There's a Party Going On Round Here

And by "Round Here" I mean in my belly. That poking / bubble popping I've been feeling for the past few weeks? Yeah, that's gotta be McNugget. I had inklings, but I'm fully convinced now that it happens so often.

Today I had 2-3 major bouts of motion (this one has lasted for a few minutes!) The hubby's gonna be excited when I tell him that the first one today started when I put on the new CD from Dave Matthews Band. I'm noticing the bumps much more in my lower abdomen when I sit extra forward (back straight, abs tight, pants almost cutting into my hips) but occasionally I feel it on my side or up top. It always feels the same - and a little weird but really cool. I'm super excited and can't wait for the hubby to be able to feel it too!!

McNugget at 18 Weeks

Well McNugget is technically only 16 weeks - but I'm 18 weeks pregnant. Confusing, no? :) Anyway, here's our beautiful baby's ultrasound from last week!

A Pregnant Lady's Breakfast

My dream right now is to be on an all-expenses paid vacation at an all-inclusive resort in some hot beach town where I can seriously eat my weight in breakfast items. Its not that I'm hungry all the time - its that I'm too lazy to make anything worth eating and I want to know that any moment I'm hungry there is a beautifully presented buffet I can waddle up to and gorge upon.


That being said, we're not planning any vacations this year, so I better get used to making my own deliciousness. After I downed my bowl of frosted-flakes (I do love pre-prepared foods) I had a hankering for a fruit smoothie.

1-1/2 c fruit juice (OJ & Cranberry in my case) + 1 handful frozen mixed berries (any fruit should do)+ 1 container yogurt (plain in my case but I've used the fruited-variety as well)... blend well. You can stop here or add 2-3 handfuls of ice to make it more voluminous. This will make 2 servings (or one to last you all morning). They're pretty & healthy & I like getting McNugget both fruit and calcium in one desserty looking breakfast.

As a side note, I really wish i had a giant McDonalds-esq straw on hand. The little ones are no good for drinking from.

19 Weeks and Counting!

Today is our 19 week mark with the McNugget.

On Friday we went to get our ultrasound - making sure everything is healthy and happy and developing right. Gladly, everything looks good. McNugget was extremely active during his/her photo session - doing barrel rolls, reaching up and waving, laying on his/her back and doing the "bicycle" - even giving us the "L" for loser sign on his/her head. Unfortunately all that activity stopped when we went to find out the sex and McNugget became camera shy and wrapped his/herself into a ball. The ultrasound tech tried for 10 minutes to find out for us - moving me on my left and right - but we just couldn't tell for sure. The tech was leaning towards girl - but "I just am not sure enough to tell you to go out and buy pink". It was disappointing, but I guess its not the first time I'll be frustrated with the McNugget.

Next on our checklist was to start interviewing day cares. We looked at 3 different places - none of which screamed "pick me!" but two of which were okay. I'm hoping that we find something (either a daycare or a neighbor) in the next couple of weeks to cross that (very stressful) item off our list.

On Saturday we went and started to register at Babies 'R Us. We found lots of stuff we liked, but I wasn't in love with the elevated prices. We did kick off our registry there, but I'm going to try and move a few of my things to other registries (Amazon, Target, etc.) to give ourselves and our families a price break. As a bonus, it did start to make us feel like parents making important safety and style decisions about car seats and test driving strollers.

Otherwise I'm feeling good. Still not sleeping 100% at night and I get headaches every now and then. I've started to walk more as the roads are getting less treacherous, but I get winded pretty darn quickly. I also have been very sensitive to certain smells - its so strange how much my body changes with this new addition! I think I've started to feel the "fluttering" everyone talks about with McNugget. Mostly its been "prods and pokes" but its getting more constant as a flutter immediately after I eat / drink something. That is something I'm tremendously excited for.

I'll post our ultrasound photos as soon as they and my computer are in the same place at the same time.

White Out: The Blizzard of 2010

This week we've had 2 major storms - and my backyard has captured probably 30" or more. This most recent storm is our third major one of the season. Prior to this year, Philly had never seen two major storms with 13" or more - and we've had three!

On the news people were sledding down the art museum steps - and both my and the hubby's work closed yesterday (although I still had to work!) along with all of the major roadways.

