I have a "Condition".....

Apparently I have a condition, it's called being pregnant. People keep saying well maybe in your condition.... or in your condition..... or because of your condition... They make it sound like I have a terrible contagious disease. I am just fine and just capable of doing everything I was doing before. As I get bigger over time, I just wont be able to see my feet, do my own pedicures or put on my shoes (that is what my husband is for LOL). Other than that, I will be just fine.

I stopped by Babies R Us last night to take a look at some baby gear and go to a baby gear clinic to check out the newest and greatest. You wont believe what I found. (See pic below)

So now I even have my own handicapped parking when I go to Babies R Us. How weird is this??!! I guess I am just not "pregnant" enough yet or maybe I don't understand the hoopla about all of this. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. But I have a condition and as a result I get my own parking spot! 

Baby Bump Pics

Thanks to my friend Rob, we finally have baby bump pics! Thanks Rob. XOXOXOXOXO

Food Coma

Ever had a really great meal? I mean a really great meal. Not one where you stuff yourself to death and they need to roll you out of the restaurant but really great food, just enough to make you happy and then be pleasantly full when done. Well, that was my lunch today. Leftover Buca Di Beppo pasta and bread from last night. It took me a minute and a half to heat it up, 17 minutes to eat it and then proceeded to sleep sitting up in the break room for the rest of my lunch because it was so good it just hit the spot. How embarrassing! I hope I can blame the baby on this one. It was like manna from Heaven it was just so delicious. You know what they say about leftovers, they always seem to taste better the day after. Man were they right about this one. Didn't need the sleep. Slept great last night but it was nice to just check out for a few minutes and check out the inside of my eye lids to make sure they were working properly. LOL

2nd Trimester

Today is the beginning of week 13. The first week of month 4 which puts me in the 2nd trimester. Yeah!!!! Gone are the days of morning sickness, hello fat belly! I am definitely showing at this point in time and took belly bump pics for this month last Saturday. Got a quickie ultrasound this past Monday (unexpectantly) and going to have another one this Friday (Daddy will be there for this one). All is smooth sailing thus far. I am happy and healthy and so is the baby (based upon what the Dr. says so far). I've bought just a few new maternity wear items and the rest were hand me downs. Finally found those maternity shorts (thanks to the Hubby), thanks babe, I love you! Just need a good pair of black dress pants and we are cookin' with grease. All ready have a baby bouncer thanks to new mommy Brandi at work. She had an extra one and isn't using it. I am already thinking about baby shower stuff in October and November and even have some ideas of decorations, games and prizes. I am dreading registering though. That can be a first time moms nightmare. I'll do it at the end of next month once we know if it is a girl or a boy. Other than that, I can say today was a good day. Romantic night planned with the hubby...... Italian food catered, a cabana by the pool and a dusk dip. Life just doesn't get any better than this!!!!!!!!!!!

My Baby Loves Starbucks.....

I was in a rush this morning. I needed to make it out to our Calabasas office asap to help the local manager conduct interviews. Knowing farewell this would be a 2 hour drive out, I hit the local Starbucks when heading out of town. Now I will admit, I am not a Starbucks junkie. I don't drink coffee at all and really don't prefer the smell of it. I am more of a tea person. But every summer as the weather changes and things start to warm up Starbucks starts serving their Passion Fruit Iced Tea Lemonade and "I just can't get enough, I just can't get enough"! Today was one of those days. I walked in and grabbed a banana for the baby and the largest cup they could find in the back of the store for the world's largest Passion Fruit Iced Tea Lemonade for me. All 54oz. I know, I know it sounds like insanity in an overly sized cup but it lasted me all day and was absolutely de-li-cious. It's the little things in life that send me for loops over the moon (in a good way). I am an old fashioned easy going girl where it doesn't take much to make me happy. Today..... it was Passion Fruit Iced Tea Lemonade.

Unexpected Ultrasound.....

