36 Week Check Up

Even though I don't officially hit the 36 week/9 month point until tomorrow, I had my check-up yesterday. I can't believe I'll be in my 9th month already. I hope these next few weeks fly by like the past months since I want to meet the little guy who has been going spastic inside my belly at times and has those darn hiccups everyday (I feel bad for him).

The check up went well. All my vitals are great. She asked if I was having any contractions and I just explained I've been having the practice ones where the belly tightens up, but nothing more.

We heard his heartbeat and a nice big kick while she was listening. He had just finished the hiccups before she put the listening devise on my belly and that would have been interesting to hear. Maybe next time.

My belly was measured and she said I'm in the 36-37 week range with my belly size (which I thought was good since its about right on target) and that she is predicting he weights about 6 1/2 pounds. She explained that sometimes the predictions are right on target or they are way off. I don't know which one makes me feel any better.

But, the whole check-up went wonderfully. So, I'm on the weekly check-up schedule now which is great! I get to hear about my little boy weekly and also get out of work early once a week.

Drew's Shower, Part 1

Yesterday was the big day, Drew's Shower. The weather didn't corporate like we had hoped, it was rainy and chilly, but it was still a great day.

I have more pictures to come, but I was lucky enough to have two people taking pictures during the day, my mom and my SIL Sarah, so I have the pictures to share that Sarah took while I was opening gifts, while my mom burns a CD for me of the other images. I'll share those when I receive them! But for now, I'll share details about the day and share a few photo's at the same time.

My mom and I got there early to set up and so did my SIL and her sister who made the wonderful cupcakes for dessert. They were homemade and looked so professional. Everyone raved about the cupcakes and how delicious they were. There were 3 different flavors to chose from; lemon cake with lemon filling, black forest (choc cake with cherry middle) and spice cake with apple caramel filling and on top of each one, there was a candy piece indicating which one was which according to a chart. I was able to sneak one (the spice cake one) and they were to die for. They were moist and yummy! Those girls rock for what they did for the shower! I really appreciated it too.

Homemade Quilt from my Grandma with little froggies on it

There were so many people there (with a huge family, its to be expected though). Yeah, there were a handful who RSVP'd who didn't show up, but it just allowed more food for the ones who did attend. The food was a lovely spread of breakfast items (thanks mom & dad) and it was delicious.

Auntie Tammie handing out a raffel gift with Auntie Tracy calling out the numbers in the background

We did raffles to break up the gift opening part of the shower. Two of my aunts helped out with the raffles and the gift openings. It was much appreciated. We did the raffles instead of the normal shower games. We stole the idea from my cousins baby shower that took place last summer.

We received lots of presents for the baby along with many diapers (that was one of the raffles, bring diapers and get a chance to win a gift certificate to a local restaurant). We received lots of cute outfits ranging from Newborn to 12 months, all kinds of gadgets and gizmo's to help with the baby and so many things I can't think of right now to list. We do have to go get a few things we'd like, but not many. Yeah!

Clothes line of baby close ranging from 3 months to 12 months for Drew

It was such a lovely time. The morning just flew by. It was so nice to see all my friends and family together for the event. Someone had asked me if I was nervous (about the shower) and my reply was nope. Its all friends and family here, no need to be nervous. I did tell her I was excited, no nervous energy there.

After we got everything home we took a little rest and then Jeff and I dove right in with sorting everything out (my FIL helped too). We sorted everything out by location in the house and the next step is to put it all away. That'll be fun though, I can't wait.

Stranger Encounters

This past week I've experienced the random conversations with strangers about my growing belly. It could be that it started this late with winter clothing coming off and a pregnancy belly is now revealed to the world more often then before.

I didn't have any unknown person touch my belly (yet) and it could be because of my body language as I walk through the stores, but so far so good.

The first time was a nice women who approached me in CVS while I was there with my FIL. I noticed she looked at my belly and then asked me when my baby was due. I explained the end of April and that opened the flood gates for our conversation. We chatted about her grand baby that was due in July, the showers, how excited we were and so on. As we broke free of each other we both wished each other good luck. I turned to my FIL who was standing within an arm's length away and he asked me who that was. I shrugged my shoulders and said, I have no idea.

