Baby Shower

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Keith and I went to Wisconsin Friday night. We left around 3:30 est, and arrived around 10:30 cst. We missed all except 39 seconds of the UC Bearcats game. Sorry babe!

We were truly blessed with genorosity with this shower. Our family and friends poured out to us. It was so nice to even just see everyone again. Thank you so much for everything!

34 weeks and counting

We are looking forward to meeting our little Kaitlyn Alexis Hickman. We are looking forward to holding her in our arms, all the fun Mommy and Daddy things we are going to get to experience, and all the memories that are going to be made with this new addition to our family. We are hoping that there will only be 5 more weeks until she makes her grand arrival. Due date is 6 weeks from today!

Oh my there is still so much to do!

It's going to go so fast. But we are so looking forward to meeting our precious little girl in hopefully 5, but maybe more weeks.

Christmas

Yes, it does seem that Christmas comes faster every year. This year I am getting prepared early. Could be the fact that I am due in December! I would like to thank Star 93.3 for helping me keep focused. I love that they have started playing Christmas Music already. They started October 27th ish. Their reasoning is important. You can read it on their site.

Gatlinburg Adventures

Once again life as a Hickman is an adventure. (Names are hidden to keep embarrassment to a minimum)

1. Picnic Lunch - cooler set on top a bee hive near poison Sumac.
2. Papaw Hickman - face plant on the deck of the office for the chalet.
3. Hickman Family (minus Nana) Falling off the Mountain - okay not literally, but most members got freaked out while Papaw Hickman was turning the van around in the driveway. So much so that Nana Hickman jumped out of the car and Daddy Hickman screamed like a woman. All which caused Hickman Boy to react.
4. Hickman Boy Chair Plant - Boy Hickman was rocking his chair at the Hard Rock Cafe, fell to the side and crashed on the floor.
5. Hickman Boy's Death Scream - Driving up the mountain Boy Hickman's scream: "We're gonna DIE!"
6. Mommy Hickman's Question - "Who ate all my food? We know it wasn't me?!?" After eating a whole meal - something that has not been done in the recent past.

Baby Update

We are fortunate enough to have had another ultrasound. It was confirmed that we are having a little girl. After all the measurements she is weighing in at 3 lbs 7 oz. They didn't give us a length, but we were told that her size puts me at 30 weeks, not just 28.

This excited Keith because then if she is 2 weeks "late" it pretty much guarantees that she will be born in 2009. I got excited because it puts us at full term the beginning of December, not the end. Regardless of when she comes we know that she will come. We are just praying for an early December birthday over a late one.

Here is our first picture where you can actually tell what things are.


Kaitlyn Alexis we can't wait to meet you and hold you in our arms.

One of the hardest things.

I am already starting to think about what my days are going to be like as Kaitlyn gets older. I am going to want to do all these fun things with her that a stay at home mom would get to do. Yet I have to work. Since truly I am a work at home mom (well mom to be right now). The work that I do now is going to determine what sort of things we are going to be able to do a year from now.

Then why is it so hard to want to get the job done sometimes?

I have found myself getting less and less done and wondering why there is nothing happening with the business. How about because I am doing less and less. Like yesterday for example. When I got home from doing the two shows. I don't think I did anything else with the business. I worked on finances, or personal finances all day - which could have waited until after work hours or at least until Keith got home.

Ugh. We have so much staring us in the face and I feel like I am not holding up my end of the deal. I guess putting it out there on this blog for the world to see, especially since my blog is linked to my facebook account I am trying to hold myself accountable in some weird way.

Happy Anniversary

Today I celebrate being married two years! I am married to a wonderful man. He has given me so much than I could have ever asked for. He is supportive, loving, funny, good looking, respectful, helpful, honest and always full of surprises. I am so looking forward to our anniversary date tonight!

Keith - the man that I love, respect and adore. Thank you for being you and thank you for everything you do for me and our family.

I love you!

