Friday, September 28, 2012

Bump Watch: Week 24

Geeze, I feel like I'm writing these weekly posts every other day.  Has an entire week really passed since my last update?  Time. Is. Flying.
So, I found ANOTHER skin tag this week.  It's sad when something on my own body gives my the heebie jeebies, but such is life.  With Gabe, I had pimples.  Lots of them.  My poor face looked like a pubescent teenager's.  I hated it.  But I might prefer the pimples over the skin tags.

At my monthly appointment this week, I was shocked to see the doctor get out the tape measure.  This is the first time this pregnancy that they've measured my fundal height.  I guess I wasn't expecting that so soon!  Although, in reality, it's not soon at all.  Again with the flying time.  Anywho, my uterus is already two weeks ahead of schedule.  If you remember with the nugget, this was the case with just about every measurement.  It scored me a late ultrasound, just to make sure that everything was okay, there wasn't too much fluid, and my baby wasn't a giant.  According to the tech at that ultrasound, we were having a little baby.

Folks, last time I checked, 8 pounds 6 ounces does NOT a little baby make.

In any case, we'll see what happens at the next few appointments.  Maybe I'll get one more ultrasound after all...

Everything else at the appointment was great.  I've come up another pound (according to my home scale, holding steady in the -5 or -6 lb range), blood pressure is great, little lady's heart rate perfect in the 130's.  Next appointment, I get to drink the dreaded Glucola for my gestational diabetes screening.  Good times!

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Emmy 2012 Fashion Wrap Up

Award show season is here yet again!
The 2012 Emmy Awards were handed out Sunday night.  Oh, how I love to see all of the fashion come down the red carpet!  I've never seen so much yellow walk into one awards show- and I liked it!  Lots of other deep fall colors, as well, like oranges and burgandys.  Reminds me that there is a nip in the air, and the sweltering days of summer are behind us.

I had too much trouble narrowing down my picks to the best and worst three- so here are my best and worst five!  And a few question marks...

The Best
Ginnifer Goodwin in Monique Lhuillier.  I adore the orange color and vintage feel of this gown.  Not just anyone could pull this look off, but I think she did it with so much class.  And those shoes?  Perfection.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Vera Wang.  Talk about class.  This gown 's deep burgandy color  goes so well with her sleek, dark hair.  The sheer shoulders give just enough sex appeal without looking too "young."  Well done, Julia.

Kat Dennings in J Mendel.  Although this is a bit too much cleavage for my liking, the gown is still stunning.  I love the pulling and draping of the fabric- it creates such a gorgeous silhouette.   

Kelly Osborne in Zac Posen.  Okay, so it's a bit odd that her hair matches her dress.  But this dress is  just gorgeous!  I love the detailing at the shoulder and the gather at the hem.  And this color is just not one you see too often!  It looks stunning with her alabaster skin.

Padma Lakshmi in Monique Lhuillier.  Oh, the orange!  As a redhead, I have a soft spot for this color.   The fit of this gown is lovely.  Padma looks gorgeous, as usual.  


The Worst
Julianne Moore, my favorite ginger celebrity, in Zac Posen.  Why the long sleeves???

Ariel Winter in Katherine Kidd.  What is the deal with this print?  And those clunky shoes?  

January Jones in Zac Posen.  I'm all for a structural gown, but the skirt on this one is taking it just a titch too far.

Lena Dunham in Prada.  I always thought the idea was to find a gown that is figure flattering.  This one makes her look double wide.

Zosia Mamet in Bibhu Mohapatra.  I am not digging the matador shoulders, and don't get me started on the skirt- because I can't even tell what I'm looking at.


The Question Marks
Claire Danes in Lanvin.  I am one who thinks it looks better to embrace the bump.  She is clearly trying to hide hers, and I think it comes off a little sloppy.  Maybe without the baby belly this dress would lay better?

Julie Bowen in Monique Lhuillier.  I love the cut and style of this dress, I really do.  I just can't quite get past the color.  I've heard it described as citrine?  A little too neon for me, I think.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Bump Watch: Week 23

Time is passing at an alarming rate, and I seem to be forgetting how far along I am. Now if that's not a sure fire sign of a second pregnancy, I don't know what is.

