Happy 4th Birthday, Benzie Boy!

OK, OK so it's been a bit since I last posted but all of you out there can surely forgive me, seeing that we were planning for Benz's birthday party, his real birthday and Christmas. I think I must have wrapped 100+ gifts the other night. It only took me a little over 2 hours! Benz had his 4th birthday party at a local place called JJ Jump. It is a large warehouse that houses about 8 inflatable houses/slides or "Space Walks" like we call them down South. He was lucky to have lots of friends and family who gathered to spend the special day with him and the rest of those who care about him (but live many miles away) were there in spirit. Good food, good friends and great cupcakes made for a super fun day! I'm not sure who had more fun, Matt or Benz! They both jumped until they dropped:)

Not much other news for the Brawley Bunch...feeling OK as I move into my second trimester of pregnancy. Only 40 more days until we find out if we're welcoming a baby girl or another boy into our family (not that anyone's counting)! Benz continues to amaze me each day at just how well he seems to comprehend that I am growing his younger sibling inside of me. I am blessed at how sensitive and sweet he is. Every morning he greets us with "Good morning, Mama" and then "Good morning baby." He ends his night with "I love you Mama" and then "I love you too baby." And he'll run over and hug my tummy and kiss it randomly throughout the day. And all of this without any prompting! He keeps telling us how badly he wants the baby to be a boy and I keep telling him "we'll see!"

Kids (like Benz) Say the Darndest Things!

Cute comment #1: Matt came home a bit early tonight and took Benz & I out shopping and then to TCBY for 99 cents waffle cone Wednesday (a dream come true for a pregnant woman):) It was nice to get out of the house for such a simple family outing. Matt dropped me off at my beloved Ross Dress for Less and took Benz to Big Lots with him. I made Matt promise not to buy any toys for Benz on this trip, as we have a birthday and Christmas just around the corner! I was able to pick out a cute maternity outfit and was standing in line when my boys came through the store's front doors. Benz came running up to me with open arms. I gave him a beloved bear hug and he put out his tiny closed hand, as if to ask me to open it. So I peeled back his fingers and there was a cheap silver band inside one of those tiny plastic bubbles that you get out of the 25 cent machines. My first thought was: "we better find the nearest trash can as most of these cheap pieces of jewelry are made in China and are laden with lead." But Benz took it out of its container, looked up at me and said "Mama, you marry me?" My heart melted and before I could reply to such a sweet and innocent thought, he slipped the band onto my pinkie finger and just smiled right back at me!! What a memory!

Cute comment #2: a few minutes later we sat down in TCBY to eat our frozen yogurt. Benz seemed to be devouring it more quickly than normal and Matt asked him if he wanted to be fat. Benz pondered the question for a moment and then replied in so many words: "Yes, please, like Santa!"

Twice Blessed....

So it's been a while since I last blogged and lots has happened since my last post. Thanksgiving Day at our house was a huge success! We only had 8 people total but it was nice for us all to be able to gather around the table and eat together. My very first turkey turned out to be moist and delicious; what a relief! Believe it or not, I was so stressed I could barely sleep the night before:) We broke the big news to Aunt Pat, Uncle Steve & Kyle; Aunt Pat was super excited to have another little one running around at future family gatherings.

This past weekend, Benz helped me to put up and decorate our artificial Christmas tree. There were Christmas carols playing in the background and snow was falling on Saturday morning as we "decked the halls." It really put us in the Christmas mood! We've been reading Christmas stories, making a list for Santa and singing "Frosty the Snowman" every night before he falls asleep. My sweet Benz "stops to smell the roses" in life and took a moment to look at the tree once it was all decorated and said "Pretty, Mommy. Thank you Mommy Christmas tree." It is so touching for him to point out the small things in life that he appreciates! (He similarly thanked his Grandpa Brawley for putting up Christmas lights outside of their house). We sent out our annual Christmas card photos this week, only this year we announced our big news to the remaining family & friends by saying "With love, Matt, Melanie, Benz and Baby Brawley...coming June 2008."