The second time this week, an encounter occurred at Walmart. I was walking in to return a shirt (that was too small in the belly area) and the women who was the greeter asked me right away when my baby was due. We chatted for awhile and she almost forgot to give me my sticker for my return.

I don't mind talking about my little boy, but the hard part is to remain cheerful and happy when you're tired. My focus was to go into these stores, do what I have to do and then leave. Now I have to factor in random conversations with strangers. I just feel lucky it didn't start until recently.

Thankful Thursday

1. I am grateful that my friends and family will get together this weekend to celebrate baby Drew at my shower.
2. I am happy that Jeff is still working 40 hours a week since there have been layoffs and cut backs at his company.
3. The snow is gone! We haven't had any snow (knock on wood) for sometime now and there isn't any in the near forecast, so could it be over? I hope so!
4. Nail salons. I haven't been able to do much for my feet since growing a belly, so this weekend I am treating myself to a pedicure. I can't wait!
5. Chocolate. Need I say more?!?
   

Wordless Weds - I can see this happening!

It Blows My Mind

At work, I have a few bosses. Its kind of a supervisor ladder if you will; I have my office manager, the 2nd in command and then the head hancho.

The head hancho we share with two other schools. So, he runs back and forth every day between the three schools. Since they are all college's, you can imagine all the drama with student issues and even employee situations he has to be involved with.

All through my pregnancy, the head hancho would ask me questions like how I was feeling, how things were going and checking in with me. I wasn't really expecting him to really pay much attention to my situation since he has so much on his plate from his job.

Yesterday morning, before his usual big Monday morning Deans meeting he asked me, 5 more weeks (to my due date), right? I had a big smile on my face and said, yup we are almost there!

But what blew me away was, he has been counting down just like me and was right on. I know he may be counting down since he will be short an employee for 6 weeks, but it just amazed me that he was right on target and seemed really excited for me.

Reading Challenges

Phew, its taking me awhile to get through my current book "Water for Elephants". Its not that its a bad book, its just so much is going on.

I just want to finish one last book before Drew comes along since I know in the beginning, I won't have time to sit and read. I will continue to add books to my pile to read, but I don't think I'll have time to read them right away.

The book is good, its interesting and written very well, but with our classes (birthing and breastfeeding), the running around, the cleaning, the prepping, I'm tired and at times just wanting to veg out without anything going on other then watching a simple TV show, its hard to pick the book up. I may read a few pages at night before we shut the lights off to go to bed, but once I get into the book and remember where I was in the story, my eyes start to get heavy.

But, I'll get through it! I have a little under 6 weeks until my due date and I should get through the book by then. If not, well I'll finish it when I can!

Happy Spring!

I love the spring time! Mother nature clears off the snow to welcome the blooming flowers and budding trees. All of the hibernating animals are waking up and making their presence known.

Its a great time of year! When the calender says its the first day of spring, I welcome it with open arms. It means warmer weather is coming. I can start to think about packing away the heavy winter coat and wearing those comfy fleece jackets in the cool mornings.

It means my car won't be covered is salt residue from the roads. I can drive around with the windows open to get some fresh air while I'm moving around town.

I can take a walk around the block without worrying about slipping on ice or snow. I can enjoy the sounds and smells of spring while I take my leisurely jaunt around the block.

Also, its closer to the ice cream shack at the end of our street opening up too. Bonus!!

Hey, did I mention I love this time of year!?!?

Cleaning Phase

Jeff made an observation over the weekend that I think he is absolutely correct about. It was Saturday night, as we were settling down to go to bed, and he said "I think you are in your cleaning phase of the pregnancy". I told him, yup I agree and it hit me hard.

So its official, I'm in the nesting phase. I want to clean and straighten everything in the house. If I could, I'd be out there doing yard work too, but its hard for me to bend over so I'll save all of that for after the baby arrives.

