My new car!

Josh decided it was time to trade in my black car for a little bigger, "safer" car before Morgan arrives. He also thinks the end of the year is the best time to buy and if we traded now we could make some money on my car....so Saturday after we got back into town, we went looking for a new car. We pretty much knew what we wanted because I've liked them for a while now and so by Saturday evening we were the new owners of a 2010 Mazda CX-7.

I love it!!! It drives great and it even has bluetooth in the car so it recognizes my phone and when someone calls me it just rings through the stereo and I can talk hands free in the car!

Thanks Joshy! Morgan and I LOVE it!

Here is a pic....mine looks just like this. Color is the same as shown in the pic....white!

Lost in the snow!

This year we headed up to Oklahoma on Thursday afternoon just as it was started to snow here in the area. Its wasn't yet freezing here so the roads were just fine....that is until we crossed into Oklahoma. Suddenly the roads were slick and we had to drive about 40mph the rest of the way to Ardmore, but we made it safe and sound at around 4pm on Christmas Eve.


Josh went outside to bring in our luggage and all our gifts while it was snowing like crazy. Somehow, his hands were wet from the snow and his wedding ring slipped off his hand and onto the snow covered grass. We went outside to look for it, but could barely see our hands in front of our faces it was snowing so hard, so we decided to wait until it melted and look for it then. Well.....by Saturday morning it still hadn't really melted off and the ring was buried under some 6 inches of snow. I decided to put on my gloves and just start rummaging through the snow in the general area of where he lost it and low and behold....I got really lucky! I bet I only looked for about 3-5 minutes and found it! YEA!!! Josh was so happy to have it back!


All in all, It was a beautifully white Christmas!!! Here are a few pics in the snow!

Our nephews outside playing on Christmas morning....this was BEFORE they started crying because their hands got so cold!

As the belly grows...24 weeks!!!!!

My belly is growing by the minute.....she is really showing now!!!!

Show us Your Christmas Tree

My friend Jennie started this blog, so I thought I'd pass it on!

This is my Christmas tree. My mom and I have always loved making our Christmas trees beautiful. My tree is red, silver and white. I've added several things to it over the years and I really love it! When Morgan gets here, I'm planning on setting up another one in the front room to put all her fun ornaments on!


This is our 1st Christmas together ornament. It was given to us by Josh's aunt and uncle (Stephanie & Mike)....I LOVE it. (And...Jennie, I think its the same one ya'll have)

21 weeks!

Definitely getting bigger!!!!! :-)

Morgan's Bedding Fabric!

So we got the material for Morgan's bedding all picked out this weekend. I'm going for pink and green with some accents of chocolate brown. The wall behind her bed will be pink with lighter pink scroll-like swirls painted on top with her Monagram in green above her bed (sorry...its kind of hard to explain) and the other 3 walls will be a very light green (like the color of the green fabric below).

Here are the main fabrics for her bedding. I'm also using a pink/brown/green stripe for some accent pillows and her curtains.

20 Weeks!!

YEA!! 1/2 way there!!! Not a big change in the bump this week, but maybe a little! Enjoy!

19 weeks and counting!

Baby bump update here! I'm 19 weeks and 1 day!!! Morgan is doing great and my belly is growing by the day it seems!!!! :-)

Josh got to feel her move for the 1st time on Friday!!! We went to dinner at BJ's in Lewisville and as we were walking in I was telling him that I hadn't felt her moving much that day; well as soon as we sat down and started looking at the menu, she started kicking me like crazy!!!! I thought it wouldn't last long, but she just kept going. So I told Josh to come sit on my side of the booth and feel. I put his hand on my belly and sure enough she kicked him!! He was a little startled by it, but it was really cute! HE LOVED IT!! And I LOVED that he got just a little experience of what I get everyday! Its the best part of being pregnant I think!!!

We had a busy weekend, I co-hosted a baby shower Saturday then we went to Oklahoma Saturday evening and this morning saw our oldest nephew Tucker get baptised!! It was great!!

Baby Bump

18 weeks!

Ok, its been 2 weeks since my last bump update. In 2 weeks, my belly has definetly grown a lot! I went Friday night and bought a pair of maternity jeans and a few pairs of slacks for work. My regular clothes all still fit but some of them put a lot of pressure on my belly. I can't believe I'm almost 1/2 way to meeting my baby girl!! :-)

Be sure to read the post below to find out her name!!!! :-)

What's in a name.....