Today was my first appointment with my doctor; she was able to find baby's heartbeat, which I put into the video above. The heartbeat was 166 beats/minute and for those that don't know, there's a theory that anything above a 140 is conducive of a female:) We don't want to get our hopes up....so we'll see! I also had an ultrasound and was able to see the baby moving its' arms and legs...it was so amazing! I truly feel blessed to have two children in my life and a loving husband who is very excited about this pregnancy. Today made everything feel much more real and official for us both. We'll all have to wait and see if I'll be on the hunt for pink or blue...the magic date is January 31st. Not sure if I can wait that long, but it is something to look forward to!!

Benz, the nurse...

So I'm sad to report that I did, in fact, lose my breakfast this morning. I was feeling great last night so I decided to meet my BFF, Traci, for dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory. Big mistake because I think the starchy food threw me over the edge. I went to bed feeling horrible, praying that it would digest and I would wake up feeling like a new woman. No such luck. After hugging the ceramic thrown for a while, you could not peel me off of our couch for the rest of the day. I lay there listless and just downright sick to my stomach for hours upon hours. Benz started to wonder what was wrong, and came up and laid down beside me on the couch. He rolled over and said: "Mommy owie?" And I said, "Yes, Benz. Sometimes when Mommies have babies in their tummies, it makes them feel kind of sick." You could see the wheels spinning in his head. He seemed to accept the explanation and then jumped up and began to massage my tummy. Before I knew it, he had picked up my ginger ale and was putting the straw to my lips! After taking a few sips, he carefully set it back down and picked up a Saltine cracker. With the best of intentions, he kind of forced it into my mouth, but the thought was so cute, even if half of it ended up in a pile of crumbs on the floor:) Then he ran over to Matt with a book I had bought for him called "Baby on the Way." He frantically searched for a page until he came to the part where the Mommy was feeling sick to her stomach and the author suggests that the child help Mommy by getting her crackers, fizzy water and staying real quiet. I hope this is the last time I get so violently ill over the course of the next 6 1/2 months, but if it happens again, I have the best (almost) 4-year old caretaker a person could wish for!

Eating for two...buffet anyone?

Well, the first trimester has officially hit me. First, let me tell you how this is different than what I experienced with Benz in utero. I felt tired for the first few months with him, but with no cravings and no morning sickness, UNTIL around month four when I would lose my cookies on a regular basis. The second time around, I'm feeling oh so different. As soon as I got back from our trip to the East Coast some strange symptoms emerged. I am super tired; perhaps I was run down from making the cross-country voyage or perhaps it has a lot to do with chasing after a 4 year old and working part-time. All the energy I had a few weeks ago when I was reorganizing the entire house, is long gone. Picture someone sticking a needle in your arm and sucking out all of the energy you had stored away inside; I'm sure there are other moms out there that can relate. I could stay in bed all day if you'd let me.

The second change I've had to deal with is appetite. I barely have one at all. I feel dizzy in the morning until I eat something; but when I sit down with a light breakfast, I feel as if I've gorged at a buffet only after the first bite! I can't seem to knock this sensation of feeling so full that I'm sick to my stomach, almost as if every day was Thanksgiving. We all know that yucky feeling when our stomachs are screaming "too much food!" So on a positive note, I guess it's better than the flip side of stuffing my face and never feeling full, but I've got to assure you this is not much fun. Especially since I consciously know I have to eat 3 square meals a day to provide proper nutrition for this little one growing inside of me.

Other than the above complaints (which I'm sure are more common than I'd like to admit), all is going well. I think Matt & I are still getting used to the idea of me being pregnant. Since I haven't yet had my first appointment, it doesn't seem 100% real yet. On December 4th, we'll get to hear this angel's heartbeat as well as meet with the doctor to come up with a birth plan. Funny thing about that, the new doctor I will be seeing is from New Orleans! I don't know her whole story as of yet, but she received her M.D. from LSU Medical Center in good 'ole NOLA. So it'll be a fun conversation to have with her, I'm sure.

