Sunday, October 30, 2011

TWENTY SEVEN weeks


How many weeks? 27

How am I feeling? Apparently I totally missed the boat on a second trimester energy surge, because I'm now entering my third trimester without any excess energy in sight! I am thanking my lucky stars that I made the decision to "retire" early from work, and Halloween is my official last day after 6 years working for the Doctor. People ask me what I am going to do to keep myself busy--I can answer that easily--SLEEP! I've also been super nervous again, keeping myself up at night swearing that he isn't moving enough. Call me crazy!

Doctor’s Appointment? Not for another 2 weeks.

Workouts? If you heard me breathing after climbing a flight of stairs to the office--you'd think I just ran a 100 yd dash, but nope--it's just me...out of shape. This is a change for me since I have always prided myself on being fit!

Sleep? More, please. This week introduced a 3rd pillow to my arsenal of sleeping provisions. Thank you, NZ for so graciously sharing the bed with all of us.

Weight Gain? 22 lbs

Baby Preparation? We're waitlisted for a 3 part series "what to expect" course at the local hospital for December, and I signed us up for a tour of the actual hospital we will deliver at. I'm debating even taking the class--since consensus out there is that it's stuff we probably know already. I have time to waffle for a while longer--so if we get in, great, if we don't--ah well.

When my internetless granny found out we had our registry set up, she instructed my sister to go online and buy us our infant car seat--so, thank you granny! She was afraid someone else would buy it before her, haha.
I also perused etsy quite a bit on one of my days off, and I am in love with all things houndstooth and herringbone patterned these days..Especially grays, navy blues, aquaish blues.. Is aqua-ish a word? I think so! I found this boppy cover for sale on etsy and LOVE. I thought about making one myself, and probably will, however, finding gray hounds tooth fabric online has turned up a whole lotta nothing. I went to bite the bullet, not to mention break my rule, and order this one pictured below...and lo and behold--it SOLD already. BOooooooo!

[Photo belongs to: Kidzcraftz on etsy]

I will have to keep searching for the fabric, and if not, maybe I can find gray herringbone instead. I just like the simplicity of gray and white together. And houndstooth and herringbone prints are classic and gentleman like, right?

Likes/Dislikes?

Likes? My mah & sis came to visit me after my sis not seeing me since 16 weeks, and my mom since 18 weeks--I love my family! I also like that we made it to the 3rd trimester this week, and we're in the homestretch, baby! There have been soooo many days, bad dreams, worries that I wouldn't make it this far--and although we have a ways to go still, and anything can happen, I feel so fortunate to be where we are today.

Dislikes? The lack of energy and appetite some days. One errand to the market, and I am pretty much done being productive for the day. This is so not my style usually! But, I can't complain--he's growing!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Don't lay a finger....



...On my knock off Butterfinger!

Yep, that's right..I've been a recipe trial fiend this week. Corn Dogs AND homemade butterfingers, all in one week...I'm getting crazy here!

The recipe for knock-off butterfingers is so easy, it's hard to believe that just THREE ingredients and a microwave are necessary.

You ready for this??

KNOCK OFF BUTTERFINGER
16 oz. candycorn (if you wait till after the 31st it usually sells for 75% off at CVS)
16 oz. peanut butter ( the cheap stuff)
milk chocolate candy melts ( available at most craft stores in the baking area)

And here's how the magic happens...
1. Using a microwave safe tupperware, melt candy corn at 30 sec intervals until fully melted.
2. Mix in peanut butter
3. Pour out onto a silpat or silicone baking mat ( wax paper would work fine too). Shape into a rectangle measuring about 1/4 inch high.
4. Cut into bar lengths while still warm.
5. Chill in refrigerator for 1-2 hours, until cool.
6. Separate bars, leaving them on the silicone mat
7. melt chocolate over double boiler or in microwave as directed on package. I thinned mine with vegetable oil to make it coat easier.
8. Using spatula, and working quickly, spread melted chocolate on top of each bar. The consistency should drip down the sides of the bar enough to coat.
9. Chill in refrigerator to set.

Final Step: Share them before you eat them all!



..and just to share that I am far from perfect...I had some unmelted candy corns in my last batch--this people, is called impatience...one of my downfalls..but they still tasted good!

Corn Dogs-PW style

I've been a follower of Pioneer Woman's domestic blog ( find it here), and I have attempted a number of her recipes..my favorite one is this one for Cinnamon Rolls, they are to die for! When I saw a pinterest post of homemade corn dogs, and found that it was actually a re post from the PW blog, I got all the goods to make them with my corn-dog lovin' husband.