I went into the Dr.'s today to do Sequential Screening. Apparently this is the lab testing that they do to check to make sure that the baby is growing appropriately and is properly formed as well as checking for genetic defects and abnormalities. It was just supposed to be a routine check up for me and lab tests but it pleasantly and surprisingly enough became so much more. They had a licensed Sonographer on site who needed to do an on site, same day ultrasound to physically view the baby's size and make sure that it was forming properly. i.e. spine was now inside the body, heart was now inside the body, 2 arms, 2 legs and the neck had properly fused to the body, etc. All things that could not be checked via a blood test. So I had an unexpected ultrasound today and got to view my baby really for the first time looking like a baby. Gone are the days of my child looking like a chicken nugget hello human looking child the size of my palm. The baby was 10 cm long, round and fat with the head the size of a bowling ball. Yeesh! This will be a fun natural birth. He/She was absolutely beautiful. I started to cry. I could see the heartbeat flickering on the screen, the kicking of both feet up and down and the baby adjust from side to side, and a tiny little mouth opening and closing like a fish to breathe. Wow! The marvels of modern science. I am so blessed to have had this little unexpected task today. It really made my day and nothing can get me down now. My child even waved at me and wrinkled its fingers in my direction. Hello little one, it's your mommy, I love you! God is good and I am thankful to be truly blessed.

The "Mommy Club"...

Welcome to the Mommy Club my sister Cindy said last night when I went over to her house to hang out for the evening. Cool I didn't know there was a club. Are there dues and meetings? LOL She asked how I was doing and wanted to know if I had any questions about being pregnant or what I am going through since she was pregnant last year and gave birth to my niece last October. She said that that's how you get sucked in. Everybody says pregnancy and birth is a miracle and it is so beautiful UNTIL YOU ACTUALLY GET PREGNANT! And that's when they hit you with all of the real details. She had me in stitches last night I was laughing so hard. So she started divulging all of the juicy details like how when Faith sleeps she's supposed to get stuff done because she can't do much now that Faith is crawling and getting into everything. But all she wants to do is sleep so nothing is getting done. She wanted to know how my morning sickness was doing. I got lucky about only 3 weeks in total and now that I am in the 2nd trimester beginning my 4th month I feel infinitely better. She was jealous because she had morning sickness for 3 months straight. I really felt for her. I said it was weird that I really didn't feel like throwing up it was just a weird feeling that didn't stop. She used the word meandering. UH! That's the perfect word. The word I have been looking for all this time. She is so right. It just the existence of this weird meandering feeling that doesn't hurt but is weird and uncomfortable and just doesn't subside. She said Faith is eating a ton and talking even more. She seems disenchanted with crawling and likes standing and is already pulling herself up onto things. Cindy even told me Faith was practicing stage diving off the bed a few times last week and Cindy would catch her and she was leaping to her death in mid air. I love it. My niece is going to be a Daredevil. Rock on!

We talked about sleeping and body pillows and strange things that happen to your body while pregnant and we had a good laugh. Aww pregnancy..... such a beautiful thing. Mommy Club Member #000745968321458.

"We Wear Short Shorts......"

So it's summer here in California and it is starting to get hot. I need a pair of shorts. This shouldn't be rocket science. I just want a pair or 2 of khaki colored maternity short shorts to wear for the summer (I don't do Bermudas!). I have been on a wild goose chase for over a week now. Old Navy, J.C. Penney, K-Mart, Walmart, Sears.... what's it gonna take for a woman to get a pair of shorts around here. No not Capri's, not jeans, not Bermudas! Not denim, not linen, not terry. Just a pair of cotton khaki shorts in maternity size small. Could it kill ya a little to make shorts for pregnant women in the summer??!! I mean really come on. I think I am going to have to learn to use a sewing machine and make my own. Jeesh!!! I wore a pair of jeans out last weekend when we went down to Redondo Beach pier to walk around and I almost got heat stroke. I just can't do it Captain, I just don't have the power! I about passed out I was so hot. Not gonna do it.Wouldn't be prudent. Any body have any ideas as to where I can get some? I even checked the Mimi Maternity and A Pea In A Pod site on line..... just Capri's and skirts. Am I destined to a life without shorts? Is it possible? Say it ain't so. Please save this hot little mamma and throw her a bone I mean a pair of shorts!

Random Rant & Rave About.... Bacon!!!

