Living for the Weekend on Hump Day!

Happy Hump Day Everyone! We've made it half way through the week! Also being that it's Wednesday, I figure if I'm going to get a weekend recap in- I need to do it now before another weekend gets here.

This last weekend, Sam and I went up to Wisconsin with some of our friends for a weekend gateway. This trip is a yearly things for our friends, but it's just the second year Sam and I got to go. What I love about this trip is that it's cheap and we get to hang out with great people! Our friend Lindsay, her dad lives off a river in Wisconsin so we get to camp right on his property- so it's at no cost to us and there are no other campers to deal with!

 

We had up there on Friday so we could really enjoy the whole weekend. We started with some group food shopping, setting up tents, making dinner, and just hanging out for the evening- over all it's just a chill day/ night.

 

 

Saturday was "Float Trip Day!".  We got up in the morning ate some food, got in our swim suits, and then headed out for an afternoon on the river!

 

 

Like every year, we enjoyed just spending a number of hours floating the river, hanging out, and of course drinking (except for me- but I survived).

 

 

After the float, some of the boys got in some fighting practice. This went on for about hour, so everyone got in some free entertainment.

 



 

Sunday- We decided that our group would make a final field trip to a local brewery- New Glarus Brewery- before everyone parted ways.

 



 



This place was really cool. This is a Germany style building and had beautiful grounds to walk around on.

 

(Don't mind the squinty eyes- that is what happens when you face the sun without sunglasses)

 

 

All in all is was another great trip with great friends marked down for our history books (or blog in my case)! 







Baby Bucket List

I been meaning to write this post for 2 months, but I guess it's better late than never! Being that we just have under 4 months until our lives are changed forever, there are a number of things I hope to do. Some of the things are for me because I know there won't be much time for that once this little man arrives, and some of the things are what I want to get done for him (and some are for both). Also, being that this list is being made later than I wanted, some of things I have already done or have planed. So lets get down to the list...

For Me:

1. Use up our movie gift cards (which are still from Christmas). I was told that once the baby comes trips to the movies just aren't going to happen, so you better enjoy them while you can.

2. Visit with my Michigan family. Now, I can check this one off this list because I have already made three trips since I found out I was pregnant. However, I would love to get in one more trip if I'm able to find the time.

3. Go to a baseball game. This one is also done, but again it might be fun to go to at least one more before the end of the session.

4. Use up my gift certificates for the two massages I already have. I've kind of been waiting until I have felt like I "really needed" one. However, the bigger I get the more aches I have, so I don't think it will be an issue making sure they get used.

5. Go to  Wisconsin with our friends. This is the plan for this upcoming weekend so hopefully we'll have some nice weather and I don't get eaten alive by mosquitoes.

6. Enjoy & celebrate with my friend Anna with all the wedding plans that are coming up, including her bachelorette party, wedding rehearsal, and (oh course) the wedding!

7. Go into Chicago, visit Joe's new place, and make it a mini weekend vacation of it! There isn't anything I really want to do, but it would just be fun to spend a weekend in the city.

 

For Baby:

1. Create a baby registry. I think my plan is to register at Target and somewhere else (Buy Buy Baby, or Babies-R-Us).

2. Get nursery ready. Now there is many things that go into this one project which includes painting the room,  picking out & buying furniture, and just getting the room organized/ set up so it's ready when he comes home.

3. Get the air ducts in our house cleaned out. Now this is kind of for both. I've been wanting to get that done since we bought the house, but now with a baby on the way it's something I really want to make sure get completed so we have as clean of air in our house as possibly.

4. Get our carpet and couches (both sets) cleaned. Again this is really a "both" category, but it's something that needs to get done more because the baby is coming.

I know there are probably more things I'll come up with to add to the list, but for now it's a start!

22 Weeks: Pregnancy Progress Update

Happy Friday Everyone! This the last Friday of my "Summer Hours" at work and it feels like it went by really fast. I also can't believe it's been 5 weeks since I did a pregnancy progress updated.  In these last 5 weeks there has been a number of changes so it was about time to get this updated done.

Weight Gained: With these summer hours, I've working longer days at work so it been a lot harder to go to the gym. However, when I did go to the gym on Monday, I was up about 12 pounds from my weight when I found out I pregnant. Being that you should gain a 1/2 pound to a pound a week, I'm still "on track" which is good. However, I have to say considering I lost all that weight before the pregnancy, it's more mentally challenging to watch the scale go back up because just a few months ago that would have equaled "failure" on my weight lost goals.

