You've Got to be Kidding Me!

Close your eyes and picture it. There I am, sprawled out on the couch like a beached whale, my eyes fixed on the TV in a trance-like stare, my mouth opened wide as I look from the TV to my gigantic stomach, back to the TV and then back to my stomach and finally, back to the TV again. What I am seeing is inconceivable to me.

I am watching Discovery Health. There is program on called "I Didn't Know I was Pregnant." I truly can not fathom this. I hear women talking about how they went nine months with a life growing inside of them and never having a clue they were pregnant.

Are they serious? Is this a ploy to get on TV? Is this a joke? I check the calendar. Nope, it's not April Fool's Day. This show is real!

I then hear a doctor talk about how it is possible to be pregnant and not recognize the signs because you credit them to something else, like bad Chinese food. At this, my yet to be born son kicks me in the bladder. Even he doesn't get it.

My pregnancy with my oldest son was not easy at all. My pregnancy with this son has proven even harder. I am in a state of awe at the women who are actually pregnant for nine months and don't know it. I can't imagine not having morning (actually all day) sickness, not getting up to go to the bathroom 10 times a night, the back pains, the inability to be comfortable no matter what position you are in, the indigestion, the inability to control my thyroid disease, the inability to maintain a normal glucose level, the sheer exhaustion (just to name a few).

Then I go from awe to a feeling of pity. Yes, these women don't get the unpleasantness of pregnancy, but they also missed out on the entire process. The amazement of having a life growing inside of you, feeling the baby move for the first time and then, when he really gets the hang of it, REALLY feeling it and sometimes even seeing it! They didn't get to have ultrasounds and get a sneak peek at their baby, they didn't get to anticipate and dream about what it would be like to finally hold their little one. They didn't get to experience the fun of decorating and preparing a nursery before the baby arrives. They didn't have months to decide on a name. How sad!

But, I still don't get it. How on EARTH could a woman not gain weight, not feel the baby move, not have any pregnancy systems at all? Most of the women said in hindsight, they recognized the pregnancy systems, but they discredited the baby moving to gas (WHAT?) and the nausea to having the flu (HUH?). There were other reasons they missed the signs, but as I look down to where my belly button used to be, I truly can not imagine being pregnant and not knowing it. As tough as it has been, I'm so thankful and feel truly blessed to be able to experience it again. The good and the bad. But especially the good.

Nic learns he's going to have a baby brother!

Ever since Nicholas found out that I am having a baby, he has been saying that he wants a sister. But two days ago, he decided he wanted a brother. Good thing, because that's what he's getting! After we stopped recording it must have really sank in because he went wild with excitement! I wish I had my camera handy for that! When he sees the baby "wee wee" on the video, he gets really excited.

He wants to name the baby "Ian". Not a bad choice, buddy! But, we aren't telling the name until the baby is born, so everyone will just have to wait!

Friday Night Lights are Here!

I've always loved football. But as I've grown older I've really come to realize that for me, college and high school football is so much more fun to watch than the NFL. Why? Because the kids playing on the college and high school football fields play focused on the true love of the game, their community and their school. The main focus isn't the money, sponsors and celebrity.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that all NFL players are focused on the "greedy" aspects of football, but a majority of them just don't play with the same heart as the kids. There are some great NFL players that do seem to play with heart, set good examples and help the less fortunate. But so many just seem to be mostly concerned with the mullah and fame.

I would rather watch a low scoring, slow moving football game where the kids really put there all into it and played with heart and good sportsmanship, than watch a high scoring game where players are showing off and fighting.

With this being said, I'm excited to attend my first high school game this season! Nic, Larry and I, along with about 15 of our friends will be at Radford High School Friday night, watching Radford play Pulaski for the first time in 30 years. They are expecting over 15,000 people in a stadium that only seats 6,000, but I'm sure it's going to be tons of fun! I've never lived in an area that brought the movie "Friday Night Lights" to life like this area, and I love it!

See you under the lights!

Finding Peace and Happiness

I was overcome by an urge to share this. It hit me the other night. Even with all I have going on, even with stress and concerns, I feel more at peace and more happy than any other time in my life. Why? I make time. I make time everyday, no matter what, to pray and read the Bible and my devotionals. Now, before you think I'm getting up on my soapbox and beating my Bible preaching fire and brimstone....fear not. This blog is not about that.

I have just found something in my life that really brings clarity and peace and wanted to share in the hopes that it helps someone else. At first I didn't notice a huge difference, but after a while, I really started to notice an inner peace. The longer I have been doing this, the happier and more at peace I feel. Every night, after Nic is in bed, after I have had a shower, before drifting off to sleep, I take at least 20 minutes to be by myself, just me and God. I pray, read devotionals, look up scriptures. It doesn't matter how tired I am, it doesn't matter how late it is. I do this EVERY NIGHT. It has become such a part of my nightly routine that I don't think I could sleep without doing it. When I started doing this, I just wanted to say a prayer and give thanks to God for his blessings. Then I realized that there is a lot in the Bible that can be confusing or hard to understand. I wanted to make sure I was interpreting things correctly and doing the right things. I wanted to make sure I undestood, so I can help my children to understand. So I started praying for understanding and clarity so that I could be sure that I'm living the life I am supposed to live and help others that may need it. I started reading devotionals, which were VERY helpful. I started discussing what I was learning and reading with my significant other and found we both could learn a lot from each other.

