Dressing Like a Man

Alright here it goes... I, Jessica Lauren Garvin, like to dress like a man. Cross-dressing?? Don't mind if I do... Count me in!

I wear my husband's clothes every chance I get. There is nothing better than sitting around in Stephen's oversize t-shirts and gym shorts (with no bra on, but I will leave that out to protect my reputation). I actually have been doing it my whole life... there are pictures of me when I'm a youngster with my daddy's t-shirts on. And then once I left home, I would steal my boyfriends' shirts so that I could wear those as much as possible. I actually have to admit, I have one or two (or three or four) ex boyfriends wondering around somewhere missing a few pairs of gym shorts, t-shirts, and several pairs of sweatpants... and I have NO plans of returning any of these items... ever.

Now, the reason for the post. Stephen Shane Garvin has been wearing my stinkin' socks. He says "they fit better" because he likes his socks to fit REALLY tight. The problem is... once he wears them... 1. they are no longer tight and 2. they no longer fit me. See, when I wear his clothes, I don't stretch them out. It makes me soooo dang mad. No matter how much I complain to him about wearing them, HE WON'T STOP!

Ok, I've said my peace.

Crib... Check

Stephen and I went crib shopping on Saturday. We spent a whole two hours in Pottery Barn Kids, and ended up purchasing the one we went into buy in the first place.

Last weekend Aunt Kari and Aunt Siiister have helped pick out baby bedding, a lamp shade, and paint colors. So now all that's left is picking up the furniture, putting it all together, painting the room, picking out a rocker, finding accessories... and OH! growing a baby.

I have to admit, when I first found out about Baby Garvin, I was a little upset. I felt like my whole life was being put on hold for this... but now, I am starting to realize that God has a plan... and that MAYBE I won't be as terrible as a mom as I think. I know Stephen's gonna be a fantastic daddy. I just cant WAIT til he/she gets here so I can make HIM do all the hard work! :)

Super Mom!

I have decided to make a list of five women (who are not relatives because they already all know I want to be like them when I grow up) who I think are "SUPER-MOMS"... Women I aspire to be like. Women who I know. Women who I think go above and beyond normal moms. I think I will try to do this every once in a while... but this weeks super-moms (in no particular order) are:

1. Suzanne Winn- This lady is amazing. She is super crafty, thrifty, and soooo creative! She is so much fun to be around, always smiling, hilarious, and VERY sweet! I just hope when my kids get to be Jax's age, I can have as much fun as she does with her son (and baby on the way). Someday, I will let my kids paint the snow and make a spaghetti octopus!

2. Tara Kohlbacher- Wow. That's the only word I can think of to explain this super-mom's dedication to her Creator. She and her hubby are in the middle of adopting a baby from Rwanda (check out her blog @ http://kohlbacherclan.blogspot.com) Their story is one that shows the true impact of letting God be the Ruler of your life and the focus of your existence. She is so selfless, compassionate, and beautiful inside and out. Her honesty about her journey is truly humbling and inspiring.

3. Jalee Abbott- This woman is the person who encourages me more and more every time I speak to her. She is the strongest woman I know. She takes hit after hit and still gets up, puts a smile on her face, and never complains about anything. She is the most positive person I know, always sees the good in everyone and in every situation, and has more love in her heart than anyone I've ever met in my life. (No offense to all of you other people I've met in my life.)

4. Kendra Mobley- This smokin' hott super-mom just makes me excited about being a mom. The way she talks about how amazing it is to be a mother is just precious. I am so nervous about being one, but she makes it look so easy. She has made me see the true JOY in children and see what a blessing a child really is going to be for us. She makes me appreciate the miracle of creating life... and that has been one of the most important things for me to learn and understand over the past few weeks.

5. The momma bird that lives in the nest above my front door- No seriously. Stephen and I have a pair of birds that have been coming back to the house ever since he bought it over three years ago. The barn swallows mate for life. They also go back to the same nest every year. I just think that's amazing. This momma bird is REALLY awesome because this year she gave birth to TWO sets of baby birds. One group of four about two months ago and then another group of three about a week ago. These birds only come back to the same place if they feel it's safe for their babies. I love that they are so little, but have one goal in mind... finding a safe place for their babies. This little momma bird has taught me about being protective (She freaks out every time someone comes anywhere NEAR our front door! Yes, even us.) But its beautiful that although she is protective, she knows at some point she's gonna have to teach them to fly. Watching her raise the babies from eggs to flying birds is incredible. And although they make quite the poopie mess on our porch... I'm glad they are there, and that they come back every year. I just think it's sweet.

where are we gonna keep this thing?

Recently, many have questioned where in the world Stephen and I plan to keep this thing. Well, after ten months of growing Baby Garvin inside the baby bump... Baby Garvin will have a bedroom! We have decided to hire a professional team of interior designers to turn one of our guest rooms into a "little person room".

Now, one might ask: Jess, what's the difference between a nursery and a little person room? Let me show you.

THIS is a nursery:


and so is THIS:


and one last one:


So now you see what we are attempting to avoid. Not that there is anything WRONG with this style of nursery, don't get me wrong. We are just striving for something a little less "matchy" between sheets, bedding, and wall decals... and more "matchy" to the rest of our house.

With that said, let me define difference between a nursery and a "little person room". A nursery is a room you walk into and think "yes, a baby definitely lives in this room"... A little person room is a room you walk into and think "yes, an itsy-bitsy person lives here".