Lots of fun things coming up in the life of the Brawleys. We're hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year, the first time in our married life. If I were you, I'd pray that this turkey is edible, as it's my very first attempt! We plan to tell my mother-in-law's family about our newest addition on turkey day. Then Benz will celebrate his 4th birthday at JJ Jump (a big warehouse with inflatable jumping houses or space walks to some of us) on Dec. 15th. That's when we'll officially announce this pregnancy to the rest of our family, friends & co-workers. Then look out for our annual Christmas picture card, which will deliver the good news to any other family or friends whom the big news has not yet reached. May we all take time to thank God for our blessings this year; Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

Tricks, Treats, Pilots & Babies....

Happy Halloween! Benz visited his Great-Grandma Paulhus (92) today and she got such a kick out of his pilot costume as well as the suitcase he was dragging behind him to hold all of his candy. [By the way, Benz's costume was such a big hit while we were trick or treating tonight, that we actually had one guy whose house we went to tell us to wait at his front door for a minute. We assumed he was going to grab the candy bowl but came back with a camera and snapped a pic of Benz all decked out. He explained that he was a pilot himself and couldn't wait to show all of his colleagues! First time I've ever exchanged a photo for a Butterfinger!] My Grandma P. hasn't seen Benz since he was toddling around at the age of 11 months and now he's almost 4! She must have said "Is he cute or what?" and "he's just sooooo cute" like 100 times! It was pretty darn cute. She was so excited when I told her that we were expecting another one, that she started crying and saying "how bout that!" And she must have mentioned at least 10 times how much she hopes that it is a little girl. No pressure for me or anything!!! She loved it when I told her that I was due on June 24, which was her and my late Grandpa's wedding anniversary. We also told Aunt Lucille and Uncle Gerald that they would have another great niece or nephew and they too, were happy to hear the news. So now all of the key players have been informed of our exciting info and I can finally rest easy, even though the fun has just begun!!!

It's over but it's only just begun!

So to catch you up....I've been on a rampage to get our life organized. I've reorganized the kitchen, sorted our pics & mementos, and donated over 10 garbage bags full of STUFF to Goodwill last week. I was like a maniac on a mission, probably working harder than I should have and overexerting myself, all for the hopes of less worry and better sleep at night. But no such luck...I've still barely been sleeping averaging 5.5-6 hours per night (as compared to my normal 8 hours). Could it be the anxiety of being pregnant or raging hormones? Not to mention the fact that I had to get everything packed and ready to go for our trip to Rhode Island. Other than the above sleeping issues and some dizzy spells here and there, I've been feeling well and enjoying my pregnancy thus far.

And perhaps my anxiety was in part due to the fact that I was keeping this new addition a secret from my parents for almost two weeks! Every time I talk to them on the phone I nearly spill the beans. Some topic comes up that makes me carefully screen every answer. So I was glad and relieved to finally tell them EVERYTHING and congratulate them on becoming grandparents....again! [On a side note: Benz and I headed out early this morning for our trip to Providence, RI via Detroit. On our last leg, we told the flight attendant that Benz was dressing up as an airplane pilot for Halloween and she was tickled to death. She gave us a seat-belt to take home? and also arranged for Benz to meet the captain at the end of our flight. So I'm proud to say that Benz got to do what most kids only dream about....climb into the captain's chair and play with all of the buttons in the cockpit. He was in his glory!] Benz was wearing his new "I'm gonna be a big brother" shirt when my mom first saw him at the airport. It took her a minute to read the shirt and when she did, she looked at me and said: "is this for real??!!!" We told her yes and Benz said he was a "big brudder" and she was smiling and hugging us! My dad came in a few minutes later and he read the shirt (upon being prompted) and was very happy as well. As he walked away to the bathroom, we heard him say "Holy Cripe!" My mom and I stayed up tonight talking about how I was feeling, when & how we found out, and lots of other things baby related. I think we were all on cloud 9 and beyond exhausted! And don't tell Matt, but we stopped by Papa John's tonight to pick up pineapple pizza, giving in to one of my main cravings! It's not allowed at our house since it's a direct competitor of Papa Murphy's...but man was it DELICIOUS!

