Ten Pregnancy Symptoms I Had Before I Took the Test

I have so much suppressed details to write about this pregnancy. Three months into it and I have not blogged about any maternity stuff, other than the announcement. That might not sound like a big deal, but I have a chronic case of documentia. It’s a disorder that I made up to label my impulse to document everything.

So I do plan to catch up on all the first trimester updates, but let’s just start with how I knew I was pregnant.

First of all I was not expecting to be pregnant. Here is the TMI version of the story.

I don’t do birth control pills or anything like that. I did once when I was a newly wed and have decided against it for the past 14 years due to personal medical reasons. However, we were trying NOT to get pregnant through every NFP (natural family planning) method in the book. Now some of you might laugh and say “Yeah, that NFP stuff is a joke and it never works”, but let me repeat I have not been on birth control for 14 years and the three children that I have were not accidents. Let’s just say we had a good system going. At one point at the beginning of this year we discussed the idea of having another child soon. Except we decided it wasn’t good timing and we wanted to wait a bit to be completely ready. From that point on though I will admit to being a little more laid back with charting and all that. It’s not the first time I have taken the casual-trust-my-gut approach to NFP. However, it is the first time it resulted in an unexpected pregnancy.

I knew pretty early on what we were in for. I made this list on March 23 (which would have made me almost 5 weeks pregnant). I even titled it-

“Am I Pregnant?”

1. Weird Dreams

2. Fatigue

3. Late period

My period used to be all over the place so this one isn’t that big of indicator for me, but I was expecting to start any day.

4. Nausea

5. Ear problems

This is something I commonly struggle with when I am pregnant. That is part of the reason I had to go to the Doctor recently.

6. Forgetfulness

Not that I want to attribute everything I do to pregnancy, but there have been some CRAZY mix ups. I feel like I am in such a fog.

7. Insomnia

I knew when I woke up at 3:30 am hungry and unable to sleep that something was definitely up.

8. Metallic taste

During those first few weeks I had a slight metallic taste in my mouth. Which was probably the biggest indicator.

9. Numb Arm

My right arm had a lingering numbness to it. It’s not even a pregnancy symptom I have ever felt in the past, but when I looked it up, sure enough, it’s a pregnancy symptom.

10. Gas

Bloating and intestinal issues. Bleh.

From there the list just grew and was of course later confirmed through a pregnancy test. Even though it was kind of a tough first trimester I considered all the symptoms a blessing because it was a constant reminder that this was real. I knew it probably meant I was having a very normal healthy pregnancy.

Did any of you other mamas have tell tale signs when you were expecting? Did you know right off the bat, or were you oblivious for the longest time like those women on the show I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant? Just kidding, don’t even get me started on all that craziness!

By Natalie|2015-05-21T19:23:06+00:00May 21, 2015|My Life, Pregnancy & Birth, Uncategorized|8 Comments

Welcome!
Gallery
Welcome!

Uncategorized

Welcome!

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Hello, and welcome to my brand spankin’ new website! Please don’t look too closely because this site is still heavily underconstruction. I don’t know if you should even be reading this without a hard hat. Seriously though, J and I spent all weekend day and night working on getting everything transferred from Blogger to WordPress and trying to customize and organize over 1,000 posts and all the many features that go into the pages of a blog. It’s not done yet, but we are both exhausted and I didn’t want to delay the launch any longer. I can’t thank my husband enough for everything that he has done to invest in this passion of mine.

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Now I do realize that some of you might be thinking this site doesn’t look that dramatically different from the old site.

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Or maybe you like the old site better, but you’ll just have to trust me that from a blogger’s standpoint the bones of this site are thousand times better.

Since this is a blog move, let’s compare it to a real move. Messy Mom was renting a prefab home before. Blogger (owned by the google empire) owned my home. The rent was cheap (free) and it was great, but I was wanting my blog to grow and I didn’t think house would be the right size for what I was dreaming up. So last week I had a little going away party! I showed a movie, had some party favors (The Starbuck’s giveaway ends tonight at midnight! There is still time to enter if you haven’t already), and I even invited everyone to my next party (a link-up party).

Then I packed up all of my content and moved it over to this new site, which does cost a little more, but it’s a customized home that my husband J built it by hand. So it is a completely one of a kind and comes with amenities I never would have dreamed of in my old virtual house. Now I just have to learn my way around and figure out the fancy bells and whistles of it all.

As with a real move, getting into the house is only the beginning. You have to unpack and set up. Sometimes you get rid of stuff you don’t need anymore or purchase some new window treatments and such. Then it’s time to organize everything. Even when you think you have it all set you then realize you want to rearrange because you think the couch would look better on the other side of the room, or you can’t find your waffle iron and you wonder if it got left behind in the move. You just keep tweaking your crib until eventually it feels like home again.

