7.26.2011

Funny video



So I have watched this video way too many times....and way too many other home movies of these kids, but they are awesome at the dancing/singing video games! It's so addictive and funny. They are only 3 years old, so really is amazing how well they follow the screen and coordinated they are. Check it out!

7.19.2011

20 Weeks: WHOOOAAAA...we're halfway there!

Completed 20 WEEKS on Tuesday this week!  It is absolutely crazy to think I'll be over the halfway mark!  So here's the lowdown on where things stand...
How have I been feeling?  Overall really good.  I've felt more tired the past few weeks though than before-- but think a lot of it is just due to the draining near 100 degree temps outside.  Just had a few days here and there where I just don't feel 100%, but I always say that could just be normal and not even due to being pregnant!

Felt any movement?  Not a thing.  A couple weeks ago I thought maybe I was feeling something, but now think it must have been gas or food passing through me.  Lately I don't feel a single flutter or anything.  The doctor did say today that my placenta is up front, so that probably explains why I don't feel anything.  She said to think of it like somebody punching you through a pillow and that pillow really cushions you from feeling anything.
Clothing?  Still wearing my normal clothes, although my pants are definitely starting to get to that snug point! 

First Items:  So the very first item our baby has received is a cute cookie monster hooded bath towel from some relatives.  I felt a little guilty then that I had slacked and not bought anything, so I did something about it and bought fabric this weekend and made a little blanket!  There will be a separate post on that in the coming days.  And a generous co-worker bought a little illini football shirt.   So we got a towel, blanket, and shirt....now only 1000 more items left!

Names:  Nope, still haven't really started looking into this.

Cravings: None

20-Week Dr. Appt
Date: 7.19.2011
Weight: 135 (up 4 lbs from start)
Blood Pressure: 110/62
Baby Heartbeat: 156
Belly circumfrence: 34 inches
Fundal Height: 18.5 cm
Description:  These appointments are really pretty uneventful during this timeframe.  Dustin has made it to all appointments so far.  The doctor said she wasn't super concerned with my weight, but that I need to make sure to gain at least a pound per week from now on and is concerned I may not be getting enough calories.  So get this-- she seriously said to try 3 times a week to eat a bowl of ice cream after dinner on top of what I normally eat.  Dustin was jealous cause he loooooooooooooves the ice cream!  And he's concerned he is going to start gaining weight cause is impossible for him to watch me eat ice cream and refrain.  Dustin cracks me up at these appointments and thinks every little piece of info needs shared with the doctor and that I'm hiding stuff.  I seriously don't think he trusts me to go on my own.  So when she says this business about eating a few more calories...dustin pipes up with "Well, she did weigh a little bit more earlier this morning if she would have weighed in then."  I'm sure he got the death stare from me tunneling over "I can't believe you just said that out loud!"  The doctor politely said something about bowel movements don't affect the weight all that much and I still should follow the advice she just gave.  At least now I get a chuckle out of it, but why someone would feel that was important altering information to share?!  She also said they do not do any more ultrasounds unless there would be a medical necessity.  I was somewhat surprised with that, but she said she participated in a study at wash u and they confirmed there was no value added to doing them after 20 weeks-- at this point they are able to see everything they need to see.  We can elect to do one in the 3rd trimester if we want...but I got the feeling that most insurance companies will not cover it if you are just doing it for your own benefit.  She also said she didn't have an issue with me having like a glass of wine occassionally....woot woot!!!!  My mouth is already watering thinking about dinner this Saturday night and having a nice glass of white wine with my meal....yum!  For some reason, I am one of those people that just always wants what I can't have....so before getting pregnant it wasn't a big deal most of the time if I chose not to have a drink.  Then when I couldn't drink....it killed me to go out to dinner and not be able to order something!  So I think this will help knowing that I can have a drink if I want....but I'll probably still choose not to on most weekends.

Here is my 20-week picture on right compared to my starting picture on left:

7.16.2011

Easy DIY Photo Collage

I had bought some frames on sale at Michael's probably about 2 years ago-- I had hung them on the wall and filled the smaller frames, but didn't have anything in the 11x14 frame. 

I decided to do a collage of photos from our wedding from the photo studio.  I used Microsoft Office Publisher and it took me less than an hour.  I inserted a bunch of the pictures and then just started making them different sizes.  I would also crop some of the pics where there was dead space.  I just worked my way across and down the page to keep filling it in.

I took it to Office Depot on a flash drive and they printed on 11x17 glossy, thick paper for only $.49!  What a steal!  Walgreens and most photo sites wanted at least $9.99 to print.  I have another 11x14 frame to fill, so I'm definitely going to put something together and get it printed there.

Here's some pics of the finished product:

7.12.2011

It's no longer an "it"....we are having a....

BOY!

So here are all the details on how things went....

First, we had sent out an email to our family to invite them over Friday night where we would find out the baby's gender all at the same time. 

As our way for everyone to find out the gender at the same time, we decided to give everyone a cupcake and we'd bite into it and see if it was pink or blue filling, indicating if girl or boy.  Everyone is puzzled how we did this, so I'll explain all the steps.

