24 weeks down, 16 weeks to go! What YOU can expect while I'M expecting

So there are a million books out there about what I can expect each week/month of my pregnancy. Many are informative possible symptoms, size/development of the baby, tests available or suggested, eat this, don't eat that, sleep this way and so on and so forth. In some books they even tell husbands/partners what to expect while their wives/partners are growing their next generation. In this blog post I am going to tell you what to expect from me as someone who interacts with me from time to time.

1.) Baby Bump Pictures- you can expect me to NOT take or post any pictures showing you my growing belly. Don't get me wrong, these pictures are adorable...if you didn't spend most of your life already looking huge! Quite frankly I don't see baby bump when I look at myself from the side, I just see the same old overweight person I have always been. When I am standing I can see that my upper abdomen has puffed out and gotten firmer and when I lay on my back I can feel a large hard bump where my baby is growing. Perhaps, depending on what I look like by then, I will take a picture or two at the baby shower or the day I go into labor? Who knows, but just know, I am not secretly storing bump pictures, I am just not even taking them.

2.) Worrying- Something that may not seem too out of character for most pregnant women is constant worrying and you can expect me to follow the pack on that one. Can you blame me though? I have an amazing niece who was born with with CHD and spent a very long time fighting for her life when she was born, I personally was born too early that I spent months in the hospital as my lungs tried to develop not to mention all of the horror stories I have heard/read/witnessed with miscarriages, still-births and birth defects. So needless to say, I am going to worry all the time that something is going to go wrong. I was assured at about 11 weeks or so that we were doing great, the doctor heard a strong heartbeat which they were surprised at so early and said that chance of miscarriage goes down greatly once a strong heartbeat is heard. We also had our Anatomy Scan and got to hear how our little boy is developing perfectly, and all organs and such exist and look great. Still, I am going to worry. I try not to let the worrying weigh me down or cause me distress, I try to think positively like Dusty who reminds me constantly that we have no reason to think there is a problem, but it will always be at the back of my mind. And if all THAT worrying wasn't enough don't even get me started on the "which bottle will Oliver like" thought process. 12 different types of bottles and we have no way to know which he will end up using??

3.) Breast Feeding- You don't need to tell me the million and one reasons every woman in the world should breast feed. I've heard them all. I am still not going to do it. I have nothing against breast feeding as it is great for providing antibodies and nutrients FOR FREE for your child and a great opportunity for bonding, I am not opting out because I don't see these benefits, I am opting out because there are other factors I need to consider. First of all, I am on blood thinners due to my history of DVT and while no one will say that there isn't a danger to the child, studies DO show that the blood thinners can affect the time it takes for the baby's blood to clot and I do not want to put my baby at risk. Another reason I vote no is because I have anxiety issues and a history of depression and the medicine that will work best cannot be taken while breast feeding and even worse if I develop PPD I will be less likely to ask for help if I am holding myself responsible to provide my child's food. I have been depression free for quite a while but I have struggled with my anxiety for a while and having to be medication free during this pregnancy has been hard. I can only imagine how bad my anxiety will be as I am adjusting to life with a baby. So whether you agree or approve I don't care. This is what I feel is best and that is what matters.

4.) Nerd Baby- Haaaaave you met me and my husband? If you have then you can understand that our child will have Superhero themed stuff, lots of books, onsies referencing comic books, Harry Potter, StarWars, etc. Thanks to sites like Cafe Press and Etsy these things are more attainable than ever which is good because something else you should know is I hate all that baby boy stuff with mustaches on them or with camo or with really inappropriate things that while are funny for a second they are not appropriate for a baby's onesies.

5.) Baby Bottle Gift Cards- As stated earlier registering for bottles is a major source of stress. Overall I think we are aiming for Ollie to like Avent or Dr. Brown's bottles but I can't just CHOOSE one because Ollie may not like them and cause us to have to return lots of them. I am thankful that my sister in law is giving us some Dr. Browns, Mam's, and Tommie Tippie to try out if we need to and we registered for one small pack of Avent and one of the Nuk orthopedic ones. Long story short if you are wanting to contribute to our bottle or even paci needs a great idea is to get just ONE bottle and a gift card that we will use on our first family outing to get the choice bottle of Oliver Haynes.

I am sure there will be a whole lot more that I (we) encounter during this exciting time but this is all I can think of right now.

