What a day...

I woke up this morning to fresh snow coating the muddy slush from the last few days. It was the perfect way to start the day.

(you can see my sister in the bottom left corner)

Yesterday my mom and I busted out all of the prep work for the meal today which gave us a lot of time today to relax and piddle around. It also allowed time for the requisite heated family discussion which sent me into my bathroom to take a shower to escape. Across the street we watched through the window as the neighbor kids build five snowmen.  Patriots football was watched. Champagne was poured. Cooking commenced and massive amounts of food were eaten. All in all it was a great day.

More than anything, today I am just thankful. This time last year I was planning our last chance IVF. After two failed rounds in September and October, I wasn't very hopeful. I was still processing how the donor cycle would work and how the logistics would work with Fairyeggs. This year? This year I sit in my warm toasty house with the most beautiful boy. I am incredibly thankful that he is in my life. I'm surrounded by family who loves us enough to travel to the wilderness to see us. My husband and I love (and usually like) each other. My dog still warms my bed and makes me laugh. Life is pretty darn good.

Happy Thanksgiving.

xoxo

A few points in my life...

Apparently I have misrepresented myself. Yes, I have cravings for lettuce, spinach, egg, and tomato filled salads on a daily basis. However, I'm also forced to eat bad things like hamburgers and french fries since our kitchen is now boxed up and crated. Forced people! lol. Okay, I truly love a good cheeseburger. However now when I'm choosing what to eat, I imagine those bad choices to stick directly on my pregnant body without any hope of sliding off. Being a made-with-butter girl simply doesn't give me the option of packing on a ton of weight with this pregnancy. Let's face it, I wouldn't be a beached whale. I would be a beached whale with rockin' boobs! :)

So let me rephrase:

Cravings: salad with juicy tomatoes, peanut m&ms, oranges, root beer, pringles...

Actual eating: salad wherever I can get it, subway chicken breast sandwiches on wheat, fruit, triscuits, shredded wheat, oatmeal AND cheeseburgers & french fries. :)

As far as the move goes, we hit the jackpot with this moving company as they are quick, efficient, very attentive to detail, and professional. I don't feel like someone creepy is going through all of stuff which is nice. They had our house packed up in no time and today went on to fill all of the crates they brought by two. Since we are technically moving overseas under Army regs, all of our stuff is not only packed in boxes, but then packed into large wooden crates and nailed shut. Tomorrow, they will need just a few hours to finish up. The joy of this is that my husband has felt secure enough with their work to let me go rest during the day. Usually I would be glued on a section of the house watching them work....but no! I have spent the days getting lunch for us, checking on the dog at the hotel, and napping (sigh, I love naps).

Since the last few weeks have been crazy, I have missed some of the last minute details that I usually take care of before a move like getting a haircut. So my bright idea today was to duck into a random salon and take care of it. Why do I do this to myself? Inevitably, a place like this will totally screw up my hair! Today was no different. So instead of having overgrown hair, I now have cute perky soccer mom layered hair which is exactly what I told her I DIDNT want! Egh. Serves me right for ducking into the random shop.

Another thing I have noticed over the past few days is my vision going wonky. I hear this is a common side effect of the pregnancy hormones, but the reality of having blurry trees and street signs is obnoxious. I can only hope this too will go with time.

xoxo

18 weeks + Belly Pics!

Here is the progression for you:


11 weeks 5 days

13 weeks

18 Weeks

Yes, it looks like I've just been eating too many jelly donuts instead of having a true bump. I want a nice round bump that identifies me as preggo!!!! :) But the key thing is that I am in fact still pregnant and my little pumpkin is on track.

Weight: +10 gulp. Yep, in the month since my last appointment, I gained five pounds which is way too much for me! Since I'm already a made-with-butter-girl, I don't really need to gain a ton of weight. What's crazy is this happened in four days when I went to see my sister-in-law in New Hampshire. Hello? Go away weight gain! My midwife didn't give me a lecture, but she did tell me to be careful. 

Clothes: Maternity shirts, shorts, and jeans combined with regular undies and my regular athletic pants. 

Cravings: salad with juicy tomatoes and strangely I really want a giant rice crispy treat.

What I'm actually eating: salad wherever I can get it, oatmeal or shredded wheat, bananas, oranges, triscuits, sandwiches

Move status: We're waiting for the movers to come after the long weekend. However our house is ruthlessly organized, clothes are packed in suitcases, and our trailer is packed. Since we'll be gone for about three weeks traveling up to Alaska and then probably in a hotel for a month, we have quite a bit of stuff to actually take with us. Hence, we have a trailer! There are only a few staples in the refrigerator and we are now transitioning to finding food outside of the house. This makes eating healthy difficult but not impossible!

