'Moving on Up'

The day has finally arrived...moving day! Well, actually it just passed, because we moved yesterday. The long awaited journey for mother and daughter had arrived and has passed. We are finally with Coach in Massachusetts. It took six months, but we finally took the voyage and completed our travels safely.

It all started yesterday morning. Grandma, myself and Ms. Nikki packed ourselves up in the car and hit the road at exactly 9:05 (5 minutes behind the latest time deadline, not bad for traveling with a newborn) and headed to Auburn, MA. Fortunately, we were able to break up the six hour drive with a stop to see great grandma in Brooklyn, NY. It was a fabulous visit that allowed Ms. Nik to see not only her cousins and aunts, but her mother's best friend and great grandmother. The trip was one filled with happiness and reminiscing.

We got back on the road just before 4, about 40 minutes past our time deadline. We hit a little bit of traffic and made a stop to go pee and eat. We ended up in Auburn about 8 and instead of going straight to the house, we opted to visiting The College of The Holy Cross and their first home basketball game. Coach didn't know we were coming and it made for a great surprise. Not a happy outcome but a well played game against a formidable opponent.

We finally made it back to the house around 10 and after a night feeding, headed off to bed. It was a long day, but a great one. One that ended in a family coming together after a long 6 months of separation.

'Special Delivery'

As you may have noticed, I have been away for a few weeks. Things have been a little different around here. On October 20th, 2010 at 8:17 p.m., I gave birth to our first child, Kathleen Nicole a.k.a 'Nikki'. She is a beautiful, healthy baby girl that came in weighing 8.4 lbs and measuring at 21.75 inches. Yes, she was a biggin but it's okay because I didn't give birth naturally. I wanted too, but she got stuck in the birth canal and I wouldn't dilate past 6 centimeters. After 12 hours of labor and 3 plus hours at being at 6 centimeters, the mid wife and staff informed me it would be best to move forward with a C-section. After hearing further reasoning, we decided it would be best to move forward with the surgery.

My OB/Gyn and the surgical staff were amazing. I couldn't imagine feeling more comfortable while being sliced open. They had great rapport with one another and the conversation taking place was very relaxing. At 8:17, about 10 minutes after the surgery began, I got to hear the rather robust lungs of Ms. Nikki. They brought into sight and she was gorgeous. Coach was able to see so much more then me (including my insides), as I had a sheet panel blocking my view. After making sure she was okay and putting me back together, they moved me into the recovery room and I awaited the arrival of my daughter. They brought her in and wheeled her next to me, as they lifted her up I said 'hello' and she smiled, it was beautiful.

Since that day, Ms. Nikki has had everyone wrapped around her finger, including me.

"Waiting and Remembering"

So with only two days left of childless freedom, my mind is reeling with the endless possibilities of 'what if's'. I've maintained pretty well through the whole pregnancy, trying not to think of what could happen or what could go wrong. Now with less than 48 hours remaining, its hard not to start thinking of the 'could be's'. So to take my mind off things, I've been trying to remember all of the fun pregnancy dreams that I've had....

The very first dream that I had was kind of a blurry dream. Nothing very exciting. It was before the 20th week of my pregnancy b/c we didn't know the sex yet and I was hoping for a boy. The dream was about us (my mother-in-law, Kevin and my mom - maybe my dad) leaving the hospital (which is funny cause that's how it's going to be). We were getting into my parents Durango and the right passenger door was open with the baby on that side. I climbed from the driver's seat to the back seat and saw a little girl, but she was wearing one of the first outfits that I had purchased. Which at the time of the purchase I thought was gender neutral, at second glance it was definitely a boys outfit (brown and blue).