Oh, that, and also the fact that this is the first belly shot we've taken, and its an iPhone self-portrait. Belly is definitely there now- no denying it.  I'm still down five pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight, however.  Seriously, guys, I'm the only person I know whose weight loss plan is to get pregnant.  Definitely NOT complaining about this, though.  I like knowing that I'm just all baby.  
It's been a week of highs and lows. The high? I've felt GREAT. No nausea whatsoever. I've had some energy.  The nugget and I have been keeping busy, and it's been wonderful.  The low? Sleep has eluded me many nights. I seem to be having trouble getting comfortable. Hmm...wonder why that is? (Hint: see picture above).

Movement has also been CUH-RAZY. I think this must be the period of the hardest kicks. She's small enough in there that she has room to really pull back before she lets into me. But she's big enough that her movements really pack a wallop.  Ouch.

Only 17 more weeks to go.  We're in the teens???  Wow.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

I Can See The Light...

Remember Operation Save-a-Bonus-Room?

Yes, this project was started months ago.  Approximately six months ago, to be exact.  I'll bet you thought that the project was either abandoned or long completed by now, and I had just forgotten to report back.

Well, you'd be wrong there.

This project has been nothing but a thorn in my side, and has been ongoing for what seems like forever.  And okay, in reality, a half a year is a pretty long time.  But folks, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel...

Once we relocated miss kitty into the garage (which she continues to love, by the way), we ceased to deal with cat pee issues.  She uses her litter box religiously, and has the freedom to come in and out of the garage through her little kitty door as she pleases.  She never even goes upstairs anymore.  We successfully removed her presence from the bonus room.

The odor she left behind, however, was a bit more difficult to get rid of.  And by difficult, I mean almost impossible.

Let's put it this way- the couch was easier to get out of that room than the smell of cat urine.

We ripped up the carpet and padding, got rid of ruined furniture, cleared out the room down to its sad subfloor, and got to work.  We tried everything.  We tried two different types of enzyme solutions claiming to rid the world of cat urine stench.  Each time we applied this, we'd have to wait for the subfloor to dry before applying the next coat.  This generally meant waiting a week in between applications.

SHOCKING- the enzymes didn't work.

So we had a contractor come out to give us a quote on just replacing the subfloor in the worst areas.  He promptly told me that this idea was a much bigger (and much more expensive) job that I had in mind, and that if it were his house, he'd try bleach.  Bleach kills everything, right?  Seemed to make sense.

So for those of you science lovers out there- you'll know mixing bleach and ammonia produces a toxic gas.

J loves science, but apparently not enough.

Here we are, taking this man's advice, thinking that pouring bleach onto the urine soaked floorboards was going to be the answer to our prayers.  But of course, urine is composed almost entirely of ammonia.  So instead of getting rid of the smell, we created a poisonous gas, which sent J coughing and sputtering to the phone to contact poison control, and then to wake up our napping child to remove him from the upstairs level filling with fumes.

Good times.

And after all that, the room smelled like a swimming pool.  Not quite as bad as the cat pee, but not quite what we were hoping for.

Enter the last ditch effort.  J turns to- where else?- the Internet for answers.  The Internet claims that hydrogen peroxide will get rid of the bleach smell, and probably help with residual cat pee odor as well.  So we give it a go.

Again, with the week in between all of these applications of copious amounts of liquid to the floor.  Fans running, windows open, please DEAR GOD PLEASE go away smell.

This was the best we could do.  There was no other conceivable option for floor treatment, and we didn't have the thousands of dollars required to tear into walls and rip up floors and replace everything.  We threw up our hands.  And friends- we could still smell the urine.  Not as strongly as before, but an odor still remained.

We had always known that our final step in floor treatment would be to paint a sealant over the top of it.  I had hoped that there would be no residual odor to "seal in," but there ya have it.  We had done our best.  It was time to seal the crap outta that floor, the baseboards, and part of the drywall, just in case.

So seal we did.  We used two gallons of Kilz oil based primer, which promises to tackle and seal in tough pet stains.  And guess what?  It worked.

We can officially no longer smell the cat when we walk into that room!!

This past weekend, we painted the walls a sunny yellow, perfectly gender neutral and fun for a playroom.  Then we went to Home Depot and picked out carpet.  Today, the carpet guy is coming to measure the room and schedule our install.  Hopefully by this time next week, I'll be moving furniture and toys in, and the nugget will have a fun space to play in.  (Also, the toys that are taking over my living room will be out of my sight.  HUZZAH!)

