Happy Halloween!

First, I need to pause and take my dog out. 


Next, I need to fill Jake's kong with peanut butter because it is Halloween and he should get some treats too. 


Finally I'm going to start my post.


Obviously today is Halloween. As an Elementary School teacher this is a day that basically gets "mailed in" for kids. There are parade's, performances, and parties for all of the kids. To top it off, our school building decided to play a trick on all of us and lose power at some point in the wee hours of the morning. Thus, we had school sans power. Yes, there was a generator. Yes there was heat. No there were no lights in the classroom. No there were no fans to blow the heat around the rooms. Thankfully, from what I've heard, the heat was restored at 6:05 this evening and we will not have the day off tomorrow. I think now I'm sad about that...but so very glad that we are not going to have to make today up in June! I feel bad for those districts that are going on their 2nd day off tomorrow and especially bad for those that had days off for Irene. Goodbye June!


My bro-workers and I dressed up as crayons. One of the ladies purchased the materials and over the last week did a lot of work to make them come alive! We all had a different color shirt that had stripes and said crayola with a matching hat that was to simulate the tip of the crayon. It was cute to see the kids reactions ("hey, you're a crayon!" or "there's another one!"). This is a costume that I will keep and hopefully next year we can repeat...but maybe make a box for us all to pose behind for our photo op. 

On the way home from work I told Jesse I was sick of facebook. He got excited. Then I said I wanted a Mighty Meal from McDonald's and his excitement disappeared. He didn't think I was serious though, because he drove right by. So as a compromise we had chicken patties for dinner. I also had a kumato and mozzarella cheese on the side. My belly is now sufficiently full - maybe too full! 


We had a special visit from the Westfield's - they stopped by with the kids for some trick-or-treating. Lots of pictures were taken and hopefully I'll get my hands on some so I can share :) 

20 weeks, 4 days

I checked my "What to Expect When You're Expecting" app and was shocked to see that I am farther along than the amount of time that I have left! Whoa!

Jesse and my weekend started out with a trip to the Banana Republic Outlet where they advertised 70% off - which some things were but not enough. I meandered through the store with less enthusiasm than I typically have because...well...it's just not worth shopping there since I can't fit into most of it. Banana Republic does not make maternity clothing! But, I did get a comfy gray sweater that will work nicely as I continue to grow :) We did go to Carters and get this adorable onesie! 

Then we went down to the Johnson's for relaxing and Piezoni's - best pizza ever. I promptly fell asleep on their couch shortly after 9:30 as well as continued to blow my nose all over their house. I missed a dosage of my antibiotic and I swear that made my evening less enjoyable! Jake and Oliver definitely had a good time chasing, biting, and rolling around with each other. 

Saturday I woke up and began to straighten my hair to attend the nuptials of my friend Rachel. However, the weather report quickly nixed those plans in predictions of 12+ inches of snow in the VT area...and we planned to drive home after their wedding. We would have been driving home through the back side of a Nor'easter. We contemplated finding a place in Keene to crash - but we hadn't arranged dog care so unfortunately we missed that once in a lifetime moment. It actually might have been for the best because I went through about 1/4 of a box of tissues...I couldn't walk around and move my head without snottage leaking out. Attractive, I know. We went grocery shopping and built a fire and watching the snow come down. Jake...well, Jake slept the day away, exhausted from his time with Oliver. 

Yes, that's him UNDER a blanket on the couch. He's such a sad sack. 

Today was a football day. Another missed special moment was the wedding of our friend Heather. Because I've been so sick and yesterday was still not better Jesse made the decision that we weren't going to attend an evening wedding, get home late, and then have to go to work tomorrow. 

I've spent a lot of time this weekend staring at a clock picturing where we'd be at what time - but it is what it is...like I said all week - this was not the week for me to get sick! I'm hoping that at some point this week I can stop walking around with a pocket full of tissues or pre-warning members of a meeting that I might leave to blow my nose or sleep through the night without choking on my own post-nasal drip. 

Tomorrow is Halloween - it's always a crazy day at work and I just realized that I never picked up pumpkins this weekend to bring to school to clean out and decorate with my students. I'm not a very good teacher...

20 weeks and 1 day

This picture might appear confusing so let me fill you in. Last spring, when Jesse got alerted to his new position (I call it a promotion, he disagrees), I bought him an Arc notebook by Staples. Of course, I also bought myself one...but for the record I got him a leather one and myself a cheapy plasticy type one. I also stocked up on the Arc paper options and got some dividers and note tabs. 