So that is where I am at in this process. I still have a lot of work cut out for me. There may be some glitches here and there, but please be patient. I will have it all sorted out soon and then we’ll have a house warming party. You know how much I love a good party.

Click edit button to change this text.

By Natalie|2015-05-18T22:28:07+00:00May 18, 2015|Uncategorized|9 Comments

Messy Mom Giveaway!

I love giveaways! I have won A LOT of free stuff from blog giveaways. My favorite was probably the wok set that I won from Barefoot by the Sea. It came with loads of non perishable asian cuisine and other items from Blue Dragon.

The day the two huge boxes were dropped at my doorstep was like Christmas! We have made several items from the stash so far and my husband volunteered to make spring rolls again tonight.

Sadly the giveaway that I have for you today isn’t that great. In fact this is probably the most anticlimactic giveaway in blog history, but it is from the heart!

As a thank you for joining me on this journey I would like to give you the chance to win a cup of coffee on me. Actually, depending on what you order with your $10 Starbucks gift card you will probably be able to get TWO drinks! This deal is getting sweeter by the minute.

And because this is from me personally I am going to be sending it the old fashioned way through snail mail (because I could send you an electronic gift card these days) and it will come in an adorable handmade card from fellow blogger Karrilee from Abiding Love, Abounding Grace. I WON the notecards in a giveaway that she had and I love the idea of having it go full circle to another giveaway.

To enter just use the rafflecopter below to sign up.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I have kept it simple this time with the options of following on Twitter and Facebook. I will do another giveaway for subscriptions sometime after I launch the new site and I can’t wait to host more bigger and better giveaways for you guys as the site grows.

If you want to keep up with MessyMom.com, but don’t care about the giveaway then by all means you can still follow along. My social media buttons are the first thing in my sidebar.

Then come back tomorrow as the party continues and I reveal a new weekly link up I will be hosting!

“Giveaway ends May 18th at 11:59 PM EST. Open to Residents of the US only. Prizes cannot be shipped to PO Boxes. Winner will be selected by Random.org and be notified by email. Winner have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is selected. Facebook and Twitter are in no way associated with this giveaway. By providing your information in this form, you are providing your information to me and me alone. I do not share or sell information and will use any information only for the purpose of contacting the winner.”

By Natalie|2015-05-18T01:50:45+00:00May 11, 2015|Uncategorized|23 Comments

Mothers Are Like Clocks

Long ago, before we even had children we bought this large clock for our kitchen. It actually set itself automatically and changed when the time changes twice a year. It was just a simple analog clock, so I never did figure out how it could adjust the time like magic, but it was faithful to do so.

The clock moved from Texas, to Kentucky, and finally Ohio where it adorned our kitchen once more. It wasn’t the cutest or trendiest home decor item but it had an important purpose. Our son even learned how to tell time the old fashioned way thanks to that clock. I’ll admit that it had gradually sped up over the years to the point that I knew it wasn’t perfectly accurate, but it still helped me stay on schedule. It just kept faithfully ticking away.

That was until recently when the clock stopped.

I thought it was 12:55 pm for two hours before I realized what happened. I panicked and rushed out the door to pick up my kids from school. When I returned home I immediately went to change the batteries. The problem is that it still didn’t work. We tried different batteries. We tried reseting it. Even the fixer of our family couldn’t revive it. So we had to face the fact that after ten years of service to our family the clock had come to the end of it’s life.

Time of death? Unknown.
Bad joke. Sorry.

Anyway, into the trash it went and about a week passed by without the clock hanging on the wall. Even despite our phones, computers, and other various digital clocks I had relied on that one for so long that I thought I would loose my mind if it wasn’t replaced soon. I looked up at that blank spot on the wall probably 20 times a day. I expected to see the time only to be repeatedly disappointed. I feel lost when I don’t know what time it is.

Today we finally replaced the clock and life can proceed as normal.

With mother’s day around the corner this got me thinking. Moms are a lot like clocks. As a child you rely on your mother to keep time, to get you where you need to go, to maintain a steady rhythm, to be there to keep the machine running non stop… like clock work! Then one day you grow up and enter adulthood and you realize just how much you looked up to your mom. It’s in hindsight that you can fully appreciate the depth of what she did for you.

When I think about my old clock I see so many parallels to my mother.