But, in the house, I want to clean, clean, clean! I want to make room for items from the shower, I want to finish the boys room (we have to wait for a part for the crib before we can do that), I want to find places for household items my FIL just places where ever HE thinks is a good place for them rather then actually putting them away and anything else I can put my hands on. I want to do a good spring cleaning in the bathroom, kitchen and living room, but I need to find cleaning products I can be around first (any ideas?).

Also, the thing is that delays me a little is once I get into a project, I get super tired. My back starts to ache and I lose steam, but then my second wind comes and watch out! But, my goal is to take care of one thing at a time and also build in some down time to relax.

It was amazing though how fast and quickly that feeling took over. I wasn't lazy before, but this nesting faze is definitely the real deal!

We Passed!

Well, that's what they tell us, but the real test will be when baby Drew arrives.

We finished our 7 week birthing/Lamaze classes this past Monday. I'm not sure if we will remember all the techniques while I'm in labor, but you never know. The hardest part for us is remembering which breathing method to use at which stage of labor. I'm thinking that as long as I use a techniques at some point, that is ok with me.

The best part is since we attended each class, we received a certificate for reimbursement for our insurance company. Sweet! That means the class will eventually be free for us, that is when ever the insurance company decides to cut us a check.

So, the classes were definitely an experience. I learned some things about the different epidurals, breathing patterns, watched some video's on birthing, learned how to bath and clean a boy (that was somthing I really needed to learn), was taught how to swaddle a baby and everything in between. I'm happy we went since it was a refresher for Jeff and hands on learning for me.

Happy St. Patty's Day

I am a tad bit 'o irish. I am a "mut" if you will, of ethnic background from my family. I don't mind it. When people ask me what "I am" I may rattle off the whole list, or I may just say a few. It all depends on my mood at the time.

Well, today is St Patty's Day. I'd like to share my favorite Irish poem. Yeah, its on a lot of collectables if you walk into an irish heritage store, but I like it. I have a blanket with this poem stitched into it and I love it so much, I don't use it. I don't want to ruin it.

May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your fields, And until we meet again, May God hold you In the palm of his hand.

Just remember, even if you aren't irish the rest of the year, you are irish on St Patty's Day. Celebrate responisbly and enjoy!

New Celebrity Crush

We all have them, those celebrity crushes. Some people do go over board with there's, but I just like to watch them do their handy work whether it be acting, comedy or sports. Since that's the reason they are in the spot light and get the celebrity attention right? I may catch up on some gossip from time to time on them too, but I wouldn't even think of stalking them or anything silly like that since that is way too creepy.

My new crush added to my "list" of favorite's is Dane Cook. He started off as a comic and has been in a few movies from time to time. If you've ever heard his comedy routine, he's very rude, crude and raunchy.....but he's hilarious at the same time. Oh, and to me, not so bad on the eye's either.

He's coming around our area for the first time for a show at one of the Connecticut casino's, but I can't go since its a few days before my due date. That is all I would need, to be sitting in the audience, laughing and my water break. Then have to rush almost 2 hours home to get to the hospital. So, hopefully soon he'll be back in the area again since that will be a great night out!

My other crush that hasn't left the top of the list is Wentworth Miller. He's been on my "list" since we discovered Prison Break a couple of years ago. Yeah, he is the main reason now to watch the show since the story is way out in left field, but with him in the show, its tolerable. Jeff teases me that we have to watch my boyfriend when we watch the show. Hey, he has crushes too!! I'd like to see what he'd do if Christina Aguilera walked by him and see his reaction!

So, who are your celebrity crushes? Any new one's like me? Any old one's you'd like to share?

Touch of Sadness

Cancer has been a part of my life history. My mother was diagnosed with non-hodgkins lymphoma when I was 6 years old (she was in her late 20's). She had a 30% chance of living and she survived. The end result is I still have my wacky mother around and I am grateful.

