11 weeks.

"Your fetus currently enjoys a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent that blood vessels show right through. But, fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds and nail beds are forming -- setting up a significantly more attractive future."

So much to be thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! This year in particular, I feel like I have so much to be thankful for: a wonderful family, fabulous friends, the best husband anyone could imagine, a great job, followed by an even greater job I'll be beginning in 2010, a healthy and happy life, and of course, my little peanut--who has already brought me so much joy and happiness.

Yesterday, the Hubs and I went for our first trimester ultrasound. Peanut was it's usual stubborn self, curled up in a corner, not wanting to be bothered. As a result, the ultrasound technician could not get any measurements. I kept flipping around from side-to-side, but Peanut was happy where s/he was. We took a little break and I made a much needed bathroom visit and told Peanut to be a good little Peanut so we could get a good look at it. Well, it worked! When I layed back down, Peanut was in the perfect position and even showed off it's dancing moves. It was such a thrill to both of us! What a character s/he is already! Here's a sneak peak:

If you look closely, you can see an arm by it's face and a leg sticking out

Excuse the poor picture quality, the scanner is on the fritz, so this is my attempt to photograph the photo! I'll update this post when the scanner is back in action. Happy Thanksgiving!

I guess I won't be one of thoooose pregnant gals...

Last night was one of those nights that I didn't get a good night sleep, but surprisingly woke up on my own at 6:30am. As I layed in bed, I thought about how I could definitely benefit from a little bit of exercise. Apparently, walking from the fridge to the couch 10 times a day doesn't count . So, I got up out of bed, (before the Hubs!) put on my running shoes and headed to the gym for a leisurely walk on the treadmill "workout". Hey, it's better than nothing...right?!?

I walked a steady 3.8 pace for 35 minutes and was feeling pretty damn proud of myself, that was, until I stopped and felt so dizzy I was worried I was gonna fall over. After quick grab of the arm of the treadmill and some water, I felt better and left that gym so fast you'd think I was being chased out. On the drive home, I was waiting for the endorphins to kick in, pat me on the back and say things to me like, "Aren't you glad you did that?" or "Ahhh, that felt good!" or "I'm going to do this everyday!" Instead it was like, "I feel sick" and "I'm soooo hungry" and "I miss bed".

The weird thing was while I was walking, I did enjoy listening to my i-pod and just zoning out. Normally when I exercise, it's the opposite: I hate it while I'm doing it and after I feel great. Even weirder, I felt this heaviness the whole time, like I could feel Peanut swimming and bouncing around which makes sense since there is something in there! I will attempt to go more, hoping that the long term effects will be more positive than the initial ones. Be on the lookout tomorrow for some ultrasound pics as we are going in for our first trimester screening. It will be Hubs' first look at Peanut too!

Lots of excitement!

The past 3 days have been full of excitement for us. On Friday afternoon, I got the great news of being offered a promotion! My new position will begin on January 1st, and I could not be happier. I think the new job will be much more conducive to my new life as a working mom. Not having to drive 150 miles a day while being 9 months pregnant will be a definite plus. More importantly, the position is full of new challenges and opportunities for the future. My only concern is telling my new boss in a few weeks, "Thank you for offering this position to me, I am so excited to start...oh and by the way, I'm pregnant, so I'll be taking a chunk of next year off! Aren't you so glad you picked me?!" I'm going to let my future self worry about that for now...

The second piece of excitement revolves around telling the Hubs' parents our big news. We made plans to have dinner with them Saturday night and of course tell them that they were going to be Grandparents (Amma and Opa) for the third time. We had a couple gifts stashed, but we knew that if we just gave them the gift bag, they would know right away. Instead, the Hubs concocted a brilliant idea to divert their thinking. Here's how it went:

Hubs: "So, we have some news to tell you..."

(Amma and Opa look at both of us with ear to ear grins)

Hubs: "A has gotten a promotion at work!"

(Amma and Opa clap excitedly, but with a wee bit of disappointment in their eyes :) )

Amma: "You did?! That is great! Congratulations!"

Opa: "That is great news! Is the position here? You won't have to move, will you?"

Me: "Nope, it's here!"

Hubs: "That's right because we have to stay close to Amma and Opa..(pause)..we're pregnant!"

(Amma and Opa yell with enthusiasm, hugs and tears all around)

Their reaction was priceless! We had a great time at dinner and playing cards after with Cousins Stan and Barb. After revealing the big secret to both of our families, we spent the drive home talking about how lucky we were to be bringing a baby into a big family that has so much love for Peanut and it's not even here yet. I am so looking forward to Thanksgiving, where our secret will be shared with both of our extended families and also on Wednesday where we get to get another sneak peak of Peanut (who incidentally is now bigger than a peanut!) and make sure he/she is growing healthy and strong. I'm definitely not leaving the office until I get a picture this time! Stay tuned...

