22 Weeks

How Far: 

22 weeks 

Baby Cain is the size of a spaghetti squash. 

(I am actually a week behind. So today I am 23 weeks.) 

This week on May 21st, Coach and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. Being married is my absolute. favorite. part of life (so far.) In four years I feel like we have conquered the world. I mean, 4 years, two jobs, three houses, some dreams came true, and now a sweet little Baby Cain. We celebrated with a day of school, then a doctor's appointment to see our sweet little babe. 

At our 18 week appointment we had our anatomy scan. Everything was perfect, but it was in the morning. After my daily 1/2 Spark, Baby Cain was very Carley and the doctor could SEE the heart perfectly, but we just couldn't capture the perfect picture for our file. So being the amazing doctor she is, she ordered another ultrasound for four weeks later. Everyone loves seeing their babies! So it happened to fall on our anniversary. Best anniversary ever. No worries, Baby Cain has a beautiful heart and was SO much bigger! We saw some VERY large feet. I was thinking it when I saw them, and the doctor confirmed. Large feet= fine with me... Just puhleasssseeeeee have your mama's head circumference! 

Everything was wonderful with the doctor as well. All labs look good. I was nervous about my weight gain, but she told me it was fine and not to worry one bit. I did however decide to kick the brownie habit. I also gutted our pantry of all junk. Back to the real world!

This weekend was perfect. It was filled with family and friends. Saturday morning I spent the morning with my mom walking around the mall that I miss so much. I also bought some much needed new makeup. Saturday night we attended a friend's beautiful wedding. It was nice catching up with some friends that I haven't seen since high school. 9 years ago. Then we made it to the last two sets of the Swingin' Medallions concert so Baby Cain could attend their first SM concert in Athens. Your MIL may be a Fan aka groupie if you walk in and the band says: Baby Cain is here! haha. First concert as well as first stage appearance. Sunday was spent by the pool and Monday we came home. 

Perfect weekend. 

How I Feel: 

Round ligament pain is here. Back pain is here. Both are very manageable and nothing to get worked up about. Stretching helps. Yoga helps. Believe it or not, running helps too. Hormones are my biggest symptom. I could cry... and cry some more. Then punch people. I try to keep that under control. 

Other than that, I feel great. Summer is officially here, and although I am a nervous wreck about not working summer school, it is nice getting stuff done around here in the morning, and then hitting the pool and sunshine in the afternoon. 

Maternity Clothing: 

Yes. Yes. Yes. 

Cravings: 

Haha. This is funny. 

I would eat JUNK all day. BUTTTTT..... I don't. However, I did have Mexican twice. It was SOO. GOOD. Also, while we were by the pool I just wanted something sweet, cool, and not junk. Well, I ended up eating a ton of pineapple and peppers. I think all weekend I had about 7 plates like this. I guess it is better than brownies! 

Nursery: 

We weren't home very much this week so no progress was made. 

But we finally have the chair finished and some time can be spent in there now. 

Sweet Baby Dub: 

Dub lays his head on my lap usually when we are in the bed or on the couch. Poor brother was kicked in the head and was NOT TOO sure about it at all. It really freaked him out. So naturally... we laughed our heads off. 

21 Weeks

How Far: 

21 weeks. 

Baby Cain is the size of a banana. Wouldn't some banana bread be delish? That's what I think about these days. All the time. 

How I Feel: 

My back is starting to hurt. I am going to get a massage when school is out. I am also going to get the OK from my doctor. Yoga would help for sure, so this is motivation to do it. This weekend I felt... huge. I legit was uncomfortable. I have 19 weeks of more huge-ness so I only complained to Coach. In fact, I cried. Then I cried some more. I quote, "I am going to sit at the hospital for 19 weeks." Coach: "Yes! That is a wonderful idea! That will make you so much more comfortable!" 

He's so helpful. 

I also struggled this week with my ummm... brain. 

Somehow I paid my car payment three times. Yes. THREE. TIMES. 

Number one customer here! 

