BLOG.CRAIGCREW.COM

One Day

2010-02-26T15:18:00Z

Ok....I am really going to make a point to update my blog. Bare with me.

36 Days

2009-10-06T16:14:00Z

Ok, so I have a been neglecting my blog ever so little! I can't say it is going to get much better either. Maybe I will get better in time. So much is going on here that I can't keep my days together.

We are getting ready for the final stages of predeployment. Nathan should be gone before Thanksgiving and my house should be almost completely packed by then.

So until I can find alittle bit more time to write, which I know I really need to be writing more, I will leave you with these few pictures These are some that I used to practice with my photo editing abilities I hope you like them.

Not Forgotten

2009-08-31T23:09:00Z

I just wanted to let everyone know that I havent forgotten about my blog. I am just know finally getting back to being my old self again. So for now I just wanted to say Hi. My mother in law leaves me this week and I am going to have kick things up a notch. So for now I will leave you with a picture;

Welcome Atalee!

2009-08-19T16:38:00Z

We would like to announce the birth of our baby girl! She is the newest addition to our family.

ATALEE MAE CRAIG

Date:       August 10
Weight:    7lbs 1oz
Length:    21.5 in
Location: Savannah, Georgia
Time:       10:55 Eastern Time

I am currently working on a write up of the events that lead up to Atalee's birth and the events after her birth. I hope to have a good story soon. It will be a long one too! So check back in a few days and hear my story.

Busy Past Few Days

2009-08-09T02:50:00Z

My inlaws made it in fairly well. It is a very long drive that is for sure. There perhaps could be some news going on this week. I will start with the doctors appointment on Wednesday.

Wednesday:
The visit went fairly fast. I did find out that I was dilated to 1cm which really doesn't mean too much. The doc thinks that I will not have any problem waiting till Aug 19th for the Csection. I had been having crazy contractions that were irregular and very painful. Not much they can do unless they have a pattern. So home I went.

Thursday:
This might be too much info for some, but it is the process we go through as pregnant women. Early Thursday morning I lost my mucus plug. I ended up having really bad contractions that afternoon, but once again they were not regular. It really STUNK TOO!

Friday:
I decided to call the doc about loosing my mucus plug and they told me to go to the ER and get evaluated. It was a waste of time because I was still a very strong 1cm. My contractions were fairly regular, but not enough. Even though I was doubled over in pain, it didn't really matter to that Doc. So they sent me home.

I was pretty mad. I don't understand why I am having to go through such pains and still have to do a Csection. It should be one or the other. What can I do? Nothing. I think that hospital is crazy anyways. It was so old too. I hate having a baby in an old hospital! YUCK!

Friday night we went out to Uncle Bubbas sea food and had some fun with all the troubles that we had over the past few hours. Below are some pictures of our fun. Reilly was really enjoying the shrimp too! I got some video of him begging for more shrimp. I am so glad he isn't a picky eater like me!

Saturday:
Now I don't believe today is ever going to end! I slept fairly well, but woke up HOT! I thought it was just me, but realized that our AC quit working! The rental agency will not get someone out here for a few days! I FEEL LIKE I AM DYING I AM SOOOOO HOT! I was well adjusted to 73 Degrees in the house, but now it is 89 and HUMID! It is terrible. I want to go to the hospital and have the baby just to get some cool air! Maybe I could fake having a baby?

Anyway, I am going to try to take a shower and go to bed, hopefully that will help and I will sleep alright tonight too.

Only Two Weeks Left!

2009-08-04T01:55:00Z

So the last few days I have been kinda laying low and taking it easy. I am starting to draw very close to having my little girl soon. My stomach has dropped so much in the last week. I keep wondering if it can drop lower and lower and it some how does find a way. For the most part I am feeling pretty good, however, I am so limited to what I can actually do. I havent been able to bend past 45degree for sometime now. It is even hard to put on my shorts. You wouldnt think that it would be that hard, but when you have short legs and big belly it is kinda hard to do ANYTHING.

So no complaints on this end. Nathan is doing well. He has continued his busy schedule at work. I wish he didnt have to work so much, but I suppose that is life. We are taken care of so I better be thankful that he can work.

On a completely different note, Nathan has kicked us as a family into financial gear. He has started reading and listening to Dave Ramsey. It isn't going to be easy to do at first, but I know in the long run things will be so much better for us. We decided we wanted to have a good down payment for a house when we buy one and we wanted to be prepared to get the best deal when we decide to make the decision. When making such an important decision such as buying a house we really need to be on top of our game. I mean, it is after all most likely a 25year commitment. So that is one that has kept us busy.