10 weeks.

"With bones and cartilage starting to form and vital organs beginning to function, baby is making major progress. Body length will almost double in the next three weeks, and arm joints are now working. (Soon, legs will too.)"

Taco Time: A Love Story

Alright folks...consider this the official start of me losing my mind and blogging about ridiculosity. If you, by some chance in this difficult economy, have some extra dollars laying around, I suggest you buy stock in Taco Time. We have the enormous pleasure misfortune of having my favorite fast food restaurant a mere half mile away from our home. In normal, non-pregnant circumstances, I allow myself to indulge in this fresh, Mexican deliciousness maaaaaybe once a month. Now, best case scenario is once a week. What can I say, I love it sooo much! I think what I like most is their hot sauce. I start by dumping two tubs of it all over my food without thinking twice.

I've had people ask me if I've had any cravings, which I answer: "It's funny, but I really haven't." The shame of saying that I would give anything for Mexi-fries covered in hot sauce and a wee bit of sour cream, it's more than I can bare.

So, to close, yes, I realize I'm crazy and I have accepted that. Gotta go, all this typing has made me hungry ;)

Don't think you'll find this in Oprah's Book Club...

On my way down to L.A. for work, I decided to read a book one of my preggo friends lent me. She did warn me by saying that Jenny McCarthy had probably the worst pregnancy ever, so at about 30,000 feet, accompanied by my 5 oz tomato juice with light ice and cranberry snack mix (which had about 8 pieces in it...so unsatisfying), I opened this:

I read it cover to cover in about an hour and a half and let me say, I was not impressed. I feel like she either totally exaggerated everything to the point of disbelief or she is the biggest wimp of all time. Granted, I feel like thus far I have been blessed with a seamless pregnancy; a little bit of nausea here and there, boob soreness (which really can feel like burning) and being tired and hungry pretty much at all times. I have witnessed my close friends throwing up every day (poor things) while in the first trimester, but nothing like what this book details. At one point, I put the book down and had a mini-freak out that something was wrong with my pregnancy because I wasn't having near the amount of symptoms as her. Then I reminded myself that she probably wrote this book with one purpose: to make money. Books about a little bit of nausea and frequent peeing don't sell (which is probably why so few people read this blog :) ).

However, there were some parts that are chuckle-worthy. Shortly after she finds out she is pregnant she decides to take a dip in the hotel hot tub (which, hello? Doesn't everyone know pregnant women can't go in? Did you miss the giant warning signs that are right next to it??) She then freaks out she "hard-boiled her baby"....sorta funny. I could also relate to the parts throughout the book where she worries about pooping while giving birth. :: shudder :: Freaks me out too. Or the section of "Psycho Chick" making her appearance (poor hubs).

All in all, I thought it was mildly entertaining and if you are trapped on a plane with nothing else to do, it may be worth the read. But honestly, I prefer Jenny McCarthy hosting Singled Out.

I love olives.

" Your little embryo has now officially graduated to fetus-hood. Adding to the excitement, a Doppler ultrasound device might be able to pick up the beating heart. With basic physical structures in place and increasingly distinct facial features, baby is kind of starting to look like... well... a baby!"

First Doctor's Appointment!

Today I had my first Doctor's appointment and it was a loooong one. I first was given both flu shots (regular and swine), then proceeded to pee in a cup and get my blood drawn. Then I get hit with a surprise..."We see you haven't had a pap yet this year, so we'll just give you one today." Oh great-as if I won't be violated enough today! After that was over I was moved to the ultrasound room.

They must have known how excited I was because I sat there, no pants and all, on the bench for damn near 30 minutes before my Dr. came in. I lay back, she gets out the wand and puts on what only can be described as a condom (oh the irony!) on the wand before putting it...well...you know.

And there it was...our cute little Peanut (*tear*)! It's little heartbeat beating strong and I could even see the spiral of the umbilical cord. The only problem was it was upside down and asleep! I like to think it was in an advanced yoga pose and drifted off to sleep. Then, the doctor starts moving my ute trying to get the baby to turn over, but the baby is apparently both stubborn and a very sound sleeper (gets both traits from it's mama). The Dr. insisted everything looked great and right on schedule for a mid-June delivery and the baby was just sleeping away. I didn't get a picture though...BOO! But, in another 4 weeks I'll be back for another ultrasound and hopefully Peanut will be awake.

Wild Friday Night!