Coach would like to think it is pregnancy brain, but for the record... no. I have always been like this. 

I also cannot find my keys. I have had to use my extra set. 

Again: struggle. 

I woke Brandon up Friday because I couldn't stop thinking about getting an IV. I think it is known that I really really really want a natural childbirth. Reason: I have never had pain medicine before. I have also never had an IV. I know I will get an IV no matter what, but I am starting to worry about it. 

I am also worrying more and more about Baby Cain being lactose intolerant. 

I blame hormones. 

I will end by saying: I really feel great. Sunday I wore a new favorite dress. I will be wearing it to the three weddings and graduation we have this summer. I felt pretty in it. It may have been the leopard wedges I wore. (to church only.) 

Baby Cain finished a 5k with a great group of running friends. It was a Glow Run on Friday night. I was worried because I have been running in the morning to avoid the heat. However, the weather was perfect! I was also kinda worried that I would have to walk some. There is nothing wrong with walking at all, I just... like to run.  It was a bit different running in the dark! Our group had fun, and I look really pregnant from the side!! 

Maternity Clothing: 

Everything. I don't even pretend to try to wear real things now that it is hot. 

I did research for some maternity running shorts: $54 a pop. Nope. 

Cravings: 

Not having to cook. I eat dinners I don't have to cook. Other than that... eeehhhh. Somehow I have to convince my in-laws to do Mexican this weekend. It will be nearly impossible I am sure... but some good ole' Jefferson Mexican will be wonderful. 

Nursery: 

The chair was in a million pieces. So... a million words were said. 

Baby Cain, I am sorry that we will never be able to assemble any of your toys. Ever. We promise to teach you how to run, break down film, and hit a curve ball.... but we cannot put your toys together. 

I also ordered the. absolute. perfect. pillow. 

No worries, just for decor. But... I Baby Cain had to have it. 

Ohhhhh.... and Sweet Sweet Daddy FINALLY decided to put some input into the nursery. He requested we hang this Bible verse on the wall: 

Proverbs 23:13

He's so serious. 

Sweet Baby Dub: 

Just being #DogNamedDub

Why I Can't Be a Stay at Home Mom

This post has been on my heart for years. It wasn't until a few months ago that the thoughts became a reality when I actually became pregnant. So the birth of this post was in the works. (Slight pun intended.)

Please know that these are MY thoughts and only MY opinions. I have MANY amazing, breath-taking friends that are role models to me in all their mommy ways. I have some of the most Godly friends ever, and I strive to love like them daily. They are some of the most jam up amazing stay at home moms in the world. And hey... I was raised by one of the best SAHMs ever.

This post is why I, personally, intend to go back to work after the birth of our child(ren). I know it will be a very unpopular post. I am OK with everyone not agreeing with my feelings. I just ask that you respect my opinion and don't email me with an anonymous comment that is full of hate. Just hear me out.

I fully understand that it is nearly impossible to make opinions and claim strong feelings on such a topic while Baby Cain is still inside of me and going to work with me daily. I 100% KNOW that it will be nearly impossible to send my sweet baby to someone else for the first time when that time comes. I have chills thinking about how that time will be here before I know it. The reason for this post in writing so early in the process is because I KNOW I will need to reflect on my feelings when that time comes. I KNOW I will need to remember the WHY.

I should also say that these current feelings and opinions would without a doubt change in an instant for any medical reason, or any reason at all that meant Baby Cain (one, two, three, or twenty three) absolutely needed me full time.

Here are my feelings on why I intend to go back to work.

First of all, let's completely remove finances from the topic. Would it be very hard to raise a family, run a household, and live exactly (or better) than we do now on one income? Yes.  However, I KNOW it can be done with discipline. Without a doubt it can be done and is done by so many people I know and love. They are all rock stars and truly amazing in my eyes. With this being said, I will remove this from the equation. Finances are not an issue, and absolutely NOT the reason for this post. So again, finances are not the reason.

