Bumpdate: Week 6

How Far Along: 6 weeks and 5 days

Total Weight Gain: 0 lbs

Maternity Clothes: None so far however I feel like all my clothes are tight (I'm thinking it's just in my head but maybe not?)

Gender: No clue.

Movement: None unless you could the massive amount of stomach growling...

Sleep: Soooo sleepy! My eyes pop open right at about 5:30 to 6am but my body wants to sleep for at least another hour or so.

What I Miss: Randomly this week I've been missing chili cheese coneys from Sonic... My doctor said no hot dogs which usually wouldn't be any big deal because I'm not a huge fan, but of course, now that I know I can't have it I realllllly want one.

What I'm Looking Forward To: This week is Christmas and that means we get to tell our families!! I cannot wait to tell my parents...

Cravings: No super strong cravings. I'm just hungry pretty much all the time. I've been eating a lot of chicken noodle soup as I haven't been feeling as well as I did last week. And fruit! Bananas, apples, pineapple - I've been putting those away like its my job.

Aversions: The aversions have definitely arrived. Spice rubbed pork tenderloin. It literally pains me to type the words I'm so grossed out by it. I made this last week when my college girlfriends all got together for dinner and about one bite in, I was entirely over it. Brandon, on the other hand, loved it and decided we should make it for Christmas with his dad. So out house has now smelt like it twice, I've had to look at it twice and every time I open the fridge I make sure not to look at the left overs. I could lose my lunch just thinking about it. Ewwww.

Other Crazy Symptoms: About two seconds after I realize I'm starting to get hungry, I start feeling absolutely terrible. I have yet to actually throw up from this pregnancy (I might have thrown up earlier this week but it had to do with my ridiculous gag reflex caused by food textures and eating something that felt cold and squishy) but I've come disgustingly close multiple times. It is pretty much my goal in life to keep some food in my stomach at all times so that I don't ever feel hungry.

Daddy Update: The sound of the little heartbeat made it much more real. Brandon also learned the hard way that Doctor Daddy isn't very fun. Trying to comfort me while knowing the odds and all the things that can go wrong left him in a difficult position. From now on we are going to try our best (and by "our" I mean "my") to only consult Brandon on daddy issues and leave the doctoring up to Dr. Moore. 

Best Moment of the Week: There were two really good moments this week. The first one came after being scared so it was more of a relief than a happy time. I had some spotting this week which made me a little nervous and just in case you aren't aware of what "a little nervous" can turn into when combined with pregnancy hormones, let me sum it up for you - completely paranoid psycho crying female. I called our doctor and he very sweetly met us on a morning his clinic was closed and did an ultrasound. It turned out that everything was just fine (still not sure what caused the bleeding) and we got to see Baby King for the first time! "Tiny" is an understatement! His/her little heart beat was the very best sound I've ever heard! I didn't cry or really even react at all because honestly I was just completely overwhelmed with relief. I just laid there, holding Brandon's hand and listened. The fact that the little bitty teeny-tiny dot on the screen was our baby and it had a heart that was beating just like it was supposed to was absolutely amazing. God is so good to us.

This week we got to tell my cousins - Casey, Lyndsey, Levi & Callie. They stopped by our house on their way to the Sullivan Family Christmas Concert and it was just too perfect of an opportunity to pass up! Everyone was standing in our kitchen and I asked if they could keep a secret. It took a little bit but we finally determined that they were safe to tell... I sat the picture of our little ultrasound on the counter and their faces were absolutely priceless! It is such a wonderful feeling to be surrounded by people who you know are so genuinely happy for you that they literally are smiling from ear to ear and hugs and high fives are being passed out like candy. This little miracle is already loved so very much! 

Baby King's 1st Picture!!

I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.

So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.

1 Samuel 1:27-28

Bumpdate: Week 5

You won't be seeing this until wayyyy after Week 5 has come and gone, but I started writing these as soon as we found out that we were having a baby. While my husband has a steel trap mind, me... not so much. Therefore, I'm keeping track of all the bumpdates so that later on I will be able to go back and remember each week!

How Far Along: 5 weeks and 1 day

Total Weight Gain: No weight gain yet! I am really curious how this whole weight gain thing pans out. I have been blessed with a crazy-amazing metabolism and therefore, have always been able to eat whatever I want without gaining weight. I'm completely fine with putting on some pounds (obviously it's necessary for making a baby), I'm just not real sure how it's going to work. In high school I drank these awful weight gaining shakes trying to add weight during basketball season... ZERO pound increase. So, I'm just continuing to eat to my little heart's content (although a MUCH healthier selection than my norm) and I guess my body will just do the rest. I fear a rude awakening is right around the corner...