Reasons I love my job

As most of you know I own a preschool entertainment company. I love my job. Not the just because I am my own boss, not just because I make my own hours - honestly if I worked a 'real job' I would work less hours, not just because I can work in my pajamas if I wanted to.

I love my job because what other job can you come with a fantastic idea, implement it and know that it will bring the exact results you are anticipating without having to run it past anyone to make sure it is okay that you do it?

How many of you are are at 2 in the afternoon painting river rocks and egg cartons? Seriously?

What a realization.

On Tuesday September 1, I hit 24 weeks pregnant. I was just thinking about how far we had come. We found out I was pregnant at 8 weeks. 16 weeks earlier, then I thought a little more and the baby will be here in 16 more weeks. (Hopefully she will come a little earlier than she is supposed to - December 14th would be great!) I sat there and I thought - by the end of the this year I am going to have a little girl in my arms. Until recently she was going to be the last one born of my group of friends, well then more and more of us keep finding out that we are expecting. I don't even know how many at this point!

This is something that I have always wanted. When people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I always said a teacher or a mommy. When Keith and I got married we did want to enjoy being husband and wife only for a little while, about two years. Well we have gotten that because next Tuesday is our 2 year anniversary.

Life is changing. It's exciting and nerve-racking all at the same time. We have so many things that we need to do, yet we want to just enjoy every moment. Like making a pile of pancakes for breakfast - all because it was a craving.

I have been very blessed throughout this pregnancy. Everything is coming back normal. Sure, I am still sick quite often, but I have figured out how to make it manageable. Through trial and error and more importantly my friends that are already moms and moms-to-be that are further along than me.

I am pretty excited that when I look down all I see is belly -


and that is because our little girl is in there growing to be one healthy little girl. I hope she is active when she comes out as she is when she is in there.

Kaitlyn Alexis Hickman I can't wait to meet you.

Precious and Weird all at the same time

So last night we are laying in bed and the baby kicked. It must have been a good one because my tummy jumped where it happened. I thought it was so precious, there is our little girl letting us know she is there. Then Daddy - "That is just weird, so not natural."

That's my husband - a very unique perspective. I wouldn't change it even if I could.

5 days ago

We found out on Thursday last week that we are having a little girl. We could not be more excited. It is finally sinking in that we are really doing this. We are really having a baby. We are really going to be mommy and daddy. Isn't life great!

One Week

One week from today. In less than 168 hours we will know.

We will know if the baby is truly our little Kaitlyn or if we have been calling our little boy Kaitlyn for 3 months! (We didn't know we were pregnant for the first two.) If that is the case hopefully we have not done permanent damage to our little Kevin.

Pray that our little one will be an exhibitionist between 1pm and 3pm on August 13th. We just need to know - I have shopping to do! :)

This is where I earn it.

Many people tend to think that I earn my money only doing my 45 minute shows. They forget about this part....

The shopping for the shows.














The saving items for months!
















The getting prepared for the shows.
















And the dangers of permanent markers!















I love my job!

18 weeks

So the weekly newsletter says the baby is the size of ...





















That's right a bell pepper.

I am so looking forward to meeting you.

Long awaited.

Tonight is going to be a date night. It was going to be an indoor date night, but the family had to change plans due to work schedules. Therefore Keith and I are going out to dinner then to a movie. Either Champs or OBSH (outback steakhouse) and hopefully we are going to see The Proposal tonight.

Update to date night: It started out great. I pick up Keith from work and the words out of his mouth I don't get to hear all that often. "Man hun! You look hot!" I was shocked, jeans and a preggo shirt. So we head off for our date, and ate at Smokey Bones. We will not be returning. We did go see "The Proposal" and will be purchasing that movie the day it comes out. Needless to say it was good.

The dark and ominous time of year is drawing to an end.

The countdown to the beginning of the 2009 football season has started.


MySpace Countdowns


Here is a link to the full schedule if you need it.


AND

Week Two is going to be a big week in my house.... The Bengals are playing The Packers.