Josh and I really liked 2 girls names and we've had a hard time deciding which to pick if our baby was a little girl....However, when we found out Friday that we were for sure having a baby girl, it was pretty easy for us to decide. One of the names just "fit". So, our baby girl's name will be:

Morgan Laurice Long

Morgan was my mom's maiden name. Obviously that makes it my grandparents last name and therefore it is very special for my family. Laurice (which is pronounced "Lor-Reese") is Josh's mom and sister's middle name. So she will be named after both our families!

It has been fun saying, "she" and "her" the past few days; it makes it so much more real!!!

Baby bump pics coming soon....I've definitely got more of a bump in the past 2 weeks!

So...Its a GIRL!!!!

We are so excited to announce that our sweet baby is a little...............GIRL!!!!!!
The sono girl said she has been doing this for a very long time and she was very sure its a baby girl. She said "If I'm wrong, I'll re-paint your nursery." So, that made me happy that she wasn't just guessing.

I'm only 17 weeks and 6 days today as I was originally supposed to have my sono next week but my OB had to be out of clinic that day so they rescheduled me to today. Well during the sono just after they told us the sex, baby turned with her back facing up/face facing down and the sonographer said she couldn't get a good look at all the anatomy. She also said that its hard to see as much of the heart as they'd like this early on as well so they want me to come back at 20 weeks to finish looking at the rest of the organs.

My OB also said I need to gain a little more weight as I'm only up 3 lbs total so far. Otherwise, all looks great.

Next sono and visit is on Nov 23rd.

Friday is the Big Day!

Well, I realized that I never posted to update that my Quad screen at 15 weeks came back normal with no increased risk of chromosomal abnormalities. YEA!!

I was supposed to go in Monday for my 18 week visit and anatomy sono but my OB's office called today to tell me she had to be out on Monday and wanted to know if they could change my appt to THIS FRIDAY or wait until the next week!!!! Of course I said YES to this Friday!!! Josh and I are so excited to find out if this is a little boy or little girl!!!!

Pray that all looks well and baby looks healthy and great!!!!!

Oh, and I've been feeling the baby move more and more everyday!!! VERY FUN!!! :-)

Tag

I have been tagged by Julie... Thanks girl! Julie is a wonderful friend of mine that I met in the Young Married's Sunday School Class about 5 yrs ago. I've watched her go from a married girl with no kids to now having 3 beautiful children and she has been a wonderful example to me. I think she is a great mother and I know I've learned things from her that will help me with my kids...AND I'm so happy she'll be there for me when I need her advice when baby Long arrives!



So, Here's the deal with this tag: share five things you're obsessed with and then pass the award on to the five most fabulous blogs you know.Just so you know it's going to be hard to narrow the list to 5 things.OK, here we go...



1. I'm totally obsessed with vacuuming the house. I LOVE a freshly vacuumed floor. 1/2 our house is wood and the other 1/2 is carpet. When I get home, if I can't see the vacuum lines on the floor then I usually break out the vacuum. That means that I probably vacuum about 5 times per week, BUT....it just makes me feel good!!



2. I'm obsessed with Planning! Its probably a character flaw of mine but I always feel the need to plan things....from what we're doing this weekend to my plan for next year...I'm just a natural born planner. I blame it on my dad. I drives Josh a little crazy but he's gotten used to it over the years. I'm trying to change, but is a slow process.



3. I'm obsessed with our sweet dog Maggie. I love her so much! She has been such a wonderful addition to our house and most of the time I talk to her like she's a real person. She's really great around kids and would never hurt a fly so I'm really excited about the baby growing up with her.



4. My TV shows and my DVR. Oh DVR, what did I ever do without you?? I am embarrassed to admit how many shows I record on a weekly basis but I'll list the biggies....Dancing with the Stars, 90210, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice and Project Runway. How did this happen??...I have no idea, but I love them all and watch them when I can. (Often on Sunday afternoon while I do laundry)



5. I'm currently obsessed with wanting to feel the baby move. Last Thursday when I was lying on the couch watching Grey's I thought I felt him/her move. I'm in my 16th week and I know people often start feeling "flutters" about now. So...in the evenings I'm always trying to be still and hope I feel something. Its so crazy that there is a tiny moving little life inside there...I can't wait to start feeling those kicks!! :-)

Here's who I tag:

Melanie

Andrea

Rebekah

Jennie

Heather G

Baby Bump

I decided that since I'm 16 weeks now, its about time I start taking more pics. My belly is finally starting to change a little. I'm still in my normal clothes but I don't know that I will be much longer. So...here are the first of the belly bump pics! 2 weeks from today we get to find out if we're having a baby boy or baby girl!!! YEA!! :-) Happy Monday everyone!