I remember waking up and thinking, 'okay, the baby was a girl, but she was wearing a boy's outfit, maybe it will be a boy'. That turned out wrong, definitely a girl:)

The  second dream didn't come until much later, probably around my 28th week. It was a dream about breastfeeding. Apparently, my mind had fears that I would be unsuccessful (they say your baby dreams usually revolve around what you're most concerned about). In this dream, I had my baby (not gender specific) and it was the size of my hand, which if I had given birth at that time would have probably been the right size. Well, in the dream, I laid her on my chest (decided it didn't sound right to call her 'it') to allow her to crawl up my chest to breastfeed. Now, that sounds weird but I had just had a breastfeeding class, where the lactation specialist told us that if you laid the baby on the mom's chest, it would actually crawl up the body, bounce from boob to boob and latch on perfectly. Apparently, this is a natural reflex for the baby and is an amazing sight to see. Anyways, this little pint size baby creepily (and I mean creepy) crawled up my chest and bounced from boob to boob. And even for a dream was pretty amazing to see (besides the fact that I was creeped out by the size and appearance)

The next dream was pretty soon after the one just mentioned. This one portrayed my fears of having a giant baby. In my dream, the baby was still inside me and was pressing her hands and feet against my belly. I looked down and what I saw was the outline of a baby's foot. Except the babies foot was the length of my hand. All I could think of was 'my god, she has the feet of a 5 year old, the rest of her body must be huge, get her out, get her out!'.

I told Coach about both of those dreams, and he laughed and told me that he had a similar dream. In this dream the baby had been born and I was attempting to breastfeed. In real life, we have an over sized La-z-boy chair, its awesome. Well, in Coach's dream I was sitting on one side and the baby was laying across my lap. The baby was so large that she her feet were dangling off the opposite side of the chair. Not good, not good at all!

My last dream, and given the amount of time left, the final baby dream was about my delivery. Well, kind of about my delivery. In my dream, the baby was pressing and pushing on my belly so I looked down. I could see her hand in-print on the lower left side of my belly and as I watched her pressing, I noticed that her hand was becoming clearer and clearer. She was actually stretching my skin out with her hand, so much so that I thought I could tickle her palm. So I placed my finger in the middle of her hand, which was now two or three inches away from the rest of my belly (with skin still surrounding hers) and she actually wrapped her little hand around my finger. From there, she held on tight and actually swung her self down and out while holding on. She had dark hair and was a normal sized baby. An extremely easy labor, if I don't mind saying so myself.

The past nine months have been great. I've had little to no issues and both sides of my family have been ultra supportive. Given the circumstances, the past nine months could have been hell but they haven't. Coach and I are fortunate to have an open, understanding and communicative relationship. Without that, I couldn't imagine what this would have been like. I have tried to keep an open and unassuming mind with regards to labor&delivery and the expectations of what our daughter will look like. To make assumptions or imagine an event or person a certain way, in my opinion, opens you up to let downs and disappointment. And the last thing I want is to be disappointed at the sight of my daughter. I'm sure that wouldn't happen but I would never want to look back and know that even for a second I was disappointed in what I saw.

I don't know if I'll get to write in the upcoming days, or even weeks. But I promise the moment I have a clear mind you'll be the first to know. Wish me luck!

'The last weekend of Us'

As a coaches wife, one of the many things you have to except is being alone or I should say being without your husband. Its the rougher part of the job and definitely stinks if you enjoy your spouses company:)

This coming up weekend is a truly unique and special weekend. Its a milestone that I'm glad I've realized prior to the weekend being gone. This weekend, Coach comes to visit, his last visit before our first child is born. The last weekend before we move from husband and wife to mother and father. It seems pretty crazy to think about, but pretty awesome to know as we go into the weekend. Not many parents have that luxury. They don't have that luxury because they're together every day and they don't know when their baby will be born. We don't know when ours will be born (outside of the usual expected date) but we do know that after this weekend Coach won't be back until baby Robinson is born.

The great news is that he will be able to come down in the early afternoon tomorrow and stay until Sunday around lunch time. The bad news is a part (hopefully not a large part) of the weekend will be spent with him packing the remainder of our stuff away. I, of course, would love to help but given my 37 weeks of pregnancy unable too:).

My current dilemma is how to utilize this weekend to its full advantage. Obviously, there are certain options that are automatically out - drinking for example, not going to happen. So how do you spend your last weekend as husband and wife? do you try and accomplish everything that you want to do, that you know you can't after the baby is born? or do you spend it lazily together, knowing that this, even though not exciting, could be the last time to just be?

So I ask, how would you spend your last weekend together? or how did you spend your last weekend together?

"Pregnancy Brain"

What starts out as an other day, slowly turns into a pregnant brain day. Now, mind you, Coach will tell you otherwise and say its just 'Trishy brain', but there is truth to what is known as 'mommy brain' or 'pregnancy brain'.