114 days left! Meet the Cast Double Feature: David and Lauren

Cast Member: David Cox
Role in Wedding: Best Man
Relationship: friend of the groom
How we met: Dusty met Dave on the bus Dusty's sophmore year of high school.
How he got the gig:  Dave is Dusty's best friend, any other questions?

Cast Member:  Lauren Dunne
Role in Wedding: Matron of Honor
Relationship: Sister of the Bride
How we met: Lauren is Dianna's big sister!
How she got the gig:  Being Dianna's big sister, Lauren was Dianna's first friend and she was the only one to fit the role :)

115 Days left!- Meet the Cast Double Feature- Brad and Brittany

Cast Member: Bradley Leonard
Role in Wedding:Groomsman
Relationship: friend of the groom
How we met: Dusty went to school with Brad and they became close friends in middle school.
How he got the gig:  It was a no brainer! Brad is one of Dusty's oldest friends!









Cast Member:  Brittany Mixon
Role in Wedding: Bridesmaid
Relationship: Friend of the bride
How we met: Dianna met Brittany in college, they were in the ASU college of education together and Brittany became one of Dianna's best friends!
How she got the gig:  Brittany is an amazing lady and an inspiration to Dianna. She also may have strong-armed her way in, haha, JUST KIDDING BRITTANY!

116 days left!!! Meet the Cast Double Feature: Lyle and Lily

Cast Member: Lyle Davis
Role in Wedding:Groomsman
Relationship: Step-father of the Groom
How we met: Lyle is married to the grooms's mother.
How he got the gig:  Lyle is Dusty's step dad and it was important to Dusty that he be a part of his wedding.

Cast Member:  Lily McLean
Role in Wedding: Bridesmaid
Relationship: Friend of the bride
How we met: Dianna met Lily on the bus after moving to North Carolina her sophomore year in high school and they have been friends ever since!
How she got the gig:  Lily is on of the bride's best friends and they have been through a lot together so it made sense to heave her at the bride's side on her big day!

117 Days left! Meet the Cast: Double Feature! Michael and Heather

Cast Member: Michael Naglieri
Role in Wedding:Groomsman
Relationship: Brother of the Bride
How we met: When Dianna was born, Michael got to meet her as he is her big brother! Dianna introduced Dusty to Michael on July 4, 2012.
How he got the gig:  He is the bride's brother and she really really wanted him and Dusty's sister (below) in the wedding and to accommodate this Dianna and Dusty added 2 people to the bridal party they had already decided on!

Cast Member:  Heather Haynes
Role in Wedding: Bridesmaid
Relationship: Sister of the groom
How we met: Heather is Dusty's little sister so it is similar to the story above but backwards.
How she got the gig:  It was important to the couple that their siblings were in their wedding so the extra spots were created just for them!

150 days left!!- Extreme Makeover, Wedding Edition.

When I left you last you knew (or we thought you knew) all of our wedding vendors and we were working on introducing the wedding party. As of recently just about ALL of our vendors have changed! Due to unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances our entire wedding has been re-planned so almost everything you thought you knew was... 

Here's a list of what stayed the same:

1. Dusty and I are still getting married.
2. Our bridal party
3. Our Officiant
4. Our Photographer
5. Our cake

Short list, eh?

Here are somethings that have changed:

Wedding date (now April 11th rather than 12th), Wedding size (much smaller venue means more intimate wedding, went from about 200 people to 50), Hotel accommodations (no special rates, book at your own risk, we booked a room AT the wedding venue location), Venue, DJ, and Caterer. There will be no alcohol at the wedding, there WILL be seating for guests during the ceremony. Our honeymoon has changed as well but you won't be invited to that anyway. 

We have all new plans in store for you so here is a compilation of our NEW Cast and Crew!

Venue- We have moved our venue to the lovely Manor House in Tanglewood Park.

Crew title: The Manor House at Tanglewood Park
Address: 4201 Manor House Circle, Clemmons, NC 27102
Phone: 336-703-6400
Role in wedding: Venue
How we met: I first heard of Tanglewood due to the lovely Festival of Lights! I had driven past the Manor House many times but never entered until the day before we booked it as our venue. What to expect: The Manor House is the former country home of William and Kate Reynolds which now serves as a B&B that is very elegant inside. We are aiming to have our ceremony outside on the front veranda then open all of the French doors to have dancing in the front relaxing in the house and food set up in the back Veranda. There are rooms that can be rented if you are planning on spending the night and Dusty and I are doing just that! Our room is booked and the old fashioned feel will make for some beautiful pictures! The Manor house is located behind the Rose Garden and in front of the arboretum so beautiful flowers will not be lacking!