I am a teacher. When I went to kindergarten, I fell in love with school. Kindergarten was my first ever school experience because my mom was a SAHM. I loved school. When I went to third grade, I fell in love with teaching. My teacher was the absolute best. I remember it like it was yesterday. She said, "I will teach you how to multiply, and you won't even know you're multiplying." That year I mastered my multiplication facts without even trying. She was the absolute best. I don't see a watermelon without thinking of her still to this day. (This was her fave and classroom theme.)

I have always loved school. I have been the kid that hates to miss school, and would be there every single day. I would NEVER sleep the night before the first day, and I look forward to returning from Christmas break. When I was in middle school I remember thinking, "How can I go to school forever?" Coach would say that I have done pretty pretty darn good at this... I know he feels like he is always editing my papers. Ha!

Here is a little background knowledge: Now to jump to my late high school and early college years and enter the love of making money. (Promise to keep finances out of this... hear me out.) I have always had a job. Working concession stands, umpiring, babysitting, camp counselor, Kitchen Collection, JCrew, afterschool, working for a mechanic, and then finally, teaching. I have always worked. Always. When we first started dating Coach would be all like, "We can never go out on a date because you are always working!" Many many times he would pick me up from Kitchen Collection to go out to eat. He would even pick up a few umpiring games so we could hang out together at the field. (Has anything changed?) I have always worked.


Now I know 100% that I am exactly where I need to be. I am where God wants me to be. I am fulfilling my calling and using the talents He gave me in the classroom. I was made to be a teacher.

I am going to return to my classroom in November because I NEED to know that I am using my God given talents. I NEED to feel the accomplishments of student's growing and learning. I thrive to see student growth in data. I just need that feeling of accomplishment to be who I am. I run off of success. I am kinda guilty of thriving off of seeing others be successful.

One of my (many) favorite parts of my marriage is that we are both in the education field. That is who makes Coach and Carley... Coach and Carley. I know when I need a push, or a pat on the back.. my husband gets it. I NEED to keep this connection. Many of my friends are also in the same field. We have a bond that is formed from our classrooms. I NEED to keep this connection. I NEED to be Carley. I absolutely cannot wait to be Mommy. I pray daily that I never EVER forget who Carley is. I fear forgetting who you are is the reason behind so many problems today. (No way/ no how saying all SAHMs forget who they are...) My point is that Carley thrives on being a part of many things, being a part of success and growth. Carley needs that.

Tonight at dinner we were discussing our philosophy on teaching. (Do normal marriages do this?) My philosophy is that I have an active role in growing our society's future. I want to make sure we give children an education that will help them grow into leaders. Our society SO SO SO needs some strong active members! I want to be part of that growth! In my classroom I know I have a part.

Just the other day I told Coach I was hanging on by a thread and I was going to take a day off. He laughed and said, "Ha! That isn't you! You'll go!" I went. Even on the most stressful days, I personally NEED my classroom. I should probably note that I am posting this at the end of the school year. Every teacher, administrator, and student is a wee bit frazzled. The end is near. The much needed break from academics is just what we all need to come back refreshed and ready for another year of growth.

Now, let's add the other part of my job: Being Coach's wife, and being a coach myself.

Remember when I said I love seeing others being successful? I can't put into words the feeling I get when I see a kid run across the finish line and check their arms where they will find their personal best time and then check the clock... and when it hits that they just KILLED a PR. Gah. Favorite. Feeling. EVER!! Or when a girl makes a lay-up on a fast break and puts our team up by one with a minute left to go in a game. OR EVEN BETTER..... when I watch my husband on the field fulfilling HIS dreams. Being a part of these moments... well.... best. part. of. my. job. If I leave coaching, I will miss. miss. miss. miss these feelings. I NEED these feelings. I NEED to see this growth and success of others.

Our busy schedules are prayed about daily. We pray we never do too much that it keeps us from being 100%. I pray that Baby Cain grows up seeing us working hard and giving our 100%. I pray that Baby Cain sees Mommy and Daddy using the talents God gave is in a positive way. I pray we pass the drive to want to work on to Baby Cain.