1.  So my sister kindly came over Thursday night and we baked cupcakes.  Since Dustin does not like chocolate, we made 2 kinds-- Chocolate and Carrot Cake. 
2.  After they were baked and cooled, we took a sharp knife and just cute a round hole in the center of each one about halfway down to the bottom.  We scooped out this cake, while still leaving it somewhat in tact (you'll use it later to plug back in the hole).
3. We had mixed pink and blue icings/fillings-- a whipped cream mixture for the chocolate cakes and cream cheese icing for the carrot cake.  I spooned this filling into the holes-- I filled 12 with pink and 12 with blue.  You can then plug the whole with the cake you had just cut out...and it's amazing how you can't even tell that there was a hole ever cut!  So keep track separately of which ones had the pink vs. blue.
4.  We then iced the tops-- chocolate fudge on the chocolates and cream cheese on the carrot cake. 
5.  I had 2 identical containers, so we loaded pink fillings into one and blue fillings into the other, then labeled what was in each one and put that in an envelope taped on top.  (So at this point they looked identical and I had no clue what was in which container.)
6.  We had the doctor's office put whether it was a girl or boy in an envelope and did not look at it.
7.  We asked some girls in our building to look in the envelope and if it was a girl, then put it with the container labeled girl....if it was a boy, then put it with the container labeled boy.  We would then serve and eat from the container she told us to.  (So basically you just need a neighbor or any outside person to look at your result and assign it to the right cupcakes).

So we went to the appointment Friday afternoon and they did the anatomy check where they make sure the bone structure looks good and the organs are functioning/developing properly.  We were very fortunate that everything went well there, so that was a huge sigh of relief.  We told the technician that we did NOT want to know the gender.  However, she was scanning all over the place for this anatomy scan, so it was making me nervous that we were both watching the screen that we were going to be able to tell the gender!  There were a few times she was showing us profiles or down by the legs (and I am awful at reading the machine), but I swore to God that I could make out male parts.  So then I started looking away cause I really didn't want to know...but Dustin had his eyes glued to the monitor the whole time.  So at the end she turns the screen from us to do a printout for us and write on there if it's a girl or boy.  We leave the appointment and as we are in the elevator we both look at each and say at the same time- I think it was boy based on what I saw!  I think Dustin could see the panic in me cause I had my heart set on a girl, so he tried back-peddling then saying we aren't experts at reading the machine, etc.  But I felt like I just knew.  So all afternoon I was able to kinda prepare myself for the fact there was like 99% chance now it was a boy....but still had that hope it was still a girl!

It's now close to arrival time for our guests, so I go put on my brightest pink shirt convincing myself that I probably don't know what I saw earlier.  My sister arrives in her pink and I'm psyched.  Then everyone decides to show up wearing freaking blue, except my step-MIL who showed some girl support!  I start having this feeling like I'd rather just not bite into the cupcake and I think- 'I'll just wait until delivery and see what comes out...I'd just rather not know.'  Except now I got all these people here, so pretty much have to follow through!

So here we are pre-cupake bite (minus dustin's brother who is taking the picture and can see our nephew roaming the background):


Ready, Set, GO!


And for the record, I did have an immediate smile on my face (but the picture is blurry) after looking at my cupcake and discovering this:

Slightly forced smile here...

But then I think-- hey, there is still a chance that the girl screwed up the instructions and we bit into the wrong cupcakes, so I better check the official paper from the doctor.  Crossing my fingers......and nope, the doctor says it's a boy too!

It's crazy cause at the beginning I really didn't care if it was a girl or boy and thought- I'm not going to be one those greedy people who really wants one over the other...those people should just be happy and thankful they have a healthy baby on the way.  But as the months went on, I just wanted a girl more and more.  These last few weeks, I just had my heart set on a girl and really, really, really thought that we would have a girl, so this was a bit of a shock.   Dustin has the WORST luck of anyone...and so now for one of the most important things in our lives, he finally hits his good luck and gets a boy! I know in the end I will be 110% happy and never think twice that I wish it was a girl, but I will admit that I had a hard time accepting it this weekend. Let's just say there were tears on Friday after everyone left....and more tears the next morning. 

Even though we plan to have more kids and could have a girl later, I think I just loved the relationship I had with my sister, so wanted to pass that on and have daughters....so was just hard accepting that it will not happen. I reminisce about my sister and I making up dance routines together, playing school, playing beauty shop, being in the same sorority, etc.  And I just wanted to pass on that same experience...which I know in reality I could have 2 girls that are complete opposites and don't do anything together....but is just the vision I had.  So like I said, just hard for me to accept that my kids will not be able to duplicate all my happiness and will have their own version...which for all I know could be better than what I had!

And then I started thinking what if our next child is a boy, I'm going to feel outnumbered and alone cause they will all be watching sports and doing boy things, etc. I can hardly stand to be home on football Sundays with 1 male screaming at the tv....what will I do with more now!! Which I also know is crazy cause for all we know we could end up with a boy who is more interested in tap dancing then sports!  So you really just never know and they will ultimately decide their own interests and futures.

