So much stuff...

So much stuff going on with life these days.

We've had 2 snow storms in the last 3wks. The 1st was nice. We had ~4in of soft, powdery snow that we had a snow day as a family to enjoy. Em loves snow. The dogs loved it, too. The 3 of them together was hilarious and adorable! It was my favorite type of snow. Came in soft and pretty and practically melted in a day or 2!

Yesterday, we got about 8in in about 4-5hrs. It was ridiculous. I left work when it started snowing, and it was coating the roads in the 5-10min it took for me to get my stuff together and get to my car. I then took 30min to make it the mile to Em's daycare that normally takes 5-10min. The rest of the drive home was unreal. We finally made it home 3hrs after leaving the care center. Can I say how much that sucked? A hungry, bored toddler stuck in the car that was pretty much not moving. She ate all my snacks, so it sucked even more as I was starving since I didn't get lunch before leaving work. I should have just stayed home yesterday. I was in the car longer than I was working, and it wasn't a super productive day. We plan to just hibernate and not leave the house unless absolutely necessary until the roads are all better and clear. I am so over this winter!

Unrelated to the weather, we've started to tell family and some very close friends about the pregnancy. While we were Sky.ping with his parents, we went over Em's stats from her 2yr appt and mentioned that she's a completely happy and healthy big sister. His mom flipped and was super excited and happy! She was hoping we were going to say something when they came up for her birthday, but things were too uncertain then. We went out that Saturday to Once.upon.a.child for their grab bag sale. I was absent-mindedly looking at the maternity clothes. My mom was talking about how they are comfortable and could be worn when not pregnant or I could get them now for if we'd need them sometime later. All I replied with was "maybe" and she came back with "Or sooner?" My reply was a sly "maybe?" That's not exactly how I had wanted to tell them, but they were excited too. She even guessed how far along I was, strangely enough.

Boy told his brother and SIL when we were over for Super Bowl Sunday. Their reactions were lukewarm at best. All his other brothers and their wives were happy and excited for us as were my sisters. Our friends that have a little girl 2w younger then Em were excited for us too. I filled my boss in since it means there are certain lab protocols I can't do any more. He was very happy for us.

Regarding work, things are going ok. Busy as usual. One of the grad students (the slacker and jinxed one) is also pregnant, 3w behind me. This should be interesting... My initial reaction was a huff and eye-roll that I had to really force to suppress. She wanted to make sure what she had to be concerned about lab-wise regarding staying safe for her and the baby. I have to applaud her on that as the last pregnant co-worker didn't seem to care about that, never mentioned it to me, and I had to bring it up after other lab members filled me in when she went FB public. [Not that mentioning concerns about reagents or protocols changed how or what that person did, at all.]

As far as my pregnancy, we are both doing good so far. I had my 1st bout of queasy and sick last weekend/early this week. I didn't eat immediately after getting up and ended up throwing up one morning. It was hard to keep eating for the rest of that day. Ick. So I've since realized that I need to eat almost constantly, but at least every 2hrs. If I wake up at night, I need to eat. When I wake up in the morning, I need to eat within 10min of waking, as well as eat breakfast with some form of protein. Prior to going to bed, I also need to eat again; lately, it's been a bagel with cream cheese. Oh, and I've had cravings this go round. I didn't' really have any with Em, but this time, there are things that I NEED to eat when I think about them or see them.

I've also meet with a Certified Nursing Midwife (CNM) in the area. She was really great, smart, and funny. She was ok with my weight, even checked Em's weight on the scale, too and took both of our blood pressures. All I have to do is sign a form when she sends it to me and do the copay, then I'll be all set for preparing for a home birth. I've researched it since I learned about them a few months after Em was born. It looks like a really good option in my situation as I had a very low risk pregnancy last time that ended in a quick and complication-less delivery. Plus, as a friend pointed out, even if the CNM isn't able to make it the house in time if this (hopeful) birth goes faster, I'll have supplies here and be in the comfort of my own home rather than popping a baby out on the side of the road. We won't have to worry about having someone to watch Em or the pets for the day or 2 we are in the hospital. Also, since this is 99% sure to be our last pregnancy and baby, I'll get the chance to experience a different birth scenario and location than the hospital. I initially looked into going to the "local" birth center, but it is about an hour drive just to get there.