Maternity Clothes: None yet - although I did read this very interesting blog about purchasing maternity clothes as soon as you find out your pregnant because that is the only way you will find them on sale. So I did buy some plain colored t-shirt material tops at Target for $4 this week, which was awesome. I walked into the maternity section with the naive thought that I would know what to buy and then it dawned on me that I had no flippin' clue what size I would wear... and the clothes were so big... A little overwhelming, but for $4 I figured if I completely missed it wouldn't be a big deal.

Gender: Not a clue. I don't even have a feeling one way or another. While I'm out shopping, I keep thinking I see things that are "signs." An entire set of Christmas wrapping paper that's pink with crowns. A church billboard that said, "It's a BOY!" Lots of mixed messages out there! Ha!

Movement: Not for a while... unless you count the constant rumble of my hungry stomach.

Sleep: Before we even found out I was pregnant I had been having these absolutely bizarre and very realistic feeling dreams. Some were good, some bad, some completely crazy. Thankfully, they have subsided somewhat and I'm back to sleeping normally, with the exception of feeling like I'm about to have a heat stroke the minute I pull the covers up. I'm also absolutely loving a nap! It doesn't need to be a long one - I've fallen asleep twice now in the car while Brandon runs in to do an errand.

What I'm Looking Forward To: TELLING! I saw my family this weekend and I could hardly stand it. We did tell my little brother which relieved the overwhelming urge to shout from the rooftops our exciting news. Zac was so adorable when we told him... We didn't do anything special just simply asked him if he preferred to be called "Uncle Zac" or "Uncle Awesome." He was very excited, but promptly got serious, shook Brandon's hand and whispered, "That better have been immaculate conception."

What I Miss: So far, I'm good on not missing anything. I immediately stopped drinking my occassional Coca-Cola and the first couple of days, I missed having an option other than water. But honestly, it hasn't been any big deal whatsoever.

Cravings: I don't think I've had any legitimate "cravings" yet. I have been really hungry but whatever you put infront of me will work fine.

Aversions: Nothing has made my stomach churn yet, with the exception of our sweet little Rylee dog. Miss Priss went to the groomer this morning as she was starting to wreak and my extra sensitive nose couldn't take it. Typically I just give her a bath myself, but this time I just didn't feel like risking it.

Other Crazy Symptoms: I don't currently have any symptoms - I feel remarkably well! Praying it continues! This isn't a symptom, more like just me being crazy, but I completely believe in my head that I look pregnant. I mean, I know that I don't... nothing on me has changed whatsoever... but I keep looking down at my stomach expecting it to look significantly bigger and when we saw my family this weekend I fully expected my parents to just know. 

Daddy Update: Brandon has been so precious this week. I think it's slowly starting to dawn on both of us that this is real. We talk about it incessantly, I think mainly just to remind ourselves that there really is a baby growing in my belly. Brandon is going to be the very best daddy in the whole world, I am 100% positive. He is DYING to tell his family and a few really good friends, but we are trying very hard to hold out until Christmas. Even then I won't be as far along as we would like, but we can't let the great opportunity of giving the most precious gift on Christmas pass us by! Brandon's brother, Caleb, sent him this hilarious video a few weeks ago as the third brother, Christopher and his wife are also expecting (Our baby will make it 3 babies in 18 months for the King family... that's what happens when all 3 brothers get married 6 months apart!). We'll be driving down the road and Brandon will randomly start rapping "It's a dad's life..."

Best Moment of the Week: Finding out Baby King was on the way! We have been praying over this baby for months before we even decided that the time was right to try. We continued to pray and pray and pray and now, our prayers have been answered and we feel absolutely, positively overwhelmed by this amazing miracle. I have been pouring over books for the last week and the more I read the more I realize that "miracle" is the only word that describes it, and even still doesn't truly do it justice. We feel incredibly blessed.

I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.

So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.

1 Samuel 1:27-28

A Quick Catch Up

Well, when you take a five month hiatus from blogging, you should probably do a quick catch up before just jumping into what's going on today. Sorry to leave you guys hanging on a few things... So, I'll do a very brief recap and then sometime before the weekend is over I'm going to blog all about our Christmas decor. (I'd be lying if I didn't admit that one itty-bitty part of the reason I brought the blog back when I did was because I am dying to share pictures of our fun trees! Brandon and I added quite a few things this year and I'm very pleased with how it all turned out!! So, pictures coming soon!)

