One Landes Place

Today I put my shirt on backwards and inside out and didn't even notice. Today I took a short nap on the edge of bed, fully clothed including shoes, with my glasses on, with Sarabeth in her bouncy within arms reach of the bed..just in case her binky fell out-that would mean a burst of crying so loud your ears would ring. Now who can take a nap with that. Today I actually brushed my hair, for fear of having to get out of the house for anything and seeing someone I thought looked familiar. Today I didn't take a shower, usually that comes at 7 pm when Matt gets home, granted he's not working too late. In that case I skip the shower and go straight to bed. I wouldn't want the shower to wake me up when I'm so close to passing out. Today I called the pediatrician 3 times hoping to get a different person from the time before to answer the question "why won't my child stop crying". The same lady answered all 3 times and gave me the same answe...

That motherhood would be this hard. That 12 days after giving birth I would look down and still not see my feet. That right about the time I closed my eyes, she would open hers. That I would be tempted to scroll through my phone to find someone to call to watch her while I went to the bathroom. That the thought of a pedicure and manicure seemed so far away. That such a tiny little being could have such explosive diapers! That the lady at Walmart would ask me when my baby was due...5 days post partum. No one ever told me what it would be like to be a mom. Yet, despite these things no one could have told me the joy that motherhood brings. Even in the middle of the night when I'm switching her from the cradle to the swing to the bouncy seat, just to get a few more minutes sleep, all I have to do is look at her sweet little face, and it all goes away. I hear all of these things in my head "wait as long as you can to have kids, they change your life forever...

We arrived at Memorial Hermann last night about 7:30 pm. Matt left and went to Chili's to get me my "last meal". I had chicken crispers ...my favorite! The doctor started me on something to start softening my cervix. I also have an IV with glucose since I'm not allowed to eat after 12. I have a fetal monitor, contraction monitor, and a blood pressure cuff! It is an act of congress to go to the ladies room which is only 4 steps from my bed. It was a very long night. Neither Matt nor I slept at all. OF course I started contractions right away and the medicine didn't help. I had the sweetest nurse on call last night, Kristi! She gave me 2 different kinds of sleeping medicine, neither of which worked. The contractions were getting stronger and closer together so she called the doc and had the medicine stopped for an hour while I could get some rest. At 6:45 Nurse Kristi started to Pitocin and informed me that I was 2cm dilated and 100% effaced , finally! ...

Treat, for sure! Yes it is 4:00 a.m. on Halloween morning. I couldn't sleep so I decided to balance the check book...what a weirdo I am. Actually, I have this problem with leaving anything undone when I know I'm about to be gone for any length of time. Kind of like when we go out of town for something I have to have the entire house cleaned and organized. I am hoping the birth of my child will calm me down some. Speaking of, today we will be making our debut at the Woodlands Memorial Hermann Hospital at 7pm. Here is where we will be if you'd like to come visit us over the next few days. I am anticipating nothing so that I'm not disappointed when what was in my head doesn't happen. I've already been there, done that! I am nervous and anxious but overjoyed when I think about holding that little baby girl in my arms. I never dreamed of being a mom. Matter of fact, Matt and I butted heads during the first few years of marriage because I was unsure I ev...

I had been wanting to do this all week and Matt finally agreed. Friday night we sat in the garage and Matt used my tummy as a palate for his masterpiece! We had so much fun and he did such an awesome job! I couldn't believe how much it really looked like a pumpkin! We took a lot of pictures but these were the best ones. We are finding it harder and harder to make something of the downtime we have while we wait for baby Landes to get here, obviously! We are enjoying our last few days together as DINKS . We will have our own little pumpkin in less than a week!

Our doc appointment yesterday revealed 2 things, one: my baby is 8lbs already! two: she's still not here! After an ultrasound, our doc met with us and let us know the baby is head down but not "engaged" which means she's really not in position low enough to come out. Also, my cervix is still closed and because of a previous surgery I may have too much scar tissue for my cervix to dilate at all! Soo .... Matt and I had the option of waiting until she comes on her own, up to Nov 6 (yikes!!!) or my doc could schedule a medical induction for us next week. Our doc suggested the induction because of the baby's weight and we agreed. We will be admitted to the hospital on Wed night at 7 p.m.-Trick or Treat! They will start me on something to start the process but I will not be given any drugs to start contractions until Thursday so I should sleep Wednesday night. Please be praying for us. I'm really nervous and especially because most of the time, inductions th...

