20 Weeks Pic

[caption id="attachment_388" align="aligncenter" width="560"] 20 Weeks[/caption]

Well...... We know...... But we're not telling. :)

I actually have a Harry Potter maternity shirt that I was going to wear for this picture.... but it's still a little big, so look for that a little later. The skirt is excellent and I got it to wear to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter earlier this year. You can find it HERE as well as many other adorable geeky things.

I spent the last week in Oregon with my best friend and her family. It was a delightful trip, but I have to admit that I'm sad I couldn't eat more. This whole pregnancy thing has severely affected my ability to eat a whole meal. And also the ability to drink beer and caffeine. Sure would have liked one of those nice beers from those breweries we went to.... I stuck with root beer.

[caption id="attachment_389" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Oregon Coast[/caption]

Now that I'm back in Tennessee, I'm just trying to get caught up on some missed work and take it easy. Well, for at least a day or two.

We've picked out and ordered our nursery furniture and nearly have a paint color pick out for the walls. I'd tell you more about that but you'll all find out in due time. I will say, however, that you can expect that information within the next 2-2.5 weeks.

And now I'll leave you with a picture of a box of doughnuts I got from VooDoo Doughnut in Portland.

[caption id="attachment_390" align="aligncenter" width="560"] VooDoo Doughtnut[/caption]

Baby's First Books

A friend of mine posted these books to Facebook a few days ago and I was so excited I thought I should share. As a graphic designer who deals mainly with web, you can imagine that these are right up my alley.

You can go to the Code Babies website to learn about or purchase these books! They're also available from Amazon.





[caption id="attachment_379" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Web Design for Babies[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_380" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Web Design for Babies[/caption]

And of course.... we'll probably need this one too:

Goodnight iPad.

17 weeks pic

Ahhh, the inevitable lull in communication. Sorry about that. I'm pretty proud of myself for posting every thing I have so far without being forced. Certainly a first for one of my blogs.

But to make up for the lack of posts, here's some pictures from today, 17 weeks and 6 days. I'll also make another post in a day or so about some pretty sweet books.



[caption id="attachment_372" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Rawr. Nom nom nom.[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_373" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Mmm.[/caption]

 

 

Definitely showing now. I still don't have "cravings" for anything in particular, but here's a few things I enjoy at the moment. I know from these pictures it looks like I only eat junk food, but I promise that's not the case.

Breakfast generally consists of 2 eggs with a little cheese in a tortilla with a side or pear slices or plums.

Lunch varies. This week I've been eating baked potatoes with sour cream and bacon or a veggie tray with carrots, broccoli, a cheese slice and some almonds.

And dinner is even more varied than lunch. Tacos, pasta, etc.

All these snacks are just what I munch on occasionally in my spare time ;)

 

A few trips coming up in the next few weeks (Oregon,South Carolina, Florida...), I'll be sure to post about those as well.

 

Cheers!

Babymoon and Snoogles

I'm a vacationer. I love going anywhere at anytime. So, I've been thinking about the whole idea of a babymoon. I read a lot of articles that dog the idea (See: 5 Reasons Babymoons Are a Waste of Time and Money), and while I can't completely discredit their reasons, I can certainly see the other side of things. So below are their 5 reasons to not take a babymoon accompanied by reasons of why you should. (And clearly I'm basing my opinions on how I *think* it will be, as I have never been pregnant before.)

1. Your whole life has been one big babymoon.
You have yet to change diapers. You can go see a movie anytime you want. On weekends you can sleep all day. You don't desperately need relaxation and time alone together ... yet.

• Come August, I'll be 6 months pregnant. Baby showers will be happening, the nursery will need to be in order, the house will need to be in order and probably a million other things that will keep Cory and me plenty busy in the months prior. Taking a few days to ourselves to relax, eat, and mentally prepare for the crazy journey that lies just around the corner seems like an A-OK idea to me.

2. You will appreciate that vacation so much more in a couple of years.
You have never appreciated a nice, quiet night of sleep as much as you do when you're away from your kids who haven't given you a decent night's sleep ... ever. Even the hotel bathroom --with no one else in it or trying to barge in it -- will feel like a magical oasis after you've spent some time being a parent.

• I have no doubt in my mind that this is probably true. But.. as someone who likes to vacation and will probably love vacationing with my kid(s), I can't say this is any reason not to take a babymoon. At this point, I guess I should probably make it clear that by 'babymoon' or 'vacation' I certainly don't mean flying across the county or the world for some exotic location that will cost the balance of your life savings. I simply mean a getaway that would be relaxing and won't break the bank.

3. Traveling isn't that fun when you're pregnant.
What's a beach without a fruity umbrella drink? There's no horseback riding, no sushi, and no hot tubs. Sure you can still sight see (if you're feet aren't killing you) or lounge around (if you're not too nauseated), but wouldn't you rather wait until you can fully enjoy the vacation?