I don’t know how she did it all- all the time, but it happened. Like magic. And if sometimes her timing wasn’t perfect it didn’t matter because she got the job done. She served our family faithfully. She was committed every second, minute, and hour of every day. Her purpose was and is invaluable.

She taught me how to cherish the time.

So this is for all the mother’s out there that are constantly running. To the moms that are a source of reliability and consistency for their families, and those who are trying to embrace every moment as time marches on. Your role in your family is obviously deeper and more intimate than any old clock, but maybe next time you look at the time you can think about the bigger picture because whether you feel it or not, I can assure you that you are appreciated.

Happy Mother’s Day.

By Natalie|2022-03-15T22:46:04+00:00May 1, 2015|Family, Motherhood, Uncategorized|16 Comments

Are Breasts the New Shoulders?

I’ve seen a lot of children/family movies lately where some of the women looked like they got their sexy wardrobes from a Bond girl. Seeing cleavage everywhere is nothing new, but it seems to be getting more prominent and mainstream everyday. Don’t even get me started on swimsuits. When I am talking to a woman whose breasts appear to be coming up for air, I try to think like a good ol boy. Don’t gawk. Look at her face. Be respectful. Unlike with men, it’s not because I’m stimulated by all that skin. It’s because some girls have their “girls” pushed up so high and their necklines so low that it really is an art form how they even manage to keep their nipples covered. Sorry to be so descriptive.

For years I have tried to ignore this. I don’t want to be judgmental or legalistic. I was hoping that eventually I would just get used to it. Surely once we see enough boobs we’ll all be desensitized and we won’t even notice them anymore.

Being as open and objective as I possibly can, I tried to compare cleavage to going sleeveless.

Not that long ago showing your shoulders was scandalous. My mother in law told me about a time her daughters were scheduled to sing a gospel song at church, but one of them had a sleeveless dress and so it was considered inappropriate for them to be on the platform and they were turned away. Pants used to be immodest as well and there are still plenty of cultures and religions where some of these practices are still in place, but it’s certainly not the norm.

So maybe that’s how it is with cleavage now. It’s something that used to be a big deal, but now it’s not. There are modest ways to expose your breasts and I just need to embrace change.

Except I don’t buy that. To me it’s still a big deal. Keep in mind this is my personal conviction and opinion as a christian woman. I have decided that breasts are not the same as shoulders. People don’t get shoulder implants. There aren’t restaurants named after women’s shoulders (ahem Hooters). Women don’t sustain a newborn life with their shoulders. Children and men have shoulders, but they do not have mammary glands. I know those are weird examples, but what I am trying to get at is that breasts are still sacred in my book. It’s not just the nipples, I’m talking about the whole organ. Medicalook explains “The glands are associated with the female reproductive system in part due to their assistance in attracting a mate as well as their role in nourishing a baby.” In other words, from a scientific standpoint female breasts are not sexual organs, but they are largely associated with sexuality because they are in some ways part of reproduction. No matter how much we try to normalize it breasts are sexual and cleavage is provocative.

There are so many different lines that can be drawn when it comes to cleavage and it’s not a one size fits all issue (literally). My well endowed friends know what I’m talking about. This isn’t about shaming women for having curves. It’s about loving our curves enough to have some dignity. I wear what I feel comfortable wearing. I went through a season where I beat myself up about the issue of modesty. Everyday I would obsess about every detail of my jeans, shirt, or dress and whether or not it could be something that would be a trigger for a man. This was bondage I had because of my past which I have thankfully been delivered from. I still want to dress modestly, but I feel like it’s a who I am as a transformed and renewed daughter of the King not because of a modesty checklist. That’s another topic entirely, but I just want to be clear that this isn’t me looking down on other women because of how they dress. It’s simply the stance I take for myself and the message I want to send to my daughter.

I am not ready to just accept that breast are the new shoulders. It’s such a lovely, complicated, mysterious part of the body and I don’t want to exploit that. I want my daughter to know that unlike what you see on TV you can be beautiful, elegant, and feminine without having your breast on display. That’s where I stand.

By Natalie|2015-08-05T18:25:30+00:00April 28, 2015|Uncategorized|10 Comments

Paper Bag Masks

I don’t know about where you live, but it’s been cold and wet here. J brought home some paper bags not that long ago that he thought the kids could make masks out of. It was snowy at the time that we did this activity, but it occurred to me that’s also perfect for rainy indoor fun year round.

You’ve probably seen this craft before, or maybe remember it from your childhood. It’s not the latest thing, but it was new to the kids and they had a blast!

We decorated brown grocery store bags with paint (and some stick on circles that we had on hand) and cut out spaces for the eyes and shoulders. It’s a little bit messy if you decide to use paint, but it really couldn’t be any simpler.

