The Eviction Notice...

Our little marshmallow has received her official evicton notice...and apparently, didn't take it too well...the very next day mom was back to praising the porcelain gods.... however, she did wait to let me see the last of the Twilight movies at our new favorite movie theatre...you can order mini corn dogs (among a whole menu of other foods) while watching the movie in your plush recliner.  really...it's the only way to see a movie  AND she let me enjoy my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving...friends, family and foooooooood!!!  No, I couldn't pig out like I normally do, since SOMEONE is taking up all the room in my belly.  But it was great... there was food, and hugs, and football (which also meant sweaty husbands and cousins) and lots of time to play with marshmallow's soon-to-be bestie, Rylie!

(thanks Rick Espana for the above photo)


AND...becuase there have been multiple requests to post pics of the nursery...here are some.  It's not QUITE finished... the frames and lamp are still on their way...HEY, it took me a long time to find frames and lamps that i looooooved enough to put in my baby girls room...well that, and ones that i looooooooved and could actually afford.  

Though, we didn't necessarily start out with a "theme"... after close analysis of the items i was purchasing, it became OBVIOUS, that the theme was GLAMPING (glamorous camping)...which fit perfectly with the nickname we've given her, marshmallow)!  so don't be surprised to a color palette of toasted marshmallows, tee pee's and her woodland friends!

you think the girls are worried that i am going to stop taking their photos?....i tried to keep them out of the photos, but alas, who can resist that cuteness?!

ok...and finally...since it is quite possible that this is the last post before baby arrives, belly .gif time! and since i've had numerous complaints (mostly from a certain hubby) that the mini videos go too fast, i am posting a slooooooooow version and a super-duper fast version.  i personally like the fast one becuase it's more like a growing belly movie...but for those who prefer to see each pic one-by-one...there is a slow version just for you.

Knit with Love...

Oh my goodness...last weekend I was blessed with a shower for the impending arrival of our little marshmallow, graciously hosted & planned by my Cassidy (I'm still not convinced she's real...I have no idea how she managed to plan this whole thing, while being a mama to little 1yr old Rylie, working, AND getting her PhD??  oh yah, and always looking freakin' amazing!!!) and I was just overwhelmed with how many wonderful, kind, warm-hearted people I have in my life.  For everyone that was there in person AND in spirit, I can't wait for our little one to meet you.  She (and I) couldn't be luckier to have each and everyone of you.  

For those who were only able to make it in spirit, I wanted to share a couple photos of the shower (taken by the wonderfully talented Morgan Stump)....and to make the hubby stop pestering me for at least a week...a belly video!  He says my fans are getting impatient...bahahahaha.

the theme was "knit with love"....full of cable knits, and cozy foods...inspired by the afghan knit by grandma ruth.

   

I was pretty good about not crying through MOST of the shower...however, one card in particular brought tears to my eyes.  below is an excerpt from a card from some of my favorite people, who shared some wise words from my grandpa reilly- truly great words to live by.

annnnnnnnnd.....

Starting to show...

hahahahaha!  Yes, I have started to show...I can't even type that with a straight face... I am quite obviously pregnant.

SO, whats better than being pregnant? Wearing a flower crown while being pregnant (thanks Addie)!! DUH! and whats even better? having a talented photographer photograph you wearing said crown (Thanks Heidi)!  I feel like one of the flower girls from Kate Moss's wedding <3.

These are my dream maternity shots...totally flower child inspired, lace maxi dress, and flowers...le sigh.

30 Weeks!

I will admit; lately, I've been somewhat whiny and a wee bit crabby (the correct response now would be, 'you? no. you're always so cheery)...so I decided that for this post, I would list things that I enjoy about pregnancy...AND since I'm 30 weeks, thought I'd aim for 30 things!  Wish me luck!

1.  feeling little girl kick and squirm.  I had to put this as the first one, because it is definitly my favorite part about this whole experience. When I get home from work I eat a little something, down a little water, and lay on the couch ready to play :)....she seems to be most active right around 5-5:30 at night.  Through all this, everytime I feel her judo-chop me from inside, I can't help but smile.

2.  no one judges me when I over order food...and then eat it all!

3.  great excuse for fro-yo breaks

4.  planning out the nursery!  i think it's the first time, I actually fully concepted out a room and stuck with the theme.  HA! and no, you can't see what it is yet!!!  that will be a different post.