This was at 8wks!

Now...16 weeks

16 weeks...close up

Blood Test Tomorrow

I'm currently in my 15th week and traditionally women are encouraged to get the "Quad Screen" done between 15 and 18 weeks of pregnancy. This is a blood test that screens for a few chromosomal disorders like downs syndrome and also for neural tube defects. Its only a screening test and I am pretty familiar with it because of PA school. All my patients at Parkland all had it done and we were taught in school that its very routine and should really be done on everyone. Well, now that its my time to have it done, I'm finding myself a bit nervous.

I know there is about a 5% chance of a false positive screen (meaning the screen is abnormal but the baby is really just fine) which worries me a bit.....which I'm sure is no surprise to any of you given that I often worry about a lot of things.

Well, my doctor recommends doing the test because it could possibly change the rest of the pregnancy care or delivery...like I might need to be followed by a high-risk doctor or I might need to have a c-section, etc. She knows this test will not change anything for us other than just knowing if something is wrong ahead of time. My doctor is great and I trust her totally and I would be saying the same thing to my patients if I were in her place. But...I'm just REALLY ready for it to be done with and get the results back. It will take about a week, so please pray all is well and baby Long is a healthy baby!!!!! And...pray that I won't worry about it in the meantime.

Baby Update!

Dr's appt yesteray and baby Long's heartbeat was very loud and strong at 158. My mom went with me to the appt because Josh was really busy at work and she was so excited to hear the heartbeat...now she's convinced its a girl!

We'll just have to wait and see.....Ultrasound on Nov 9th to find out!!!! YEA!!! CAN'T WAIT!!!!

So ready for Friday!

Well, I've been a single-lady for the past 13 days and I am soooo ready for my husband to come home! He doesn't usually have to travel with his job, but he's currently been in Michigan for work since Sept 24th. It has been really strange not having him to eat dinner with or fall asleep with or wake up to in the morning. I've spent a lot of time with my mom & dad, granny and friends from church, but I miss MY HUBBY! He comes home on Friday and I can't wait!!!! We are going to have a wonderful, relaxing weekend together and probably go out for a fun dinner Saturday night.

In baby news, I'm 13 weeks and feeling really good. Still tired often, but that's about it! 5 more weeks till we find out the sex! Yea!!

Baby Update!

I went to the doctor today, 10 weeks and 5 days. Josh went with me because we were supposed to be able to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. (Last visit we saw the heartbeat on the sono but didn't get to hear it). Well, she couldn't seem to find it with the handheld doppler so we went back and did a quick sono to make sure all was well and the heartbeat was good. I'm glad Josh was there! The baby was moving around like crazy in there and his/her hearbeat was 146 and that's great!!!

YEA! Please continue to pray all is and will keep going well!

Britney Here I Come!

Ok, so please don't judge me, but I have wanted to see Britney Spears in concert for several years. I have never gotten to and well, she's coming to Dallas (tomorrow)!!

Let me first say that I don't like her as a person, I think she has lots of issues, but I know she puts on one of the best concerts ever! So....my sister-in-law and I got tickets at the last minute (they are really pretty good seats) and tomorrow after work we are going! YEA!!

I figure, I'm about to be a mommy and I need to do these things now while its easy to just decide to do things like this at the last minute. And yes, I asked my doctor and she was fine with it. The area is non-smoking so no worries about that.

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!! :-)

What's that noise??

So Sunday after church Josh and I got groceries and then came home and were going to take a nap (as we often do on Sundays). As he was changing clothes I was in the kitchen putting up groceries and noticed the fridge was making a very strange noise. It sounded like a lound fan and you could hear it from the living room. Well, of course I called Josh in there to check it out. He said it was nothing and would probably stop by the time we got up from our nap, so I let it be.

Well, we woke up 1.5 hrs later and I could still hear this strange noise from the fridge. I started telling Josh we needed to call someone, blah, blah, blah. He pulled the fridge back, unplugged it....and the noise was still there! I was like "see Josh, something is wrong...lets call a repair man." He was sure it was nothing so I went in the other room while he proceeded to "fix" it.

A few minutes later I find him craking up in the kitchen and he tells me he fixed it. Turns out, the bottom cabinet that is right next to the fridge holds a few odds and ends that we don't use much (including 2 of those bottles that hold water and have a motorized fan to keep you cool when outside, etc). Apparantly when I was putting things away, I somehow nocked one over and it turned itself on causing a awful, loud, "fan" noise which I mistook for the fridge. Thank goodness we didn't pay to have a repair man figure that out!!!!

Is there really a baby in there?