So poor Dustin got a double-dose of crazy from me this weekend, let's just leave it at that!

I am excited though to start looking at names for the little guy and I began looking at nursery pictures this weekend to get some ideas.  These next months will be busy, but I am excited to meet this little person and I'm sure I will look back on this and be like- My goodness Gus, you need to lay off the crazy pills, cause you have the cutest son ever that is WAY less drama than raising some girl!

7.05.2011

18 weeks

Not too much new to report.  I have not had the bad pain return that they thought could be a kidney stone, so that is good!  Feeling chubbier, but still able to wear all my regular clothes-- I have a few pants that I'm nearing the end of being able to wear.  We have an appt later this week, so I'll have a post next weekend hopefully with the okay that everything looked healthy and if it is a boy or girl!
Weight: 135 lbs (+4 from starting)
Belly circumference: 33 inches  (I measured this at the start, but looks like I forgot to document it.  I believe I started at 30-31 inches, so is up a couple)

Here is how I'm looking at the 18-week mark:

7.04.2011

Staycation in the loop in the lou!

We started out the day by heading to the Soulard Farmers Market.  It is less than 2 miles from our house and we had NEVER been- shame on us!  It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G though and now we are hooked!  There were more stands than I could have imagined selling everything from veggies, fruit, meat, pasta, pickles, sauces, donuts, nuts, meats, cheese, plants, soaps, clothes, cologne, purses, etc.  There was live music in several places, people sipping bloody marys as they shopped or noshing on fresh donuts, every kind of people- old to babies to foriegners to vacationers, etc.




Next up we got Massages at Massage Envy.  I had a gift card to use, so was even better that it was free!  My back was so knotted and tense, so she worked a ton on that and it was super painful, but the good kind of pain.  For days afterwards it was killer sore, but I think it did help work out some of the muscles.

We then headed down to the loop which is a stretch of Delmar in University City-- it has very unique stores and is just a fun area for killing time.  People watching is interesting as there are lots of young people with interesting tattoos and piercings.  A hotel recently opened in the area called Moonrise, which is where we stayed, and it was awesome!  (And more awesome cause I had won they stay for free at a work event!)  The hotel is the perfect location, modern, clean, and great service-- free drinks at check-in even!

You can see on the view from the outside where they have a nice rootop bar/patio which we took advantage of.

The lobby had a glowing pink/purple staircase which I loved.

Here's a hodgepodge of shots from around our room and lobby:

We then headed out to check out the stores and scenery along Delmar.  Along the sidewalk they have stars of famous people from St. Louis and then a little blurb about the person.  In the past I had glanced at these stars and it seemed I didn't know most people, but this time I was shocked at how many I did know!  We actually found this very interesting and will be a fun activity to do with our kids when they are older.  Here were just some of the famous ones I knew...
We stopped in at Vintage Vinyl which was one of the stores we used to come to in high school and college to get CDs.  Before going in we were commenting that we were amazed they were still in business, however after browing their merchandise and prices I'm not surprised at all.  It seemed their prices are competing with the online market and things were very cheap!  It was fun finding the old bands I used to look for here- Stir and The Urge.

It was a little early for dinner, so we went to the hotel roof bar to get some drinks-- I had a great bloody mary (virgin, don't worry!) and we had a nice breeze so didn't get too hot.

We then headed out to dinner at Momo's- it is a Greek restaurant that has belly dancers, so we thought that could be interesting.  There was so much good sounding food on the menu, but the problem was that it was tapas style and we like such different things-- Dustin wanted lamb and meats, while I wanted the vegetables!  The food we got was okay, but think it would have been great had I ordered what I wanted.  One thing we ordered was a dip sampler platter served with pita bread.  The dip on the left was the best- roasted red peppers, feta cheese, capers, and some other seasoning.  The one in the middle was mushed potatoes with garlic and olive oil- sounded the best, but was my least fave.  And the one on the right was hummus- which was good, but not the best I've ever had.

All the time at dinner there were major storms moving into the area and warnings, so we decided to get out of there and back to the hotel.  We went back to the roof and thought we'd just sit up there, but they were forcing everyone into a crowded covered space because of the lightening.  Shortly after we arrived though they opened the entire patio and let us all sit out there cause the storms seemed to be passing over us and the lightning was far away. 

After a drink we returned to the room and decided we'd just watch a netflix movie.  The storms started are going CRAZY out there-- some of the hardest rain we have ever seen in our lives with heavy wind.  I didn't get pictures, but the next day there were trees down all up and down Delmar. 

We were very excited to have lunch at Cheese-ology, which just makes all versions of mac-n-cheese.  However we were there at 11 and they didn't open until 12 and we had to meet our realtor, so we had to go to plan b and went to Market Pub House which is where we stopped in for Dustin to have a beer yesterday.  They just had bar food, but some interesting things.  I got buffalo potato skins- yum, yum!

And then we shared mac-n-cheese topped with pulled pork, bbq, and fried onions:

And that was the end of the staycation!