DJ- My beyond awesome brother in law has decided he would be our DJ for the big day. 

Crew title: John Dunne
Address: n/a
Phone: n/a
Role in wedding: DJ and MC
How we met: John is my Brother in Law.
What to expect: Nothing short of awesome. John is a very talented musician who was originally just going to play the ceremony music for us but once he heard we were canceling our DJ stepped in and offered to make our wedding ROCK. 

Caterer- Still deciding on that one, check back another time for more info.

All for now my dears! 

181 Days Left!! Meet the Cast and Crew: DOUBLE FEATURE Noah Haynes and Karlee Naglieri

Cast Member: Noah Haynes
Role in Wedding: Ring Bearer
Relationship: Son of the Groom
How we met: Dusty was in the room when he was born. I met Noah one day when Dusty brought Noah in to the office on his day off because he forgot his phone charger.
How he got the gig:  He is awesome, fun, brave, adventurous, inquisitive, smart, polite, handsome, beautiful and all around wonderful. Oh yeah, he is also Dusty's 3 year old son and my soon to be step-son. He is going to be an very handsome ring bearer!

Cast Member:  Karlee Naglieri
Role in Wedding: Flower Girl

Relationship: Niece of the Bride
How we met: Dianna met Karlee in a delivery room at Forsyth Medical Center the night she was born right before she was taken to Brenners to begin her long journey with CHD. Dusty met Karlee on July 4th 2012 when he met the rest of the Naglieri crew.
How she got the gig:  Karlee is an amazing miracle baby! She is the strongest little girl I know and given her adorableness plus the fact that she is the youngest little girl in the Naglieri/Dunne/Haynes clan, she was the perfect fit!

201 Days Left!!!- Meet the Cast: Perry Hardison

So you are planning a wedding, you have the dress, the venue, someone to marry, what else do you need? How about someone to make it official? Cue our next cast member, our officiant.

Crew title: Perry Hardison 
Address: PO Box 374, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27515
Phone: 919.618.3359
Role in wedding: Officiant
How we met: The internet. Since neither Dusty or I attend a church regularly we did not have anyone in mind when it came to someone performing our ceremony. We used wedding venue websites to check out our options for an officiant who would suit our needs and once we found Perry we knew we were on the right track. We met up with Perry in Chapel Hill at a Starbucks, talked it over and booked him to marry us.

What to expect: Perry Hardison is an ordained Baptist minister who will custom write our ceremony to fit our personality and wishes. Perry is a good guy and we are blessed to have him as part of or ceremony.

210 days left!!- Meet the Cast: Leah Robbins

What are some things that you take to a wedding? Tissues? A gift? A camera? I personally LOVE pictures and while I may not be the best at taking them, I sometimes pretend I am and adore having these frozen moments in time to remember a friend's special moments. With this in mind, it is not too hard to believe that the very first vendor that was booked was our photographer.

Crew title: Leah Robbins
Address: N/A
Phone: N/A
Role in wedding: Photographer
How we met: Leah had been the photographer to capture the pictures of Mrs and Mr Callaway's wedding and engagement and Hannah's Bridal shots! The pictures were wonderful so when Hannah told me of an amazing deal that her photographer was having that included 7 hours at the wedding a Bridal Shoot and an Engagement shoot I had to jump! Dusty and I looked through her work and determined that she was perfect for us! We had talked though what we wanted and had Leah booked even before Dusty asked me to marry him! While Leah is no longer accepting new business she is still going to be shooting our wedding making it even more special!

What to expect: You can expect to see a lovely lady setting up and taking amazing pictures at the wedding. We still want you to take pictures but please be mindful that if Leah is trying to set up a shot these are the pictures that WE get to keep, her job is to take the pictures that we will have forever as we wont be toting around a camera to capture the moment. Now she isn't going to stand directly in your way as we are having our first kiss but she may move around if she needs to get a different angle for a shot.

244 Days Left!! - Meet the Cast and Crew: Dewey's Bakery

If you have ever planned a wedding you may know that some of the most enjoyable things to pick out are your dress (which I can't post about), your food (which will be in another post) , and your cake. The first because (in my opinion) the dresses that you get to wear are just so beautiful and the moment when you see yourself for the first time in "the one" you get this amazing feeling and no matter what you thought about your self image before hand you feel beautiful. The second and third are because you get to eat lots of free delicious food. For my first "Meet the Cast and Crew" post I am writing about Dewey's Bakery, as they allowed us to do TWO cake tastings (both of which were sooooo delicious, and because a wedding cake is super important (I feel) to a wedding.