I can't believe it's finally happening...

Next up, Operation Red-Walled-Guest-Room-Turned-Lavendar-Walled-Baby-Room.  No rest for the weary around here.

I promise to update (with pictures!) once we reach project completion!  Oh happy day!

Monday, September 17, 2012

Pinspired: Pinned It, Did It! Vol. 4

It's been awhile, I know.  Mostly because the kitchen was an off limits place for me for several months there.  But I'm back at it now, and back to finding and trying many-a new recipe on good ole' Pinterest.

Here are a few of my recents.

Onion Ring Coated Chicken
Source: frenchs.com via Betsey on Pinterest

This one was kinda meh. The crispy onions did not add as much flavor as I would have expected. Not bad, but not one that I'll be adding to the regular rotation. If you do decide to try this one, cook the chicken up on some sort of rack, rather than directly on the baking sheet. This allows the coating to stay crispy.

Balsamic Brown Butter Asparagus.  Have I written about this one before?

J L.O.V.E.S. it. He is so excited that asparagus is finding its way to our table more frequently. He actually ate the cold, leftover stalks from my plate one night, and skipped the leftover meat. Craziness. I shorten the cooking time from 12 to 10 minutes, as I like a little bite left to my veggies, and that made all the difference. I also like to roast the spears in this same style, but toss with a little Parmesan cheese to finish. Good eats.

Slow Cooker Parmesan Honey Pork Roast

This was a good one. The flavor is nothing like I would have imagined it to be as I was combining ingredients in my trusty Crock Pot. But it was tasty. I love dishes where the meat literally falls to pieces as I'm trying to slice it. This one is worth trying.

Toddler Muffins

For those of you with picky eaters, these are just a gem. Made with squash, carrots, and mashed bananas, but somehow still taste good! As a matter of fact, I think J ate just as many of them as the nugget did. A word to the wise, however- this recipe made a ton, and I'd advise freezing some to save for later. I tossed all of mine into a Tupperware bowl, but they are SO moist that they started to grow mold before we had made our way through them.


Friday, September 14, 2012

Bump Watch: Week 22

I officially had my first dream about labor and delivery last night.  Apparently, I got to the hospital just in time to push, and without any time for an epidural.  In my dream, it was totally fast, easy, and pain free, and I was home nursing baby like a champ the next day.

Pfft.

I have heard that labor is the longest for the first child, and approximately cuts in half with each subsequent child.  I labored for 25 hours with Gabe.  I'd be happy with 15 hours this time.  I also will be sure to get to the hospital in plenty of time for an epidural.  Because, my friends, the epidural is the greatest invention of all time.  Ever.  Period.

The little lady is BUSY.  J has been able to feel many big kicks and punches with ease this week.  I am a little dismayed that the majority of her movement happens overnight.  I don't recall the nugget actually waking me up with his kicks, but this girl wakes me up several nights a week.  I am seriously hoping that this is not an indicator of her sleep schedule at birth!

Until then, this lady is sleeping as much as she can.  I'm pretty sure that once baby girl is here, I'll never sleep again.

Friday, September 7, 2012

The Husband

Yesterday was my anniversary.  J and I have been married for three years.  Seems like a it should be longer than that.

Oh, how I love that man.

It's a fact that I would lay down and die for my children...but that man.  He is just my everything.

If I had a wish for the world, it would be that every woman someday finds her J.  The world would be a much happier place.

Happy anniversary, favorite person.  Here's to many, MANY more.

Bump Watch: Week 21

Wow, is this harder on the body the second time around.

This is the part of pregnancy where not much is supposed to happen.  The nausea is supposed to be gone, the energy is supposed to be back, and the aches and pains are not meant to have started yet.  Basically, the second trimester is when we bide our time and enjoy being pregnant.

Not sure if it's because it just hasn't been that long since I was last pregnant, or if it's because the body just remembers.  But either way, the aches and pains are present.  Or maybe it's because I find myself literally running after a toddler on a daily basis.  And lifting the 27-pounder frequently.  All the while carrying a pomegranate and all kinds of extra fluid in my abdomen?  

Other than the achiness in the back and hips, I really can't complain too much.  I'll just keep biding my time, waiting on the little lady's arrival!  Seriously, starting to get so excited about having a little girl.  The cuteness- I can't wait for it. 

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