I've been checking off and on with the doppler over the last week or so to see if I can pick up a heartbeat on my own. I got one with Em at a little over 9w, so was curious as to when I could catch one this time. Last night, laying in bed before trying to go to sleep, I gave it another whirl. I heard it! It sounded like a freight train. Chugga chugga chugga. Love it. Hubs wanted to see if I could catch it again this morning for Em to hear. I did eventually; she was only slightly interested. It was such a relief though to be able to hear it. In a local parenting and birth FB group, several women that are about my gestation have had missed miscarriages, and it had me a bit worried. *Sigh* I really hate loss and infertility.

And since it's been a winter wonderland/nightmare here, some obligatory snow pics!

Enjoying it coming down before bedtime

1st snowman!

Laundry basket sledding!

Snow angels!

This afternoon's round of snow on top of the 8" we got yesterday...

Random Run-down #2

I think I'm going to start doing these "Run-downs" periodically when lots of little things go on, but nothing worth a huge, full post on their own.

Monday - I felt a true, unmistakable, genuine baby movement after dinner. Since then, they've only gotten more noticeable. I can pinpoint the common times of day that the little bugger is most likely awake and practicing it's baby-fu (mid-morning and after dinner are the most active times). It's a pretty incredible feeling. Also, completely weird and mildly disturbing at the same time. It's crazy.

Tuesday - My youngest sister "moved in" and will be staying with us for a bit. She's relocating from the town she went to college in to this area and needed a temporary lay-over. Almost 1 week in and so far so good. We haven't had the best track record/experience with letting family (BIL) and friends stay with us, but here's hoping things continue to go well. Plus, she likes to cook and bake. Oh and totally loves the dogs (Hello! In-town pet sitter!).

Wednesday - found out from my mom that my dad was laid off from his job. He'd been with the company for 15yr. They needed to cut some expenditures and the more senior supervisor (not managers mind you) seemed to have taken the brunt of the pink slips. While that completely and totally sucks, it means he can find a new job (hopefully soon) that he likes better. My parents will be fine financially as he gets a week paid for each year he worked and all his stored up PTO. Their only real worry right now is health insurance. The only exciting bit from this all is that there may be a chance of them moving to this area as well!! I would be pretty stoked about that!

Thursday - Wellness appt for the pups! They are "prime" examples of happy, healthy pooches! "Great dogs." I've apparently done a great job with them as they are "so well behaved and look fantastic!" Our almost 6yr lab mix, Mazzy, has only the tiniest hits of tarter on her teeth and the only health problems they have are Cricket's joint issues and Mazzy's chronic ear infections. They are such great dogs that they "volunteered" to participate in a study at the Vet school. I felt kinda bad for them as it required vaginal swabs, but they were champs like always. I totally felt for them though.

Friday - Not so great work day. Was straight up lied to by the newest co-worker. I had to clean out a waterbath and scrub it because it was completely gross and smelly. Apparently, it was all clear the day before when she put our stuff in it. That and I've noticed how much time she spends talking without working, talks on her phone, does non-work related stuff on the computer (which we are "prohibited" from doing), and just all-around wasting time. She's pissing me off.