We are down to two weeks, at most, before Atalee will be here. I am still having mixed emotions for Reilly. I know many children have had to adjust to having a sibling, but this will be the first for Reilly and us. I know I am overprotective and that everything will be fine, but I just want the best for my Reilly. We have started to tell him that his YaYa and Papa will be coming to Georgia when Atalee is born. So hopefully, that will all go good too!

To pass the time lately I have been redesigning our church website. I know there are another million things I could be doing, but I did it anyway. I wanted something simple and very easy to update. I think I could do better, but I went ahead and stopped with what I have so that I don't spend to much time on it.

I head to the doctor on Wednesday, hopefully, (which I doubt) she will say that it is "time" for Ms Atalee to be here! The doc better hurry because she is running out of chances to get this kido out of me before I go into labor.

Well, I am going to call it a night. I just thought I would drop a few thoughts.

Here are the following dates I wanted for Atalee to be born on Aug 3, Aug 7, or Aug 13.....and well....the 3rd has past! So come on Aug 7!

Reilly's 4 Year Old Shots

2009-07-30T17:06:00Z

Picture of Reilly and his 4yr old shots:
Oh, I think Reilly did better than Nathan did. I think Nate had more tears in his eyes than Reilly did. He felt terrible that he couldnt protect him from the pain and that he had to be the one to make Reilly get the shots. We did by the way let Reilly know before we left what was going to happen and why we were going to the doctor. Reilly sure did his best not to cry or complain. He took it like a champ and only whimpered. The poor guy got 4 shots that day!

My Ear

2009-07-30T17:04:00Z

So Reilly has been extreamly interested in the fact he is having a little baby sister and that she is almost here! So last night he ran into the living room and informed me that we have to go to the doctor to get "baby tummy" out and that the doctor was going to get her out of my ear! Now were in the world did he ever hear such a tale like that !!! Too cute!

The Human Helicopter & Slobber

2009-07-30T17:02:00Z

Reilly decides he wants to be a human helicopter when he grows up so his daddy gives him a crash 101 coarse in how to land! Reilly gets a little too excited and slobbers all over everything in the process!

A Very Bad Start To My Week

2009-07-30T16:49:00Z

I have had what you can say a very stressful and testing week! One that I will mention very briefly is that the doctors office reported false test results on one of my exams. Lets just say it was test

results that could ruin a marriage! We both knew that the test were a complete lie, but I had a complete nervous break down. Anyway, I dont care to relive the last few days about the test results in the

end my name was mixed up with some other patient who doesnt even belong at that clinic any more. BUT WOW! The stress of the false news almost made my body start to have contractions and cramping. I

thought I was going into labor yesterday morning. I didnt relate the contractions or cramps to the stress until today. Now that everything is cleared up I have been feeling much better.

So, other than the mix up I had another emotional and physical problem....BLUE HAIR!!! Oh yes, I screwed my hair up extremely bad! My roots were growing how and I thought I would redo my highlights. I

usually us a highlighting cap or something, but walmart was all out so I used my clippies instead. Boy did I come out WAY BLONDE!!! This was last Monday. So I figured I would wait until Friday before I do

anything else to my head to tone down the bright blonde. So I found some hair color that was two shades darker than the bright blonde. The only thing is....I didnt know blue could be a shade of blonde!! I

dont know what went wrong, but I ended up with silvery blue hair last Friday! So I was like, ok...dont panic. I will just make my whole head darker all together and live with it. So I waited till Sunday

morning which I didnt go to church because I was too embarrassed about my blue hair. I stopped in Kroger once again and bought the hair color I "thought" I could live with. Boy did I have another thing

coming! My hair went from blue to three different shades of purple and Red! It was terrible. I panic! I quickly made an appointment with a lady a JCPENNY for 3pm that afternoon! It took 3hrs to "try" to reverse the damage that I did to myself. My head was onfire from the bleach she was trying to use to get the purple out. I certainly deserved the pain considering what I had done to myself. My hair was so bad and my scalp had blistered so terribly that the lady had to do my hair in two different settings! So by the end of Sunday, I had extremely dark hair with no hint of red or blonde or purple...PRAISE GOD! I was scheduled to come back on Wednesday to get my highlights in to lighten my hair. She also instructed me to NOT wash or do ANYTHING to my hair to give my scalp a chance to heal. I spent 4hrs getting my highlights in! That is a total of 7hrs to correct my 30minute screw up! The lady seriously did a miracle on my hair. My whole life my hair has always had a red tone to it and now it is just blonde and dark ash blonde! I love it! I couldn't have asked for a better job done! I have a small story about my hairs affairs. Just read below.

