I Need a Last Will and Testament

Image via Wikipedia

I woke up earlier than my husband or dogs today and immediately thought about our assets. I can't explain why I thought of assets, but I knew I needed to research my options for estate planning. I looked up online what happens if I die without having a will. Since we have our first child on the way, we need to start making smart decisions for his future.  I always just figured my belongings would go to my husband upon my death. As it turns out, without a will, my husband only gets joint belongings. The remaining 2/3 of my "estate" goes to my parents if they're alive. If they're gone, my estate goes to my siblings. I don't like either of those options. I want my husband getting my belongings. As it stands, our mortgage is only in my name. So, if I died tomorrow, the home my husband has been living in and paying for would be taken away from him and given to my parents. As some of my readers know, I am not close with my parents like I should be, and that would not be an option for me. My husband is my life.

Of course, there are family photos and childhood items I'm sure my family would like to have, but I know my husband would have no problem giving them to my family. I just want the power to decide to be placed in his hands. I have my $30,000 engagement ring that needs special rules. Since it's a family heirloom, I need it to stay in the family. It's been passed down to me through several generations of women from my dad's side of the family. If I died before having my son, I would want my husband to give it back to my father. If I died without having a daughter, my son would not automatically get the ring. My husband would have to hold onto it until Bryce has a daughter. We just have to be very careful to ensure the ring doesn't end up leaving the family due to divorce or some other nasty legal issue.


Anyway, I looked into Legalzoom.com for starters. The price to get a will through that website was under $100. Upon reading some complaints and reviews, I decided that DIY will resources were not for us. We need real, legal advice from a lawyer. I need to make sure the will is legally sound and strong enough to hold its own in court. I would like to have our wills each done before Brycen arrives in December. If that's not financially feasible, I want to at least make sure we have our plans written down (along with our asset inventory).

Related articles by Zemanta

• Well-thought out estate plan could prevent nasty family feuds (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

I Love My Supportive Husband

My husband is working and working and working to help us stay afloat. Aside from the fact that he has a high paying job, he signs up for overtime (OT) whenever he can. Luckily, his employer ALWAYS has OT available. When my husband isn't working at his regular job, he likes to referee young football players (ages 4-9). Reffing small children is easy because they aren't strict with regulations. My husband gets in some solid exercise and comes home with a nice tan from being outside.

When my husband isn't earning money, he's at home getting things ready for Bryce's arrival. Rooms are getting cleaner, dogs are getting exercised, groceries are getting purchased. I really don't know when my husband actually sleeps!

We were run ragged yesterday. I had a big family breakfast while my husband was reffing. After that, we went with friends to Edwards Apple Orchard for some apple-cider donuts and cold apple cider. We were asked to stop by my aunt and uncle's home to visit some relatives that were in town from out of state. Immediately following that, we had dinner plans with family and birthday bowling until 11pm with the same group. I literally thought I was going to die by the end of the night. My legs were swollen. My voice was gone. My stomach hurt (tightness). I just wanted to climb into bed and not get back up.

Yesterday was probably the busiest day my husband and I have ever had. We're normally homebodies and never included in anything. While it was great to be booked for the day, it took a lot of work and stress on my part to get family together. I can't take that responsibility on each week. So, this week may or may not be a family-free week.

Pregnancy Sleep Isn't Easy

Image via Wikipedia

So, I actually woke myself up this morning with a large, snoring snarf! It was as if I was dreaming about snorting and actually did it in real life. My husband claimed he didn't hear me snoring like a chainsaw, but there's just too much evidence to back it up. My throat was extremely sore. I also think I inhaled a dog hair or something because my allergies kicked into overdrive. I'm doing this short little blog post while my Benadryl starts taking effect.

Aside from needing to pee during the night, my biggest problem involves positioning my body comfortably. I have a big body pillow to curl up to in the center of our bed. Once my body naturally wants to roll over, I either get stuck and wake up, or I somehow end up on my back. It's extremely difficult to turn and face the opposite direction.

Also, now that I'm pregnant, I have a tendency to put my arms over my head while lying on my back. Pre-pregnancy, I didn't sleep on my back at all. I most certainly didn't put my arms up by the wall.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Losing Sleep Over Snoring (lifescript.com)

Feeling Pregnancy Bloat

We went to Olive Garden two nights ago, and I ate lots of salty, garlicky foods.  Yesterday, I suffered the consequences of my actions.

I had a persistent splitting headache. My lower back felt like I had a blade piercing it. My boobs doubled in size.  Regardless of how much water I drank, my pee was dark. Also, my 1 hour nap resulted in a migraine with my entire face looking flushed.