Saturday - The Boy finally was able to feel The Baby move/kick! Each time he's tried, it stops or he only notices my GI movement. His reaction was classic. Que eyebrow quirk, a smirk and a bit of a giggle/chuckle. I was practically in tears, I was so touched, and he's only mildly amused. Oh well. We went ot the $1.50 theater and saw Pir,ates of the Cari.bbean 4. Good movie. Plus, I stayed awake through it all, didn't have to leave to pee, and was comfortable in the theater without a jacket on.
We ended our evening with a pseudo-birthday grill out at a friend's house. It was great to see them all again. As they were Boy's friends that I inherited, he was in charge of telling them all. Oops. It was still a bit of a surprise to quite a number of them. the fact that I'm almost 18w was pretty much a surprise to everyone though!  The food was absolutely delicious! Chips and mango salsa. Veggies and dip. Cheese (with the mango salsa). Black bean and corn salad. Caprese soaking in balsamic. Grilled jerked chicken. Mac & cheese (by yours truly). Homemade Pina Colada ice cream! Pecan cinnamon swirls. All 3 of us thoroughly enjoyed it!

I'm not looking forward to my dental appt on Tuesday morning. I'll have to inform them I'm pregnant and answer the hygienist's barrage of questions. With instruments and a spit sucker in my mouth. I hope they don't yell at me for not flossing...

Then, Thursday is the big day. THE Anatomy Scan. With a perinatologist. I really hope all the baby's structures are just as they should be, and its little heart is perfect. I'm also hoping that the little one is modest and won't have all the "goods" in full display. We shall see. I can't wait!

6 Years of (mostly) Wedded Bliss

Saturday, July 23rd, 2011.

The Boy and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. It's absolutely mind-blowing to think that we've been married for 6yr now. Heck, come Sept, we'll have been together for 10! Complete craziness.

I got to open my gift on Thursday night. They/it arrived that day, he prettied them up in a bag, and had it waiting on the table for me. You maay be asking why he didn't wait until our actual anniversary. See, he's really bad (really, really bad) at keeping things a secret for too long. Plus, he likes to spoil me. All week long, he gave me hints and clues as to what he got me. I couldn't figure it out to save my life. Let's see if any of you can guess it!

1 - You'll really like it, but will probably want to give it to someone else.
2 - One of them you really don't want, but you'll like it.
3 - One of them is something that you really need.

Anyone figure it out? I know I sure didn't. They made a lot of sense though when I opened the gift and saw these:


Yay! Giant Microbes! I love these things, but have never bitten the bullet and splurged to buy any for myself. The cute thing is I actually do some work with leukocytes. Well, I use to as I can't really work with some of the chemicals we use in processing them now that I'm all knocked-up. The dogs were pretty excited about them too, until they realized they weren't new toys for them.

Our actual anniversary day was great, low key, and full of yummy food. We started Saturday off with Boy letting me sleep in. All that really means these days is that I get to be lazy and just lay in bed a bit longer without the pups bothering me to take them out, play with them, etc. But hey, I like just being lazy and staying in bed, so it was nice! He came back to bed, we cuddle and talked about our life these last 6 years and how we feel about things, what we've enjoyed the most, what we love about one another. Reminiscing and being sappy and mushy, really. At some point, I found myself looking up at his face, and felt this unbelievable amount of happiness and love right then that I started crying. Not sure if I can blame it on the hormones or not, but we both got a kick out of that!

Boy suggested we treat ourselves to breakfast out, and suggested IHOP. Apparently, he'd been craving it for a few days. Another instance where I could swear that he was the one that was pregnant in this relationship! I can't say that it didn't sound mighty tasty, so off we went up the road to our local IHOP. Apple juice, fried eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and a few bites of his pancakes with some butter pecan syrup. YUM! To be honest, I only ate the yolks of the eggs really. The whites have just tasted off to me since, well, you all know why. We had left over hashbrowns that we took home (and I ate this morning for breakfast - yum again!) and left full and happy.

We were off to Targe't, where I was letting him pick out his anniversary gift. I know that is super uncreative, but I was completely caught off-guard and not expecting to do presents this year. Surprise. He picked out a movie (127 Hours - really good) and the 1st season of the Walking Dead (also really good if you like zombie stuff - which he loves).