Apart from my stomach never feeling quite "normal" (and by that I mean I'm either nauseous, not hungry at all or completely starving), I don't really feel pregnant. Its strange to think there is actually a baby growing inside me! I know it will feel more real when I start showing and can feel the baby move and I'm excited for that!! As of now....I just feel a little fat and nauseous (but happy!!)

FYI....I'll be 9 weeks tomorrow!

Feeling Yucky....but for a good cause!

Well almost immediately after I finished typing my last blog entry I stated feeling the beginnings of nausea set it. It seems to come in the early afternoon and last all evening. Last Thurs-Sun were really terrible and I spent most of the evening laying on the couch. I get really hungry for dinner but take 1 or 2 bites and can't eat anymore. But...NO vomiting yet, So that's good news! Josh has been really sweet and has gotten me crackers, ginger ale, preggo pop suckers, sea sickness wrist bands...pretty much anything and everything to help! I really don't want to take any medicine if I can avoid it and the wrist bands have helped a lot!

Today has actually been much better....but I don't want to jinx it!!! Its all for a wonderful cause! :-)

Speaking of a good cause.....That's what I'm reminding myself when I look in the mirror and see my horrible roots that are in desperate need of new highlights but my OBGYN wants me to wait until 12 weeks to have it done...only 5 more to go!!!!!

Things are changing!

We are having a baby!!!!

I am 6 weeks and 4 days today. We went for our first OB appt today and saw the baby's tiny heartbeat on the ultrasound! We just wanted to wait to see the heartbeat before telling everyone. I've been feeling really great. Nothing to really complain too much about. As soon as Josh scans the sono pictures, I will post them (although its still very tiny right now).

Please pray the baby continues to grow and develop normally and that he/she will be a healthy baby.

I promise to keep you updated!

MIA

Ok, so I've been a little MIA on the blog updates lately. Not too much has been going on here, but I'll go ahead and give you a little synopsis on what's been happening with us:

Work: My work is going great! Our clinic was a little slow last week, but things seems to be back to normal this week so all is good! I really enjoy being a PA and I am reminded everyday that medicine is a life-long learning experience.I've realized that I really love patient education and helping my patients understand and take a personal interest in their health. Josh's work was a bit stressful for a while, but things are really going great now!

Bdays: Josh turns 29 on Monday and I'll turn 27 in a few short weeks.

Vacation: Josh and I haven't taken a vacation, just the 2 of us, since our honeymoon 5 yrs ago. Me being in school really put a damper on travel. But, now that I'm free, we're off to Mexico at the end of the month. I'll be taking along my Twilight book series, laying by the pool and working on my tan! Sounds heavenly!

Family: We've been enjoying getting to spend a lot more time with family lately. My mom, dad and brother live close so we see them alot. We spent the 4th with my brother and his wife at Kaboom Town in Addison.....an annual tradition for us! We hosted a Long Family get-together in June for all of Josh's family (aunts, uncles, cousins all included), we had about 28 people here and it was fantastic! We've also enjoyed seeing out sweet nephews and niece and went to Ardmore a few weeks ago for Leah's baby dedication!

That's about all of the major issues in our life. Here's a few recent pics...Enjoy!

My little 2nd cousin (baby Jessica)

Josh with Leah

Me and Leah

Crystal and I at Kaboom Town

My brother and Crystal with us at Kaboom Town

We LOVE Kaboom town!

Making Changes....Before and After

Since we had some free time this weekend we got to work on our guest bedroom. When we moved in we hated the color of the room but just made do and pretty much left the door closed since we didn't like it. Well, we got new bedding and just ran with it. We got up early this morning and started painting....Josh was great and we actually had fun with it. My mom helped me pick out the wall decor and made the beautiful arrangements above the bed. I can't believe that we did all this in 1 day!! Yea!

We also got new curtains today (which I LOVE) for our front living area. Things are really coming along with the house!

Guest Room Before....Awful!

Guest Room AFTER

After (sorry about the the weird shadow the light casted on the wall)

After

New Curtains in front living area

Fun in Tulsa with Amanda & Graham

I went to Tulsa Thursday-Saturday to visit Amanda, a wonderful friend of mine from my college/Chi Omega days, and her new baby Graham. Her hubby had to go out of town for work so it was a great time for me to visit and also be able to help her while her husband was away. It was a wonderful trip. It was great to catch and talk with Amanda while getting to know her sweet baby boy and learing his little personality. It definetly made me leave Tulsa wanting a baby! I am so blessed to have such an amazing friend...who is really more like family. She's only been a mommy for 6 weeks but is already WONDERFUL at it! Look at this sweet little face....he really is precious!