I live by this: "Be strong and courageous; for your work will be rewarded." 

The final word: 

Be where God wants you to be to glorify HIM. That is different for so many people. Not one person should judge you for where you feel this place is. Just whatever you do, do it 100%!

Romans 12:6-8 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.
1 Peter 4:10-11  Each of you has received a gift to use to serve others. Be good servants of God’s various gifts of grace. 

source: http://biblereasons.com/talents/

Love love, 

C^2 

20 Weeks

How Far: 

20 Weeks. 

Baby Cain is the size of a mango. A sweet, sweet mango.

I made a BIG check on the pregnancy goal list this week. I ran my way through the first half of pregnancy. Despite the "Good luck with that!" and the "I wanted to be active too... but I didn't. You won't either!" and the "Just wait... You'll give that up!" I made it. Now I just get the "Is that safe?" and "Are you harming your baby?" and my favorite, "Your baby will come out crazy like you!"

Thanks. Thanks for the motivation. 

Pictures are a bit different this week. I wanted to celebrate being at the half way mark of meeting sweet Baby Cain. Plus, this was a super amazing week with lots of details that need to be remembered. 

How I Feel: 

I'm still feeling 100% awesome. Just for the record: My lower back started hurting some this week. I usually HATE pillows. (Who am I?) This causes me to kick my pregnancy pillow in the floor. Well, now they thing is a must have. I think it helps my back. We also spent 2 nights away from home in a different bed and I don't think that helped. I just really love my bed. 

Some good yoga helped my back and now I am back to feeling great. (Motivation to keep up the yoga goals.) It is also getting HOTTTTTTT here in the south. My car said 97*. It kinda has me worried about how I will make it through June, July, August, and praying to make it til the end of September. Thankfully I have a pool friend with a pool. ;) 

I believe I can officially say: I. Have. Lost. My. Mind. 

This week I was really motivated. 

I made some lists. 

First, I made a list of all the supplies I want to be sure to have on our registry. I also wrote brands that I have spent some time researching. (Hours of research.) 

Then, my list making needs were not fulfilled. So... I made some more. 

I made a list of what I want in my hospital bag. 

Coach's hospital bag. 

Baby Cain's hospital bag. 

Reasoning: 

I hate packing a bag in advance and then needing something from that bag. To avoid this situation I plan to purchase extras/ travel size things to go in these bags. That way I can have the bags in the car and not NEED anything while they wait to be needed. Type A, much? I also needed to make the budget work to buy said things.... ah the envelope system. 

I feel crazy when I put my reasoning into words. 

not done yet.... 

Then I prepared a list of names and numbers to give my BFF for when I go to the hospital in case it is needed. Let's face the facts: I pray for a natural delivery. My husband is a coach. He could be coaching when I go into labor. My family lives 4 hours away from the hospital. A list needed to be made. 

Again... crazy. 

Maternity Clothing: 

Yup. Yup. Yup. 

I still wear my old shoes.. ha. 

This is my favorite dress, with my favorite shoes. On my favorite day.

Cravings: 

Just food. I sure do love food. 

Nursery: 

The perfect chair is here. I will be having my daily reading time in this chair. To ease all the nerves: We decided on a rocker... that can turn into a normal chair. We both win. 

I also booked Baby Cain's newborn pictures. For those that think this is too soon: The photographer that I fell in love with only books 4 sessions a month to remain flexible for due dates. We grabbed the last opening for September. So now I sleep better at night knowing the perfect photographer will be making precious memories of our newborn babe. Priorities folks. 

Sweet Baby Dub: 

He officially became the perfect dog this week. He is 100% in his own bed and I LOVE IT! I'll just wait for my diamonds, Coach. 

This weekend was Mother's Day. I have never felt more loved and excited to be a mother. My sweet friend sent me my first ever Mother's Day card in the mail. After the tears I thanked God for our friendship, the road that brought us together, and then again for the path that we are now on.I love you, Crystal!  God is so good. 

Then the weekend became even more perfect with the time with family on the lake, by the pool, a service at Southside, and then lunch with family. Baby Cain was given lots and lots of love. 

