He Is Risen! Happy Easter!

This will be short and sweet today as I am already behind on the zillion things I need to do today... but I wanted to wish everyone a blessed Easter.  Whether you are working, slaving away at the stove or getting ready to celebrate with family and friends, remember the meaning of the day today. 

This Means War

Before I begin my rant, let me just say that we have had an incredibly light winter this year.  Barely any snow, only a handful of days below 0 and overall warmer temperatures than normal.  That said, it is now April and I am ready for some sunshine and warm weather.

Begin rant:
So a few weeks ago, our weather warmed up considerably... we enjoyed a week or so of gorgeous 70-80 degree weather.  I happily packed away all of my Eskimo crap and broke out the tank tops, flip flops, shorts and coconut scented lotion.  I started running or walking with Lucy every morning before work and spent hours lounging outside on my back deck soaking up the sun.  I was one happy little beach bum in Syracuse, NY.

No sonner did I completely change over my wardrobe than the temperature started to drop... I, however, continued to wear my flip flops in pure defiance (with jeans and long sleeves instead of shorts and tank tops though because I am not a complete lunatic.

Well now the weather man has predicted snow for Monday... SNOW?!?!?!

I am so not ok with this.  The last thing I want to do is complete the walk of shame to my basement to drag out my winter attire that I so gleefully packed away.  I am done with winter, done with snow and done with freezing my butt off every time I go outside.  I am ready for summer, heat, playing outside and sweating ym butt off when I run.

Mother Nature and Evil Weather Man...
If you don't get your act together and send some sunshine and 80 degree weather my way, we are going to fight.  I am in desperate need of some Vitamin D here!!

24 Week Check In

Today is known as "V-Day" or Viability day.  Today is the very first day that it would be possible, with much assistance from medicine and technology, for this little baby to survive outside of the womb.  Obviously, I would love for this little one to keep cooking for another 16 weeks or so, but it does allow me to breathe a sigh of relief knowing that we have made it this far.  So... Happy V-Day, little one!  :)

How Big Is Baby?

 

• The size of a  grapefruit and growing bigger every day.... over a pound now.  :) 

Baby’s Development

• At week 24, baby’s progress isn’t just about internal stuff, it’s about his/her looks too. With pinker, more opaque skin, my baby is looking more and more, well, like a baby. I might be experiencing some of the discomforts of the later months of pregnancy like leg cramps, backaches and swollen feet.

How Big Is Mommy?

• Although I still fit into most of my normal clothes, I am finally feeling and looking pregnant... or so I think at least.  :)  It's pretty amazing to watch this little bump grow.

How Am I feeling?

• Physically:   Pretty great actually.  Aside from getting up to pee a dozen times a night, I am feeling well rested and energetic.  I a feeling the baby move on a pretty consistent basis and the kicks and jabs are getting stronger.  Kevin is also able to feel the baby moving and grooving in there, which is wonderful to share with him.
• Emotionally:  I think it is starting to sink in a little more each day.  Everyone at work knows, so talking about the baby, birth, nursery, etc seems normal now.  It was nice to have the pregnancy kept quiet for a while, but now it is nice to be able to share our joy and excitement with others.

Any new developments, milestones?  Anything new?

• Like I said at the top, V-Day is a pretty wonderful milestone for any expectant mother.  We still have a long way to go, but it is nice to know that we have finally crossed the date that means that the odds are on our side, if something were to go awry at this point.
• Easter is coming up this weekend.  It is strange to think that this time next year we will be celebrating with a little one all dolled up for Easter mass.

Love/Hate:

• Love:  Fresh fruit and veggies.  I have been making a salad almost every day and/or enjoying fresh fruit for snacks or a smoothie.  This isn't exactly helping in my weight gain department, but this time of year everything is so fresh and tastes so good, I just can't get enough of it.
• Hate:  The fact that we don't have a Rita's near here.  Apparently it is a shop that sells sno-cone type treats in lots of different flavors (even custard topped with marshmallow... yum!!).  I have never been to a Rita's nor tasted their delicious treats, but the girls I chat with online talk about it constantly and it drives me crazy that I don't have one

Any upcoming developments, milestones?  What's next?

• We are working on the nursery this week... trying to finalize all of the "big items" for our registry... crib, stroller, car seat, etc... I never realized how much work and research went into making these decisions.  I will be glad once we have everything finalized.
• Appointment wise, just waiting for my glucose test on Monday 4/16... after that it will be hello 3rd tri... the home stretch.  Hard to believe it's right around the corner!

Hello April!!

This year seems to be flying by at light speed, right?  I can't believe we are already 1/4 of the way through 2012.

Some of my favorite things about April...

• April showers... I LOVE a good thunderstorm.  Although, the best thunderstorms seem to come right in the middle of summer, but in any case I love a good storm.  Listening to the rain pounding on the roof is very relaxing to me.  Sometimes I even fall asleep to the sound on my handy dandy Peaceful Progression alarm clock.  As a matter of fact, I think I will turn it on tonight in honor of the new month.  :)
• Cute rain boots.... hello??  Who doesn't love a super cute pair of rain boots like these. 
• Easter.  Let me preface this by saying that last year Kevin and I accidentally celebrated Easter 2 weeks early.  Yep, it's true.  We colored Easter eggs, exchanged Easter baskets (I got a super cute white purse full of candy in lieu of a basket), made a ham and all the fixings... yeah.  We're special.  We even called to wish our families a "Happy Easter"... it wasn't until we went to the late afternoon mass that we realized our faux pas.  Oops.  Anyway, this year I am really looking forward to celebrating Easter (and... umm... I have a weekend off, so that's always nice).
• Last but not least, the speed limit on the Parkway is back to 55!!  Woot Woot!  I can legally get to work in 25 minutes again!