Note: this is NOT our cake, but it is a lovely wedding cake with an "H" on it :)

Crew title: Dewey's Bakery
Address: 262 South Stratford Road 
Winston-Salem, NC 27103 Phone: 336.725.8321
Role in wedding: baking and decorating (and transporting) wedding cake!
How we met: When I worked at Borders Books Music and Cafe, some of the Dewey's staff would come in to get some ice from us because they would run out and we would have a HUGE ice maker in our cafe. To pay us back they would bring us Moravian Sugar Cake, Pink Lemonade Cake or some other pastry. Dusty first "met" Dewey's when we went for our first cake testing.

What to Expect:  Dewey's is known for quite a few things, Moravian pastries, Pink Lemonade cake and custom cakes. I can tell you that we will not have the first two but you can expect a wonderful custom cake that was partially designed by your favorite bride and groom as well as the amazingly talented cake decorators at Dewey's. While we have clearly not seen the finished product, we know it will be amazing and definitely a cake to remember (and to take a picture of)!

250 Days Left!! - What to Expect- Seating

Ah, the dreaded topic of our seating plan. I think if this wedding has one more area in which to stress me out it is going to be in making the seating plan. Since we are having plated meals that will be submitted beforehand, everyone must be in the seats to which we assign them, which makes our job much harder. Just in case sitting 10 random relatives at a table wasn't already stressful there comes the issue of seating during the ceremony and THAT is where I expect complaints.

Background: Our ceremony and reception are being held in the same room which means we will have it set up almost exactly the same all night. The Crystal Ballroom at our venue is perfect and it was kind of special to be able to have our table in the exact spot that we exchanged our vows. It was also going to be much more money and hassle to either pay for another room in the building for 30 minutes or make guests travel from one location to another for these events. We landed on the single room option and our event coordinator at the venue has instilled confidence in how it will turn out.

What to Expect: You may be standing for our entire ceremony, but it will be probably max about 30 minutes, if that. We will have some chairs moved from tables into rows to create an aisle for immediate family and for anyone with VERY young children or anyone who is injured but these seats will be filled at primarily our discretion. I know it may seem silly that you may have to STAND but this will give you more freedom as to where to be, you can be on the second floor or the first and maybe see the wedding from a POV that you have never experienced! This is one thing about my wedding that I KNOW is going to upset people but honestly, as mean as it sounds, I don't want to hear it, I have stood in line longer to get into a crummy movie or to pay for some groceries so I feel that standing (while I am doing the exact same thing), isn't too much to ask someone. After the ceremony, Dusty and I will make our escape to get some photo's done with our bridal party and family while our guests are offered some snacks, will have access to the pub and can take their seats inside when they are ready waiting for cocktail hour to be over so they can see us again and eat some yummy food then dance it all off!

280 Days Left!! - What to Expect: Drinks

After reading hundreds of wedding related posts I can tell you something that they all mention that kind of ticks me off. Every one tells me how tacky, inappropriate, and inconvenient cash bars are. They all say how you should go all out and offer a full bar to all of your guests to ensure they have fun. Well, this morning I had the last straw, and to clear anything up I determined what my next "what to expect" post would be.

Background:
I for one have never been much of a drinker. The most I have ever had was two or three weak drinks in one night. Dusty isn't a huge drinker either, not that he doesn't like to drink occasionally, it is just not a priority. I know it can be relaxing or even a bit fun to indulge once in a while but it isn't what I think of when I think of my wedding.

What to expect:
Two words for you: cash bar. As inconvenient as it may be for a guest at my wedding to break out their wallet for a jack and coke, it is ten times more inconvenient and costly for me to budget an entire wedding's alcohol intake. At our reception there is a full bar literally two doors down from the ballroom that would be very accommodating of guests wishing to acquire some spirits for the occasion. We have worked out that water, soda, tea and champagne punch will be free and unlimited and I for one think that is more than reasonable. Weddings are expensive and pumping guests full of booze is not at the top of my priorities. I don't mind the drinking, I just don't want to pay for it.