Symptoms: Pregnancy brain... I found myself checking last night that I put the leftovers away because I just really couldn't remember if I did or not. Another example- I was eating peas last week and I called them carrots. I mean I was looking right at those bright green peas and was like "I hope the baby likes these carrots!". Yup- pregnancy brain! 

Movement:  Oh yes! It was kind of special because my first two really good kicks came the night of Sam's birthday. Also, this kid thinks that my bedtime is his party time. However, I now feeling more and more kicks through out the whole day and not just at night.

Food Cravings:  Still- not really. If I do get a craving it is just like before I was pregnant- if it's something I want and if it's in the house, I'll eat it. I do find myself eating ice cream pretty often (ok almost everyday). However, even when I was losing weight, I never denied myself ice cream; I just made sure I ate smaller portions... now that has changed. Now, I have no problems making myself a good sized bowl of Cookies and Cream with chocolate sauce- which is my current favorite!

 

 

(Also, black raspberries with vanilla ice cream is also very tasty!) 

Food Aversions:  Things have gotten better in the meat department so I have slowed down on the pasta intake. Also, I'm trying to make sure that I have at least 2 salads a week for lunch. I'm never very excited for the salads but I can eat them without really any issues.

Sleep:  Is ok. I have no problems falling a sleep when I go to bed. However, when I get up for my middle of the night bathroom break, I find it takes me anywhere from 15 minutes to a hour to fall back to sleep. So this morning I was up from about 4:30am until 5:15am... so if for some reason you see me on Facebook at 3am-5am, that's what's up!

Stretch Marks? None- yet. However, I thought I saw one a few weeks ago which freaked me out so I been putting a lot of lotion on my belly these days in hopes it will help (even a little bit).

Miss Anything?  I do miss getting to do some of the "fun stuff" that my friends are doing. For example- I didn't go to the Jimmy Buffet concert this year because we figured it wouldn't be the best idea to have a pregnant lady in the hot sun with a bunch of drunk people all day.

Or another example- was playing on the "slack rope" with my cousins at our family reunion last week. The last thing I would want to do is fall off and get a rope in the gut.

 

I know those seem like silly things, but you just realize that you have to be more careful about what you do when your carrying another life in your body.

 

Looking forward to: To some of the exciting things we have planned over the next few weeks including a trip to Wisconsin with friends, my friend Anna's bachelorette party and wedding! I want to really enjoy the last bit of summer before we get in full on baby mode this fall.

 

Belly Button in or out? Still in, however I can tell it's not as deep as it normally is. A few days ago I told Sam that I think my belly button is more "cute" because it's not this crazy deep cave like it normally is.

Happy or moody most of the time? Good question... I'll say happy. However, my tolerance for stupid people and their BS is definitely lower than normal. My coworker commented after a situation at work "So those hormones are kicking in really good I see."- yeah that's about right.

New Baby Items: I have some great people in my life who are already showing their love for me and this baby. Here is a picture of all the different gifts we gotten in these last 5 weeks.

 

However, I still haven't personally bought anything. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but I'm really going to try and hold off as long as I can because I know there are probably many more gifts to come because we are very bless to have great family and friends in our lives.

Exercise: Yeah...about that... like I said earlier with these longer work days, it's been a lot harder to get to the gym. However, I'll be getting out of work at my normal time starting this upcoming week, so I hope to get back in the swing of things because I know the healthier I am the easier things should be.

Other questions: I know some people have asked when my due date is. Currently it's set for November 18th. This is the second date I was given (the first was November 10th) so I'm just hoping that this little boy will show his face before Thanksgiving! But we'll see what happens....

Have a great weekend everyone!

Mid-July Already?

Happy Hump Day Everyone! Can someone tell me how the heck is it the middle of July already? So far July has been a busy month (hence the lack of posting), and it really has no plans on slowing down. So I figured that I would do a quick recap of what's been going so I don't lose this month in time to my junky memory.

The 4th of July wasn't a very exciting weekend for us- we mostly did a bunch of house work. However I did take a little bit of time on the 4th to visit with family. I first started at my mom's house...

I got to see my Sammy cat who celebrated his 16th anniversary as part of our family. After getting some kitty love, mom and I headed out to her pool to get some sun and refreshing dip in the water once we got too hot.

After visiting with my mom, Sam and I spent some time with his family which included a lot of baby conversation, dinner at the BBQ place by our house, and our town's fireworks display!