So we've stayed warm with hot chocolate, a space heater and puppy cuddles. Here's a quick slide show from the blizzard of 2010.

More Red Room Magic

Okay, I know I said "get rid of stuff" was my new goal, but I did have to bring one thing in: a new rug. The hubby and I were out shopping for storage solutions for the new bathroom this weekend and happened upon a BOGO rug sale at Kohl's. We fell for this red and dark cream rug when we realized how soft it was (it looked like an outdoor rug to us at first!) Of course when we got to the cash register our rug wasn't eligible for a BOGO (it was on clearance) so we put the front-door rug back and took this one home anyway. How do you like our new (under $60, but originally $200) rug? I think it really ties the whole room together.

Happy Valentine's Day!

My husband and I agree that we don't like valentine's day. It's too commercial and too demanding of buying things for your significant other. We vastly prefer St. Patrick's Day and the 4th of July over the dreaded V-Day. Whenever we're together on 2/14, we do have a dinner, and I have received flowers in a couple of the early years when we were apart. But mostly, its just another day to us.

This year, however, I've had a small breakthrough. Perhaps its because of the huge mess in my house, and perhaps I'm already in the nesting phase, but I needed to decorate for the holiday. I saw the glittery hearts twirling in shops windows and people's homes in late January, and I just felt this need to celebrate (without the heart-shaped box of chocolates or the cards of course).

Step 1: Clear off the dining room table and make a Valentine's themed tablescape from things around the home.

Step 2: Paint my nails red (since they look so terrific with the prenatal vitamins)

Step 3: Make a window decoration from scratch. My sister recommended crocheting hearts, so I found instructions online, watched some You-Tube videos on the different stitches (I learned 3 new ones - dc, hdc & trc!) and worked my magic for a few hours. I liked it so much I made a second and sent it to the other sister in Boston. Aren't they cute?

Celebrity Status at the Philly Car Show

Okay, so maybe free tickets don't count as celebrity status, but they sure do help! My brother volunteers for a foundation called 4UDrew which is built around a memorial car for his friend Drew who died a few years ago. Anyway, my brother entered the car into a local radio contest that was voted on by listeners and the top three were judged by a rep from the Philly Car Show. The result? They were floored by Drew's car - maybe its the story behind it, maybe its the uniqueness of the left-hand drive feature, maybe its because it is just so pretty - but they won the contest and got to feature the car in the show.

So my mom and I ventured down to the Philly car show last weekend to check it out. While I was generally unimpressed with the balance of the car show, I LOVED seeing the Silvia there. Here's some photos:

Another Win For My Stomach

Here's tonight's dinner... Asparagus Quiche. I've never made a quiche before- and it turned out fabu. Steamed asparagus, a little bit of bacon (or bacon bits) some eggs, half-and-half and cheese, baked for 35 minutes. Pretty easy (except I mistook the half-and-half requirement for heavy cream, so it probably tasted a lot richer than the recipe called for!)

And yes, I know, all my recent posts have been about fooding. Oh well, what are you going to do when you're plus-4 months pregnant? I swear I was almost feeling drunk on a novelty ice cream cone today - and it wasn't even rum raisin. ;)

Last Night's Amaaaaazing Dinner

Here's the latest fooding update from our house. Our neighbor passed us along a recipe called Cuban Pork Chops with Mojo from the Food Network that we made last night. They turned out AMAZING! We're not huge fans of avocado, but seriously, the blend of fruits with the spiced pork was awesome. This is definitely going in my regular repertoire.

What 4 Months into a 9 Month Process Looks Like

So I'm pregnant! We're due July 19th - and this is me 4 months (16 weeks) along the trip. I had gained about 10 lbs before getting knocked up (although I was still exercising!) and have gained between 5 - 7 lbs since. With very week stomach muscles to start with, I started showing early - but it has been a relatively easy experience thus far. No morning sickness - just a few nasty headaches as I learn to eat more frequently and drink my weight in water each day.

We're so excited - more information about the pregancy, our re-prioritization of home projects, and of course baby (aka "McNugget") updates to come along soon.

This is How I Feel About Cheese Too

Baked Ziti Deliciousness

Here's the wonderful dinner we created tonight! A very cheesey baked ziti.