The 'Pregnancy Brain' syndrome is when you think you are acting logically, you think you are following typical, every day steps, only to realize that you waited in line for gas for 10 minutes and your car is on the wrong side of the pump.

Well, that's at least one of my fun examples. The worst part is, sometimes you may not even catch your pregnancy brain acts, and unless others catch it for you, god only knows what you've left out or put in the wrong spot. I actually caught myself one time, putting the cereal box in the fridge. Harmless yes, but then you start to wonder, what's going to happen when I have a baby?!

I can see it now... 'Honey, where's Nikki?', 'I don't know, check the fridge'.

"Heading into the Final Frontier'

Okay, so that title might be a slight exaggeration but we're definitely below the 30 day mark now!! Baby Robo could in theory make her appearance any day now...am I ready? 'nope', am I excited? 'uh huh'.

Coming from a family that loves to plan and setup schedules, the not knowing and the unexpected is probably what is keeping me from answering both of those questions with a little more enthusiasm . With only 25 some days left, it's killing me (and I'm sure my parents) that we're unable to set dates and times or even flights. I currently have a husband in waiting, 6 hours away if driving or 1 hour if flying, and parents that are 10 hours away, 2 1/2 if flying. All of which can only sit and wait, while I sit and wait - can someone get me a pillow?.

But I do know the end is near, whether or not I can plan anything around it is a different story, but I do know, how do I know?!, I know because I wake up at night with pains shooting through my lower region, I know because my waddle has become slower and more defined (didn't think that was possible, either did Daisy), I know because my uterus is tightening up and performing practice rounds of labor (braxton hicks you little booger, you!), I know because I can no longer even think of eating pasta without some form of indigestion (two bottles of tums later). Apparently, what nobody tells you the first 8 to 9 months of pregnancy is that your baby is growing and while you think your body is too (it just appears that way), it's not until the last round that your body really starts getting ready.

At least now when strangers ask, 'how much longer?' I feel okay saying '3 weeks' vs when they were asking and I was saying '2 months'. Apparently, my belly popped sometime ago, those were always fun looks:)

I do love it when a stranger or an acquaintance asks, 'Are you excited?' with that anticipating smile - they just know you're going to say 'yes' - and you respond with 'well, kind of, but time is starting to go by pretty fast and all I feel like doing is back pedaling, haha'. The looks I get are definitely not ones of smiles, which I always think is hilarious. Hilarious, because they usually ask that question after they make comments like 'you'll start to get to know your baby after a couple of weeks', or, 'no more sleep for you, get use to being up every two hours' (I haven't slept through the night since about week 5 by the way), 'you're going to be emotionally drained, but also physically drained, which will add to your being emotionally drained'. Seriously, what kind of response do they expect?? 'Oh my god, yes, I am beyond excited!!, I love the idea of losing my mind mentally and my body physically, not knowing what my daughter wants from me, but trying to give her what she needs every few hours, who wouldn't be excited?!!!'...sometimes my sarcasm doesn't register for people, I guess I should start lying and just say 'yes':)

The weeks ahead should be interesting. I have laid out certain plans for the weekends and the upcoming weeks, but I have no doubts that with every doctor appointment, I'll need to adjust and change them. Which, frankly, I'm okay with, because that just means more planning for me:)

This weekend I'm suppose to be organizing, packing, finishing thank you notes and knitting...what can I say, last night was long and college game day is on...Go Canes!!!

"Sweet Wedding Weekend"

Another great weekend. Two weekends in a row that I got to spend with Coach. This one was much shorter then the last, but hey I'll take what I can get.

This weekend we spent our time down in St. Mary's, MD for Coach's college friend's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony at a beautiful location. If you ever get the chance to visit St. Mary's, MD or to stay at the Broome Howard Inn, I highly suggest doing so. Coach and I spent our1st year anniversary at the Broome Howard  and this was where the wedding festivities were held. It was great to go back to celebrate our friends getting married but also great to visit such a meaningful place before the baby gets here.