And they looked beautiful...and we were soooo sooo excited...
We went a little overboard and made the whole package of hot dogs...NZ said he would reheat them at work all week for lunch..

..and we filled some with cheese...

..mm....mmm..ooey gooey melty cheese....
..But guess what?

They weren't the corn dogs of our dreams. Although they cooked up a nice golden brown, and looked the real deal, the taste of the batter was just..how do I put it?

Off.

They weren't inedible, but they certainly weren't worth sacrificing calories for.

I don't know where we went wrong, maybe because we used light Bisquick instead of krusteaz brand pancake mix, or maybe we're just picky. I'd never consider myself a corn dog connoisseur, but I do know that our trial of PW's corn dogs ended up in the trash.

Probably better for our arteries, anyways, but boy oh boy were we let down.

Anyone have a good corn dog batter recipe they want to share?

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Cross it off the list

[NZ weilding the "gun" on our Friday night date to BRU]

Yes! We reached another "milestone" with this pregnancy. Not only are baby shower plans underway ( Thanks sis, mom & Charlee!) for the boy, but NZ and I also got our butts out to Babies-R-Us and registered for some necessities.

I know it isn't exactly a milestone of development or anything like that, but for me, it's a point that I was hoping that we would reach with this pregnancy, and we did!

Moving forward, one foot at a time...and I am starting to believe that we will actually get to reach all the milestones this time around.

Also occurring this week--the long-awaited, but-never-looking-forward-to, 1 hour glucose tolerance test. Blech. I did it this morning, and it was disgusting. I better have passed!

And while we're on a roll of reaching for the stars here, I actually did some planning ( gasp!) for labor and delivery classes today...oh, and a tour of the maternity ward. We start classes next week, to get ourselves familiar with different laboring techniques and spousal support ( go team, go!) for one another. I know I was anti- planning, but it's been brought to our attention that the little man might make his appearance via natural birth, rather than the c-section I had been preparing myself for. It's all still p for debate, but we really should be prepared for either circumstance. I'd hate to be the lady in labor, thinking "I should ^*%#$! have taken a childbirth course...", so here we go. If anything, NZ and I will get some good laughs out of the experience.

So there you have it...I eat my words. We have started preparing ( and I admit, it feels a little bit exciting, and a little bit good!).

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Happy Mail: Sundae box



There are a few of my longtime friends that still love real-deal mail like me. I call it Happy Mail, and every so often, something super cool, and un-expected will show up on my doorstep from one of them. It goes back and forth between us, and I am pretty sure it will continue on for many years.

Two of my Happy Mail girls recently had birthdays within days of one another, so I threw together a Happy Birthday box for each of them to celebrate & share the day with those close to them, since I am miles away from both girls.

Check it..
Yup. Ice cream Sundae Boxes.

Toppings & waffle bowls to share. I printed out snack bag labels and filled each with an ice-cream friendly topping.


Just add ice cream.

Pretty easy & happy, right?

I know it'd put a smile on my face!


Wednesday, October 19, 2011

TWENTY SIX weeks & overkill


How many weeks? 26

How am I feeling? What a week! On Monday night I woke up with cramping contractions every hour after we went to bed. I laid low on Tuesday morning, drinking tons of water, and lying on my left side. I felt better by noon (no contractions at all), so I went on an errand, and when I was out and about, I had a couple more cramping contractions which prompted me to call my OB to try and move my Thursday appointment to Tuesday, for peace of mind.

Instead, I got a callback from the on-call Doc, who tells me to go directly to L&D and to bring an overnight bag-- WTF?! I thought it was overkill, but went anyways. You guys didn't really think I could make it 37 weeks without a trip to L&D now, did you? You're talking to the Queen of Worry over here!

[The view from LDR7]

So, I found myself in L&D for monitoring for most of Tuesday afternoon, and thankfully, I showed no signs of active labor, and it would be highly unlikely that I will go into labor in the next 2 weeks. A combination of dehydration, accidentally drinking a highly-caffeinated beverage in the late afternoon on Monday ( Apparently Sunkist Sparkling Lemonade has more caffeine than Diet pepsi? Well, blow me down! Now I know) and having some bladder pressure on my uterus was causing the contractions. Phew! I listened to the boy for a good 2 hours, his little heartbeat just thumping away without a care in the World. I showed no signs of pre-eclampsia, and all exams came back good as gold. I got released and told that I need to slow down activity even more. Good thing I am done working at the end of the month.