BRING ON FOOTBALL SEASON!

Baby Update.

Two weeks ago we had a scare. We went in for our 16 week check up. Dr. B is looking to hear the heartbeat and can't find it. He is not freaking out outwardly, but he totally rushed us out of the examine room and down to ultrasound. Thank God I go to a large clinic and they have ultrasounds right on sight. We have to wait almost 30 minutes to get our ultrasound. Keith even went up to the receptionist to find out how long it will be for us. What a guy! We get back there and everything is fine. Our baby's heart beat is 146. Keith asked if she could tell yet what we are having she said not usually until 18 weeks, but she would try. Well our little baby was being shy and would not move to get "the money shot" it showed us its face instead.

In about 4 short weeks we are supposed to find out if we are having a little boy or a little girl. Keith and I are hoping for a little girl. All the silly wives tales are leaning toward a girl. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law are leaning toward a girl. I have had two baby dreams early in my pregnancy that were both boys.

I really want it to be a girl, but more so I really just want the baby to be healthy and happy.

So we started our registries last weekend. We had so much fun. Keith was going around scanning anything and everything. I have found this bedding that I just love at Walmart. I was hoping to find something I loved just as much but at Babies R Us or Target. Target, no such luck. Babies R Us.... we are at the back wall of bedding. Everything, no joke EVERYTHING, has characters of some kind on it. Either flowers and bugs, jungle animals, bears, or disney.... everything. Well I really just want geometric shapes.... stripes, circles, sqaures... that is what I want. I was getting so frustrated that I was ready to give up.

We turn the corner and there on the shelf I see a striped bumper. I look at it further.... on the inside embroidered bugs and flowers.... not exactly what I wanted, but really cute... still love the one at Walmart... until I see the rest of the pieces! Sheets with the colors I am looking for and geometric patterns, a dust ruffle in a solid color and stripes and the piece of resistance (in the best french accent I can muster) the blanket - White with a chocolate brown border, bright pink, light pink, and green circles!!!!! I was stoked... Then Keith says, "Babe what if it's not a girl?" So we look a little more.... SOLD! Bumber in cream and chocolate brown (jungle animals on the inside - my compromise) Green, brown and cream blankets! The pieces even came in blue! So I was sold.

Then I started being a responsible adult and started thinking about everything and weighing it all out in my head. Bumber, Ruffle, One Sheet, One Blanket - Walmart 85.00 Babies R Us - 93.96 - Walmart wins .... Better color choices (nuetrual included) - Babies R Us wins .... More coorinating choices - Babies R Us wins.

Our decision will be made when we know what we are going to have, but I am leaning toward the set at Babies R Us.

Outcast status removed.

It seemed so weird to so many people that Keith and I canceled our cell phones. I was so burnt out on having one due to the over use of it with my last corporate job and we could just not afford one there for a long time. Well now with expecting I was getting a little tired of hearing, "I wish you had a phone - what if something happened." Then I drove over an hour to get to an event that had to be canceled day of and that was the straw that broke the camels back. I got a phone again. Funny thing ... it pretty much sits in my purse and is not used. However thanks to the hubby I know that it does work. He was the first person to call me on it.

I do enjoy my pink phone....

Long Weekends Always Go Too Fast

Three day weekends seem to come and go just as fast as 2 day weekends. Ours was so full this time around it was nice. If only the weather would have panned out.

Friday was nice, we went shopping - both got clothes this time around - had a business lunch, hung out and went out to dinner. Saturday we stayed home except for the comedy show we went to -- I mean church. Sunday we spent the day with Keith's side of the fam. After we watched the BEST WIMBELTON CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH EVER! I do mean EVER! Which made us late for all the 4th of July festivities on the 5th. At least we didn't miss the butt in the cooler.

10 rolls around we need to prepare for Monday's shows. Luckily there was not much to do.

Looking forward

Life is going to be so different in the matter of 5-6 months. I am looking forward to my little bundle of joy. I am looking forward to getting all the little things that you need. I am looking forward to our lives totally changing.