New Orleans....proud to call it home!

You can find New Orleans on a map bordered by the 17th Street Canal, Lake Ponchartrain, the mighty Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico.

You will also find New Orleans in the hearts of the Louisiana people and those around the world who have experienced it....Jazz, Mardi Gras, the French Quarter, Creole and Cajun cuisine.

But my New Orleans is more. It is bigger. The Big Easy goes beyond the borderlines of this great city. It is always a part of me wherever I go.

My New Orleans goes north up the Mississippi River to Natchez, strung together by mighty oak trees, Spanish Moss and a path of majestic plantation homes from an era gone by.

My New Orleans goes east where my family vacationed on the sandy beaches of Waveland, Gulfport & Biloxi.

My New Orleans goes south through the bayous and swamps, where as a young girl my father took me fishing, down the Mississippi Delta.

My New Orleans gets its spice from the west through Baton Rouge and to the heart of Acadiana.

My New Orleans is like a good gumbo with all of the necessary ingredients to make a recipe ric in culture. A gumbo that is stirred by people whose Southern hospitality welcomes each ingredient to melt into the other, to give it the flavor of something you will always take with you wherever you go. Our bloodline flows beyond the borders of this great city. Once you taste it...ya'll will know what it means to love New Orleans.

an excerpt from Ann Dale, www.iknowwhatitmeans.com

Is 9 months really enough time to get EVERTHING done?

Not sure if anyone out there can relate to my sentiments but I was up yet again last night with tons of random things running through my head. I was so anxious and overwhelmed at the thought of all of the things I need (or would like) to get done around the house before this next baby arrives...move stuff to the attic, clean out the garage, finish Benz and our wedding scrapbooks and SO much more! Most pregnant women can't wait for the 9 months to be over and it just seems to drag by each day, and I'm sure I'll get to that point again soon. But for now, I have the reoccuring fantasy that if a genie in a bottle would come and grant me one wish it would be for this: to stop time around me for about a month. That way I'd be able to go about getting everything done without having to stop to sleep, eat, take Benz to school or go grocery shopping. I could just focus on finishing up all of my incomplete projects and feel AOK about bringing another family member into the mix of our oh so busy life! I think 30 days of uniterrupted time would just about do it. So if you know of a genie you'd be willing to send my way, I'd be forever in your debt:)

In the meantime, I decided to take it into my own hands and do one project each day. Although today I was highly motivated, so when Matt took Benz to a Blazer game, this was the perfect chance for me to clean out all of the kitchen cabinets, our overflowing junk drawers and the linen closet. I feel such relief knowing at least a fraction of the house has been re-organized. Now that's not saying it will stay that way until June, but at least it should help me sleep better tonight...

Cravings, Morning Sickness, & Forgetfulness ALREADY??

Thinking back on the days leading up to when I found out you were growing inside of me, I was definitely feeling more exhausted than normal. I also seem to be hungry all the time! After getting the positive pregnancy test, I noticed more pimples, tender breasts and felt slight crampiness and a full feeling in my lower abdomen. Now that I think about it, I’m starting to get forgetful again, just like what happened the first time around! But instead of taking the wrong exit like I used to do with Benz, a variety of things have happened with you so far. On Saturday (10/13), I thought a gal I was interviewing at work was late because she wasn’t there at noon. I called her and she told me that I told her a few days ago to meet with her at 1pm! And then yesterday (10/20) it really hit home...I left my keys behind at Chuck E. Cheese’s and then I forgot Benz’s big brother shirt at the restaurant we ate at last night! And to top things off, I felt very sick to my stomach on the way home. Lucky for me, I didn’t lose my dinner but it got pretty close. I had to sit still, drink water, and suck on peppermints for a while and then I felt much better. I think it was caused by driving in Babe’s new yellow sports car but who knows! I hope it's not a sign of some not-so-fun symptoms to come!

