesn't want to do that. She wants a spray tan.

Now I don't know if spray tanning is safe or not but it doesn't seem like it would be. How can tanning be so important to someone that they feel the need to tan while they are pregnant? Why can't people just feel comfortable with who they are? It's sad really.

I've tanned. I've been au natural. Personally, nothing compares to knowing you are beautiful without anything glopped on.

So I'll be au natural. What you do is up to you but I know you're beautiful without all the extra stuff.

I'm getting antsy

I am 32 weeks pregnant this week. So I've hit my 8 month mark. Idk where this 9 months business came from but knowing it's 10 months long makes 8 months not quite as exciting lol.

I can't wait to meet our baby girl. Every time I see someone with their baby I get really anxious. I wonder who she will look more like, me or Mr. Sykes. Personally, I hope she has a lot of his features. I would love to wake up every day while he is gone to a baby who looks just like him. I know that will make things a lot easier on me. I obviously don't want her to look like a man though lol. I look just like my dad so I'm hoping we follow that trend.

I don't know what else to do to make the time go by faster. I want her to be in there as long as possible so she can be as healthy as possible. I just wish time would go by a little faster!!

Oh and did I mention, D Day got pushed back to mid March now? Let's pretend it'll stay that way for a second so I can say this...JON WILL BE HERE FOR HER BIRTH!!!!

Ok, back to reality.

I Love You Mr. Sykes<3
You too Abigail Yvonne<3

Semper Fi<3

My puppers

I don't know if I have ever introduced you to my puppy. He's our first child really. He's just adopted. Which doesn't make him any less loved! haha.

When I think about how much I love my dog I get really excited to meet our daughter. I know that if I have this much love for our dog then I can't even begin to imagine how she will make me feel. I'm a littler nervous though. I'm clearly the push over out of Mr. Sykes and I. I'm really hoping I can toughen up so she doesn't get on the couch when she isn't supposed to or speaks when she isn't supposed to. JUST KIDDING!!! haha.

But seriously, here is our little man. I Love You Bo<3

I Love You Mr. Sykes<3
You too Abigail Yvonne<3

Semper Fi<3

Online education

Have any of you wonderful ladies done online degrees?

I've taken a semester of online classes at my previous college and I wasn't a huge fan of them. They seemed oriented for older, returning students. That is probably because at my college you had to be a certain age and been away from school for a certain amount of time to even be considered for the online program.

I don't have a choice in finishing my bachelors online. I want to finish my bachelors before my husband is out of the Marine Corps, so by March 2013. If I can do the normal 4 or 5 classes a semester I should have no problem finishing by then. I have my associates already and 2 semesters of classes after that.

Unfortunately I know it's more difficult to take on that many classes when it's online. I'm trying to look at all of my options and get advice to see what the best plan is.

I have looked at a lot of online colleges and colleges that have online degrees and as of right now I think my best option is Kaplan University. They are extremely accommodating to military families. I get 10% off of my tuition and all of my books paid for. They have an advanced start program for people who already have their associates which makes it easier and faster to get your bachelors. Some of the other great features are that you don't have to pay the application fee until you know you are accepted. Theres a 5 week conditional "test drive" of the program. You take your classes just like anyone else but at the 5 week mark of your first semester you can decide that it's not for you and withdrawal completely from the university without any financial obligation other than your application fee.

The classes are 10 weeks long and Monday-Thursday with a 1 hour a week seminar where you have to be online with your entire class and teacher. Other than that 1 hour you are free to log on and off whenever you want and your only obligation is to do your work and hand it in.

The University is quarterly instead of using semesters so you can apply every month and can apply 2 months in advance before starting. I really like this feature because I can really start when it's convenient for me.

With the 10% discount I would be paying $371 per credit hour. That is before applying for scholarships or financial aid.

The advisor I talked to was absolutely wonderful. He didn't pressure me into attending and was really all about having it be about me and my time. He was extremely helpful and informative and made it feel like  this really might be a great place for me to finish my bachelor degree.

I want to know from people who have taken online classes if this sounds better or worse than your experience, how many classes you would recommend taking at one time, and how much your college charged before scholarships and all of that.

Also any other advice or info would be great!

Thanks!!

2nd post of the night

I just need to vent a little and relieve some stress. Feel free to exit now I won't be mad lol.

My love is on an hst tonight until 9ish. As much as I hate hsts it's really just a lovely preparation for next week. He will have to stay on base for bsts or something like that from early Monday morning until Friday sometime. Then after the 96 he will MIGHT have to go to Cherry Point for the last week of January too. First they told him he could stay home and just drive there when he needed to be there but I guess now it's up in the air again.Ugh. We haven't been apart in a while and I just let myself get used to it. Bad move.