Good Friends

I am a lucky girl...blessed to have some really great friends and a few that will always hold a special place in my heart. Well, life gets busy and sometimes WAY too much time goes by before you see them. Well, tomorrow I am flying up to Tulsa to see one (and hopefully two) of my very best friends from my Chi Omega days. Amanda just had her 1st baby and while her husband is away for work I am going to stay with her and baby Graham and enjoy 3 days of catching up. We're hoping Erin is going to be able to join us for a little while too!!!!! We lived together for 4years and for those 4 years they were my family.....and always will be! I'll be sure to take pics and post them when I return!!!!

Can't wait!

Jinx

Ok, so I totally jinxed myself since last last night I got one of my terrible headaches....1st one in quite a few weeks but I feel like crap!

Headaches be gone!!!

So if you know much about me you know that I have suffered with headaches since my early college years. I have been on many different meds and I do use a medicine that helps me when I start feeling bad; however, I still get headaches every week and sometime multiple days per week. Its terrible!!!

Well...a little over 3 weeks ago on a Sunday I was feeling awful...my head was killing me and despite medication my headache still wasn't going away. My mom came over to massage my neck and shoulders (she's always so sweet to me) and she mentioned that maybe I should get a chiropractic adjustment to help. My medical training is obviously in western medicine and although we learned alot about other medical treatments, I can't say I know tons about things like chiropracty and how it works. Conveniently, my brother is in chiropractic school and he's pretty dang amazing!

I had never been adjusted before so I didn't really know if it would make a difference for me, but since my brother has his own adjusting table and has been taking a lot of neck and upper back adjusting courses, I decided to give it a try. He came over to my house, set up his table and adjusted my neck and back. I couldn't believe how much better I felt even the same day! The rest of that week I didn't have any headaches and I've been adjusted every weekend since then and have probably only had 1 headache total during this whole time! I've been really amazed! I'll keep taking my medicine, no doubt, but I've become a real believer in how much a chiropractor can help! And...I'm really proud of my little brother....he's going to be great!

Then & Now!

As you all know Josh and I have been together a long time (12 years as of Feb 8th)! We've been married for 5 this June and I love him more every day! But....many of you have asked to see pics of us from back in high school, etc.....well, here ya go! I think we've improved over the years!

Now-2008

~1998 (high school).....its amazing the difference 10 years can make!

Early college years (~2001)

These pictures make me laugh! We've been through so much together, Josh is my very best friend in the whole world! I can't wait for many many more years together!

Our New Niece

Our sweet little niece Leah Charlene Long was born this past Thursday! She is such a beauty and looks alot like her big brother when he was a baby. She was 8bs 4oz, 19.9 inches long! Melanie (my sister-in-law) did great and Leah was born safe and healthy! We had to go out of town this weekend so I haven't gotten to see her in person yet, but next Saturday......I'm going to be loving on her like crazy! Now, we've got 3 nephew and 1 niece.....we're becoming quite the experimenced Aunt and Uncle...gonna have to get busy on changing that into mommy and daddy before too long I hope!

A Work in Progress

This weekend Josh and I got a great deal on a leather sofa for our front living area which has been empty since we moved in!!!! I went on a mini shopping spree yesterday and got quite a bit of stuff to complement the sofa (including some awesome throw pillows from Pier One). Now we're looking for a matching pair of leather chairs to complete the room!

Better Late Than Never!

I guess its about time I posted some pics of our new house. I made my friend Amanda post her baby bump pictures with the promise I would post pics of the house since we both live too far from each other to see them in person! So.....to Amanda (and all my other friends and family who haven't seen it yet)...here they are! We're still working on things but we're getting there!

Street View

Guest Room that still needs a lot of work
....Sorry its at the beginning....blogger makes it so hard
to post pics in any order!

office view 1

office view 2

Entry & Empty front living area....we're working

on getting furniture and a rug for this room

view from entry

dining room

Kitchen View 1

Kitchen View 2

Wall with a few classic Shel Silverstein Poems/Quotes

Family Room View 1

View from standing at kitchen sink

Family Room

Our Room with Our new bedroom furniture that I LOVE!

The room is not as small as it looks here!

It is so nice having a King Bed after sleeping in a Full for 4.5 years

I don't know why the reflection in the mirror looks

like a checkerboard....the walls are not really like that

Hallway Bathroom

What will one day be our nursery....yes we already have a crib (its a long story)

We still have a some things we want to do but

we're really LOVING IT!!

COME VISIT US!!!!!!