Doctor’s Appointment? I saw the on-call Doc on Tuesday at the hospital ( I shall refer to as Dr. lack-of-personality) and then my regular OB on Thursday. Everything went well on Thursday even though Dr. lack-of-personality never told my ob that he had seen me..Some communication would have been appreciated..

Workouts? Nope.

Sleep? Pretty good except for Monday night. No crazy dreams like last week--I sorta miss them.

Weight Gain? 20 lbs. My ob said she's happy with my gains, and we're aiming for 10-15 more by the time the boy gets here. Hard to believe a non-pregnant version of me actually weighed more than this while in college.

Baby Preparation? I bought hangars to hang some clothes I was given. Exciting, right? We're also heading to BRU this weekend to do a registry, since baby shower invites are being mailed super soon. I still have 4 more weeks on my self imposed "no purchases before 30 weeks" and I intend to stick to it as best as I can, but it is getting harder! There are so many cute boy things out there right now.

Likes/Dislikes?

Likes? Making it another week. Seeing my belly button on the verge of popping out. Any day now...and still, no new stretch marks.

Dislikes? Not being able to be as active as I would like. Being home bound most of the week, feeling like a goon for not being productive..But, it is what it is, and I'll do whatever it takes. Gives me time to get some craft projects done--the hardest part about those is having to clean up after myself when I am done. I can just see NZ coming home from a long workday, to a house that got hit by the craft-project-bomb. Glitter everywhere! LOL.

Preschool Water Table




This past weekend, we had a house full of nephews.

One was with us for the weekend, the other two were "visiting" while my brother-in-law and NZ installed new headlights on their vehicle. It was a gorgeous day outside, so my 4 year-old nephew and I made a quick run to the Dollar Tree to find some toys for outside play to add to my arsenal of outside-activities.

We found a pack of play dinosaurs, and a pack of squirting fish toys. $2 for afternoon entertainment? Sure.

Here's what we did with the dinosaurs...
We filled an under-bed storage container with water tinted blue ( just one drop liquid food color), and added some rinsed off rocks we have left over from another project. He decided that they dinosaurs needed two islands, so he separated the rocks into two piles, and made a dinosaur habitat.

We used a second under-bed storage container to make a water table. I love the under-bed containers because they are shallow enough, and can jut be dumped out and re-used for storage when playtime is over.

The second water table was limited to the squirt toys & float toys I had on hand.
( Aunt Brie's rule: NO ROCKS or DIRT in the water table) and my 3 year-old nephew loved it. He transferred water from the water table with the squirt toys into the dinosaur habitat. How's that for utilizing his fine motor skills and not even knowing it? I didn't get a picture of the water play table, but it kept the 3 year-old entertained for a good hour and a half.

Easy, peasy. DIY water table in less than 10 minutes.

I like that!

TWENTY FIVE weeks

I am a bit behind, this post should have been posted on Fri, Oct 14th..

How many weeks? 25

How am I feeling? Some mornings I wake up wondering how I got this far already. Thankfully, time seems to be flying. I am still having my moments and hours of uncertainty ( I admit to poking and prodding the belly to try and get him to move for me, which ALWAYS puts my mind at ease). Physically, I am drained. My hips are back to aching all day, and I am finding myself gassed after a simple trip to the market. But, above all else, I welcome the aches, pains, headaches and tiredness...cause you know, I'm like-totally-growing-a-baby!!

Doctor’s Appointment? I had one with my MFM, where we learned all is well. No growth restriction evident. HUGE sigh of relief. This coming week I see my OB, and hopefully all continues to go well. According to my MFM, he weighs about 1 lb 10 oz this week, which is well within normal range.

Workouts? Just getting through the workday is a workout.

Sleep? Getting plenty of it. Had a dream last night that was hilarious..NZ and I were in Vegas on some guided tour, and a PR rep for the concert venue at Caesar's approached me and told me that because of my "tweet" about Stevie Wonder (WTF?!) he was whisking us away in a private limo to have front and center seats at Stevie's concert that night. LOL. You know, after waking up and thinking about it, we totally woulda' gone, even though I can't claim to know much more about him other than the fact that he is a blind musician that sings "I just called...to say...I luuuu-uv you". I woke up with a case of the giggles which probably wasn't as funny to my ol man at 4:00 a.m. I actually had to get out of bed and go in the living room until my fit of giggles and snorts was over with.