Others aren't so lucky. Jeff's mom passed away several years ago from lung cancer. It was hard on the entire family from the start of her illness and continues through the present. She tried her best to fight what was taking over her body, but the cancer won.

In the past two years I've known 4 people who was diagnosed with some sort of cancer.

A co-worker, a little over a year and half ago was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a successful battle and is doing well.

One of my cousins wife was diagnosed with colon cancer in the fall. She was told in February, she is free and clear of the disease after her treatments.

A close friend in Maryland was diagnosed with prostate cancer in February. His cancer was caught early so his outcome looks great.

A co-workers mother was diagnosed with lung cancer 6 weeks ago and lost her battle on Sunday. She went to the hospital for pneumonia and they found the cancer in her lung and by that time it already in stage 4. She was only 54 years old. Her wake was Weds evening and considering the circumstances, it was lovely. A lot of people showed their respect for the family in a beautiful setting.

So, what I want to say is this.....live your life to the fullest, don't take anything for granted, always tell your family you love them and enjoy the day to day adventures since you never know what card you will be dealt with in your life. Its hard to do that everyday with things we may come across, but its so worth it. You just never know what tomorrow will bring and its better to know that you did something rather then say, oh I wish I told that person I loved them for one last time.

What a Sweetheart

Yeah, I'm talking about my husband. Yeah, at times he can be a pain, not listen, play those stupid video games and just not get what I try to tell him.

But, when he does little things to show that he cares or loves me, it just erases all the petty things.

The other day, I received a text message from him while I was at work. It put a huge smile on my face when I read it. He mentioned he doesn't say it enough and its way over-due but pregnancy agrees with me, that I have that glow that everyone talks about and it looks great on me. He also said that I am doing a great job taking care of our child and he is proud of me.

It just blew me away. I didn't respond with my usual saying of, OK what do you want. But I wrote him back that I think we will make a great team raising our child and that he was the best. Then his smart-ass response back was yeah I know. So, we were back to our "normal" harassing each other moods at that point, but, I just thought it was so sweet to get a random text from Jeff saying stuff like that.

Wordless Weds - Grandpy's Party

Grandpy's Apple Pie/Cake

Ally & Grandpy

Uncle Jeff & Ally

Do you feel pregnant?

People look at my basketball size belly and ask, do you feel pregnant? Most of the time, no. This is the common question of the day.

When the little one isn't moving around, I don't feel the extra weight like I thought I would, so at times I don't feel preggers. Yesterday morning I was driving to work, and Drew was quite and so I felt like I did pre-pregnancy. Its a weird feeling now-a-days. I thought I would feel extremely bloated or something like that, but for the most part I don't.

The times I do feel pregnant are when I have to pick something up off the floor, tie my shoes, shaving my legs (when I have the ambition to do so), anything to do with my feet, when my belly gets in the way of others walking around me or when the baby is moving. But this isn't constant (except for Drew moving around), its only at certain times. So, I don't mind it.

Over all, my pregnancy has been smooth sailing (after the first trimester hormone adjustments) and I'm enjoying every last bit. I can't wait to meet the little boy that who has sparked this question.

Wackie Weather

Can you believe it? Last week, we started off with a winter storm. So much snow fell during the early morning, schools were closed, companies delayed or closed and the snow blowers had to be used to clear driveways and sidewalks.

This past weekend, we had beautiful sunny days. The temperatures made it into the 60's! I had my windows down while driving around on Saturday. It was absolutely gorgeous. Also, Jeff and my FIL went for a motorcycle ride for a good part of the day. They've been waiting for the perfect weekend day and they surely got it. Oh, it was wonderful!

Now there are rumors we may get more snow tomorrow night. Oh, I wish the teasing would stop. I want the warm spring weather. I want all the piles of snow to disappear so the flowers can bloom, grass can grow and mother nature can do her thing. So, we'll have to wait and see if the rumors will be true or not. Blah!

Happy Birthday Grandpy!

Happy 56th Birthday to my FIL!

Brotherly Love

Last weekend, while in Maryland, Zack was able to experience something he's never done before.