The best part about going to see the fireworks- they are close enough to our house that we could just walk there and back. I love not having to try to fight for parking at those types of events.

As for work life, it's been going good. It's been a little busier than expected for the summer, but I guess that keeps me from getting board. I have however found time to enjoy the nice weather and views that my work can offer on my lunch breaks.



This last weekend my mom and I made a road trip to Michigan. My mom's aunt passed away so we went up early on Friday so we could attend her funeral. It is nice to get to spend time with a lot of my extended family, but it sucks when it's because someone has died.

After the funeral my aunt Sue, my mom, and I went back to my grandpa's farm to visit and do some black raspberry berry picking.



Let me tell you- black raspberries on vanilla ice cream is so tasty!

After visiting with grandpa, we headed to my uncle Richard's house where we spent time with more extended family having pizza, more ice cream, and family game night!



We play a game called "The game of things..." and it's a pretty awesome game. It's a game that allows you to be as PG or R rated (maybe even X rated) as you want to be which make it such a great game.

The Michigan trip was originally plan because of our family reunion was this last weekend, so come Sunday we again got to see a ton of family again for a happier reason. There was good food, fun times had, and even some more berry picking!



 





 

So far July has been a pretty good month, and I'm excited for all the events we have planned for the rest of it! 

Birthday Surprise - Weekend Recap

I hope your weekend was as wonderful as mine. I took an extra long weekend (5 day weekend!!) and I'm using today as a recovery day for all the weekend fun that was had. My weekend actually started on Thursday, which was also Sam's birthday.

Sam and I both were off of work on Thursday, which was nice but we spent a large chuck of our day getting ready (so cleaning and shopping) for the big birthday party on Friday. However, we did find time to take a break and go the my next doctors appointment.



I knew that Sam was going to have his birthday off, so I asked my doctor if we could move up my appointment a 1/2 week and come in on his birthday. Also, this was the "big appointment" because we learned what the sex of our baby is, which was an exciting (and free) gift to give my hubby. However, we wanted to surprise everyone at the party with the big news!

Friday- Sam went off to work and I headed to the airport to pick up EJ!

We started off her weekend visit with breakfast with Jen and Alison and then we went back to Jen's house for some fun in the sun lounging in her pool!

 



I left Jen's early so I could finish getting ready for the party and get the "surprise" all set.

I know many people have "Gender Reveal Parties", but that's really not my style. I wanted to let all of our close friends and family learn the news in a "fun way", but I really didn't see the need to have a whole separate party just to announce the gender, so this is what I came up with... (Sorry the video isn't the best, I took it with my iPhone and I really didn't want people know that I was recording so they didn't think something was up)



I gave the box to Sam like if it was a "gift" so when he opened it the new big news "popped" out.





I just bought the balloon and of course a cookie cake to share our exciting news!



 



It was a great surprise to share with the people we love and it was a awesome night all around.

Saturday- We all woke up slowly and got ready for another big day ahead of us. Many of our friends were heading off to the Jimmy Buffet concert and a few of us were off the Jen's house for a graduation/ retirement party.



The crew going to Jimmy Buffet got prepped for the fun which included Sam mixing up a big pot of rum punch.



I got myself a cup of the punch before all the booze was added, and I made sure that my cup didn't get mixed up with anyone else's.



 

 

Once the Buffet crew was off to the concert, Alyssa, Alison, and I were off to Jen's for some more party action.

 

 



There was more pool time, sun bathing, and junk food to be had by all!

 

Sunday- Recovery Day. We kept it more low keyed. There a trip to the farmers market and lunch at Portillo's (a Chicago's staple) before dropping EJ off at the airport so she could head back home.

 

 



It was a super fun but a very busy weekend, so a Sunday nap was totally happening. Even Shamrock needed a nap from all the excitement...

 

Happy Monday Everyone! I hope you have a great week and a fun July 4th weekend!



Bump Update and Old Wives Tales to Predict the Gender

It's been a few weeks since you got a "Bump Update" so here are the pictures from the last 4 weeks!



 

 

 

Being that I'm at 19 weeks, we are will hopefully finding out the sex our baby at our 20 week appointment (assuming the baby wants to show off "the goods"). So I thought it would be fun to see based off "old wives tales" what we might be having. I have no clue being that I've had dreams about both, so it's going to be a big surprise once we do find out.