Weight Gain? 20 lbs just crept up on me, couldn't be the donut runs we've taken, now, could it?

Baby Preparation? Well, I finally decided on a baby shower theme and ok'd the invite for the shower my sister, sis-in-law and mom have offered to throw for us. They're all so crafty, and I love the theme they chose! We need to get off our butts and make the trek to Babies-R-Us to register. I know I swore, no planning till 30 weeks, but in all reality this boy could make an early appearance, AND, my shower will be held around 30 weeks..so we HAVE to go do it soon. We're trying to keep our list down to necessities, which will hopefully make it easier.

Likes/Dislikes?

Likes? Seeing the smile on my ol man's face when the ultrasound tech told us how much they think the boy weighs right now. Also, just the fact that I am still carrying a living baby. There have been soooo many moments during this pregnancy that I didn't think I would see 25 weeks, and here we are...staring down the barrel of 26 weeks, and 70% viability at this point.

Dislikes? The moods. I feel like a 2 year old sometimes..Even making a simple decision such as what to eat for lunch can seem so overwhelming that I cry. Silly, I tell ya!

LA Mart- Crafty gals on the loose

Last weekend, one of my besties was in town for a few days, and she loves sewing and crafting as much ( if not more) than I do. For the past year, I have been talking up the LA textile mart to her, so when she and her family made it into my neck of the woods, I just HAD to go show her what it was all about.

Armed with a pocket full of cash, water bottles and the end of a toilet paper roll we headed south to LA...If I haven't already mentioned, toilets are few and far between at the mart..and when you do happen to find one, and pay a quarter to use it, they're often out of T.P. One of my recent trips down there found my sis-in-law and I resorting to fast food napkins from her glove-box as stand-in's. LOL

I should have known something was up when I got street level parking, AND, at 10:00 a.m. on a Saturday, I could still make a left turn onto the main street without hitting any pedestrians (The streets are usually packed..and crosswalks and streetlights are simply "suggestions" to pedestrians).

Store fronts were still closed up- struck me as odd, but we could have just arrived a bit too early? We went over Levine's..There are 3 Levine's shops ( Flagship, Loft, Home Dec)..They are among my favorites at the mart, although the fabric at the flagship store is not as cheap as other stores-the assortment is unmatched.. While shopping, I overheard someone say it was a Jewish Holiday---which explained--- that's why many stores were closed.

Anyways, we had a limited store selection because of the holiday, and I didn't get to show Liz all of my favorite places, but we did score some cool fabrics and trims for bargain prices. I think we both loved the Levine's Loft. There are boxes upon boxes of knit fabrics to dig through, and instead of charging by the yard, they weigh your cuts, and charge only $2.00/lb! SCORE!
( insider tip: the Levine's home dec store below the Loft has a CLEAN bathroom--with toilet paper!! It's at the back of the store, and unmarked..Oh Happy Day for this preggo bladder)

[Levine's Loft: $2/ lb. store]

Before leaving, we stopped in at one of my other favorite stores, where I've purchased fabric for my tote bags before. Over on one wall, Liz found a bunch of stretch lace and elastic for lingere. She had been looking for foldover elastic to try her hand at some swim diapers ( so crafty, that girl!), and they had it in an assortment of colors, for only 50 cents/yd. She was telling me about some headband she made from stretch elastic, and how easy of a project it was, so I bought myself 4 yds. of lingere elastic and brought them home for an evening project.

And she was right- they are OH-SO- EASY!

1yd of each elastic makes 2 adult headbands, and one toddler size.
  • Rule of thumb, measure around head, subtract 1 inch, and cut.
  • Sew ends together using straight stitch making an "x" marks the spot, or use zig zag back and forth a few times to secure ends.
  • Heat seal ends if they stick out at all
Check out Liz's blog, A crafty Bee for details on how to make no-slip headbands with ribbon for an even cuter look.

And while I am singing her praises...check out the Boy's first handmade gift! Liz made a block quilt, backed in minky, and a cute little striped sleep sack re-purposed from a surf shirt ( I forgot to take a photo of the sleep sack, but here's one she made on her blog, and another). I love that she has labels for all her blankets.