5.  not having to remember to take birth control

6.  "pregnancy-brain" excuse

7.   people are more likely to be helpful- helping lift things, open doors, etc

8.  seeing adam do domestic chores :P

9.  random people telling me random stories

10.  random people touching my belly-  ok, so this one seems to be on most pregnant ladies "do-not-like" list...but maybe it's becuause I'm from a small town where everyone is all up in your business, or I'm from an affectionate family...or maybe I just thrive on attention...but I don't mind the random gesture.  people are always nice and friendly, and for whatever reason smile when they touch a pregnant belly.

11.  hearing adam talk about things he wants to do with her...golf, read books

12.  no one can judge me when I am bawling during movies meant for teenage girls.

13.  i didn't have to paint the nursery, and i didn't have to feel guilty about pawning it off to adam

14.  knowing that soon, we'll have a wee one to snuggle with

15.  excited about all the family that will be out to visit

16.  prenatal massages

17.  my GIANT preggy pillow

18.  maternity pants - these will certainly stick around for events like Thanksgiving Dinner and ice cream binges

19.  my nails are awesome

20.  my hair is awesome - well when i wash it

21.  knowing that my mom and dad will have their first human grandbaby

22.  buying mini-me clothes - addicted

23.  feeling all the soft baby blankets, clothes, towels, etc...why are adult things not so soft?

24.  i'm not a fan of my new GIGANTIC boobies, but adam doesn't seem to mind them

25.  being able to talk with other pregnant women - there HAS to be a baby-boom going on.  I think every other person I know is pregnant right now...and due around the same time as me.  It's great...we all whine together.

26. starting and getting to share all my thoughts with you via this blog!!!

27. napping

28. our new AC

29. telling people that we're expecting!!

30.  having a great excuse for leaving social events early.


so- you will probably notice that there are a few weeks of pictures missing from the gif below,  but hey, I'm pregnant. At least I finally got it up here!! woot woot for me!

eyes and ears and a mouth and a...

NOSE!  Just look at that little pinchable nose!  Here we are, at 29 weeks, and believe it or not, there appears to be a REAL baby in my belly! WHOA! talk about sci-fi crazy talk! She's got a full head of hair, no you can't see it....that black stuff that might look like hair, is actually her favorite pillow...my bladder.   But she has, little hands and feet, pouty lips and appears to be a super cuddler! YAY!

Pups Dig it!

Due to being sick and/or being an old lady and going to bed super early, our social calendars have been fairly baron...however, we definitly opened it up for a chance to help support our local Humane Society to attend the Furball!!  At the Furball, we enjoyed, dancing, live entertainment and fine dining, ALL while enjoying the company of our most favoritest furbabies...yeop, the girls were there with us!  The Furball if my favorite event of the year, and why wouldn't it be?  It includes all my favorite things in life: fabulous food, wonderful friends, and all of our furry four-legged friends...and not mention, this year our very own ProPlants donated all the orchid centerpieces!!!

Pregnancy Bloopers- The S*$% No One Told Me About

First off, I MUST apologize for the recent poor blogging showing ...I have failed my readers.

But, to make it up to you, I thought I'd share some of the more memorable moments from the past few weeks.

THIS IS A WARNING.  THE BELOW CONTENT IS FILLED WITH TMI...BY READING BEYOND THIS POINT YOU AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING - THERE IS ABOSLUTELY NO JUDGING.  JUST LAUGHING, CRYING AND LEARNING A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE 'JOYS' OF PREGNANCY.

1.  Puking in a bus stop garbage can, while standing in a puddle of your own urine....bawling, all while your husband is looking at you with that deer-in-headlights look.
    yeop, thats right...remember that post earlier, about having listeria?  well, this is the part of the story that I left out.  For those of you who have gone through this whole pregnancy thing, you probably have a similar story or two.  But here I was...with my head in a very disgusting bus stop garbage, with dozens of cars driving by... and standing in a puddle of my own urine.  Talk about humiliating.  We're not talking a tiny little trickle. No...this was full on gush. The worst part?  walking the last half mile in my wet shorts....lord.   

2. Having to keep a stash of plastic bags in your car for your daily puke
    starting at week 13-14, everyone kept saying how the nausea and puking should start to slowly go away...well they lied...and it just kept getting worse, and worse, and worse...to the point where the puking started at around 4-4:30 pm, and would continue to about 11pm...when i'd be so exhausted, that I'd eventually be able to pass out- just to be able to wake up every hour or so to continue the oh-so-glorious time.    Seeing as though I typically work until 5pm...you'd can imagine the dilemma of driving home.  A girl must be prepared.  So I had my fully stocked stash of plastic bags sitting in the passenget seat, waiting for my car ride home.  Thinking back, I wonder what the cars next to me must have thought....