Coach also gave me my first ever Mother's Day gift. It was perfect. I fell more in love with him when he said, "You need one. Yours is full of writing." Ha. Yes. So true. 

Gah, I can't wait. Absolutely cannot wait.

We are also reading this:

It's amazing. I am going to make a post all about this plan soon. 

19 Weeks

How Far: 

19 weeks. 

Baby Cain is the size of a large tomato. 

How I Feel: 

I feel great. Rolling over in the bed is a struggle. I miss sleeping on my stomach. I feel like all I do is move from side to side. My favorite place to sleep is on the couch. I am taking daily afternoon naps. Weekend naps are around 3 hours. Bring on the "Sleep while you can!" comments. 

Running is still happening, but I do it in the afternoons more than in the mornings. I should gt back to morning runs. I have an amazing running group to run with in the mornings. Plus, when summer comes, my runs will have to be early to avoid the deadly heat. So my goal this week is to run in the morning. 

Baby Cain is on the move. I feel the most movement after a run, after a brownie, after a spark, when drinking lemonade, and at church with the loud music. In fact, the music was prettttyyyyyy bumpin' Sunday and we had a major kick... so hard I almost wet my pants. 

We can't feel anything from the outside yet. I am super excited about this. So far the only involvement Coach has experienced in this pregnancy is the fetching of the lemon water... 

1/2  of a Spark in the morning and 1/2 in the afternoon is just what we need to make it...

Maternity Clothing: 

Pants. Love them. 

Dresses love them. 

I purchased my first pair of pants and probably my only pair of pants that I'll buy. I just needed some white pants for the summer. 

Cravings: 

Food. Brownies are still a daily thing. I also get Hangry rather quickly. Just ask Coach. 

Nursery: 

Nothing new to report here. I have some ideas going, I will probably act on them in June. The big goal is to have the majority done by mid July. I am just talking about the BIG things. This week I need to call the company doing the bedding and confirm the pieces I want. I am being kinda difficult because I won't be using a bumper pad. I also can't decide on a quilt or not. I'm telling ya.... decisions decisions. 

Oh, and I found the PERFECT photographer. I am SOOOO excited about that. We will only be booking a newborn session. She is perfect. I can't wait. Don't think I didn't swing the birthing photo session by Coach. He said no. Then I never mentioned it again. The ONLY thing he has been firm about is the hospital trip. Everything else he has been alllll.... Whatever you think. Not this. So I'll let him have it. And I'll teach him to use my camera. 

Sweet Baby Dub: 

Well, with me growing and moving all night.. and my huge pillow... Dub has been kicked out of our bed. This is HUGE for him. He was NOT happy. So Dub had his first ever night in his own bed. He did great.... 

Sorta. 

This week was a great week. The school week was awesome. The weekend was perfect. Although the baseball coach in our house was a HUGE grump... a day at the beach finally put a smile on his face. It was an amazing weekend with friends and salt water. While sitting on the beach we looked at all the kids and discussed parenting. I am sorry Baby Cain, if you are a girl you'll be wearing a turtle neck to the beach, and if you are a boy you will forever have a short, clean hair cut. You'll be raised on 90s hip hop, you'll have an amazing knowledge of random movies, and you'll probably hide your face when your father starts dancing. He will be at your prom, (where you'll be wearing jeans because those dresses are way tooooo expensive (his words). Bless you if you even think about dating before you're 20. He doesn't get worked up about much.... but some things.... Oh, and someone PLEASE ask him what Baby Cain's first Halloween costume will be.... We argued about this for 30 minutes. 

I am reading this book. I am going to finish it today then re-read to make many notes. It is perfect. I am ordering a few to give as gifts. 

Prayer: 

Thanks to the book I am now praying for God's will. We may joke that we want Baby Cain to be active in sports. We may joke that we want you to be a bookworm, 360lb lineman, or a baseball player that bats 1000. Really, we pray that you live a life to fulfill God's plan that He has for you.