Keep a secret??? No, not me!

10/16/07-- So Daddy headed back to work and Mommy of course called her best friends, Traci and Julia, who have been on this journey with me the entire time. I think they both had tears in their eyes, as their voices sounded pretty shaky. They were so sincerely happy for me, which made this day feel even more special! I gathered all of my stuff for work and headed over to Oxford for the first day of a new swim session. I called your Great-Grandma & Great-Grandpa Meynier and spilled the beans. I just couldn’t hold it in any more! They were super excited and made me promise to take it easy. I promised as long as they promised not to tell Gma & Gpa P.

I told my co-workers: Tasha, Sara, Kendall, Eryn, Natalia, Linda & Enid as well as my boss about this exciting news of mine! They were all so very happy for me and Angie and I joked how convenient my timing was, being that you are expected around the very first day of the summer swim session, our busiest season of the year! I was so hungry throughout the evening, one of the very first signs that you were growing inside of me. When I got home, your brother was asleep in bed. I thought about waking him up to share this amazing news with him, but decided to wait until the morning since we all had a pretty exhausting day.

10/17/07-- I hardly slept a wink last night, thinking about all of the ways my life would change between now and when you’d join us in our happy home. I was thinking about your future nursery, how to tell both sets of your grandparents in a special way, etc. I woke Benz up today and told him that I had the best surprise in the world for him. [BACKGROUND INFO: He had known for a little while that we were trying to make him a big brother and he has been asking me over the last few months if "baby Mama tummy?" and each time I'd tell, "Not yet, angel boy." And he would put a very serious face on and say "Oh...one minute?" I'd laugh each and every time and tell him "Well it might take a little longer than that."] He was anxiously waiting to see what I would say, so I told him that I had a baby growing inside of my tummy and that he would be a big brother. He seemed to understand and nodded. Later in the day, I asked him where our baby was and he said “baby Mama tummy.” Then he leaned down and gave you a kiss! Before his nap this afternoon, he told me “I wuv you” and pointed to me and then at my tummy and said “I wuv you too, baby.” I can’t wait for you to meet him. He is such a loving little guy.

If it was up to me, I’d announce you to the entire world, get up on a rooftop and scream out the good news! But Daddy wants to wait a few more weeks to be sure things are safe to tell extended family, his co-workers etc. Mommy's best friend in Boston (your Uncle Brandon) called me to chat and I just blurted it out. I wanted to wait until I’d see him in person in 2 weeks, but just couldn’t contain myself! And I can’t wait to tell my parents in person….just 13 more days and counting!

10/20/07-- We met your Gma & Gpa Brawley at Laurelhurst Public House & Brewery for dinner tonight. Benz & I snuck away to the restroom as they were seated at the table and then we came back. Benz was wearing his “I’m gonna be a big brother” t-shirt and Grandma and Grandpa B. smiled and said “Congratulations!” and seemed pretty excited to be grandparents again. We were talking about changing Babe’s exercise room into your nursery and where we would store everything. We went back to their house for dessert. Gma B. put a candle in the angel food cake and we sang “Happy Brotherhood to Benz” and he made a wish and blew out the candle. It was so very cute:)

10/21/07--Told my co-worker and fellow Bible school teacher, Jenelle. She didn't seem the least bit surprised and told me "I knew it. See I told you so." It was funny now that I think about it. Last Sunday at Bible school we had the kids go around during circle time and share who is part of their families at home. When it was Benz's turn, he said Mama, Babe, me and baby. I laughed and said "no, not yet." Jenelle smiled and said maybe he knows something we don't:) So she seemed to have it all figured out by the time I told her and she matter-of-factly said it would be a boy too...we'll see!