So things are a little settled down today. I do have a DRs appointment today. I hope to have some progressing news to give, but I wouldnt expect much. I think Atalee wants to stay in and I don't blame her! It is hard being a woman!

Oh, Nathan did get to take Reilly to work yesterday. He could tell that I was stressed and it was great of him to help out. I needed the time alone. Anyway, when Reilly got back he told me about how he got to sit in a blackhawk helicopter. Now how many 4yr olds can say that!

MY HAIR PROBLEM

In the beginning there was TOO BLONDE.......

Then there was TOO BLUE!!!!

THEN THERE WAS TOO PURPLE!!!! ( LORD HELP ME!!!!!)

I know it is hard to believe...but.....the two below look better here than they did at the salon! There were patches of dark purple and red like a plum!

Sunday Salon Results(actually the pictures below make it look lighter than it really was):

Wednesday Results:
I am working on a better picture, but I didnt have my hair fixed, but you get the color anyway!

moral of the story....

LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE!!!!

36 Week Check Up and Belly Shot

2009-07-24T03:02:00Z

Today was my 36week check up. From here on out I see my doc on a weekly basis. I have kind of an interesting story for today. My original appointment was for 1130am and then I got a call saying that the Doc was in surgery longer than expected and could see me at 130pm. Which made it to where Nathan couldn't be with me because he had things arranged to be with me in the morning. So it was just Reilly and I. I was just expecting a quick 5minute check up and then be on my way. I ended up having to several different "test" that wasnt fun for me including a blood test. So I was none the less poke while having Reilly there with me. That wasnt too much fun. So after all the exams the Doc informed me that Ms. Atalee is measuring big for her age. Even thought I am just know 36weeks, Atalee is measuring 37 very close to 38wks. Which she then said, Oh your Csection date has been pushed back to Aug 19 instead of Aug 18. Of coarse, I will most likely go into labor before my date. Thats just the way it is with me....Labor & a Csection. I bet a hurricane isnt too far away either...ha ha.

If I were to choose a date I would want one of the following Aug 7, Aug 13 or Aug 17. Maybe I will get lucky. I like 7s and 3. Nathan is a 13, Reilly is a 3 and our anniversary is a 3. I am crossing my fingers for one of those dates.

Other than that here is my 36 week Belly Shot picture. It is hard to believe that I still have over 3weeks to go!

Finished Crib

2009-07-22T03:53:00Z

FINALLY FINISHED ATALEE'S CRIB!!!!!!! I hope to get pictures up of everything just as soon as the Mattress comes in this week!! I love it!

Final Weeks

2009-07-21T21:42:00Z

The final weeks are certainly starting show their colors! There are three other woman that I personally know that have been pregnant with me these past 8 months.   One of them had their little girl yesterday morning 4 weeks early. Everything seems to be ok and all are doing well, it was just time for baby Alia to be born. One of my other Army friends is due in 4 days and she has already dialated to 3.   The third woman is in the hospital for high blood pressure and then that leaves me.

I am so nervous about the upcoming weeks. We have been thinking about our little Atalee for a while now, but it is all coming so surreal to us as everyone else is having their little ones. I have become motivated to get some things finished up this week just in case things dont go as planned for me either.

I really dont have alot left to do with the exception of the crib not being put together. Nathan has been meaning to do it for several weeks, but something always seems to come up at work. He never knows sometimes when he may have to go in so it is hard to allot a time to get this crib together. So now I am going to try to make myself busy today and see if I can work my magic.   Right now I have Reilly oocuppied by a Transformer game we bought for the XBOX360. So that will keep him going while I figure out Atalee's crib.

As far as how I feel I am feeling fine. I have my moments where I feel like I can't move and I dont have an ounce of energy left, but really my little one is very healthy and I dont feel like I could ask for more at the moment. I am tired of feeling FAT, but I also know that one a few months in my life will I ever be able to have a little one kicking me to death. I can litterally spend 30minutes easily laying on my back and watch my stomach move all around as Atalee tries to adjust to my position. Sometimes I close my eyes and try to imagine what he is doing. It really is a beautiful thing being pregnant espeically knowing that we can provide a healthy enviorment for her children.