I seriously wanted to die. I attempted to make a nice steak dinner. The meat was overcooked and rubbery. The potatoes had a strange flavor, and my hubby complained that the green beans tasted too much like green beans. Ugghh!

My hubby woke up at 1am to go to work today. He's putting in another 12 hour shift to help with our bills. I'm going to do some work around the house to make him feel like I'm pulling my weight in this relationship.

Here's hoping my more annoying pregnancy symptoms stay away today.

Location : Pingree Grove, IL,

Nursery Cleaning Day!

Image via Wikipedia

My husband had two days off from work, and I asked him as a special project if he'd go into our "nursery" and clean it out. As a reward, I would give him a surprise. He divided the cleaning between his two days off, and the room is ready to go! Prior to the cleaning, our old office was filled with clutter and junk. We live in a two-bedroom condo, and we would place objects into the second bedroom when we didn't know where to put them.

The room was so bad that I couldn't even walk into it without wanting to scream. There was no clean floor space, and there was no rhyme or reason to the organization of the room. I couldn't find anything I needed. So, I didn't know where to start. I hoped and prayed that my husband would take charge and tackle the mess. Luckily, he was up to the challenge.

I won't take a picture of the room in it's newly cleaned state because there's not much to it. The walls are a medium olive green. There's some paintings from our aunt's gallery hanging on the walls. There's two dressers loaded with baby-related gear, and there's a lonely rocking chair in the corner.

Crib furniture, curtains, decorations, etc. all need to be purchases still. Once I have most of the items I need for the "nursery" to become a nursery, I will post an updated picture.




As a reward, my husband will now be receiving Halo: Reach on its release date. The game isn't cheap, but it's well worth his effort.

Related articles by Zemanta

• How to create a safe baby nursery with style (sfgate.com)
• Your Spring Cleaning Checklist (lifescript.com)

Debate on Islamic Mosque Near Ground Zero

Quite frankly, I don't understand the debate at all. I'm not even sure why the permit for constructing such a building had to be publicized. Why is there so much fuss over this issue? I haven't delved deeply into articles on this debate because it's clearly a  black and white issue.

Building an Islamic mosque NEAR Ground Zero is not the same thing as building an Islamic mosque ON Ground Zero.

I can understand both sides being heated while debated the notion of a mosque (or anything else) disturbing the earth where the World Trade Center towers used to stand; however, since the proposed mosque is down the street and out of view - who cares!?!

I don't even think this should be a Republican vs. Democratic issue. It's really an issue between those who understand geography and those who do not.

Here's Keith Olbermann's take on the situation: YOUTUBE VIDEO

Related articles by Zemanta

• ""Ground zero" mosque dispute fanned by supernaturalism" and related posts (hinessight.blogs.com)
• 9/11 family members divided over mosque near WTC (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

22 Weeks Along!

I haven't updated in a while because of two main reasons.

1. I went to California on a 1 week vacation with my hubby's parents (sans hubby). 
2. My mom isn't talking to me. I didn't want her learning about my pregnancy via my blog rather than picking up her phone and calling me.

I've given up on waiting for my mom to call, and I want to update on my pregnancy. It's currently Tuesday night, and I felt Brycen's first OUTSIDE movements a few days ago over the weekend. I was up around 3am due to my husband's early work schedule. I couldn't sleep. Instead, I grabbed some rainbow sherbet out of the freezer and began eating it right from the carton from the comfort and safety of my bed. While eating it, I felt some pretty strong movements in my belly. Out of habit, I placed my fingers over the area above the movement and was shocked to feel it! This is after weeks of hearing about other December moms all feeling kicks and their husbands feeling it as well. I was so happy. I probably felt him kick about 10 more times before I fell back asleep. I felt more kicks upon waking up hours later. My husband was obviously excited about it but sad that he was at work.

It only took until the next morning for him to feel movements. He got kicked twice before Bryce stopped the movements. The following day, I was up at 6am while my husband slept. I decided to go out and watch a movie on HBO in the living room. Halfway during the movie, I felt kicks. I pulled my pajamas up over my belly and VOILA! My stomach popped out. I witnessed a baby kick with my eyes!

I can honestly say that the movements felt from the outside are the first real sign to me that someone very special is inside me. That realization didn't occur during the pregnancy testing. It didn't occur during the ultrasound viewings. It didn't even happen when my stomach started growing out front. It's when the little miracle inside started pushing outward. Now, it's real. Now, I feel like there's someone in there that I need to take care of.

The picture above is my belly shot from tonight. I'm officially 22 weeks starting tomorrow.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Should You Hunt a Job While You are Pregnant? (socyberty.com)
• The Second Trimester: The Happy Part of Pregnancy (pregnancychildbirth.suite101.com)
• Fathers, Don't Be Ignorant About Pregnancy (fitfiend.com)