My over achieving seven year old wowed us when he decided to cut the circles I gave him for eyes and turn them into ears for his tiger creation.

The other two kids were a little more uh… eccentric with their techniques.

In fact they were so heavy handed with the paint we ended up blowing drying the bags so that they could wear them that night.

Z eventually finished up (both front and back) using a mixed media approach.

When I posted these on Facebook I had someone ask where we found plain paper bags. Of course you can get paper bags anywhere, but they often have print on both sides. In this case we went to Meijer (a midwestern grocery store). I’m sure you can find them other places too though if you are on the look out.

You can see the snow on the porch!Next time we do this project I will definitely be more strategic with where I put the eye holes. The poor things were peaking out of one side the whole time.

Z’s turned out so great. He did it all on his own too.

The cool thing is it isn’t just one time use. The bags fold up for easy storage and then you can pull them out for endless fun whenever you want!

Hooray for paper bags!

By Natalie|2015-05-18T04:09:41+00:00April 24, 2015|Crafts, Creativity|6 Comments

The Hardest Job on the Planet

I saw this comedian on youtube that was joking about how the statement motherhood is the hardest job on the planet is an exaggeration. He compares motherhood to coal miners dying of the black lung, implying that risking your life for a job would be harder. I would never describe motherhood as life threatening, but in a few rare cases it actually is. The comedian then dramatically explains how difficult it must be to bend down and put a dvd in the dvd player while you are still in your pajamas. The most ignorant thing he said was how mothers can send their kids to bed ANYTIME THEY WANT so that they can have a drink and watch The Price Is Right.

Would’t that be nice!?

Now I understand how comedy works, and even though I think this guy has no idea what he is talking about I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that everything he said was 100% sarcastic. However, there are people out there that buy into his idea of motherhood as a brainless effortless gig and that is why I want to talk about it.

First off I would agree that there are plenty of more physically and intellectually demanding careers out there. Being a mom isn’t even really a job at all in my opinion. One reason is because unlike a job, motherhood isn’t just an investment of time and skill, it demands attention from ever fiber of your being.

During pregnancy a mother’s body will literally be stretched and strained to it’s maximum potential in order to create and sustain a new human. After her body pushes the baby out of her (something I’d love to see that comedian try to even fathom) then the child will depend on her for not only physical nourishment, but the love and care that has been scientifically proven is necessary for life. There will be times she will be stuck in a car with relentless screaming that could bring a soldier to his knees. She will clean up vomit and feceses more times than you can count. Her nipples will probably be bitten, her sleep will be stolen, and her hair will be pulled. All that and we aren’t even through the first year.

The challenges only increase as the child grows and it’s not a bad thing, but it certainly is NOT easy.

The emotional side of motherhood is far more intricate and complex than any job could ever be. Some people may feel like they are emotionally invested in their jobs, but mothers are attached at the core of who they are. When the child suffers the mother feels the same pain multiplied. The intensity of her passion for her children is pumping through her blood because those children are a part of her and share her DNA.

I could go on and on about all that motherhood entails, but I have already wasted too much time responding to a really stupid youtube video that was recommended on Facebook, and the only thing worse than that is that I also read a couple of the idiotic comments. Apparently there are a lot of oblivious people out there who really do think moms sit around all day playing Candy Crush Saga and snacking on sushi or something.

Just to be clear as I wrap this thing up, some women birth children, but never become mothers. Some women never birth children, but are the strongest mothers of all. It’s a relationship, a lifestyle, a gift, a sacrifice, and a calling, but not necessarily a job. To say motherhood is job implies that you are paid, or that you can go off duty, or retire. So I don’t think that motherhood is the hardest job on the planet because that statement isn’t powerful enough to describe what being a mom really is.

By Natalie|2015-05-17T04:12:25+00:00April 9, 2015|Family, Motherhood|11 Comments

Messy Mom Movie

What an adventurous day Saturday was!

For those that haven’t been bombarded by all of my announcements online, I’ll fill you in. I am working on relaunching my website and over the weekend I did a professional video shoot for what will be the “Messy Mom Welcome Video”.

The Story Board

The set location was in my brother’s basement. He has a recording/video studio which was staged to look like a living room.

There was whole team of people helping out from art director to stylist and more.

Truth be told it was just friends and family, but having titles makes it feel more legit.

We did take after take. I think it was 6 scenes total. All three of my kids were involved too, so it was exhausting.

Well worth it though.

There is one final scene that we decided reshoot later, but it’s just Ezie. So he and I will be going back to my brother’s studio tomorrow for that.