Coach had his last 'blast' weekend before all parties go out the window (for now at least) and I got to fill my sweet cravings with delicious cupcakes from the wedding. The unfortunate thing about satisfying your sweet cravings this far into your pregnancy (4 weeks left now, exactly 30 days and counting) is that the sugar tends not to agree with your stomach and you're left with acid reflux. Unfortunately, not only have I been hit with acid reflux but I've been hit with it since this morning (maybe it wasn't such a good idea to start the day off with a cupcake, but it was definitely worth it at the moment).

So even though I didn't get to drink, I think I'm feeling much like Coach is right now...hurting. But hurting with the satisfaction and completeness of getting to see each other and be with friends.

Also, as a side note, I've been adding other posts to the ongoing pages for both 'A Coachs Life' and 'Budgeting', feel free to check out the ongoings for both.

"Managing Moving on Coupon Sunday"

Ah, what a great day. I love 'Coupon Sunday'. Some people have 'Sunday Funday', others have 'Football Sunday', me I have 'Coupon Sunday'. A day where I can plan my attack on grocery stores the day of and in the near future.

Now you must understand that I'm a 'newbie' in the coupon world, but I have an advantage over most 'newbies'. I grew up watching the skills of my mother and her use of coupons, as well as now, getting the knowledge behind the experience of my mother-in-law. I also like to hear the stories of other peoples, I'm not scared to ask. I find that if you see someone using coupons, they are also proud participants of 'Coupon Sunday'. Now don't misunderstand me, I'm not stalking coupon users at the local grocery store, not by any means. But I will take advantage of an opportunity that presents itself (future daughter is going to hate me when we go out, just like I hated my mother -que eye roll - talking to total stranger - agh, what have I turned into?!)

Today was anti-climatic, on one hand I had the joy of going through the Sunday paper, but on the other I had to watch Coach pack away our stuff and leave (I say watch b/c belly and I disagree on lifting and packing right now). I never like to see him go, the visits are always too short, great, but way too short. It always helps though, knowing when I'll see him again. Fortunately, it will only be a week that I'll have to wait this time unlike this past time where it was at least 3.

The good news is 'Coupon Sunday' was another successful day. Between reviewing the local grocery store weekly ads and reviewing previous and new coupons, I was able to save $20. Now $20 may seem like I spent a lot to get to that savings, but after my savings my grocery bill was only $55. I would say not bad, especially since I've been trying to stock up on items like soup and baking needs. I know I'm going to need soup in the winter time and right now the stores are having great sales plus the use of coupons (that's right tag teaming the sales with coupons). I also have unrealistic idea that while baby is sleeping I'll want to bake (we'll see how well that works out).

Now the key to enjoying 'Coupon Sunday' (outside of reaping the rewards of saving) is to relax and take your time. Now, 'time' is an important key to relaxing and enjoying yourself during the 'hunt'. A lot of people don't have the time. They are so busy that sitting and spending time going through the Sunday newspaper seems almost impossible. My advice would be to pull the coupon books out of the newspaper and put them to the side. While you are sitting, watching t.v., go through the booklets during the commercials. You don't have to do it on Sunday, the coupons last for weeks to months on end. Regardless of when you go through the booklets, make sure you create an environment of relaxation. Sunday morning while drinking your coffee is a great example. Hey, you have to plan out your weekly meals anyways, right?! why not plan with the coupons?!. If you know you use an item but don't need it that week, wait for a time in the near future when it's on sale and tag team the sale - hit it 'em up with the sale price plus the coupon, bam! extra savings:) Talk about feeling good!

There is just no point in not using the coupons, it's free money! Remember, strategy is key. If you don't like thinking in minor weekly savings, think long term. If you manage to save $10 to $20 by using coupons every week, imagine what you could do with your monthly savings of $40 to $80. You do that every month and at the end of the year you could have saved $480 to $960. What would you do with that extra money?

Here's to happy hunting and great savings!

"The Joys of the Last Trimester"

So all and all, I can honestly say that I make pregnancy look easy. I found out probably 4 or 5 weeks into being pregnant, that I was in fact pregnant, which makes for a very long pregnancy. But I was fortunate, I was not stricken with the famous traits that most pregnant women must succumb too.