Hope all is well with you! 

xoxo

Tidbits

I've tried to piece together a cohesive post, but it really hasn't been happening. So here are the tidbits in random order:

• Going to the grocery store inevitably makes me feel like shit. Walking through the first five aisles are fine and then the death hits me and I feel like I'm going to die. No kidding. I was ready to start bawling after I finally got home and gulped down some cold ginger ale. I then desperately shoved the frozen and cold food into the fridge at all sorts of odd angles so I could stagger over to the couch.
• This morning, my husband wanted to get a memorabilia print framed, so I happily went along with him. Ten minutes later I was green and again staggering back into the house to once again gulp more ginger ale. He normally makes fun of me and says annoying things like "better you than me!" However, I think he realized upon seeing me in that state that I might kick his ass and puke all over him. So he was actually much nicer. 
• Despite all this feeling like I'm going to die, I have actually had some great hours this past week where I was able to be productive and even contemplate taking a walk. I still haven't made it on said walk, but I'm excited that I even feel like it! 
• Last night, I successfully made it through a twisty fifteen minute drive to make it to my hubby's favorite restaurant where they serve all you can eat catfish on Friday nights. I'm not such a big fan, but it works for him. I was happy to make it through an entire dinner with friends to boot! 
• Speaking of fish, my husband reheated some in the microwave while I was out one day which in and by itself is absolutely nasty as fish should never be reheated. However, the smell. O. M. G. I had to run for the backdoor to let in some fresh air. I think fish is now banned from my house for the duration of however long this nausea lasts!
• This morning, said friends from Friday night dinner, remembered that I have been LOVING bagels right now. They made a delivery of a dozen bagels from Einstein's which is the only place around here to have fresh bagels. I woke up to my husband dangling the box in front of me...I was unbelievable overjoyed. 

That's about it. These are the random tidbits from my life. Despite the constant plague, I would not trade this for a single second! My next ultrasound is Monday, so let's hope my little pumpkin is fairing well in there!

xoxo

Things to make me happy

Today I went on a trip to Wally World to purchase some things to make me  my stomach happy. Here is what I came up with:

• ginger ale -- Canada Dry! 
• tapioca pudding
• frozen bean, rice, and cheese burrito
• bagels
• cream cheese
• strawberry ice cream - the tiny one serving Hagan Daz version. 

The ginger ale and bagel with cream cheese was heaven! Afterwards, I sat here marveling that my stomach did not hurt nor did I feel nauseous! Then I decided to try a tapioca a little while later which apparently wasn't such a good choice. Ah, you can't win them all.

Happy St Paddy's Day! Happy birthday to my mom!

xoxo

Love Hate Relationship

I never thought I would say this, but I now have a love hate relationship with food.

If I don't eat, I feel nauseous.
If I eat too much, I feel nauseous.
If I eat the wrong thing, I feel nauseous.
If I cook meat, I feel really nauseous.

I promised myself before I got pregnant, that if I ever did, I would not complain. After all, this is what I've spent thousands of dollars, a plethora of tears, and a couple of years of my life wanting! So, suck it up buttercup! There are plenty of women out there who would trade places with me in a second! Complaining is just rude, right? Well, that has all dissolved into the puddle of my nauseousness that has overtaken my life. So let me just apologize now.

I haven't posted much in the last week because really, it just seems to rule my life and I was trying not to whine. Most days instead of doing anything productive, I lay on the couch desperately hoping it will go away. Thankfully the B6 three times a day has helped, but it still comes and goes. On Saturday, my husband and I actually scheduled time to spend together by driving an hour to the nearest city that is bigger than podunk. Of course, not eating on time combined with the stop and start of driving through traffic, made me abandon my let's go eat a great restaurant attitude and head for the nearest place that would give me food. I still enjoyed my time with him though. :)

So that's about it folks! Nausea. That's what's going on.

xoxo

No canned tomatoes?

A friend just posted this article on FB, "The seven foods the experts won't eat." Seriously? The first item, canned tomatoes is avoided by an endocrinologist because "Studies show that the BPA in most people's body exceeds the amount that suppresses sperm production or causes chromosomal damage to the eggs of animals." Microwave popcorn is on the list too. What's sad is that I live 2.5 hours from the nearest Trad.erJoes or Whole Paycheck and the local Wally World and Commissary (the grocery store on base) have the tiniest organic section ever. Sigh. I guess I'll definitely have to move to Alaska and grow my own veggies! 


xoxo

Beet this!

Beet this! Tonight we boiled the beet. This is the beet that I picked up because my hubby was waxing nostalgic about the garden they had when he was growing up. So, I was thinking I should plant a garden at our next home. My hubby laughed at me. Why, you ask? Because imagining a garden in Alaska isn't the first thing you do. But they do have a great summer season with lots of light!

Beat this! FairyEgg's tests came back all clear and her period started. This means that we will be getting a calendar very very soon! Yay! Tomorrow I visit a lawyer to review our contract.  It's getting closer!

xoxo