In nearer future - I am looking forward to getting some more clothes that fit. I have - depending on the day - three to five shirt that fit, two pairs of short, one pair of jeans and one pair of capri's. In my huge closet of easily 50 shirts, 15 skirts, 15 pairs of pants, 10 pairs of capris, and 5 pairs of jeans - I do not even have enough clothes right now to wear a different outfit every day! It's a sad state of affairs.

I will be going shopping this weekend.

Big Day!

Last weekend I scored a major purchase, as did I the weekend before. Neither item will fit in our car so they have been sitting at the in-laws houses. Yes one at each house. Well today we are borrowing my dad's van and picking up our major purchases.

Crib - $20 yard sale (It is one that full price was easily in the $300 range - I know we have been shopping for them!)
Changing table - $10 yard sale (Not sure what this one would have been, not the cheapest we have seen, but not the most expensive either. I would say maybe $180 ish.)

A yard sales savings of $450.00!

And the stuff looks almost brand new! The only piece of wear and tear is on the crib.... a tinker bell sticker.

Posting pictures once they are together and in their new homes. :)

Fear of the Sequel

I have heard nothing but bad things about Transformers 2. I heard it had no plot. I heard it was racist. I heard it was not suitable for kids under 14. This was a movie that Keith and I were looking forward to going to see. Well this morning my sister-in-law Janet called and said that they were taking our nephew and wanted to see if we wanted to go. We decided to go - good way to spend a hot afternoon.

It was not that bad. The fight seen near the end was drug out for too long, but that was my only complaint. Granted the language was not great for kids. Then I was told it was rated pg-13, then I was not so upset about the language. There was no real offensive stuff, but it was just not right for kids.

I think I was more disappointed with my popcorn than the movie. How is that when you really are craving the popcorn you get all the crumb pieces that have been sitting there all day?

Dear Baby,

Soon we will know if you will be a girl or a boy. I would like to thank you for not making me so sick these days now that I have figured out how to keep you a little happier. I would also like to thank you for not making me so tired, but today's nap nice and a needed break. Now let's get on with this whole dizziness thing. We can stop that one any day now. Mommy doesn't like feeling like I am going to faint.

We are looking forward to meeting you. Daddy wants to remind you, you need to come in 2009 so the most you can be is one week late. You will understand Daddy in time. He's a great guy and we like to keep him happy. He does a lot for us.

xoxo
Mama

Keith's "First" Father's Day

Keith didn't want anything for Father's Day. I had told my sister-in-law this, but the news never made it back to my mother and father-in-law. Saturday we find out that she bought him something. I told her he didn't want anything and she said to bad. That is my MIL. Well she asked him if he wanted it and he said fine - accepting it for her feelings not his own. Sunday he opens up a frame.




















So true, so true.

When your name is on the line

I guess when you are passionate about something you take things a little more seriously.

This year I have gone into business for myself. It has been so much fun and there are new and exciting things everyday. Today was not one of those fun and exciting days. Today was one of those days where you experience, you learn, you worry and you move on putting your faith in The One who provides.

Today - first of all I am glad that I choose to do the bubbles class for the free event today. When it flopped for the most part I can make adjustments and move forward. Like #1 - do not add anything to bubble mix, especially do not mix 2 recipes to make a better bubble solution. This does not work. #2 - there are not enough activities in this class to keep their attention. #3 - The bottom line is did kids have fun? When the answer to this is yes then it was a good day.

As business owners we try, fail and adjust. Today was one of those days.

That then leads me to the worry part. With my business everything I do is to glorify God, the one who gave me the talents and abilities to run this business. So I pray that He guides my friend throughout the event she is doing tomorrow. In the secular my name on the line with this show and future business, but this is God's business and I know that she won't let God down. So I cast my worries to Him to take them away and to control the situation because He is the one truly in control.