Now let's get this party started:

Not a good sign when you are the ONLY car left in the lot.

July: The month of July was lost in an absolute whirlwind of being entirely overwhelmed by the new job. My bestest friend, Sheridan (who I also happened to be replacing at work), moved to St. Louis in June (her husband matched for his residency program at WashU - woohoo!) and left me in a swamp of work and best friendless. It was exactly as dramatic and pitiful as it sounds, trust me. Sad, sad month. Only four years and six months until she gets to move back!! Yes, I very selfishly have a countdown.

 

The girls LOVE their Uncle B.

August: Starting to get the job somewhat under control during the month of August, although it did require me to spend a few days in "enemy territory" as I traveled to Austin, Texas for an alumni event. (Ugly orange, but good food!) Brandon and I also had the privilege of keeping our two favorite girls, Blythe and Zoe, for a full weekend while their parents went to an out-of-state wedding. We had the very best time! We played at the science museum, built a big fire on the patio, watched the Lorax at least three times, made some yummy cake balls, slept in a giant fort Brandon rigged together in our guest room and somehow successfully got to school on time with lunches packed! Massive success!

 

Most beautiful beach in the world and we were the ONLY ones on it!

September: Boy does time fly! In September we celebrated our first anniversary in beautiful Turks & Caicos. It was the perfect way to top off a truly wonderful year of marriage. We were so incredibly blessed to have a healthy, overwhelmingly happy, joy-filled first year. People always say that the first year is the hardest - if this is true, I can't wait to see what the next fifty years hold! Year #1 was, hands down, the very best year of my life.

 

Happy Birthday to Me!
My mom always makes sure I have my favorite strawberry cake on my big day!

 October: My BIRTHDAY month! October was packed full of exciting adventures and therefore deserves three pictures instead of just one!

On work trips, I rarely ever have time for sight seeing,
but I made an exception for the White House. It's kind of a big deal...

I kicked the month off with a work trip to Washington, DC where I became re-acquainted with our nation's beautiful capital (I hadn't been since high school) and met some of our fabulous alumni and donors.

Boomer Sooner!

I hopped back on a plane just in time to land in Dallas for OU/TX weekend with my parents and Brandon. This is our second year for the four of us to go to OU/TX together and it has become one of my favorite family traditions... and OU has pummeled Texas both years, so we must be good luck! We drove back to OKC on my birthday and celebrated by going to see Les Miserables with Brandon's family. It was a wonderful month full of lots of fun activities!

 

This photo was taken at 2 am the morning of our Hall of Fame Dinner.
Seating 400 people including OK Supreme Court Justices, University Presidents,
oil & gas icons and the best attorneys in the state is a LOT of work!

November: My favorite month of the year - the month designated to being grateful for your blessings! This year, I was just thankful I survived this crazy month. November 1st was the law school's yearly Hall of Fame Order of the Owl event where we host over 400 of our alumni to dinner and the induction ceremony for some of our most prized alumni. In addition to the main evening event, we have our bi-annual Board of Trustees meeting AND a brand new Hall of Fame Luncheon for the recipients. All. In. ONE. Day. It was a smashing success!!

 

Zac playing some really impressive basketball!

Another one of my favorite things about the month of November is that basketball season finally tips off! Brandon and I have had the great pleasure of getting to watch my little brother Zac play quite a few games already this season. As it is his Senior year, we are doing our best to make it to as many games as possible. It always brings my heart great joy to see my brother doing what he loves and doing it extremely well! Go Eagles!

 

Thunder Up!

Speaking of basketball, in November we introduced our precious nephew Brooks to the Oklahoma City Thunder! Fun, would be an understatement. Brooks LOVED every single bit of it - the lights, the game and Rumble! He would clap when everyone clapped and for the majority of the game he just sat in my lap and tried his best to take it all in! So much for his little eyes to see...

 

There's no place like home.

Finally, it was Thanksgiving! We spent two nights at the Ranch surrounded by my sweet family. Brandon and I do our best to split holidays evenly between our families and when you know that next year you won't be home for Thanksgiving, it makes you appreciate the day so much more. This holiday will always be most special to me as we celebrate at the Ranch by playing cards, telling stories of the past, and enjoying each others' company. Since I learned how to cook a turkey last year (I still have nightmares from this story - read all about it here and here), I was designated "turkey chef" this year with my family. I accepted the position much more willingly since I had one bird worth of experience!

