33 Weeks

thats right folks....only 6 weeks to go....OMG! I am so grateful for a good week, with minimal pain/discomfort. This weeks sono revealed a 4lb 3oz baby boy w/ a 'big head' , according to the Dr. I blame this oversized noggin on my husband, who does possess a Frankin head :)

Viewing his profile we could see his lips moving.
Munchkin man appeared to be talking to himself or maybe he was chatting it up w/ Mr. Umbilical Cord that was right in front of his face. It must get lonely in the black abyss, especially since their eyes are open now during wakeful periods, . Doc says he looked like he was wedged in their good, not a whole lotta space, though babies will make the room they need. I don't doubt this, as I feel his big head hollowing out a hole in my upper rib cage.

I am weighing in at 154 now ...sheesh! Jay weighed himself at the docs office and found that he actually lost about 10 lbs.....lucky him.

Fun food find for the week, Nature Valley's Oats n Dark Chocolate granola bars....so good!

2nd full week in the new house

after meeting w/ several arborists to asses the health of our 26 some odd trees on the property, came to find out we have a walnut tree in our backyard....Awesome!  Some of the others, which are less desirable, and/or dead, such as Black Locust will be removed.  We also have Bradford Pear Trees and a White Oak in the front.  It's funny to see the range of quotes for the work.  Always get three quotes, there is always a high, middle and low.  The most expensive quote came from 'Priced Right Tree Trimming'...how ironic  :)
Contractors are completely finished, now we are on our own, w/ no excuse to stall on the many boxes begging to be unpacked in the basement  :(

Will be experimenting w/ my 1st two Topsy Turvy planters this season.  Hope to be able to successfully grow  hanging tomotoes and stawberries.
We have plans to stain the deck in a couple of weeks, transforming the back into an oasis retreat before the heat of summer hits....so many plans!

Why Not Walnuts?

http://walnutsweb.com/walnuts/Health+Benefits+of+Walnuts
with health benefits like this, why wouldn't you want to add them to your own homemade trail mix?
My current fav mix : dried cherries, walnuts, 'cocoa roast' almonds, dark chocolate flavor, by Emerald and regular, plain roast almonds(no oil, salt)

Moving

Last Saturday, a  team of 4 movers braved the rain/hail(which subsided early into the move, thankfully), the Rohde's heavy furniture and some wicked steps/stairs to get us all moved into our new 'house on the hill' in Lakewood.  I know they had to be cursing our name, once they drove away with their slipped discs, herniated backs and pulled hammies.  Well, better them than big ol' round me  :)

Now the work REALLY begins  :(    Jay has several pet projects to complete before we even attempt unearthing the multiple boxes residing in the basement.  Our lovely furniture vanity, w/ marble top, selected for our master bath, needs subflooring installed, tile laid and beadboard on both sides of the walls, before installation.  The half bath also needs it's furniture vanity installed and we discovered it will need a backsplash.

In between, Jay has labored on the small details, installing smoke alarms, carbon monoixde alarms, changing out locks, internet hookup, TV hookup, etc.  ....all while I waddle about, unpacking a box or 2 here or there, trying to regain feeling in my fingers...thanks Carpal Tunnel!

Kitchen cabinets will be touched up this Sat., so we can finally start putting the kitchen together.  Still waiting on the replacement delivery of the oven/microwave unit, for re-installation.  Our contractor will be coming back next week to finish baseboard installation and to help Jay lift the heavy vanity into it's new spot.

Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, it is a race to finish, before the little man is on the scene....6 more weeks(if I'm lucky and he does not decide to visit us early)


Storm moving in now, it looks so ominous over the lake....cool!

31 weeks

slow and steady wins the race! OBGYN visit this week, weight gain is on track at about a pound to pound and a half every 2 weeks. Dr is happy w/ the growth progression so far and hopes we will make it to week 39, which is when our scheduled csection will happen. The baby is tranverse, which is to say he is relaxing sideways, taking up all of my gut from rib to rib.
So happy we will be moving out of our apartment and into our new house this weekend. Let the nesting begin!

Surprise!

While it was no surprise that my sister was coming in town for a visit, the fact that several other family members would be joining to surprise me w/ a baby shower, was indeed a SURPRISE.

Sometimes I am so happy when the hubs (and my sister)does not listen to me...this was one of those times. Both he and my sister wanted to have a shower for me. I did not think it was a good idea since we would not be in our house yet and I had no idea if I might go into early labor. Luckily, no early labor and no sweat still being in the apt...everyone stayed at the hotel located conveniently down the street from us.

Jay pulled off shuttling people from the airport to the hotel, that Friday, while I thought he was in Topeka for business.. Luckily, he was still a good enough sport to take me to the grocery store the next morning(Saturday). I was adamant about getting groceries for the recipes I was going to make for my sister while in town.

My sister, Susan called and left me a voicemail that Sat. morning and said she ' happened to get on an earlier flight, took a cab from the airport to her hotel and was ready to be picked up at the hotel' . I smelled a rat...I knew she and Jay were up to something, but still not sure what :)

I had made reservations for us to have lunch at the Plaza ....clearly Jay and Susan had their own plans. Once in the car, I knew we had another destination in mind. Upon arrival to Wil Jenny's(a Texas Steakhouse) I thought, well this place is good too. I had no idea, I was being escorted to a private banquet room where my mom and dad, mother -in -law(Peg), Jays Aunt(Pat), Jays cousin(Sean), my sister-in-law(Linda) and our realtor(Cheryl) waited, amongst balloons, baby bottle mimosas and the most wonderful chocolate buttercream cake you could ever hope to sink your teeth into.

A fun, baby shower luncheon, complete w/ games...guess Mari's girth(Sean won this prize by guessing the exact measurement...damn he is good), guess the type of baby food in the jar(Aunt Pat won this), and be the first to 'birth' your ice baby(plastic doll baby encased in a frozen easter egg...Peg won!).

More games that evening, as we all played boggle and catch phrase at the hotel over pizza, appetizers, a 5lb fruit basket my brother sent me and vino. Fun!

Saturday, while a cold, wet dreary day, turned out a wonderful brunch at the Classic Cup, on the Plaza, and shopping. I have often stated the Plaza lends a European feel and I just love being down there...guess that feeling would be because the architecture is inspired/modeled after Seville Spain and Italy :) The fountains are from all over the world. Though I have to say the addition of the life size bunnies on the Plaza really made it special!

Dinner that evening was at the Cheesecake Factory and was lovely. You can't beat a day of good food and good company! Sadly, most of our out of town guests had to return back home on Sunday. We held onto Pat and Peg until Monday and my folks stayed until Tuesday.

It was a great surprise weekend and I was so glad for those that could make the out of town trip.

28 weeks

new aches/pains to discover this week, especially in my sits bones...feels as though I have been riding a bike for hundreds of miles. I wonder if this means the hip bones are moving?....wider, wider, big hips, big hips.

Happy w/ the following statistic, babies born in 27 weeks of pregnancy or more have a survival chance of over 90% !

Cool to know it's possible for baby to dream now too....wonder what he's dreaming about....getting a bigger apartment?...a roommate?...a dog?

Quote of the day, that touched me:

"To be upset over what you don't have, is to waste what you do have." - Ken Keyes, Jr.

Sportin' my new 7 mo ab tshirt creation....it takes work to get this round :)