3.  Learning that Frontier Airlines is the worst airline EVER and that they employe horrible people like Patty.
    My last trip for work was in July...to Atlanta.  Do you know how far Atlanta is from San Diego?  Approximately 2,140 miles...thats a long trip.   Instead of rewriting the whole story and infuriating myself further...I thought I'd just share my email to Frontier:

I am 5 months pregnant, and still get nauseous, and apparently more so on flights during take off and landing.  On the landing of my flight I got extremely nausueous.  Maybe you and your employees don't realize, that sometimes, when you're pregnant, and you get sick, especially as you are further along, and the baby is pushing down on your bladder, when you puke, cough, sneeze, you can also urinate.  well, i've learned that when I puke, I need to be in a restroom, so to not soil my pants.  So, as soon as the flight landed I ran to the toilet.  Mid-puke, an attendant, named Patty, ripped open the door, pulled me out of the bathroom shoved a bag in my hand and harshly told me to go back to my seat.  Of course, by the time I got back to my seat, I was crying, my underwear wet, and I was ready to NEVER be on another frontier airplane again.    Unfortuneatly, I had a layover and still needed to change planes, thus, needing to get back on another plane. You can probably imagine JUST how "thrilled" I was to see the exact same crew.  I took my seat, quite unhappy that I'd have to see Patty again.  After taking off, I saw her looking around the cabin.  When she saw me, she bent down and said "i have a present for you"  chuckled, and handed me another vomit bag.  THEN said "the other attendent told me that you were pregant, and thats why you dashed to the restroom".   As I sat in my wet underwear in my seat, I found her "gift" to be rude, disrespectful, and untactful.  I was travelling for work at the time, with other co-workers...so you can imagine what I was feeling at that point.  Not too mention, how bad I felt for the person who had to sit in my previous seat, on the previous plane... I flew 2 weeks prior to this trip for a separate business trip, on Delta. The attendents on that flight were much more understanding, kind, and respectful to my needs.  That is what I expect from ALL attendents on all airlines.

4.  Sobbing in the Bathtub at 2 in the morning becuase it's too hot, you're sick of peeing in your bed everytime you cough, and you've been puking for the past 6 hours.
      I don't know about the rest of the US, but it has been ungodly hot here in San Diego this summer. Typically, we have about 2 weeks of heat that is a little less than bearable...so we've never actually gotten to needing an AC.    Well, amidst the probably third week of extreme heat....after a few hours of coughing, and puking and running to the bathroom, I had just had enough.  I was hot and miserable....so i turned the tub on to cold and got in...


5. Walking with Poise...
    As if all this nauseau and puking wasn't enough...of course, I had to catch whatever nasty cold was going around...which of course entailed a nasty, nasty cough...again, back to self-urination.  every night I'd go to bed, and when I'd start to feel a little tickle, I'd try to dash to the restroom so I could safely cough on the toilet...sometimes i'd make it, sometimes, well...i wouldn't.  After sending Adam off, on 50 mile goose chase to hunt down the LAST AC within a 50 mile radius, doing my third load of wash, JUST to have clean underwear, I decided to take a trip to the local Rite-Aid (pharmacy/convenient store)... to buy POISE- discreet bladder control pads.  Do you know what those are?  People say they are just super absorbent pads...but NOOOOO, these things are cotton boats you stick in your underwear.  They are diapers, without side tabs.  they go from way up front, alllllllllllllll the way back.  Infact, they only fit in a few pair of my underwear...apparently bikini briefs, not meant for Poise... Well, I bought a family size pack (no they don't call them family size, but the largest pack)....and started back home.  As I was in the cross-walk, i just started sobbing.  I really wanted my mom...I knew she would have handled this all so much better than me.   Good news is...shortly after I got home, Adam got back with a wonderful AC for our bedroom...finally, some relief.
 

6. Finding the chocolate milk...in your cupboard.
    hahahaha...and nope! wasn't even MY pregnancy brain...though, he (to remain nameless) sure tried to play it off that way...

4. Finding melted chocolate in your bra after getting home from work.
    not much else to be said about his one...i eat chocolate...i wear a bra.

5. Dipping your over sized tots in BBQ sauce
    and i'm not talking the fried potatoe tots... THEY JUST KEEPING GETTING BIGGER AND BIGGER AND BIGGER AND BIGGER AND BIGGER... and why do they change color?