Well it's definately the busy season

Last week started it; summer camps with Pre-Schools and Day Cares. Thankfully for us that means it is our busy season. We were unaware of how busy it truly was going to be and we keep booking dates. All I can do is thank God for everything He is providing.

There was a call today wanting a day that we already have booked. My dear friend said she would help out with double bookings. Just so happens that day she is going to be out of town. Bummer. I will find someone. God will provide. This show is one that I will be taking on and the show that is already scheduled is one that will be going to someone else. Reason - during our phone call the client mentioned how they had used our competition last year and how disappointed they were. The competition could not keep the children interested in the event. I of course explained that we understand the attention span of this age range and we fill our time with many activities all in effort to keep their attention for 30 to 45 minutes. She then said that if they like the show they would book more for summer and the school year. Definitely one I need to take on myself.

Ah the life that 3 to 5 year-old kids have. I love my job.

Life has changed

Wow how life can change in the matter of a few months.

January we found out why we have been having problems conceiving our first child. We have come to find out I do not ovulate due to Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Because of this I was given Progestrin to get things going. This would bring on a cycle, but not an ovulation. And it did. Things were working the way they should have. The next month I was taking Chlomid this was to kick start my ovaries to produce an egg and a full cycle. I was so moody and irritable that month. Well, it didn't work. We did not get pregnant. So Keith and I sat down and took a serious look at our life. We had some decisions to make.

I was working crazy hours with my job. I would go into work at 7am work until 9am, go back in anywhere between 1 and 3 and work until 11pm. Pretty much Monday through Friday. It was taking a real toll on my physcially. We were also starting TOP SECRET SCIENCE. By the time we were making this decision we had decided that I would leave my job and soley work TOP SECRET SCIENCE. In February things were starting to fill up for the summer. We looked at our lives and figured we had so much going on we should really wait until the end of summer to start seriously trying to have kids.

Around this same time we found out that several of our friends were expecting as well. This also took a real toll on me, emotionally. Why did I have to have this stupid problem? Why couldn't I just get pregnant like all of my friends? I started praying. I had important people in my life praying for me too. Praying I would find peace in my situation, praying that we could get pregnant, just praying.

Well our prayers were answered. Unbeknown to us Chlomid has what is called a rebound effect. It can stimulated ovulation another month without taking the medication. This is what happened with us. We are expecting our first child in December.

Spring has been good to us this year. Life has really changed. Really in the matter of just a few months. I cannot wait to see what the next few months have to bring.

Day in History

Today is a day in history. Half of the country disagrees with what is happening today. As Christians if we agree or don’t agree one thing that we can agree on is that we have a big God. God paints the strokes of our lives. For those of us who voted for McCain, he could have had Jesus on his ticket and if God wanted Obama to win, guess what. That is what would have happened.

I just hope that Obama is able to get things done. I hope that he is able to bring back the fundamentals this country was founded on. I pray that his eyes are opened wide, as are his ears. I pray that he humbly takes the wisdom of those that have come before him. I pray that the people he is surrounding himself with will lower their egos and own agendas to come together for the greater good of this country that we all call home.

Today is something beautiful. Agree or not. This is a day that God created. These two men may be what this country needs.

The creative director

I go to a very large church. I am a follower of my pastors blogs. Joe's blog said to check out Brad's newest idea. So I did. You should as well. It is a heart warming blog. Here it is.

I had to participate. I went on a roll last night. I finished the list! But then we kept going. It is amazing.

Go Check it out!

I would like to give you a sample of what you will find.


949. My husband being able to let his in-laws be themselves.
950. Re-exploring a city you lived in for 8 years through the eyes of new residents.
951. The way your favorite jeans make everything just better.
952. Getting a great deal when it is BOGO time at Payless.
953. Sitting watching TV, and your dog cuddling with you like a baby.
954. Finishing a book and being really sad that it is over.
955. Looking at the photographs of your honeymoon and realize you are even more in love today.
956. Chasing your dreams together.
957. My husband supporting my dreams.