• You can't have any of those things when you're not at the beach either.. Well except the fruity umbrella drink, because who says you have to have alcohol in a frozen beverage with an umbrella for it to be drinkable? Again, I don't imagine that on a babymoon you'd want to do much other than relax and take a break. I can't speak for the nausea, but I'd say I could probably still enjoy a virgin pina coloda on a beach under an umbrella with a little nausea.

4. Things can happen.
If you're going to take one then go early on in your pregnancy, because I've seen far too many stories of women in airplanes lately. It's not to say that you should never travel while pregnant, but if you don't have to then the closer to home the better I say.

• I agree, things CAN happen. Planes are scary. I also agree that you should probably be as close to home as you can be and still get the sense of vacationing. If you can't get there by car in a single day, I'd probably rethink my location.

5. Save your money.
If money is no object then by all means, take all of the vacations you want. But if you're like most of us who have to pick and choose where to spend our pennies, I'd choose to save that cash for all of the things your kid will need ... and a real vacation (where you can drink and eat and do whatever you want) down the line when they're driving you crazy.

• I don't completely disagree here either. The baby is priority number one and will be for the rest of time. If you can't afford it and would rather play it safe, then by all means, no one is forcing you to do anything. But even penny pinchers can find a good deal on a getaway. With things like VRBO you can basically find somewhere/anywhere to go that's not too far away and for a reasonably cheap price.

Well there you have it. Asinine as I may be in my pre-motherhood perceptions, I think a babymoon is well worth a couple of pennies to take a moment with my husband before everything in our crazy spastic life changes. That said, Cory and I are spending Labor Day weekend on the beach in Garden City.... probably with fruity drinks and hot dogs from Sam's Corner and she crab soup from the Dead Dog Saloon.

[caption id="attachment_365" align="aligncenter" width="560"] At Sanibel Island, Florida for New Years 2012. We certainly love the beach.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_366" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Garden City July 2012[/caption]

 

I'd also like to take a moment and publicly thank Cory and the maker of Snoogles. I used to always sleep in the fetal position, but in the last year or so I stopped because it was killing my shoulders. Thanks to the Snoogle, I don't have that problem anymore. Cory will probably regret getting it for me one day after baby Taylor is born, but if he decides to toss it, I will likely end up like Jennifer Lopez in The Backup Plan, digging through the dumpster to get it back.

Food and Fitness

I love food and I loathe fitness. If you know me personally, then you probably know that's not a secret. Now that have to be more conscious of my actions, I can't say I've done a really terrible job.

• I don't eat more than I used to at this point. I feel really terrible if I get hungry and I can't eat right away, but I can't say I eat more. I still don't have any real cravings, and still do have some of the food aversions I mentioned in an earlier post.

• I've cut caffeine out (except that one tall decaf iced latte, that one glass of Sunkist, and some chocolate here and there) almost completely. I still have a sprite or cherry 7-up every now and then, but I drink mainly water. (*pats self on back*)

• I eat a lot less fast food now, mainly because I really have no interest in it. I'll eat it if it really comes down to it, but I would rather eat an egg sandwich or something small from home.

And that's really it as far as food is concerned. It's pretty normal thus far which is why I haven't really gained a lot of weight thankfully. I'm currently 15 weeks and 5 days and I've gain about 2-3 pounds. Hopefully I can continue that healthy weight-gaining trend and not be a complete cow in my third trimester. The thought of a 10+ pound baby scares both me and my body.

As for fitness, I haven't totally delved into it yet. I went from playing roller derby 3 times a week to super sedentary in my first trimester because of the nausea and fatigue, and now I'm ready to get into some sort of routine that will keep me healthy, not to mention it'll be easier to go back to roller derby if I decided to do that after baby Taylor is born. I miss skating quite a bit, but know that's just not the safest form of exercise for me right now.

[caption id="attachment_361" align="aligncenter" width="560"] I'm on the left with the fancy hair and bow. What a group of sexy ladies, right?![/caption]

 

So for the last week I've been looking into short prenatal workouts on the internet. I think my favorite ones so far are from FitSugar. They have short, 10 minutes workouts that target specific areas and are geared for pregnant women. I've done the legs, arms, and Heidi Klum workout without getting too hot or winded and I definitely didn't feel like I was straining myself. I do, however, feel the burn and the strengthening happening. I like that they're short so I can fit them in whenever, and that they actually go along with you in the workout instead of just telling you a few moves you can do. There's a few more videos other than the ones I mentioned above, but that's about it. Oh, I also tried the yoga stretching which was nice, but I think I might try to find something a little different for that aspect because I don't like the music and I'd probably want a little more than 10 minutes in a yoga workout. I need more than 10 minutes to be zen.