The title is meant to be facetious. The Hubs and I always talk about how unexciting we are and if 8-years-ago-us could see what we do now on Friday night, they would be shocked. So, last night we did some exciting stuff and went on an outing to Macaroni Grill for dinner, then to Target to get a present for our Nephew's birthday coming up and then....well...that's it! Hey, that is miles ahead of last Friday where the Hubs and I ordered take-out and waited all night for our favorite Friday night programming--Dateline, where about 5 minutes in, I said to the Hubs. "What are we doing?" And he responds, "You're totally right...let's watch this in bed!" So there we were, two happy DINKS snuggled up in bed Friday night at 9:06pm, gripped by Keith Morrison detailing the mystery of how a wife and her two kids ended up falling down a cliff and dying...duh! Her crazy Husband! But I digress....

Our fearless friends D & G were with us and we were again reminded about how utterly unexciting we are when the young, hip waitress, Kathy, (who was by far the youngest looking "Kathy" I have ever seen) says, "So, what are you guys doing tonight? Maybe catching a movie, or going out?" We all blankly look at her and say, "Nope, this is it!" Screw you Kathy! At least we're not working! ( Oh snap!)

Cutest part of the night was when the Hubs, who decided he wanted to tell D & G the big news, did so right after we sat down this way:

Cute, huh? It was fun to finally tell a couple of friends! It's been hard keeping this secret, especially to them because we hang out every weekend and G is 37 weeks preggo with Claire-bear. We spent the rest of the night talking about baby stuff and getting excited how our kids will be 7 months apart in age and in the same grade at school..yay! But, I don't care what 8-years-ago-us would say....because we aren't the same people anymore...it's us + a peanut ;)

8 Weeks

How far along?: 8 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: +2, and still soooo bloated

Maternity clothes?: Just bought some, you can see them here

Stretch marks?: Can you get stretch marks from excessive bloat? Hopefully not.

Sleep: Getting more and more difficult. I've begun having to get up once in the middle of the night to pee.

Best moment this week: Broke the news to the parents and Sister J...all are very excited.

Movement: Nope.

Food cravings: Fruit

Gender: I have no idea

Labor Signs: No thanks.

Belly Button in or out?: Innie.

What I miss: Sleeping through the night. And not having spontaneous back pains.

What I am looking forward to: Hearing the heartbeat on Monday!

Weekly Wisdom: When something sounds good, eat it! Rarely does anything sound good.

Milestones: This was a bit of a boring week. Sorry to disappoint.

A Raspberry!

"Your baby is growing like mad, putting on about a millimeter every day and continuing to straighten out in the trunk. Though you can't feel it yet, baby is moving those little arms, legs and (now only slightly) webbed fingers and toes like crazy."

Operation New Wardrobe: Phase 1

I decided to order my first round of Maternity clothes well before I wake up and find that nothing fits. True to form, I opt for all comfortable, non-work clothes from Gap and Oldnavy.com:

(ordered this set in my favorite color, black)

I plan on living in hoodies :)

This shirt got the highest reviews on the website for comfort and flattery...I got it in purple.

I didn't go crazy, just some staples... Frankly, I wasn't impressed with the selection and I'm hoping for some of my fabulous girlfriends to lend me some of their cute clothes as well, whenever I decide to tell them. And I'm glad that I *finally* have some good suggestions for Mom when she asks me for Christmas gift ideas. Yes, yours truly, otherwise known as Mrs. Clark Griswold is already thinking about Christmas--my favorite time of year!

What Would Tom Colicchio Do?

Cooking usually is one of my favorite hobbies. After a long day of work, I usually thrill in disappearing into the kitchen to chop, saute and whip up something delicious. It gives me time to think and reflect on my day--it's almost meditative. On the weekends especially, I'll scour my cookbooks to get inspired, hit the market with the Hubs and pick out fresh ingredients to cook up a satisfying meal. On Halloween, we went over to our dear friends D & G's house to stuff our faces with give out candy to the cute trick or treaters, so I decided I would bring a delicious dinner over too. What do I choose? I choose the decadent Crab Mac & Cheese. (Insert oohing and ahhing here) It was rich. I'm talking butter, whole milk, 5 types of cheese and King crab that I shelled myself....sounds good right? Here is how it started:





and here is how it ended:



Ok, not exactly...I didn't puke...but the thought of eating my creation sounded horrible. In my culinary defense, the Hubs and D & G loved my dinner, but Peanut was not impressed. Even seeing the leftovers sit in my fridge remind me of the smells...oy.

So for now, I will stick to eating things I like, including fruit (especially berries), saltines, noodle soup. Oh, and ginger ale.