OK, so no belly pictures for fear of an early Halloween scare, however I do have some baby news. Looks like I could possibly carry this stubborn baby until November! At my appointment today, my dr . informed me that I was not ready ( physically ) to deliver this child. Apparently I am not effaced yet, which is where your cervix thins out before dilation even begins. So...at my next appointment on Thursday I will be 40 weeks and a few days. My dr . will do an ultrasound and IF the baby is measuring over 8 lbs AND I am dilated beyond a 2, she will admit me to be induced. If not, then I will just have to wait until this baby decides to come on her own, which my dr . informed me could be a week after my due date-Halloween. I did inform her that I was not interested in having a Halloween baby and she understood, therefore letting me know it's perfectly ok to go a few days past and have her on the 1st or 2 nd . What?? Are you kidding me? Lady, have you seen my feet? Not to mention I f...

Wednesday last week was our 3rd baby shower! This one was hosted my some of my longest and dearest friends here in Houston. These girls mean the world to me, and although I don't get to see some of them as much as I'd like, our friendship doesn't suffer. I have to tell the stories about each of them because it's not just coincidence that each are part of my life. I'll start with Erin who I met about 3 1/2 years ago. (far right) She was a desperate soul searching for someone to relieve her from her over stressful job! Actually she was my sales partner when I first started selling new homes and the day before I started I let her know that I would be gone on vacation for the next week and would start work officially when I got back. I had no idea that she had not had a day off in over 3 months and her last partner had just quit after being gone to Hawaii for 2 weeks! After she hated me for a few weeks, we became the best of friends and still are to this day. Keisha ca...

As I progressively become larger, it is mildly painful to perform most household duties. Every time the laundry builds up, I cringe! Knowing that I have to bend over to pick up clothes and then bend over to load them, and put them in the dryer just makes my stomach hurt... literally . A stomach this large does not bend easily and when it does, it is really painful. Not only that, but how in the world am I supposed to carry this basket to the laundry room? So...I had to find a new efficient way to make sure my sweet hubby had clean clothes for work. Here it is: Ta da ! Now all I have to do is get the laundry into the basket and I can drag it wherever I want! It works grand! The only other thing is to find a way to get the clothes in the washer without bending over...I guess that is called "help from my husband".

Matt and I have been busy over the past few weeks, making room for baby girl Landes ! We've been blessed to have had a couple of baby showers where we received some awesome gifts. Now, just finding a place for everything! Here's Matt putting together the baby's car seat and stroller that his mom and dad bought for us. Thank you Mom and Dad Landes ! We are also the proud new owners (really borrowers ) of "the cradle". This piece of furniture is a family heirloom and has been passed down for 3 generations now. Matt and his brothers slept in it as have all of the grand kids so far. It's ours until the next one comes along..who will it be?? Here's a picture of the changing table I got such a great deal on. It was a floor model and they had marked it down. I haggled with the lady and she took another $20 off plus I had a coupon for $25 off. They almost paid me to buy it! For now, that's all we have room for. We still have her swing in a box, hopefully we...

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox Matt and I went to Longview this weekend for our first baby shower. My girlfriends Callie and Ashley from high school hosted it. I had a wonderful time getting to visit with tons of people, some I had not seen in years! Matt played golf with an old friend from college and his wife came and brought their baby girl. My cousins Sarah and Paula came from Arkansas, a huge surprise! I also had a chance to visit with my longest friend, Michelle. She and I met the summer before kindergarten and have been friends ever since. She's one of those friends that you can lose touch with for a few months or even a year and pick back up where you left off. I was so blessed to have her there with her mom too! Michelle is expecting a baby soon as well. I just wish we lived closer so our babies could grow up together like we did. The baby was showered with tons of gifts, mostly pink things! The shower was beautiful, Callie and Ash did a great job and the food was...

Ok , I know odd picture. However I wanted all of you non-pregnant people to see the view from my perspective. I actually stuck my feet out a little so you could see, but usually they aren't visible from the top! I went to the dr . yesterday and she said everything looked great! Nothing to report! Blood pressure was great, no protein visible, and good weight gain (only 3 lbs)! I did ask her about the intense swelling I'm experiencing . I refer to it as " Shrek Feet". My feet literally swell up to just blobs of skin with toenails! I can't even get flip flops on some days ! I won't scare you with the photos but just picture Shrek ...you'll get it! We go back to the dr . in 2 weeks and will be going every 2 weeks until delivery. Next time we will have another ultrasound and check the baby's growth and my fluid levels. My dr . suggested starting to get the nursery ready as my energy level will be dropping dramatically over the next few week. Oddly , I...