Ok so this one really is totally random.
Dan had saved on the DVR a show called Paradise. I think it's on the Travel Channel or the Food Network and every show that airs talks about something new food related: best diners, best candy, best burgers, etc you get the idea. We watched it last night and it was all about bacon. Now to be honest I am not really a big bacon fan. I prefer sausage, but watching this thing last night was torture for a pregnant woman. If I didn't have cravings before I do now and they are for BACON!!!! Bacon burgers, deep fried bacon, chocolate covered bacon, bacon waffles and pancakes, bacon floats, B.L.T. Bloody Mary's, bars that have beer and bacon happy hours.... Oh My!!! It was all about the glorious bacon. I could almost smell it coming through the TV. By the time the show was over all I wanted was breakfast with a side of bacon or was that bacon with a side of breakfast LOL. We have IHOP up the street and Denny's across the street. GIVE ME BACON!!!

Dan was just commenting the other day about how his guy friends keep asking him what I am having him run out in the middle of the night and pick up cravings wise. He said nothing. When he had this conversation with me he said that he felt a little jipped, that if this was his only responsibility for 9 whole months that he was getting off really easy or was not being able to participate at all. So last night my first request, you guessed it, BACON. He told me to go to bed. Oh well. I live to die another day so to speak. I wonder what time McDonald's starts serving breakfast......

This Baby Is Definitely Loved.....

As Daniel and I approach our 2 year wedding anniversary this upcoming Monday, I dedicate this post to him.

As I look back on the past 2 years of our life together, it wasn't all hearts and rainbows. We have definitely had an up hill battle. When one picks their mate they usually look for love, strength, stability, comfortability and perseverance. As well as a sense of humor, a sense of adventure and a kind and loving disposition. When I married Daniel, I got all of these things. I have been 1 of the most lucky women on the planet to have had THIS man stand by my side over the past 2 years. Through figuring out marriage, to figuring out where to hang the pictures and decorating decisions to my cancer and Dan's recent month in and out of the hospital. To finances and job changes and career moves to just plain settling down and getting into our own groove. The astonishing thing is that, even with all this junk going on, even with all the doubt we had, God is good and he sees it fit to give us a miracle. This baby is definitely going to be loved. The past 2 years have brought Dan and I so close, closer than I could have ever imagined and now to have a baby is just the culmination of our love for one another. Life will not always be easy, life will not always be fair but life will always have love if you make room for it and work on it. This baby, though not here yet, all ready has 2 parents that love and adore it, 2 people who would sacrifice their lives for it, 2 hearts that yearn for it and a mom and a dad who desperately want to teach it everything we know but most importantly how to love. Thank you Daniel for mending my broken heart. For teaching me how to love again. For being my rock and my confidant. For loving me even with all of my faults. Most importantly for our child. Happy Anniversary, Honey! Here's to many more years to come.

Thank Goodness For Maternity Wear And Spandex.....

Woo! Spandex, my new best friend! As my girth continues to grow, I am pleased that science has created a product that helps with my expanding size. Maternity wear has become my confidant and friend. I have a pair of skinny jeans that are maternity jeans and I love them. Is that an oxymoron? I think so. Skinny maternity jeans???? That's like jumbo shrimp and baby grand piano. LOL But I love them none the less. There will be no sweat pants and over sized tee shirts for this mod momma. I am all about the maternity glam. If it's cute, I'm wearin' it. If it fits the belly..... BONUS!!!! So far so good. Now lets just hope I haven't spoken too soon. One thing I am looking forward to is a new bikini for the summer. Something cute and girly and frilly to accentuate the belly bump. Hey what can I say? I am a girl after all, might as well dress like it. Watch out paparazzi here I come!!!!!

Popsicles Poolside

Last night it was just hot . Not unbearable but definitely hot. So what's a momma-to-be to do you ask??? Peel down to as little clothing as possible and as light weight of clothing as possible, grab a popsicle and hit the pool. That's right, dunkin' my feet at 9pm last night, mandarin lime popsicle in hand, just chillin'. Dan came with me and and my friend up the way Charli did too. We just hung out as the sky turned black as night, the stars popped out and the the temp began to sink. Ahhhhh! This is livin'. I was so refreshed and so comfortable last night when I hit the pillow, That I actually slept. Go figure. I think this will officially be one of my new routines: popsicle - pool (not necessarily in that order and not necessarily 1 popsicle LOL). Here's to a great summer. Popsicles anyone????