All in all, it was a fun trip to the mart, and we both felt like we came away with some super cool finds. I've got some shark print board short fabric to make the boy some swim-trunks with the pattern over at MADE, and some really cool black on black houndstooth material to make some fancy make-up brush rolls or tote bags with. Time to get sewing!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Closet dividers: tutorial

Last week I mentioned that I had made closet dividers for the boy's closet. What I failed to mention was that my first attempt was a complete and utter disaster. I had purchased these balsa wood door hangars with the idea that my ol man and I cut cut them down, and hang from the closet rod by popping the rod out of the little cups that hold it in on either side..


Note to self: Our closet rods do not pop out as easily as one might think--in fact, they don't pop out at all, because they run through a support board midway through the closet.

Bum deal. Good thing the balsa wood door hangars were only 49 cents each..because they found a home in my craft pile graveyard.

Time to improvise... I ended up using the scrapbook paper I had purchased to cover the balsa wood hangars to make round dividers more like you'd find at a department store.

Here's how:







..slip on your closet rod..and Congrats, you're now as OCD as I am...

and yes, you caught me..I haven't had time to label them with size stickers yet, so through the beauty of picnik photo editing, I added them so you get the gist..

Grand total: $1.00 (bought scrapbook paper at 5 for $1 on sale)

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Bruiser


I swore to myself I would back off all the pregnancy related blogging, and actually blog some of my recent projects, but I can't help myself this morning.

We had an ultrasound with my MFM, who, by the way, came into our exam room wearing a fedora?WTF?! (To say he is eccentric is an understatement) and I am absolutely in the clouds with the report from my fedora wearing MFM.

Although I have been feeling kicks and jabs quite regularly, I haven't had any feedback on growth since 18 weeks. This past week has been nerve racking to say the least, as week 24 arrived, and is now well underway.

My worry of the week?? Not whether or not he is alive, but whether his growth has been restricted like it was with my previous pregnancy.

The news today??

He's a bruiser.

Fighting weight was 1 lb 10 oz. this morning.

Absolutely and totally, 100% normal growth all around.

The boy and I shall celebrate his bruiser status with a Wetzel's frozen lemonade today.

Friday, October 7, 2011

TWENTY FOUR weeks & uncharted territory


How many weeks? 24. I am officially the most pregnant I have ever been. I did the math last week, and I had thought I lost Denise at 25 weeks, but I actually delivered her at 24 weeks...So this is uncharted territory, although NZ reminds me that we never felt our little girl kick and move, so we hit uncharted territory a while ago with this one..Oh, and he says I am much bigger this time around ( said with love, of course)..And boy does it feel good.

How am I feeling? Anxious. Nervous. Excited. Relieved. ( I know, how does worry and relief go together, but it is seriously a pendulum of emotions on any given day). Last night I slept aweful. I have had 3 consecutive nights of nightmares about the baby not making it. Thankfully at about 4 a.m. this morning, I awoke due to a swift kick to the bladder, followed by about 5 minutes of him adjusting himself. I literally laid in bed thanking my lucky stars, because as of bedtime last night I was convinced that reaching 24 weeks was my nemesis.

Doctor’s Appointment? I have one in a few days with our MFM. We will get a chance to see him on ultrasound again.

Workouts? I went to the gym on Tuesday morning and lifted light biceps and shoulders, followed by about 30 minutes of walking.

Sleep? Terrible. Thank you, nightmares for keeping me up at all hours!

Weight Gain? Not sure. Was 16 lbs last week.

Baby Preparation? I made closet dividers for the baby's clothes. Can we say OCD? Tutorial coming soon.

Likes/Dislikes?

Likes? Chicken soup. NZ and I made a batch this week and have been enjoying it all week. Next week we're looking forward to Albondigas. I'm trying to up my protein intake. Other likes?? Switching to a part time work schedule. I am only working 3 days a week till the end of October, which gives me time to rest the two days I am off.

Dislikes? Dare I say it? The fact that my butt is growing wider! I know it's all part of pregnancy, but up till now I have been mostly all belly, and now I am finding that this mama is growing a booty too. Despite becoming bootylicious, I am happy to put on whatever weight necessary to get this boy home healthy and well. We'll have plenty of time to hit the streets for a run after he arrives.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Apple Slab



Ahhh, fall.

I love you.

..and your apples.



I decided I needed to make our house smell fall-ish by baking something...
...with apples..

I have had a King Arthur Apple Slab Recipe "pinned" ( Have I mentioned I might have a little pinterest problem?? Uhm, yeah--love that site!) for about a month now, and I would start my fall baking extra-curriculars with this delicious looking dessert.