I don't know if it's a lack of hormones or what, but I have been blessed by the baby gods to be one of the few without those typical pregnancy issues (not to say I didn't get some). I never, not even once, got nauseous. I never had the taste of metal in my mouth (which is more common then you might think). I never had sore boobs(probably b/c I don't have any:)). I could go on and on about what I didn't have, it actually would probably be easier to state what I did have...occasional candy cravings (which I may have exaggerated at times - but come on, who wouldn't?!) On occasions, I did have leg cramps at night and my hips would hurt, but in fairness, my hips usually hurt pregnant or not (some friends say I'm part Labrador - a dog breed which is known for having hip dysplasia).

I think my luck has finally run its course though. With just 5 weeks to go, I'm starting to notice some changes and discomfort. I'm definitely getting bigger in the middle section, (which come on, at some point your body has to grow out, there is a kid living in your abdomen!)which makes moving around extremely difficult. And seeing your feet, forget about it!

A great example of this is from just last night. My mother-in-law and I were sitting in the living room, patiently waiting for Coach to come home from his recruiting trip. I had dropped a knitting needle and my mother-in-law was kindly helping me locate it. We found the needle on the side of the chair cushion and I began to starting knitting again, it was at this time when I realized I was sitting on the yarn. Like any other sane person, I tried lifting my butt up to pull the yarn out from underneath me. But I found that I had to rock back and forth to even attempt to lift my butt cheek up from where I was sitting. It was at this moment, I began to relate to the comedy sketches you see on t.v. of pregnant women. You know the ones where the woman is rolling back and forth attempting to get up only to fall back over?!. Those are all based off of true stories, I know because I just kept rocking (more like rolling)from side to side with absolutely no progress. As I was rocking from side to side attempting to free the knitting yarn from the depths of nowhere, do you know what my mother-in-law was doing???? She was laughing and laughing and laughing some more. Yes, this is the same woman who I so lovingly praised in my previous post, the same woman who now in my current state of despair wasn't helping or being supportive, but was using me as a tool of her amusement. But what can I say?! I was laughing too (which did not help the situation whatsoever). Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I freed the string. I learned my lesson and putting the knitting needles away.

In reality though, it's stories like this that get you through the hard parts of being pregnant. The times where your size has finally taken over and you feel like you'll never see your toes again. I won't complain because I know there are women out there worse off. Women who continued to throw up well past their first trimester, even though all of the books told them they would be fine after the first 12 weeks, women who have to leave the room because a certain smell makes them want to vomit, women who are stuck in bed at 20 weeks, with 20 more weeks to go. I know, I am one of the lucky ones. I can't say if its because of my hormones or because of my genetics (thanks mom), all I know is being a comedy sketch isn't all that bad in comparison to the alternative;)

'Fantastic Thursday'

Who would think that Thursday would be better than Friday? Until today, definitely not me.

Today was exciting for two reasons. The first, and most important, was baby Nikki had her first weigh in today. 'In the right corner, weighing in at 35 weeks, and between 4 and 5lbs, Nikki the bab-e-ino Roooobbbiiinnnsssooonn'. So far baby Nikki is average, average in weight that is! (She's a Robinson, so no way, she'll be average in anything else).

"Ready to rock n roll"

Now, I know I mentioned two reasons, so before I get any grief....Coach came into town today:) Now in fairness, he came in for recruiting and business reasons, but I still get the extreme pleasure of his company. What more could a girl ask for?!

'Just a little more about me'

So a little bit more background on the wife of a coach...

I briefly told you about how I met my wonderful husband and came to live with his mother, but I never told you how I really came to meet my husband.

Sit tight because we're going to rewind back a few years, back to a time where it was just me, just me and my parents and my brother, but really just me:)

I was born in Reno, Nevada in June of '82, just over two years after my older brother Tim was born. My parents had been living out west since about '72 ( I could go a little further back on that one, but I'll save it for another post).