Peanut Butter Jelly Time... Peanut Butter Jelly Time

Few things bring us back to our childhood the way a good old PB&J sandwich does.  Whether you were a white bread crust free or wheat bread crust on, crunchy or creamy, jelly or jam or whatever the heck your mom could slap together as you were running to catch the bus... peanut butter and jelly sammies = childhood.

I woke up this morning and (thanks to a certain FB post from a certain friend) decided that I was instantly in the mood for a good old fashioned PB&J.  I obsessed over this PB&J so much that I decided to poll my FB friend to see what their favorite PB&_______ sammie was.  Some of the responses...

• Brown Sugar
• Honey
• Marshmallow Fluff (aka FlufferNutter sandwich)
• Karo Syrup
• Bacon
• Pickles (not kidding... two people actually vouched for this... odd)
• Banana
• Banana and Honey
• Banana and Marshmallow Fluff
• Bacon and Honey (aka The Elvis)
• Banana- grilled
• Fluff and Nutella
• Chocolate
• Fig Jelly

Isn't it funny how our tastes change and yet somehow stay very close to what we know and love (minus the pickles thing... that's still weird to me).  I definitely want to give some of these new PB sammie varieties a try.  Makes me hungry just reading the list.

Oh... and what kind of sandwich did I end up with today... well actually I indulged in a White Chocolate Cream Cheese and Strawberry Jam on some whole grain toast.  Nope, not even close to the PB&J that got me started on this blog post... but yes, it was just as decadant and delicious as it sounds.  :)

23 Week Check In

Time is flying... Kevin and his friend will be painting the nursery this weekend (I promise to post pictures of the progress).  It feels so strange to call it a nursery instead of "the spare bedroom"... one step closer.

How Big Is Baby?

• Pomegranate this week!!

Baby’s Development

• Baby can listen to my voice and my heartbeat -- and even to loud sounds like cars honking and dogs barking at this stage.

 
How Big Is Mommy?

•  Starting to "pop" and Lucy is on neighborhood kitty watch.

How Am I feeling?

• Physically:  Good.  Sometimes the evening shifts leave me dragging, and I have been finding it difficult to sleep through the night, but thankfully I am able to relax and sleep in as late as 1pm to try to catch up.  I'm getting spoiled on this evening shift and I think I am going to have a hard time switching back to days after baby arrives.  It's really nice to not wake up to an alarm clock every day.
• Emotionally:  Excited.  I have been picking up little odds and ends to decorate the nursery and I am beyond thrilled to see it all come together. 

Any new developments, milestones?  Anything new?

• Not a whole lot really... except for stronger kicks and punches.

 Love/Hate:

• Love:  Feeling the baby move.  It is just mind blowing.
• Hate:  Baby using my bladder as a punching bag.  Not awesome.
 Any upcoming developments, milestones?  What's next?
• V-Day is next week!!!  Very very very happy about this!  Not much else new... next appointment is in a few weeks for my glucose test.  Bleh!

What's In A Name?

A name... your name... is a very important thing.  It is the essence of your identity and the one word that you will hear more than any other throughout your entire life.

In all honesty, I grew up not particularly liking my name.  In grade school, 3 of my BFFs were named "Katie" (well, Kathleen, Katherine, etc... but all went by Katie).  I was super jealous that I was not a part of the Kool Katie Klub and wanted badly to be a Katie too.  I wanted to fit in with the Kool Krowd.  :)

Now that I am a bit older and feel that I have finally found my own identity, I like my name.  It is not very very common, but also not so unique that people mispronounce it or give me strange looks when I introduce myself.  Aside from a once loved pop singer and a certain disgusting mistress with a thing for cigars (thank you, Monica Lewinski)... my name has pretty much flown under the radar... which is good.  So, I guess you can say it has grown on me.

So now, Kevin and I are blessed (aka cursed) with the task of deciding on a name for our baby-to-be.  Since we have decided to stay "Team Green" (not find out the gender until the baby is born), not only do we have to decide on one name, but now we have to have a name ready for a boy or girl.  This is no small task.  The name we decide to give our son or daughter will be the very beginning buds of their identity as their very own little human being.  And... well... they are going to be stuck with it for the rest of their life.

Last night, as well as a few other nights over the past month or so, Kevin and I sat at Barnes and Noble with our coffees, desserts and a mile high stack of baby names books and scoured over than until we were cross eyed.  We settled on a boys name (nope, not telling, sorry)... but we are so unbelieveably stuck on a girl's name that its crazy.  We found one that we really liked a lot (I'm going to say "X" just in case we end up going with this name later on)... and then of course over the next week or so, we heard of 3 different baby "X" born and saw that it was listed in every Top Ten Girl's Name for this year.  Grr. 

Needless to say, we are still in a deadlock over a baby girl's name, but we did manage to come up with a list of "requirements" for the name...

1. Middle name will most likely be "Ann" so it must work with this name
2. Last name is "Boles" so it must work with this also
3. Prefer relatively traditional (bonus if biblical)
4. Must not be super popular (as in top 20 names this year)
5. Must not be completely unique (not something like Pi or Monica2.0 or something ridiculous)
6. Open to different spellings, but notsomuch trendy spellings (like Monyka or Kevyn)
7. Prefer a name that is nickname-able

We are open to any ideas, suggestions, thoughts and words of wisdom.  :)

Until then... our quest continues.