There are so many great apple varieties out there.. I went with granny smiths (plus they were on sale for 49 cents/ lb at Sprouts) for this project because I love the
tartness of them.

Pictured below: Apple slices layered over pastry crust ( store bought, I cheated) and panko crumbs, then covered in a sugar cinnamon mixture.

Next step, cover with top layer of pastry crust and pierce top randomly to let steam escape.

Bake.

Drizzle maple or apple cider glaze while still warm.

Slice and serve.


Welcome Fall!

Nervous, much?


This week has been a big one for me. It marks my first week of a part time work schedule, which I will continue through October before officially retiring from my job of 6 years. To many, my limited hours and decision to stop working all together by the time I reach 27 weeks may seem premature, but for me, it's what needs to be.

Although we have (knock on wood) been fairly lucky thus far, and had only one unplanned visit to my OB's office which turned out totally okay, I haven't enjoyed this pregnancy to it's fullest..Let me rephrase that as to not sound like an ungrateful brat- I totally 100% appreciate the chance we have at parenthood...and I know there are many couples out there who are still in waiting, whether it be through infertility treatments or adoption--and my heart goes out to them-but the anxiety I have over this pregnancy has given me a run for my money.

Every week, it's something new to worry about..first it was getting a heartbeat, then it was making it to the second trimester, then it was passing the quad screen and making it to 20 weeks...now it's making it to tomorrow...

24 weeks- that's THE week. THE week that changed our lives forever last time around..THE week that taught us what it's like to grieve over loss, and to soldier on...THE week that got me dreaming of someday bringing another baby home that we'd be able to raise.

So, with the arrival of THE week, I'm understandably nervous.

This quote has been floating around pinterest for the last week or so, and I need to tattoo it to my forehead...

"99% of the things we worry about never happen."

I sure hope this is true, and that for once, just once, ahem not the 1% whose worry comes true.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

TWENTY THREE weeks & Canada


[Calgary Airport- 23 weeks pregnant]

How many weeks? 23

How am I feeling? Tired and rundown. I attended a Corrosion Solutions Conference with NZ in Lake Louise, Canada for the week. I was able to do a whole lot of nothing, which was exactly what I needed! I literally spent half the trip cozied up in bed, watching daytime TV ( it helps that it was only 5 celcius out and raining most days) and catching up on some much needed downtime.

The attention my belly got by fellow conference attendees was unbelievable. By the end of the week I felt like I needed a playback a recorded message about when I was due, and what we were having, and the whole no-we-don't-have-a-name-yet bit. But, for someone who is painfully shy like myself in new situations, it was a good icebreaker for getting to know some of the other wives, and men that NZ does business with.

Doctor’s Appointment? Next week. MFM appointment. Crossing my fingers for continued good news.

Workouts? None.
I did make an effort to walk around the Fairmont property and enjoy Lake Louise, and NZ and I attempted to go for a canoe ride until it started hailing on us..what fun that was..we were freezing and laughing on our way back in...
and did my best electric slide at the hoedown that was hosted at Brewster stables on Monday night. Those engineering geeks can par-tay! We also tried lassoing a mechanical steer during the festivities. I failed to catch it, but NZ got it on his first go-round. He had everyone cheering for him--must be the 'stache.

Sleep? I slept and slept and slept and slept.and watched daytime TV ( mostly the Conrad Murray case...which, don't get me started on the stupidity of people trusting Doctors who call themselves specialists, without actually checking with the governing body of their specified specialties for verification of credentialling and boards..Okay, so I sorta just got started..I will stop... but really, MJ?! Do your research, man.)

Weight Gain? I am quite certain that the 5 star meals we had each and every night for supper, plus my croissant breakfasts loaded a few lbs onto the ol body, but it's okay. I'm back home now, and haven't been this excited to eat salads and fruit in a while!

Baby Preparation? No. but I have been thinking about what necessities we will need to register for.

Likes/Dislikes?

Likes? Lemonade, still. Naps, still. The best change this week was that my work schedule switched from full-time to 3 days a week through the end of October. I hope that the two days off midweek make scheduling my appointments easier, and give me a chance to get off my feet more.

Dislikes? Uhm, the breakdown I had on our flight back to the states. It snuck up on me like a ninja... over a stupid stroller. Seriously. It happened. And yes, I am embarassed. Can I blame hormones? Cause I know it was silly.