I know that I am extremely lucky that my husband doesn't have to go to California for pre-deployment training like most of your husbands or boyfriends do. I am very thankful for that.

I'm just really nervous about being home alone right now. I'm concerned about the baby first off. He will be missing 2 growth scans and I'm really nervous that something might happen while he's gone that requires me to be in the hospital or heaven forbid actually have to have the c-section.

Another thing that concerns me is a relapse of my kidney stones. If I get that pain again there is no way I will be able to bring myself to the hospital. I also don't know if I would want to go to the hospital considering all I had to do was wait to pass them. BUT if they were wrong and it's not stones then I don't know what I would do.

I really can't wait for Mr. Sykes to be out of the military. I really don't handle inconsistency all that well lol. Those of you who read this know that I stress way too much and think about things way more than I should.

I can't wait to just be able to relax and know my husbands work hours and know that he will be with me every night. I wont have to worry about when they will send him away and for how long. Oh dreams.

Just a little bit longer, hold it together girl.

I Love You Mr. Sykes<3
You too Abigail Yvonne<3

Semper Fi<3

There is hope

We had another doctors appointment today. We found out that there may be, just slightly, a little tiny bit of hope that Mr. Sykes will be with me for the birth of our baby girl!

I say a small chance because there have been new circumstances. Our little girl is in breech position, meaning her head is up and her feetsies are down. Since I have a smaller than average uterus because of the  second one taking up some space, the doctor doesn't think that there is enough room for her to rotate herself. She said that she expects to schedule a c-section prior to my due date.

This is where the hope comes in. Jon will be leaving the week I am 37 weeks pregnant. That gives us a chance since the c-section will be most likely needed anywhere between 34-36 weeks, average.

We will be having weekly growth scans to monitor the baby's growth and room in the uterus. Hopefully we will know more soon as to a date of the c-section.

I am not getting my hopes up though. I'm just letting God know that even if she has to come the day before her daddy leaves I will be extremely grateful.

I have to admit I knew she was breech though. Her favorite thing to do is round house kick my bladder. Really can't wait for that to be done with!

Please put some positive thoughts out there for us. This would be an amazing going away gift to our family and especially my husband.


I Love You Mr. Sykes<3
You too Abigail Yvonne<3

I love my husband

I just wanted everyone to know how much I love my husband.

Mr. Sykes isn't always the most open or emotional person to walk the earth. It's been a struggle but he has improved so much and I am so thankful for his efforts to make me happy.

I realize I didn't marry a woman and therefore I shouldn't expect this emotional out pour all the time. I get that now. It's actually better because now when he does show his emotions it's extremely special.

Key example is my husband's status the other day. "Just found out 6 weeks. Bittersweet. The sooner I leave the sooner I get back to my girls."


I immediately teared up. I've had it in my head that he isn't as excited about having a baby girl as he would be about having a little boy. This status just made me realize how stupid I've been. I have the most amazing husband in the world.

He's my other half, my dream come true, and the most supportive and amazing man I've ever met. I'm so lucky to have him and Abigail is extremely lucky to be getting him as her daddy.

I'm officially ready for this deployment. Bring it on. I promise it will only make us stronger. We have our plans set and our daughter on the way. It will be hard, but not impossible.

News

So we got a D date today. Surprisingly I'm not freaking out, or crying hysterically either. I'm just kind of in preparation mode.

I was going through Abigail's clothes, reorganizing them once again, when he told me. All I'll say is that he will definitely miss the birth. So naturally I was a little bummed, but it's not like we haven't figured this would happen.

I just kept folding and thinking of all of the things he needs to get done before he leaves. We just went to Lowe's yesterday to get spackle and paint to fix all those little nail holes we put in the walls hanging pictures, or tearing down a desk all by myself and slightly damaging a wall. I don't really want to live in an empty house so I think I will just have him take down the pictures I can't reach. But I also have to learn to spackle so I might just have him take them all down and do it all so I don't have to worry about it.

We also need to clean out the spare room and office so that we can get those carpets cleaned and close them off so we don't have to worry about them.

We still have a couple things we need to sell since we don't want them anymore and would rather sell them instead of storing them.

Speaking of storing, that's another thing we need to do. Jon has to get all of his big stuff in the storage unit. I will be moving most of it in there but things like his super heavy tool box or things that we can get out of the house so that I have less to move would help.

Blah. So much to do to get ready for this deployment, the baby's birth, and then my wonderful move to NY. Life is super grand right now. lol.