While we were in the NASA visitor center, watching a movie on the environment, baby Drew started moving around, kicking, pushing and doing what he does best.

Jeff was sitting next to me, so I grabbed his hand and put it on my belly. Jeff felt some good kicks and noticed that the movement was lasting a little while. So, he tapped Zack on the shoulder (since he was sitting in front of us) and told him that the baby was moving around. Immediately, Zack jumped up and squeezed between Jeff and I. Jeff then placed Zack's hand on my belly.

It took a few seconds, but baby Drew showed his big brother, that he was definitely awake. Drew kicked hard and right away Zack looked up at me with wonderment in his eyes with an amazed look on his face that he was able to feel his baby brother for the first time.

He kept his hand there until the baby was done showing off. It was a good 5 minutes! At one point the baby moved so hard, it moved Zack's hand off my belly. Zack was so amazed.

I was so happy to have that little bond experience between the boys during the trip. It was just breath taking to see the joy in Zack's eyes with the experience. And I know, even more, he can't wait to meet his little brother in June (since that will be the next visit after Drew is due to come into this world).

Thankful Thursday

1. Maternity Clothes. I wish there could be a better selection of PJ's, but other then that, I'm very grateful for clothes for this special time that fit me.
2. Cheaper gas. I know the gas may change by a few pennies here and there, but at least its staying under $2. What a relief!
3. A nice cup of tea. I know that these days the tea is decaf, but its so nice to sip on a warm cup of tea on these cold mornings!
4. Our DVR. Its great when you can't set time aside on the nights your favorite shows are on and this little handy machine records them for you and you can watch the shows at your leisure.
5. Helpful suggestions. I know every one's opinions and experiences are different, but I really appreciate the helpful suggestions with baby Drew on the way!
   

Wordless Weds - Our MD Trip

*We were at the NASA visitor center in Greenbelt, MD on Friday*

*My family threw a surprise baby shower for us*

Belly Laughs

If you don't know who Jenny McCarthy is, well she is an ex-playboy bunny model who isn't ashamed of what she has to say or do. She hosted a MTV show in the 90's and did a few other shows after that, but she is best known for her unpredictable and outrageous vocabulary for the television audience.

So, with that in mind, she wrote a pregnancy book. Its a quick read, but each chapter is directly to the point. She tells things like it is with no fluff around what happened to her during her pregnancy.

Some of the stuff I have experienced, still is and some of it I hope not too (like those hemorrhoids I keep hearing about). She starts off in the book talking about how she found out she was expecting and carries us all through her pregnancy adventures dealing with her husband and specialty doctors with everything else in between until the very end. She also has some advise mixed in there for the fathers-to-be too.

Its a cute, very honest book about what most women experience through pregnancy. So, if your curious, currently pregnant or want to compare notes with what she went through, its a good book to pick up.

What I Learned This Weekend

As you know, we went to Maryland this weekend to visit Zack and my Grandpa. I don't have pictures ready to share with our adventures yet, but I did learn a few things over the past couple of days I thought were interesting.

1. Baby Drew gets the hiccups often.


2. Zack was amazed when he felt his little brother kicking (hard) for the first time.


3. I can lie to Zack's mom, while looking straight in her eyes, about how "wonderful" she looks in her wedding dress (she showed Jeff & I a picture that was taken while she was trying it on).
   
4. My mother takes way too long to fix a cup of coffee at a rest area (she tagged along on this trip).


5. My grandpa is like a little kid......he tries to sneak an extra donut when he thinks no one is watching, but still gets caught red handed.


6. Jeff likes to play tag with other cars while driving long distances (I knew this one already, but forgot).


7. I can't follow 3 conversations at once anymore, its very frustrating and tiring.


8. I am definitely getting a case of mommy brain (I kept forgetting little things either at the hotel or in the car).


9. I can't see my ankle bones any longer.....they've disappeared under some swollen skin.


10. Priceline rocks for cheap hotel prices.....we got a room at a Fairfield Inn Marriott for $49 a night and the hotel was great.