My goal is to do one 10 minute workout plus one yoga workout everyday, resting on the weekends. Of course I say resting, but what I really mean is preparing for baby which is enough of a workout for anyone, pregnant or not.

 

In other news, my new desk came in today, so we'll get that set up tonight. And EPB is coming out tomorrow to supply the den with another internet line. That officially means we can clean out the nursery over the weekend! Hooray! OOO AND I ordered a shirt that will be here next week that I'll be wearing in my next 16 weeks pic. You should be really excited. I know I am.

Checking things off the list.

Ahhh. So nice. It was definitely a busy holiday weekend. With so much on the to-do list, my family (Mom, Brother, Sister-in-law) called Friday night and asked if we needed help. They made the 2 hour trek down to the house for the weekend. I cannot express how thankful Cory and I are for all the help they gave us this weekend. We were able to check off all but one thing from the weekend's to do list, but got a whole lot of other things accomplished as well.

The garage is clean. WHOA. Definitely not something I could really help with, but I tried to do as much as I could. We got a 20yd dumpster and it's almost completely filled with junk. When the rest of the furniture is moved out it'll be so nice. You can ACTUALLY fit 2 cars in here now.

[gallery ids="337,338,339,340,341,342,343,344,345,346,347"]

The burn pile is GONE.

[gallery ids="348,352,349,355,350,351,353,354,356"]

During the reclaiming of the grounds there were a number of wonderful things discovered. Those things include a PEACH TREE, BLUEBERRIES, and a PEAR TREE! I'm so excited about all of these things. I'm not sure we'll really get anything out of them this year, but now that I know they're there I can take much better care of them later.

Other things that were accomplished:

• Laundry

• The new couches were organizes and the big TV was moved to the 'new' living space.

• Swept out the sun porch

• Called our power company to come out and place a new internet line in the living room where the offices will be.

• Trash was all picked up and thrown out

The only thing we didn't get to that was on the list for the weekend was moving everything out of the current office/nursery. However, it would be pointless to do this before we have our internet cable moved because its current location doesn't provide very good access in the other room across the house. Not to mention my new desk won't be in until later this week as well.

Outside of all the work, we were able to spend a little downtime too. Sunday morning we went to the local farmers market (BBQ Fest this week!) and got lots of goodies (new plants for the garden, boiled peanuts, donuts, local soda, fresh salsa, delicious BBQ... just to name a few), and we had an excellent lasagne dinner Sunday evening.  After the crew left, Cory and I rested a little then headed over to his mom's house for some burgers and hot dogs. I may or may not have eaten two burgers.

This will probably be the most successful weekend we have for a while. Cory and I have another weekend at home this week, so hopefully the nursery will be cleaned out and ready for paint by next week.

We're now accepting applications for landscaping around the front (Lori Ann....) and furniture movers for what's left over in the garage.

14 Weeks Pic

14 weeks and 6 days to be exact. So... it's more like 15 weeks. Oh well. I'll get on track with these one day.

[caption id="attachment_330" align="aligncenter" width="560"] That bump is there, I promise.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_331" align="aligncenter" width="560"] You have no idea how many times I took this one.[/caption]

Admittedly, it is quite a small bump. But a bump is a bump.

I'm so glad it's a holiday weekend AND that Cory and I will be home for the duration of it. This is our first weekend at home since the middle of April and we've got a whole lot to do while I can still help do things.

On the list for this weekend are the following tasks:

• Finish the laundry

• Finish mowing

• Clean the kitchen

• Clean out the garage - we ordered a big dumpster that's being delivered today. It's going to be quite the undertaking. Look for home improvement pictures to come.

• Organize the den - we got some new couches from one of Cory's coworkers and they're great. So we're getting rid of the old ones and officially making the den where we spend our time. We have a 'living room' that we do this in now, but we're moving the big TV out and making it more of a formal space. We'll also be moving all of our office equipment into the den, so we'll basically only have to leave it to get food and sleep. Again, look for home improvement photos in the future.

• Clean out the sun porch - not a huge deal. The outer door has been cracked open for the last few weeks, so now there's a lot of spiderwebs and such residing in there. Time to make those disappear.

• Pick up trash (inside and out)

• Prep office for the move - I currently have a conglomeration of miss-matched desks that make up my workspace, so I ordered a new one that should be delivered Tuesdayish. So I'm going to get everything ready to move out. Cory can go ahead and move his stuff out when he's ready. We need to clean out the closet in there too. And once that's done it's ALL ready for Baby Taylor's nursery to start being assembled!

Hopefully most of this can be done and out of the way. We've got someone coming to take a look at the electric next week too. I'm so glad we're getting a move on things.

Oh and I don't know if you've noticed, but I also added tabs for crafts, home improvement, and cooking. I'm hoping to get started on some of those things very soon!

Hope everyone has an excellent Memorial Day Weekend!