I was about to keel over at this point, so we came home and napped. Mmmm, sleep...

Then around 6/6:30, it was time to start getting ready for dinner. The Hubs had made reservations for us at the Melting Pot (for 8:30!! but we thought we try to squeeze in early). We'd been there for our 4th anniversary, and OMG! was it delicious! It's a bit $$$, but this is probably the last anniversary for a while that we can go out to such a nice restaurant and just enjoy each other and our food for hours. So, I went and shaved my legs, etc in the hopes that I'd be wearing this dress to dinner:

Sadly, the top of the dress was not nearly as flattering of my fuller bosom as I had hoped. My now larger bra stuck out in the neckline and the empire waist was actually on my boobs. *Big sad face* I tried on another pretty dress I liked, but it strained too mightily across my midsection to be comfortable or presentable even. So, I fell back to a recently purchased, jersey skirt. Not as fancy, but better than any pants I own, none of which can be completely buttoned.

Serious picture

Not serious picture

Awesome arm placement for concealment there! Off we went for a nice, romantic dinner! One thing I love about the Melting Pot is how easily you can do substitutions! We had a nice cheddar-cheesy app fondue followed by Caesar salads. The Boy ordered Filet mignon, steak, salmon and extra salmon in place of shrimp. I was able to just order the chicken platter, but had them add on some spinach ravioli (which they did for free!). The only wine I had this time was in the cooking broth (sad face), and it made everything delicious, regardless of the fact that the alcohol cooked off! We finally started our chocolate dessert course just shy of 10pm. This baby has totally screwed up my sweet tooth! The thing I enjoyed the most with the chocolate were the apples we held onto from the cheese course, followed by the bananas. The cheesecake, strawberries and rice krispy treats were all just "eh" rather than the "YUM" they usually are. It was ridiculous that I wasn't all over the cheesecake! More for the Hubs, which he was more than happy have.


After eating for about 3hrs, we navigated our way back home. I was sooo fully, ridiculously happy, and probably looked like I gained 10lbs in that amount of time. All in all, it was a great anniversary. As much as I enjoyed this year's low-key celebration, I can not begin to describe how excited I am for next year's!

My Changing Relationship with Food

I love food. LOVE it! And thankfully, I was blessed with my dad's metabolism so my love affair has been fairly well disguised. I ate whatever I want, almost whenever I wanted, and as much of it as I could put in my stomach. I have a few food allergies so I tend to avoid those things as to not spend a day hugging the toilet. But barring those items, nothing was off limits! Healthy. Junk. I ate it all.

These days, things are a bit different. Actually, a LOT different.

I eat no where near as much at a time as I had prior, but have to eat more frequently. I was a grazier anyways, but now it's just ridiculous! There is almost always food in my mouth. Breakfast. Post-breakfast snack. Nibbling. Pre-lunch snack. Lunch. Post-lunch snack. Nibbling. Afternoon snack. Nibbling. Early evening snack. Dinner. Post-dinner/pre-bed snack. Ridiculous.

What I eat has also changed. Strangely. I love snacking on sweets, yogurt, fresh fruits and veggies. Add in dips and I'm set. Or at least I use to... The only fruit I can stomach is grapes, red grapes specifically. And ONLY if they are frozen. Veggies are hit and miss. I'm stuck with anything potato, green beans, and lettuce (but only as a caesar salad). Sweets are a thing of the past. Cookies, brownies, cakes, and all other baked goods don't appeal to me at all. My only sweet friend left is ice cream, but instead of every night it is only here and there.

I miss so many foods right now. I look and think of them longingly. Last Friday taught me not to give in to all of my "cravings" or dietary desires. In the meantime, I'm thinking I might buy some stock in the potato and cheese markets. Oh and the Mexican food restaurants! You can never go wrong with cheese, potatoes or Mexican food! With that, I'm thinking I may have some chips and queso dip for my post-dinner/pre-bedtime nibbling...