First off, I love my new page! You can get one too here . Also, I got a great package in the mail today. A little background to the story first. A few weeks ago I was having lunch with 2 friends that I used to work with, very sweet friends that I adore very much. I will keep their names a secret as I know one of them would be mad if I told this story and added her name...and of course the other friend will be mad that I left hers out! :) Anyway, I made converstaion on how I always feel frumpy when I leave the house and I miss my more fashionable days when I felt "put together" when I left. Of course sitting there with these two made it worse, seeing as they were dressed to the nines as always! So lunch progressed and we said our goodbyes. No big deal. So today I go to the mailbox and there is a huge package from one of my friends from lunch. She had sent me a LOAD of clothes from Motherhood Maternity! She said she wanted me to feel "cute" again! How swee...

I can't belive how big my belly is! I did visit the dr . last Tuesday and I'd only gained 3 pounds since my last visit over a month ago. Which is great, considering the 12 pounds I put on the month before! Seems like the weight gain may be slowing down a little. Other than that, everything is going great. It's really hot and the summer is going to be brutal at this size! Here are some pictures from out belated Independedence Day Celebration with my dad in Florida. Matt and I took a quick, but much needed trip to Central Florida a few weeks ago to visit with my dad, step-mom and step-sister and brother and his daughter Haley. It was Haley's 8 th birthday and she was so funny! Take a look... Happy Birthday Haley! Even Simba , my dad's very overweight cat joined in the festivities! My dad's famous homemade pizza! Straight from the Texas Alamo Pizza Oven, handmade by my True Texan Dad! (complete with longhorns!) The Fireworks Display! Actually, there was a rea...

"For You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalms 139:13-14 Here's the ultrasound pics of my 20 week visit to the dr. They are scanned so some may not be too clear. The nurse was so nice that she took a 4-D picture and gave it to us for free! Usually they are about $100 and are taken around 32 weeks. She is fully developed although you can't tell in the 4-D picture. I've started to feel her kick and punch and it is incredible! I can only wait until Matt can feel her too. It was so fun to watch our baby girl during the ultrasound. She is very active and loves to punch and kick. At one time she shot us the bird! Here is one of her profile. You can see the chambers of her heart and during the ultrasound you could see it pumping, so cool! She has the cutest little nose and lips, just like me! :) She is going to be beau...

I can't believe it's already half way over! I'm starting to feel sooo much better and not quite as tired. Here's some pictures for your viewing pleasure....or for your daily laugh. I think Matt is starting to have sympathy pains or jealousy issues! Enjoy! Does my belly look lumpy in this one???

GIRL! Most of you have already heard the news but it's official. We will be welcoming a baby girl into the world in late October. I have to admit for a slight second I was shocked because all along I knew it was a boy. Matt is beside himself happy! He wanted a girl the whole time but never voiced his opinion. We are ecstatic and have already begun nursery plans. I will post ultrasound pics and the latest and fattest belly pick tomorrow. Just wanted to share the news...pink it is!

Ok , so I look like I'm about to pop and it's only 17 weeks. I don't know what the deal is but my belly popped out WAY early! No, I'm not having twins and my doctor said everything looked great! Matt and I go back on June 6 th to find out if it's a boy or a girl. We've been debating on whether to find out, but I can't stand it any longer! The nosebleeds and headaches continue. The headaches seem to have moved in and decorated. They start on the weekend and last until about Thursday and then start again on the weekend. Weird, but nothing has helped. We've started collecting baby stuff! We haven't bought anything yet but it seems like every week someone brings something over. Matt helped this really nice couple move some furniture last month and yesterday they gave us a brand new crib mattress ! I made a little corner in the hall bedroom where I've been putting all the goodies! We've received some cute onsies , stuffed animals...

Ok , I am reluctantly posting these pictures. For some reason all the other "progressive belly pooch" pictures I've seen look so cute. Not sure if it was the camera's fault or what but I look a little round all over and not so cute. :) Nevertheless, here are the pictures of the belly, for those of you interested. 6 weeks 8 weeks- I thought this angle may make my butt look smaller....nope. I sometimes wonder how small would my butt need to be before I thought it wasn't huge?? 12 weeks-this time I got smart and wore more flattering pants-from the back anyway, and I covered up the evidence.

Ok, I tried hard to scan the pictures where they are recognizable, but they didn't come out too great. I'll try my best to explain them. Here is the first one. He's kind of hunched over with his feet dangling at the bottom. This one he's standing up and his head is tilted to his left where his left arm is. Then you can see his belly and two legs and the bottom. The arrow is pointing to his knee. He looks like he is dancing! The nurse had such a hard time getting a good picture because he was dancing around so much. It was the most incredible thing to see him moving around, and he moved a lot! I keep saying "he" but we don't know what it is. It just kind of came out when I started talking about the baby. Anyway, everything looked great and they discharged me to my regular ob/gyn. It's great news but I'll miss weekly ultrasounds! I don't have another one until week 20 and I'm going to miss seeing my little one every week! :( This week it all ...