The link below is where I got these "old wives tales" from. Feel free not to read all of description if you don't want to, but you'll see based on the "tale" which one I think the baby will be!

http://www.bellybelly.com.au/pregnancy/old-wives-tales-boy-or-girl#.U6q_t5VOXIU

Old Wives’ Tale #1 – Linea Nigra  (?- No line yet!)

Latin for ‘black line’, a linea nigra may appear on your belly during pregnancy (some women wont get it – doesn’t mean anything!). This is a purple/brownish line which extends down the middle of your belly to your pubic area, about 1cm in width. It’s known that hormones cause the linea nigra pigmentation, but it’s not known why it forms in the vertical line that it does.

The old wives tale is this – if you get a línea nigra and it runs from your pubic area to your belly button only, it’s a girl, and if it goes all the way up from your pubic area to the bottom-most part of you rib cage, then it’s a boy.

Old Wives’ Tale #2 – Carrying High or Low? (Boy!- Low)

This is a well known old wives tale – so many people will want to look at your belly and think they can guess just from looking! So as the tale goes, if you are carrying low, it’s a boy, or if you’re carrying high it’s a girl. We wont tell them that the way the baby is carried is actually a reflection of your own body shape, muscle, baby’s position and other physical factors!

Old Wives’ Tale #3 – The Draino Thingo ( ?- Yeah- not doing this!)

There is an old wives tale that involves mixing your urine with Draino but not only is Draino dangerous and bad for you, it’s bad for the environment too. So we don’t recommend this one.

Old Wives’ Tale #4 – Is Your Skin Dry or Soft? (Girl! - I think the summer weather has something to do with that.)

If your skin is dry, you’re said to be having a boy – and if it’s soft, then a girl is on the way.

Old Wives’ Tale #5 – What’s Baby’s Heart rate? ( Girl- it was at 166 (I believe) at my 12 week apt.)

First, to set the record straight, until it’s born, your baby’s heart rate will not be affected by it’s gender. But so they say, if you’re carrying a girl, then baby’s heart rate will be above 140bpm (beats per minute). A boy is said to have a heart rate under 140bpm. A study published in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine (1996) has dismissed this theory, as has other research. Your baby’s heart rate will change often during a pregnancy, depending on the baby’s age and it’s movement. Anything from 120-160bpm is normal for an unborn baby.

Old Wives’ Tale #6 – Your Flowing Locks (Girl- but my hair is always pretty thin and dull)

Has your hair become thinner and dull? Or full-bodied and glossy? Thin and dull says girl, gorgeous and glossy says a boy.

Old Wives’ Tale #7 – Where Are You Carrying Extra Weight? ( ?: Boy- Front, Girl- Sam isn't happy he's gained some weight)

Even those extra pregnancy kilos are said to give us an insight into your baby’s gender! If you are carrying extra weight at the front, then you’re having a boy… but if you are carrying extra weight on your bum and hips, then you have been carrying a girl. What about dad-to-be? If he’s gaining weight with you, apparently you’re having a girl. If he’s put on no weight, a boy for you!

Old Wives’ Tale #8 – Numbers… (Boy- 28+2)

Because if you combine your age at the time of conception with the number of the month you conceived and the resulting number is odd – then it’s a girl on the way. If the resulting number is even, then it’s a boy for you.

Old Wives’ Tale #9 – Sweet, Salty or Sour? (Girl- a lot of fruits & hate meat)

Another well known old wives tale!!! Are you craving sweet foods like juice, fruits and chocolate? if so, old wives say that you could be having a girl. But if you’re craving sour or salty foods, then you could be having a boy. It’s also said that if you are having a boy, you will crave protein like meat and dairy. I have trouble believing this one because I think we’d be overrun by a population of females – we all love chocolate pregnant or not!

Old Wives’ Tale #10 – Wedding Ring Test (Girl- wedding ring/ hair used)

Get your wedding ring (or other ring/needle/pin) and attach it with a strand of your hair or some string. Lie down and dangle the ring over your belly. If it starts moving in circles, you are having a boy, or if it moves like a pendulum from side to side, then you are having a girl.

Old Wives’ Tale #11 – Got Morning Sickness? (Boy- I'm one of the lucky ones!)

Did you experience morning sickness in early pregnancy? If you did, then you’re said to be carrying a girl, but if you didn’t have morning sickness, then it’s a boy. Oh! That one was actually true for me!