My father was graduating from the University of Nevada - Reno and took a job in Miami, Fl a year after I was born (the historical accuracy may not be entirely correct, as I'm actually not sure as to when my father graduated, I just know I was 1 when we moved). On a side note - Most Floridians well tell you, that you are NOT from Florida unless you were actually born in Florida. I consider myself a Floridian as, in fairness, I was 1 when we moved there and then did spend the rest of my childhood and young adulthood growing up there (most Floridians would concur with my sentiment). Anyways, we spent a few years in Miami before my parents moved us to Boca Raton, Fl - which for those of you who don't know - Boca Raton is spanish for 'Mouth of the Rat'. Another interesting tid bit for you is that Boca Raton is pronounced as if it has an 'e' at the end of 'Raton', so no, it's not 'Ra-Ton' but it's 'Ra-Tone' (if you are from the area or have ever lived there, you will know that it's annoying to hear people pronouce it incorrectly - and EVERYONE pronouces it incorrectly).

After spending a few more years in Boca, we moved again. This time to Orlando and for a much more permanent time period. I was in the second grade when we moved, and it wouldn't be until the summer going into my sophomore year of college that my parents would move again.

Outside of cheerleading, which I did for most of middle school and all of high school, I also played golf. I didn't pick up the sport until my sophomore year of high school, but I was naturally talented and my parents invested some serious mola into my skills over the next several years. Between the lessons and my progression in the sport, I was able to get a small golf scholarship to a Division I school up north, Mount St. Mary's College (now known as Mount St. Mary's University).

I won't go into depth about my college years but it wouldn't be until my final year at The Mount that I started dating Coach. It was a great year but tough as I was a senior and I was torn between partying up with my besties or getting to know the man that I would later call my husband. I must say, I think I handled balancing both responsibilities pretty well:)

'It's All About Me'

This being my very first post ever, I thought I'd start by telling you a little about myself and my family. I'll try not to jump around too much but my family life is pretty crazy right now.

I'm originally from Florida and currently live with my mother-in-law in Pennsylvania. Its a temporary, but good, situation. Unlike a lot of women, I love and respect my mother-in-law immensly. Which works well because my husband has a lot of her character traits:)

My husband is a college basketball coach and it makes for a very interesting and exciting life. Most aspects of his career are great and completely different to the business world that I'm use too. Outside of recruiting and being on the road half the year, his job relies on 18 to 22 year olds. That's probably, too me, the hardest part of his job. No, that's a lie, him being on the road half the year is the hardest part.:) When I get upset or down because he's gone, I try and remind myself that it could be harder, he could be in the military and overseas for unspecified amounts of time. (God bless our troops and their families!!)  But so far we manage pretty well, we love each other very much and try to keep the communication open as much as possible, which you can imagine can be pretty hard sometimes.

Coach (my husband) and I have been together for 6 or 7 years and of that time married for 3. Because of Coach's job, there is always a possibility of a new coaching position and relocation every year, so we've been holding off on buying our first home. That changed in Oct 2009, we decided that with the market being at a low and the fact that we had been with the same school for 6 years (we started dating my senior year of college, where he was starting his career in coaching while getting his masters in secondary education), that now was as good as time as any to buy. We joked that, with us buying the new home that we'd probably end up pregnant and moving after the season was over...fast forward six months...we're pregnant and moving to Massachusetts:) The hilarity of all of this is that I'm a self proclaimed planner, and our 'timeline' of getting pregnant wasn't suppose to be until July, not February. But when life throws you a curve ball, you go with it (I'm sure something like 'when life throws you a curve ball, you swing low' or 'you wait until the next pitch' would work better, but I'm a basketball coach's wife, not a baseball coach's wife)

That takes us back to why I'm living with my mother-in-law. Coach moved up to Massachusetts in June to get started with work and I moved in with my mother-in-law. For many reasons, it made sense for me to stay behind. Outside of the fact that nobody would want to hire a woman that was pregnant, I really love my current employer and OB, so I stayed behind. We found renters for our home, and we both moved in with family to save money.

So far everything is working out really well. I'm 34/35 weeks pregnant which translates to the turkey almost being done (40 weeks max on being pregnant), Coach is loving his job and the guys he's coaching and our dog, Daisy, loves getting daily belly rubs from grandma. (side note, Daisy is our first child - she's a three year boxer/english springer spaniel mix).

As I get more comfortable with the blog and posting, I plan on talking a lot about saving money, planning, my life as a new mom and as a coach's wife.

I hope you enjoy reading about my day to day life and at some point learn some interesting tid bits about the coaching world, saving money, and the craziness of balancing a new baby and major life changes:)

Have a great day!