Back to reality!

Charleston was a blast! I love the beach - simply put. Bret was a MEGA-champ with the drive. We left around his nap time and drove for about 3 -3.5 hours then stopped for dinner and to let him walk around. We drove for another 3 hours or so and let him run around then got him ready for "bed" and drove the rest of the way. We got into Charleston around 4am-ish on Saturday. Bret couldn't get enough of the sand and beach....he loved the buckets / shovels / rakes to play with and LOVED knocking down every single sandcastle that Jason and I made for him. The ocean was a bit different. He didn't mind sticking his feet into the water but the waves scared him a little. He wouldn't let us carry him into the water. Maybe next time!!

Since it was about 90 degrees every day, we took a break from the sun on Thursday and went to the aquarium. It was fun but I was just a wee bit disappointed. Not too many big fish on exhibit - a lot of small fish though. The one thing that I thought was super cool was the 57 ft high salt water tank with a TON of different fish (and sharks). There was even a scuba diver in the tank waving at Bret. He had no idea what to think about that. He kept giving us this puzzled look and turning up his hands - like saying "what the heck?"

Jason and I were kind of nervous about how well Bret was going to sleep since he doesn't like his Pack N Play. I bought some memory foam, hoping that would make it more comfortable, and put a fitted sheet over it. He slept great! I was so happy. He did really well with his naps and slept all night. WOOO HOOO

All I know is that the week flew by. I can't wait to do it again!! Because the vacation was so expensive we're rethinking the St. Louis trip. We may stick closer to home - like Cleveland - this year. We'll see.

Checking out

Today we're leaving for Charleston, SC for 10 days to relax and visit Jason's brother, Jeff. The only thing that would make this vacation better is if I could drink :)

I am so excited to lay on the beach and do nothing for over a week......ah......

Random thoughts

There are a ton of differences in my pregnancies! The most noticeable one is the red, blotchy dry skin patches on my left side. I started noticing them about 3 weeks ago on my leg. Since then, they've spread up my side. They don't itch, per se, but they are really gross looking. I mentioned it to my DR and he said it was hormones. UGH. I asked if it would go away and he said "maybe not until the baby is born". Ha, ha, that's funny.....no, not really.

I'm carrying a little higher than I did with Bret. I don't sleep as well this time around and I'm not as hungry with this pregnancy as I was with Bret. So strange!! I am convinced that it's a girl. I was right with Bret so we'll see if I'm right with this one.

Jason has to take unpaid time off again - 1 week per quarter for the rest of the year. That equals almost an 8% pay cut for '09. I've decided to start thinking about my next career move after this baby is born. I'm pretty sure what I want to do, but I don't think I'm going to do anything until this baby is sleeping through the night. I don't want to say anything now but I will some time soon. It's got me excited about taking classes again, learning something new AND a profession that's pretty flexible depending upon where I work.

I went on a shopping spree for Bret to get ready for summer/Charleston trip. He got a whole summer wardrobe - thanks to my awesome Old N@vy coupon and the great sale they were having last week. He also got a new squirt pool, sunglasses, 3 swim diapers, sandals and a sun tent. I love buying stuff for Bret!! I think he's got more clothes than I do!!

I've decided on names for the baby. Now I just have to run them by Jason and see which ones we agree on. Yes, we are going to find out what we're having but I think we're not going to tell people this time. We'll see :)