292 Days Left!! - What to Expect: Theme

When you hear that a wedding has a "theme," what comes to mind? For some a scene from 27 Dresses pops in their head where she has tried on all her "Gone With the Wind" dresses;

 for others it may be princess, beach or country that comes to mind. Sometimes the thought of a themed wedding is scary because it can be way, way, WAY over the top. I am willing to admit our wedding has a theme, but not one that should be feared.

Background:
When Dusty and I got engaged, or maybe even in the months before, we had discussed ideas for our wedding. We didn't specifically discuss a "theme" at first but as we considered, and reconsidered one kind of fell into place. Now I had considered many ideas for my wedding over the last 25 years including fairytale, Tim Burton, The Nightmare Before Christmas,

Dr. Seuss, and Disney, but none of these really fit for Dusty and I when it came down to it. They were fun to think about pre-engagement but when realistically picturing this incredible event, they didn't work. I think this is true about a lot of pre-relationship wedding ideas because when you plan before a relationship you are only thinking about you, when you actually plan for real you have to take into account what the other person likes and what will represent you and your partner. Now if you watch Bridezillas or some of these other wedding shows, they may not have quite that same bearing.

What to Expect:

If you know me and or Dusty, you know that we love movies and going to the movies. Some people have a misguided idea of our wedding theme. Many people think it is "movie," like you would be able to see a story line (boy waits at alter, girl walks down alter, evil genius has secretly kidnapped the officiant and is planning on using his love-me-not-inator to make everyone in the tri-state area be unable to love, Platypus in a fedora saves the day, the bride and groom get married, the end),

or scenes/quotes that are from beloved movies (To have and to hold, and I'll never let go Jack, I'll never let go). That isn't the case. Rather than movie, think the movies, that's right, think the cinema, the experience you have going to the Grand, Regal, AMC or Wynsong, and watching magic unfold before your eyes because that is the experience we want you to have when you leave. You just came to a showing of a never before seen movie, you laughed, you cried and you felt, if only for a few hours, that the rest of the world didn't exist, you only existed in that room and got to experience something truly amazing.  While we won't be going too over the top (I don't think), you will see nods to the movie going experience throughout our wedding and wedding process.

305 Days Left!- What to Expect: Religion

This post is going to be the first in a series that will explain some things that may be a little different at our wedding. The series will be called "What to Expect" and will cover various aspects that you will notice at our wedding and help you get to know the reasoning behind our decisions and maybe you will even learn a little bit about us! To begin the series we will start with Religion.

When getting married, one of the important discussions you need to have, if you have not already discussed it, is religion. This is important not only to determine important factors and requirements for your ceremony but also so you and your partner will know where you each stand on the subject and give you a basis on how you will live as a married couple.

Background:

Where I am coming from: I was raised a Catholic but have discontinued attending church after my confirmation. I never really felt a strong bond to "church," to me it was always just the reason you got up early on a Sunday and had to pay attention to if it was time to kneel, sit or stand. I had gone to religion class for years, took the tests, heard the stories (sadly most of which I don't remember well), but it was all a means to an end. That being said, I do believe in God, I do pray in my own way opposed to using pre-written prayers and in my opinion I am a good person that I feel God would be proud of...most of the time.

Where Dusty is coming from: Even in my early childhood, while I didn't really go to church, I struggled with heaven and hell and how I could get in one and avoid the other. In my early teens, I came to believe that God was real, had my “born again”, saved experience and began attending a Southern Baptist church several times a week. I spent the rest of my teens immersed in church and vowed to be a youth minister myself. Upon graduating High School and attending Bible College, I found that many of my beliefs didn't really match up with the religion I belonged to. As time went on, I found myself growing further and further into opposition with many of my friends and family on many of the big issues. These days, I still believe in and love God and have a personal relationship with him; but my “church” is more likely to be me alone with Him in my apartment instead of inside a building.

What to Expect:

As  you can see above, while neither Dusty nor I are church goers we do each have a relationship with God. When planning our wedding neither of us imagined a church as the place that we wanted to officially become a family. We looked through some options and determined that we would find an officiant (the technical term for the person that marries you) who could provide us a ceremony that suited us. We wanted a ceremony that would not require our guests to sit through a sermon but rather focus on the reason for the gathering, that two people were blessed enough to find their soul mates and even outside of a church we truly believe He will be proud of us. I don't know word for word what will be said in our wedding, but I know it will focus on the two people who God created and their love for each other  and it will be perfect for us. We know there will be people who are disappointed in our decision, (some have already voiced their feelings), and while we respect everyone's belief system, their traditions and their views on marriage, this is how we want it and we know it will be perfect.