 

 

My OCD self has to presort all ornaments before hanging them on the tree!

 

December: And now it's already DECEMBER! Where do the days go?! Check back later this week for pictures of all our holiday decor!

 

 

Be Blessed!

Raegan

Remember Me?

Hi. I'm Raegan.

 

I used to have this blog and I absolutely loved writing little notes to you every day. Then I got this new job and it was a great new gig full of new, exciting adventures and I told you all about it and how I was so excited... and then I fell straight off the face of blogging Earth.

 

My bad.

 

Well, good news - I'm back! And probabably with a much more realistic frame of mind. See, I'm rather OCD. The old Raegan wanted to write at least five posts a week - Recipe Monday, Traveling Tuesday... you get the picture... and if the old Raegan couldn't find time to write five posts a week, than she shouldn't have a blog at all.

 

Guess what. NOBODY has time for that!

 

So, meet the new Raegan. She has a crazy, busy, wonderful job that sucks up a LOT of her time and a really handsome husband that she doesn't want to neglect and a cute little house that needs decorating and friends that she wants to be there for.

 

But here's the thing, the new Raegan really misses the old Raegan's blog. Writing a blog was fun! It kept my mind always thinking. It kept a really lovely list of fun things to write about in my iPhone notes that have just been sitting there, waiting to be discussed. It kept me in touch with lots of dear friends who live far, far away. It kept me happy because it was surprisingly therapeutic - it's a place where I could really think something through. It also connected me with a whole entire group of new, fun friends!

 

The new Raegan really wants to bring the old Raegan's blog back, but with a little more realistic approach. The blogging goals, well, I won't lie, they've taken a hit... The new Raegan is going to do her very best to crank out t-h-r-e-e little blogs a week. That means, if the new Raegan cooks something delicious that week she'll probably blog it... but if the new Raegan is crazy swamped and eats Taco Bell for seven straight days she isn't going to cook something just to put it on the blog. Sorry, the new Raegan is just trying to survive...

 

I hope you'll start following me again. I've missed you! I've missed talking to you and even more, hearing from you! I've missed sharing ridiculous and funny things that happen and I've missed sending love to people I adore. So, here's the deal. I'm going to make a promise to you and I don't take promises lightly...

I promise to do my very best to blog as frequently as possible,

but I do NOT promise to sacrifice my time with my husband, my family, my dear friends or my sweet and patient Heavenly Father in order to have more time to write.

 

 

It's important to have priorities and while I truly love blogging, it isn't in my top five. So, please be patient with me as I do my best, but refuse to sacrifice everything for this fun hobby. Looking forward to continuing this little adventure... I missed you!

 

Be Blessed,

Raegan

Recipe Monday: Massive Fail

The week before we went on vacation I made a new cajun chicken pasta recipe and it was to. die. for. I mean, crazy good! Like top three things I've ever made in my life (which isn't saying much since I've only been cooking all of 9.5 months, but go with me here). Just take my word for it, it was good... really, really good.


So when planning our weekly menu last week, we decided that cajun chicken pasta was a must. Well, I made it tonight and took pictures and did everything the same as last time except that the recipe said you could make one little change to make it a bit healthier so I, for once, made the healthy choice... and it was awful!!


Not kind of bad, really bad. Utter flop. Like so bad we didn't even feed it to the dog. So, my apologies for the lack of recipe today... usually I have at least one on back up but we got a new computer this week and any pictures I hadn't put on the external hard drive got sent into Apple heaven. So, no back up pictures, no cajun chicken pasta, just this little piece of priceless advice:

Don't get frustrated when dinner is a flop...

It happens to the best of us. 

Just keep a little ice cream in the freezer for backup.

So since I don't have any food to talk about (and since it's 10:10pm) I thought I would borrow from my dear friend Ki, over at Faith Home & Lovelies, the Instagram update plan! 


{One hour and eight minutes later}


Apparently, I'm not smart enough to load Instagram pictures into Blogger. People, it's obviously just not my night. Go read Ki's blog... she's smart enough to figure it out AND she has really cute pictures! 


I'll see you on Tuesday with b-e-a-u-tiful pictures of my favorite place in Austria (technology allowing of course). And next week, I won't make the mistake of attempting to be healthy... Recipe Monday will return next week, fingers crossed!


Be Blessed (for your patience),
Raegan