THIS is a little person room:


as is THIS:


and the last one:


So, although I know you all are a little nervous for our accidental addition to the Garvin Home, you can rest assured, knowing that we won't be keeping him (I say "him" and Stephen says "her") in a cardboard box in the closet. Baby Wyatt (or Owen, Brooks, or Boyd) or if Stephen gets his girl, Baby Harper, will be comfortable in his (or her) cute little person room.

Pregnancy Secrets

I've decided to make a list of things that no one tells you BEFORE you get knocked up. (And for those of you who are offended at the term "knocked up", as my loving husband seems to be... I apologize. However, as I've stated before, "getting pregnant" is on purpose... "knocked up" is accidental.) Anyways, my whole life I've heard people talk about how WONDERFUL it is to be pregnant. LIES! It's terrible. Therefore, I have decided to make a list of the terrible things about pregnancy.

#1- Morning Sickness- Now, the common misunderstanding between normal people and pregnancy is that this thing called "Morning Sickness" is when you get nauseated in the morning. The TRUTH is, morning sickness can last all day. And another thing is that some women just get nauseated... others (like me) are nauseated AND vomit. So this is the first worst thing about pregnancy... throwing up all day long. I've even had to go to the "ER" a few times to get fluids pumped into my body through an IV because I've been puking so much and so stinkin dehydrated.

#2- When you get knocked up, your bottom half has to make room for the baby. Therefore, your hips start to expand. Causing the devil himself to create pains so terrible in your body that you can't walk straight. No, seriously. My hips and back hurt so bad if I didn't have a little heartbeat down there somewhere, I would cut my body in half and throw everything from my boobs down into the trashcan.

#3- Boobs. That brings me to my next point... not only do they grow, which is a problem for those of us who are already "well-endowed" but the hurt like heck! And I hear, when you get even closer to your due date, they leak. Now someone please explain to me what sounds so wonderful about leakage.

#4- Sleepy!- I already have a huge problem with my desire to stay awake. Sleeping is perhaps my favorite thing to do in all the world. So now, where I could typically make it through a work day (and possibly take a nap when I get home) I just want to take a nap about an hour after I get there. And then another after lunch... And then another about an hour before I get to go home. Then I come home, and I want to take another nap. And then another after dinner. And then another about an hour before going to bed. And then off to bed about eight. The sad thing is... it's not like I do manual labor for a living. I sit in a desk for cryin' out loud!

#5- Emotional Wreck- I will be the first to admit... I'm an emotional train wreck. I cry for the stupidest reasons. And sometimes I even cry for no reason at all. This is fine when surrounded by family and friends. However, that one time I was in line at Wal-Mart and there were several people in front of me and several people behind me... I just started thinking about how badly I wanted a drink of water and lost all composure. The guy in front of me turned around to me crying hysterically and said "I know hun, it makes me so mad when there are 40 lanes, 500 people in line, and only three open checkouts."

Well, after only a short six weeks of knowing I am pregnant, those are my top five. I'm sure there's more to come.

Our Little Baby Bump

Well, word's out... we have a tiny little baby bump growing. Alright, it's a HUGE baby bump. I keep telling myself "you're not fat... you're pregnant"... but it doesn't exactly seem to be helping.

So here is "the scoop" (as my dear mother likes to say).

Back in March, we found out we were pregnant (on accident). I woke up one day and thought to myself "I am stinkin' pregnant". Which actually turned out to be true. So that Sunday morning, we drove down to Duncan and took a pregnancy test at my dad's office. Four tests (and three positive test results) later, I decided to give in to the pregnancy test fairy and admit that I was, in fact, KNOCKED UP.

After the emotional roller coaster we went through that day, things continued to get worse. I was sick all day Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday... then Thursday, I woke up, went to pee, and found I had started to bleed. So four days, seven tests, and six positive test results later, I was beginning to miscarry. I had finally started to warm up to the idea of being a mom... and all that came to a crashing halt four days later. Stephen took me to the emergency room... sure enough, I was miscarrying.

So then several weeks went on, although I was healing emotionally, I was still getting sick, still having sore ta-ta's, still peeing every twenty seconds, and still feeling really tired. So I decided I was going to go to my dad's office and figure out what was wrong with me. After blood work was drawn, I learned I was pregnant.

SERIOUSLY God? Not funny.

So long story short, it's a good possibility that I miscarried a twin. How is this possible? I have no clue. But it is... my little sister Katy (http://girltobride.blogspot.com/) was apparently a twin. It happens. It won't be confirmed until July 8th, but my doctor is pretty convinced.

So now, nine months of being married, nine pregnancy tests, and eight positive results later, we have a tiny little (MASSIVE) baby bump.

Makin' Plans

I have come to the realization that there is no use makin' plans in life. It's wonderful to be organized... but the thing is, when you make plans for yourself, and then God's plans take over, you just have to reschedule your plans anyways. This is why I have decided to take the advice that a great man once told me... "Let go and let God". I never realized what that meant until recently. Although at first I was somewhat annoyed at God's lack of consultation with me, I realize that He knows best. He knows the plans He has for me... So there is no use being annoyed.

Life is full of unexpectedness, but it's important to remember, it's not REALLY unexpected... God has been planning it since before we were alive.

Let go, and let God!