Is that REALLY a pink line????!!!!

I kept hoping to get a sign this month, but didn’t feel any early pregnancy symptoms like I had when I was pregnant with your big brother. I took the first pregnancy test on the morning of Oct. 12th and it was negative, as was the next 6 of them!! By Mon. October 15th, I was getting depressed, wondering if we still had the energy to try again next month. We made caramel apples that night and Daddy & I snuggled; he was trying to console me. I woke up the next morning and figured what’s the harm in taking just one more test, as I had bought them in bulk anyways! So I took one on Tues morning (Oct 16th ) and to my surprise, I noticed a super faint pink line. Just like with Benz, it was so faint that I kept asking myself if it was really there or if I was making it up in my mind! I was so anxious and nervous….so I took another test with my same first morning specimen and sure enough the exact same line came up on the second test. Hmmmm, I thought…..could it be??? I had hoped and dreamed of this day for so many years. Could this be it, was it hitting me? No, I better not get my hopes up; I’d hate to be let down. It’s probably not a pink line. But maybe it is???

As you can tell, by mid-morning I was driving myself crazy trying to figure out if today was the big day. So I got dressed for work, got Benz ready to go and then dropped him off at school. On the way home, I made a spontaneous stop at Walgreens and picked up a digital pregnancy test (for almost $20)! Since this one is idiot proof and actually SPELLS out the words PREGNANT or NOT PREGNANT, I figured it would be worth the money for the piece of mind it could bring me. I brought it back home and waited for the answer to register. Daddy was home for lunch as usual and I started making lunch for myself, all the while the test was processing on the kitchen counter . There was a little hourglass icon which told me it was thinking, meaning I must wait. It probably took a little over a minute but felt like an hour! I casually glanced over at it, and to my surprise I read the most beautiful word in all the world….PREGNANT! I rushed over to Daddy and slapped it down on the computer desk. He couldn’t believe it either, but could tell how happy and excited I was by the permanent grin on my face (that lasted for at least 30 minutes)!! We were both in shock, I think, and could hardly process that all of our dreams were just beginning to come true. I hopped on the computer and typed in the first day of my last period (Sept. 19th) and calculated that I will be able to hold you, my precious baby, in my arms around June 24, 2008!

When did we start thinking about having another baby?

Mommy had been longing for a second little one to join our family for so many years, probably since I can ever remember. When I was a little girl, I just loved playing with dolls and pretending like I was a mommy and whenever I played house I would always have two little babies to look after. When Benz turned 2 years old, I started thinking about expanding our family. Your Daddy wasn’t on board with a second child back then, since he felt like Benz was plenty enough work already and now, looking back on it, I’d have to say I agree.

Back in 2005 when the very thought of you was just coming to fruition, Benz was struggling with his speech and was nearly 18 months away from potty training, not to mention that we were just beginning to recover from 9 months of no sleep; so we felt like we needed to put all of our time and energy into moving Benz in the right direction, finding the right services to help him, etc. Also, Mommy put a lot of time and energy into getting her body back by working out and eating well; it eventually paid off and I lost almost 100 pounds since being pregnant with Benz! And amongst all of these changes, Mommy started working at Oxford Athletic Club in the supervised play area and then moved on to working lots more hours and getting several promotions.
A year went by and I didn’t give up, bringing up the idea over and over again of baby #2 to your Daddy. Both sets of your grandparents starting wanting another grandchild, so that helped push us to think harder about making Benz a big brother. Also, by summer of 2007, Benz had been working so hard on his speech and also woke up a few months ago and decided he wanted to wear big boy underwear! So we have the potty training thing under our belt as well as feeling financially stable and more settled, so the time to think about creating you was really impending.