Reilly has really taken notice to all the changes for his little sister. I have packed two disposable camera in my diaper back to give to Reilly when Atalee is born. I am going to let him take whatever pictures he wants with his new sister.   I am also going to wrap a present and put it in the bag and when Atalee is here, I am going to give Reilly the present and say it is from his little sister. I am also hoping to arrange to have someone bring some ballons to the hospital for Reilly when she is born too. I want every moment to be a happy one for him too. He is going to have it hard enough when daddy is gone for a year. It is going to be hard on us all, but we will pull through.

So I better get to building that crib. All I know is that it never goes according as planned in having a baby so if Aug 18th is the latest she will be here then that means she could come at any time and I need to be ready.

Grouchy

2009-07-15T23:01:00Z

So things seem to be going ok. This pregnancy is so much defferent than the first one. I am hurting in places that I didnt know could hurt. I am always tired which frustrates me to no end. I can't stand seeing things that need to be done that I can't physically do. I try to do things in small increments, but that isn't helping any either.

(two days later....I got distracted and didn't finish the above entry)

Well, my back has been killing me the last three days. I don't think it is labor or anything, which I hope not because I am only 35wks, but I have been hurting pretty bad. Some have told me that when the baby drops down it adds alot of pressure to the nerves on the back. So that could be a possibility. It is that kind of pain that hurts so bad and then once you get some kind of relief, your are exhausted! Which is why I stopped writing in the above paragraph. Who knows, I am just ready for that part to end.

I have managed to finish with Reilly room. I went through his toys, chair and things and boxed most of them up. I feel really good about having his room done. It looks so clean compared to the rest of the house which seems to stay in a constant state of "moving to Arkansas."

Hopefully, Atalee will not come before she is suppose too. I really need the time to spend with Reilly. These are the last few days he is an only child in the house and I feel really sad for him. I am trying to give him the attention that he needs now. When that baby comes, daddy gets deployed and we are moving, Reilly might have some emotional problems. I hope that we can set him up to be a helper though. I wish we could offer more stability for him. There are pros and cons to every decision we make. I just got to make sure he knows he isnt forgotten about if that makes any sense. So, I hope to get to spend these next few days holding him tight.

So what is on the agenda for the next few days? I dont foresee any actual plans to do anything, but I do hope that we get Atalee's crib together and have her things in order. Hopefully, Reilly will want to help build the crib for his little sister. I dont have a doctors appointment until Thurs. July 23. Then I will be seeing the Doc once a week until Atalee is here.

Nathan has begun preparing for the deployment to Afghanistan. They have been pretty busy at work and I suppose they will stay pretty busy with the next few weeks. We dont know when exactly he will be gone, but we do know that he will not be here for Thanksgiving.

Well, I better go, I am starting to think about to much at one time.

34wk Update

2009-07-11T01:03:00Z

I went to the doctor today and found out that Atalee was head down. I guess that is why I have been having my rib cage completely dislocated all the time. I can really tell that she is down too. I have alot of pressure where her head is and sometimes it really hurts. She is weighing about 5lbs 4oz at 34wks. Lord help me if it is true and she does gain a pound a week! Even if she were to gain 3lbs she would be a 8lb baby. The doctor said she is very healthy too. So we have everything to be thankful for!

We did get a few ultrasound pictures. The ones that are 3D arnt as good as the last ones. Atalee was too far down and her face in some pictures looks like she is a skeleton. Nonetheless, we still got pictures and we made sure she was still a girl!

Below are some pictures of some clothing items that we got and some friends got for Atalee. So I will make this short and post those pictures!

Special Thanks to my Buddy Martha! She bought Atalee this Razorback Outfit!

Well You know me, I can't wait to get a picture of the two wearing these shirts!

OH YEAH! I HAVE A LITTLE COWGIRL! I gotta get her a red/white bow for her hair. I have boots to go with it too!

My Diaper bag that I finally got it packed for the hospital! GO ME!

Inside look at the diaper bag!

The toy horse that Reilly wanted to get Atalee. Too Cute!

Nathan and Reilly Walking from the Pond in Arkansas.

33 Weeks and 4 Days Prego Picture Update

2009-07-05T20:06:00Z

I thought I would go ahead and post a nice fat picture of me on the internet. It took a while to convince myself, but I did it. Atalee is going one way and that way is out! So right now I am 33wks and 4days and about 44days to go! No telling what I will look like in 6wks!

Just Leave Me Alone

2009-07-02T03:25:00Z

So Reilly got made because I would'nt let him have any coke at 10pm at night...hmmm....I wonder why I wouldnt do that! Anyway, he proceed to though a fight and go tell his daddy that I wouldnt let him have a coke. Of coarse, Daddy caved into the wrath of Momma and supported the answer "No Coke." Reilly then picked up his chair and threw it on the floor! Nathan jumped up and gave Reilly a well deserved lecture.