Old Wives’ Tale #12 – How About Those Cold Feet? (Girl- no change there)

If your feet get colder than they used to pre-pregnancy, it’s a sign you have a boy on the way. If your feet are the same, then it’s a girl!

Old Wives’ Tale #13 – How Do You Look? ( Boy?- I'm not the best person to judge this one!)

Do you look better than ever while pregnant? Or has the pregnancy done your looks no favours? As it goes, if you look great during pregnancy, then you are carrying a boy. If you don’t look too flash, you’re having a girl, because she’s stolen all your good looks!

Old Wives’ Tale #14 – The Breast Test! (Boy- but it's always been bigger)

If you look in the mirror at your breasts, which one is larger? If it’s the right one, you’re carrying a boy and for a larger left breast, then it’s a girl. Which only leaves one question… if your breasts are both the same size, does that mean one of each? I’ll leave you with that to ponder!

Old Wives’ Tale #15 – North or South? (Boy- North)

When you sleep, is your pillow north or south? If it’s north, then expect a boy, or south means a girl is on the way.

Old Wives’ Tale #16 – Pimples, Schimiples… (Boy- again I guess I'm lucky)

If you get acne during pregnancy, apparently you’re having a girl, and if you don’t, then you’re carrying a boy. Want to know the real reason you get acne? Check out our article, Acne During Pregnancy.

Old Wives’ Tale #17 – Are You A Lefty or a Righty? (Boy- I always fall asleep on the left)

When you sleep, do you sleep on your left? Because if you do, then it’s a boy for you! On your right, a girl is in sight.

Old Wives’ Tale #18 – Check Out Your Wee! (Boy?- Normally more bright (I know TMI- Sorry!))

Okay…. now apparently if you have bright yellow urine, then you’re carrying a boy, but if it’s dull / clear, then you’re carrying a girl. On a serious note though, if you have dark urine, up your water intake as you may be dehydrated.

Old Wives’ Tale #19 -What Does Your Belly Look Like? (Girl- I asked my co-worker her option and "Watermelon" is what she said, so I'm going with that!) 

A basketball or a watermelon? Because if it looks more like a basketball, then old wives say boy, but if it more resembles a watermelon then it’s a girl.

Old Wives’ Tale #20 – Hairy Legs? (Boy- but I think because of the summer I'm just better at remembering to shave more often)

Has the hair on your legs grown faster than normal? Or has it grown just like normal? Because if it’s growing faster than it did pre-pregnancy, then you’re said to be having a boy

Results:

Boy:11

Girl: 8

It's looking like a boy! But girls wasn't far behind! Hopefully we'll know in the next week!
 

My Extended Weekend with My Extended Family

I took an extended weekend this weekend which is making my Monday more like an extra Sunday! Plus I love that I only have a 3 day work week this week- Bonus! This weekend was filled with a lot of family time and a whole lot of driving!

I started my weekend out on Friday morning by hitting the road and heading to Michigan! My first stop was to get some lunch with my grandma before heading to visit with my cousins.

I got in some baby practice, mommy talk, and just some quality with my second cousins! It's crazy to think that in a year from now my baby will be a month older than Sherman is now. I can't believe this big boy was this same little baby I saw back in December- oh how time moves so fast!

 

I had a great time visiting, but I needed to make sure I got my rest because I had a very long trip a head of me on Saturday. The whole reason for this trip was for my grandma to get a chance to visit with her sister Alice who now lives in Ohio.

My aunt Alice (in the red) is my grandma's only living sibling, so it was the least I could do. Plus, aunt Alice has always been a awesome great aunt. She was nice enough to host my high school graduation party at her house- which was 10 years ago this year.

The trip was 4 hours there & 4 hours back... so like I said- there was a lot of driving this weekend. While on the trip we made a few stops and picked up some "Ohio themed" candy to bring to aunt Alice.

I'm happy to report that trip went really well. There wasn't much traffic and the road construction wasn't too bad to deal with. Grandma got to spend about hour and half with her sister before we needed to hit the road again so we could make it home before it got dark.

Come Sunday, I was greeted by some cute fuzzy faces before I headed off for a 3.2 mile walk with my cousin Anna and her parents. After our walk, we got ready and were off to church.

After church I was treated to a really nice family dinner before I hit the road again back to Illinois.

Finally, that brings us to today- which has been filled with some shopping, steak dinner, and spending some time hanging out with my sister in my "cool" tub.

All and all- it was a great weekend. I love getting spend time with my family which makes the driving (and gas) totally worth it!