It’s not easy being a celebrity! Just joking of course, but I have always loved acting and have dreamed of being a part of a live studio audience or an extra in a movie, and this felt pretty close.

The big premiere day is scheduled for May 9th which is this MOTHER’S DAY!!!

I have so many exciting things planned for that week. It’s going to be like a big ol’ carnival here on the blog… or maybe a circus… or worst case scenario a poorly planned frat party. Things are happening though, that much I know for sure and YOU get to be in on it all from ground zero.

I did want to give a little heads up that there is A LOT that goes into moving 7 years of content to a new home. So things are going to start to slow down a little bit here for the next month as I get ready for all of this. I’ll still be around, but I just wanted to mention that I might be posting less frequently for now.

That’s the latest update. I hope everyone had a beautiful Easter Sunday. It looks like the spring weather is finally here! God bless.

By Natalie|2022-03-15T23:06:49+00:00April 6, 2015|Creativity, My Life|7 Comments

What Is Going On In This Picture!?

There are a lot of photos on my phone. Most of them never get posted anywhere. Some of them are pretty strange too. Especially if you don’t know the story behind it. That’s why I decided to pick 5 random phone photos and see if you can figure out for yourself just what in the world is going on in these photos. Or maybe I’ll just tell you. I hope you’ll have fun with this as I introduce my first installment of…

ONE

What is going on in this one is pretty obvious. Batman is sitting in his highchair watching cartoons. This is not an abnormal occurrence in our home.

TWO

My parents humungous cat is laying on the dog bed.

THREE

SJ is wearing my knee high boots with her pajamas and they fit perfectly!

FOUR

Speaking of pajamas, I came into the living room one day to find that Ezie had started up the Yoga DVD and was doing his morning workout.

Here are some bonus shots I took while spying on him.

Hey, sometimes I need to grab the console for balance too. There’s no shame in that.

He’s a little behind Rodney here in the upward dog position.

Lastly, the warrior pose. Namaste.

FIVE

What is going on in this picture is “Discreet bladder protection”. I had J pick up some pads from the store and let’s just say you should never send a man to do a woman’s job.

So those are my 5. Show me what you’ve got by posting one of your random phone outtakes on instagram along with the hashtag #whatisgoingoninthispicture. That is not a one of kind hashtag, but if you tag @messymom I’ll know what it’s about. If you don’t have Instagram feel free to share with me on Facebook, Twitter, or via email. I’ll pick one to post on the blog along with a shout out next month when we do another round of #WhatIsGoingOnInThisPicture?

Now go check that photo stream!

By Natalie|2015-05-18T04:08:18+00:00March 31, 2015|Uncategorized|11 Comments

Putting Huggies Snug & Dry Ultra® Diapers to the Test

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Huggies® for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

This post brought to you by Huggies®. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Messy Mom .

Between my three children I have been changing diapers for almost 8 years now. I have never really kept track of how many, but without a doubt I have changed thousands upon thousands of diapers. So when I had the opportunity to try Huggies® Snug & Dry Ultra Diapers I saidBring it on!

Ezie is a 2 1/2 year old, 27 pound heavy wetter. When it comes to testing the endurance of a diaper he’s the toddler for the job!

I was already a fan of Huggies® to begin with. They’re durable, affordable, and from what I can observe they seem comfortable. But it gets better, Huggies® Snug & Dry Ultra Diapers are now available at Walmart at a new LOWER PRICE! Plus they have a new and improved Leak Lock System with quick-absorbing layers for up to 12 hours of protection. 12 HOURS! They’re perfect for nap time, bedtime, road trips, or anytime.

I’ve dealt with my share of leaky diapers. I remember trying everything to prevent it. For example, when I was a new mom I had a friend teach me the double diaper trick to keep kids dry at night. It entailed wrapping your kid up with one diaper and then putting another one on top of that just before bedtime. I had another friend teach me the no drinks allowed after 6:00 rule to help prevent leaking. Sometimes these tricks worked, sometimes they didn’t.

I don’t have to worry about any of that with the Huggies® Snug & Dry Ultra Diapers! They provide protection against wetness all night long.

The fun Mickey Mouse designs from Disney were a hit and the fit was nice and snug with the flexibility that is needed for an active toddler.

In other words the Huggies® Snug & Dry Ultra Diapers stay put even when he doesn’t!

Huggies® Snug & Dry Ultra Diapers. The perfect fit for the perfectly huggable baby.

Huggies® Snug & Dry Ultra Diapers at Walmart.com

By Natalie|2018-02-01T10:22:08+00:00March 27, 2015|Uncategorized|0 Comments