Well Reilly decided he would go sit on the floor by the door and face away from us. He was mumbling under his breath. Nathan asked him what he was saying and this is what followed.

Nate: What are you saying?

Reilly: Just leave me alone, I am praying.

Nate: What are you praying about?

Reilly: I am praying to see YaYa and Papa!

He is such a mistreated child, what can we say?

Growing Sharp Pains

2009-07-02T03:21:00Z

Well, I just thought I would drop a line to mention out miserable I have been feeling today. I absolutely have NO MORE ROOM for Atalee to grow. I am feeling stretching pains all over! Its terrible! She has finally learned how to use her talons....I mean fingernails! I mean she is scratching me like crazy!

Other than the discomfort I am doing alright. To pass the time I have been packing some boxes in Reilly's room. As of right now I have 12 medium sized boxes tightly packed and ready to go when we move in December.

I am going to bed, I just thought I would make myself write tonight.

Atalee's Car Seat

2009-06-29T15:43:00Z

Oh I forgot to mention that we got Atalee's carseat today. I was really excited about it. It was so so hard to get due to the fact just about everyone had it out of stock for months! I have been on a waiting list for the last 4wks. I finally sat down and got my geek on and did some deep searching for the car seat. The one I got is really one of the best when it comes to safety features. We move so much and travel long distances so I really wanted a car seat that I could count on. So I am happy with the peg perego car seat. Reilly had alot of fun putting it together too! I love how deep the carseat is to support the baby!

Product Specs for other new mothers:
Your precious cargo can stay in the All New Perego Primo Viaggio SIPlonger thanks to the newly designed seat. This new design allows for afew extra pounds, and a few extra inches of space. The new PrimoViaggio SIP can now be used with or without the base, which makes foreasy and convenient travel for parents on the go. Safety is the number1 priority for the new Primo Viaggio SIP. The all-new side impactprotection includes heavily padded wings that surround the baby's headkeeping it protected from side impact danger.

I Just Laugh About It. What Else Can I Do?

2009-06-29T15:12:00Z

So things have been pretty busy these past few days. We have been helping some friends move into a new house that they just bought.

Well, I just sat and watched everyone else move. The glory of being pregnant during move. But other than that I have been stressing about the upcoming days and months. We as a family have so much to go through. So many changes. A new baby alone should be enough to keep anyone stressed to the max, but we decided to make life a little bit more interesting and through in a deployment and a move across the U.S. . So sometime by December 31, I will will have a daughter, husband in Afghanistan, Reilly starting PreSchool (homeschooling), boxes will be packed and moved to Arkansas, Christmas shopping will be done AND I will have turned 29! So I do see the light at the end of the tunnel!

I just laugh about it. What else can I do? I dare not complain about it. I really do have a great support system in place. It wont be all work and no play, because the real way I should look at this is that I will have a new baby that thinks the world of me, love letters coming from a soldier, Reilly growing up(ok...might not be the happiest), and I will get to spend Christmas at home with the ones I love....oh and I will still be in my 20s!!!!!

The pregnancy is going. I am approaching the end of 32wks and moving straight on to week 33. No complications, however, I am so so so uncomfortable! I feel like I have no room to move. I gave up on the idea of bend down to pick something up. It just not going to happen! Currently Atalee is laying transverse in my stomach. No wonder I get kicked and punched when I sleeping on my slide. Reilly did the same thing. I wonder why though? Reilly had alot of hiccups towards the end. It will be interesting to find out if Atalee is the same.

Yeterday, Nathan and went looking at some houses around the area. We wanted to get a good idea of what prices are and locations. We decided to back off buying a house until we can put down a down payment. So maybe sometime after the deployment we will buy a house....maybe....I just can't believe how much you actually pay for a house when it is said and done! I thought rent was just burning money, but actually not having some form of down payment and a 30yr load might be burning alot more money in the end.

Oh, we have created a project for Reilly when Nathan is deployed. We are promising him a puppy. Kind of a two bird with one stone deal. We have wanted a dog for awhile, so we picked the breed and lettting Reilly get excited about it. Sounds mean, but we will be the ones really caring for it. Anyway, we picked the breed Vizsla. I will tell more about it as time goes buy and I will do my best to keep up the progress.

Well, I need to get to sorting toys and packing Reilly's room. Time is ticking!

THE VIZSLA
(VEESH-LA)