Then, I really saw God working. I read Nicholas a Bible story every night from his Children's Bible. Believe it or not, this has really helped me as much as him! One night I will read a story about (for example) Saul and then when I pick up my devotional before bed, will find that my devotional is talking about the same scripture! A coincidence? Then I'll go to church on Sunday and each Sunday, there is a sermon, a hymn, or something in Sunday school about one of the scriptures I had been studying that week!! Another coincidence? I asked God to help me with understanding, and He has provided. Everything I pick up and read ties together, even what we learn in church on Sunday. Gaining this understanding and clarity has helped me find peace and happiness. It all started with making sure I took the time everyday.

So take time, be still, learn, grow, pray and worship. You will be amazed at what just 20 minutes a day can do for you!

Has it been that long???

I just noticed my last blog post was over a month ago!! How is that possible? It seems like it couldn't have been more than a week. Where is the summer going? I think it is completely true that the older you get, the faster time flies.

I have had a very eventful summer so far. There have been trips, illness, surprises, laughter, fun and stress, but that's all a part of life isn't it? My laptop has been acting up or in the shop for about 4 weeks total so far this summer, so that has put me pretty far behind as well. It's amazing how much I depend on that little piece of machinery. How did people do it 25 years ago? Everything handwritten or on a typewriter? It must have taken ages to get anything done. I can't even remember the last time I used a typewriter, probably high school. Has it been that long?

Speaking of dependence on modern conveniences, I made the mistake of going to the grocery store the other day and forgot my cell phone at home. How did people do it 20 years ago???? When I arrived home I had missed several calls and text messages, all that communication that would have been missed had I been grocery shopping in the 80's and early 90's. Has it really been that long since we've been using cell phones?

My son is, at this very moment, playing with a digital camera that plays games, records video and takes digital pictures, among many other things. I have no idea how to operate this gadget. I can not even fathom having such a toy at the age of 4. I was happy with my big wheel and my barbie doll. I don't think any of my toys were interactive. They all required only the use of my imagination. Has it been that long since I was a child? Has it been that long since children didn't have interactive toys?? Don't get me wrong, my son plays just as much with toys that require only the use of his imagination, but he has access to the technologically advanced toys as well.

Oh, I could go on and on about how time has flown and things have changed, but I'm afraid it only makes me feel really, really old! I don't want to start telling you about the time I walked through 3 foot of snow, in the freezing cold, for 5 miles, in my bare feet, to get to school....or maybe it was my great grandfather who use to always say that??? :-)

God bless!

I WON! I WON!

Woo hoo! I can't believe it! I actually won! Twittermoms was hosting a blog contest for the Children's Place for the most stylish kid. The first 20 entries automatically won a $50 gift certificate to the Children's Place, as did the person with the most comments on their blogs. The BIG grand prize winner was the person the judges at the Children's Place determined to have the most creative blog. The winner was to be announced on May 15th. Well, May 15th came and went and I hadn't heard anything. No big deal, I just entered for fun anyway, not really expecting to win anything (although I really could use that couple hundred in Children's Place clothing, my boy is growing so fast). There were also a lot of really great entries from all over the country, so I truly didn't think I would win and just forgot about it.

Well, I get an email on Monday from Twittermons that says the following, "Here's what the judges said about Donna's winning post... “We chose http://www.atdonnasdiscretion.blogspot.com/) because her blog best described The Children's place clothing. Not only did she mention our value priced clothing but she also spoke about the quality. The pictures of her son in the best selling argyle vest was adorable."

I started jumping up and down! Nic thought I was crazy, but when I told him we won, we both started jumping up and down. THANKS TWITTERMOMS! and THANKS CHILDREN'S PLACE! I can't wait to get Nic some new cute, quality clothes!

Oh, and here is my blogpost, in case you missed it click here to read the winning blog:

Reality Check!

Okay, so it happens to me all the time. I see something Nic is doing and it just reminds me so much of things I did as a child. The other day I found a bunch of pictures of me from around 2 to 3 1/2 years old. Wow, did I get a reality check.

Nic loves to make funny faces whenever I take a picture of him, oh...and he NEVER wants to stand still. He is always asking to take pictures, but he just wants to take what he calls, "funny face" pictures. I'm always thinking, "Where on Earth does he get that from?" Well, ask and you shall receive. In the envelope full of pictures I found there were pictures of me...three in a row, where I was dressed in a cute yellow dress. Now, you may be thinking, "AWWWW." A two year old girl in a cute yellow dress, must be adorable, right? Wrong, in each of these pictures I am doing everything I can to make my Mom laugh and have fun. In each picture I am making funny faces. I can just hear my Mom saying to me, "Donna Mae, could you please hold still and smile for just 3 seconds so I can get a picture of you in your pretty dress?" I know she said this because I have said the same to Nic (minus the pretty dress part). Oh no...another reality check, I'm saying some of the exact same things to Nic that my Mother said to me (YIKES)! How does this happen???

I found another picture of me at 3 1/2 and it blew me away. Again, all I can see is Nic. My hair was just as light as his when I was his age, we have the exact same eyes, even the little puffiness under the eyes is the same, we have the same smile lines, same mouth, same nose, same chin, same cheeks, same eyebrows..everything! How is this possible? I mean, I know how it's possible, DNA, genetics, all that..but really, it blows my mind when I see how much this little boy looks like his Mama, but much cuter :-) !! I hope he stays cute...Mama grew out of it...LOL!!

Here are the pictures:

This is one of Nic's favorite faces to make!!

Originated by Mommy back in the late

70's!

I think I should have been a boy. Never

did do very well in dresses!

Nic and Mommy..we are almost the same age in this picture.