Am I Allowed To Swear At The Medical Staff????

Ok, so this blog is going to be just that, a blog. A rant and rave of me cursing the medical staff at my Dr.'s office and the techs at the lab site. Don't say I didnt warn you!

I went in on Friday, June 17th for my first Dr.'s appt to do an ultrasound. I met the Nurse Practitioner Kari Ross that day. (No real Dr. visit just yet. They want you to be a little further along). She told me to go into the lab and do some tests the following Monday. So I did. Well.... the lab lost my tests, lost my paperwork, found my tests, got them to the research assistants, ran the tests and 1 of the test specimens had expired.It was no good. It had been left out to long and they could not read it. So...... they faxed over to the Murrieta office the request for the re-draw. However, they sent it to the Murrieta, Georgia district office instead of the Murrieta, California office. Georgia called me and said we hear you are going to be in the the area soon and we want you to stop by and re-draw some of your tests. WHAT!!!! was my answer. We finally figured out what had happened, they had just faxed it to the wrong Murrieta office. Then when I called the Local office by my house the lady who answered, who was the one who drew my blood, didn't remember me at all, took down my info and said she would give it to her supervisor to review and investigate an then get back to me. Fast forward 2 weeks, Kari called me and said she got some of the results back and wanted to make sure that with one of the tests that I didn't have an infection. She wanted to send my pharmacy a prescription and needed the fax number. So I hung up, called the pharmacy, got the fax number, hung up, called Kari back and gave her the fax number. She said the prescription would be ready that night. Well I didn't get a chance to swing by that night but I did the next day. Guess what? They never got a faxed prescription from Kari. So I had to go another 2 days until I could call the Dr. this morning when they opened up again to speak with someone to get this done. They faxed over the prescription and CVS called to confirm it was done a ready for pick up. Phew!!! Talk about a woman's work is never done. It is only 9:25am on Monday the 5th and I am all ready exhausted. Off to lab this afternoon to re draw and pick up the prescription.

"Hillshire Farm.... Go Meat!!!"

I recently wrote that I thought my child was going to be a vegetarian because I just couldn't do meat over the last week. Well, I am pleased to announce that my child is a member of the food chain at the top and is a carnivore. I started eating meat again on Friday night and a little over the weekend. Not much, just enough to wet my whistle so to speak. I am still not a 100% convinced I am pleased with eating the meat just yet but at least I am getting more protein than in the last week. I had spoken to so many people who had said that they craved meat during their pregnancy. And then I happened to stumble across 2 people who said that no, No, NOOOOOO, they couldn't do meat during their pregnancies. So I don't feel so bad any more. I do have to admit, although I was hit with morning sickness most of the weekend, I do feel a lot better now. Here's to a new week!

Cravings: To Be Or Not To Be....

I had someone ask me if I needed them to run out yesterday and get me some pickles and ice cream while on break at yesterday's career fair. Really! The idea of putting those together in the first place makes me want to hurl. Sour and sweet with the vinegar like that..... porcelain god here I come. I don't understand why the first thing out of everyone's mouth when I tell them I am pregnant is, "What are you craving". I feel like I let them down by saying, "Um, nothing". Then I spend a few minutes convincing them that that is true. Short of me wanting artichokes for dinner 2 nights ago (by the way they were yummy LOL), that's been about it. I am finishing up my 3rd month and closing out the 1st trimester and very little nausea and no cravings. It's just the truth! This was the same for my sister Cindy as I can remember. She drank a lot of milk and ate quite a few bags of gummy bears if my memory serves me correctly, but that was it. I feel boring like I am missing out on all the action. I know that I haven't been a big meat fan over the past week (for a second there I thought my child would be a vegetarian), but even then I have heard that little things like that are normal. Well, welcome to my normal average pregnancy. I think average suits me and the baby just fine!!!!