Of course I took mine to work and got some of my coworkers excited about it. I really should have been a salesperson! Laura went out and bought one and together we purchased one for our Mentor, Victoria. This year I showed it off again and another co-worker went out and bought one. (your welcome staples)

The fun thing about this notebook system is that it comes with rings (in multiple sizes) that the paper clings on to. You can gently tear out a page and then pop it back in. Great for a meeting when you want your notebook to be closed, but then you can organize your notes without snapping closed three deadly metal rings and pinching your fingers. Then it has all these fun "accessories" that you can get to really customize it with different colored tabs, dividers with pockets, a selection of post-it tabs, and tabs that stick out on top that you can leave notes for yourself. And, as Victoria found out, PLANNER PAGES for those that love to schedule (that may be my next investment). 

I wrote staples an email letting them know how much I love this product line and gave them a few suggestions. One of which was a hole punch so that you weren't limited to buying their packages of paper (as nifty as the different types of paper are...). Of course staples responded back within 24 hours and thanked me for my suggestions and let me know that the hole punch would be coming out late in 2011. 

So I waited...and waited...and a few weeks ago I finally saw it! It was $39.99 but with the number of co-workers I have who also have this notebook, and the tip jar I'll put out, maybe it'll bring the cost down a bit. I literally waited until I saved up enough spending money to get it. This is the first "big" purchase I've made since embarking on the Conant budget (which consists of me having cash only and no debit card...talk about open communication regarding spending habits)

So above is a picture of my inaugural hole punch. I didn't have time to make it artsy - I just punched those holes and tomorrow that paper will get lovingly put into my notebook...and maybe I'll snap a picture of my notebook to post on here :)

It's the little things that bring the most joy, and speaking of little...Adin is kicking up a storm this evening! 

20 weeks...HALFWAY!

Today is going to be a history lesson. And for those who know me, you know I'm not a history buff so I'll include a link at the end so you can get the facts and not my convoluted portrayal of them. 

But before I start that, I wanted to apologize to Josh. You are right...dads do get left out when in fact without the dads many (not all for those amazing single moms out there) of us would be lost without your support and contributions. 

Ok, so I wanted to tell you all a little about my favorite town, or village really with it's tiny size. It's a place called Hopedale. It was founded back in 1841 by a guy named Adin Ballou. 

He was a pastor that worked all over from New York City to Boston and in-between. He worked for a few different denominations and found himself fired from some positions as his ideals changed and no longer matched those of the church he was working on. 

He ended up in Milford and found himself on the outs with the church he was working at. So, he purchased some land and and christened it Hopedale. He wanted Hopedale to be a utopian society. Some businesses were opened and the Draper's moved in. It didn't take long for the ideals of a utopian society to begin to collapse, so the Drapers pulled their monetary support from the community. Soon, the Drapers took over the industry and a very successful mill town was born. 

For more (accurate) information, visit this site on Adin Ballou 

For those of you wondering why my love for this town is so great that I would dedicate my halfway-through-pregnancy post to it, well...it's also a kind of announcement. 

Our son's first name will be Adin

The middle name will be announced later!

19 weeks, 6 days

Well, the belly is getting round but the scale is staying the same! I think because I'm not feeling well and not eating really well it's contributing to my lack of poundage...but we will see once I get my health back!

Even though the third times the charm and Jesse and I figured out that he needs to pause his tracing when I start breathing (and I can't hold my breath for the life of me these days), I am noticing that the belly is becoming nice and solidly round. But it's still amazing that each morning I wake up and don't look necessarily pregnant, but by the end of the day it's fairly clear. I saw a shirt online that said "I'm not fat, I'm pregnant" and I almost want to purchase that. 

I'm also going to post a new poll for those "already mommies" out there who read my blog. I'm intrigued about the diaper situation. There are brands (like store brands) that are much cheaper than Pampers or Huggies. However, I find that even my most frugal of friends still put forth the extra cost and get a name brand. Please leave comments as to why you chose the diapers you did and what other brands you've tried and vote so I can start catching deals in preparation for AKC's arrival. 

19 weeks 5 days

This is going to be short and sweet. I am sick. I am tired. I plugged through today convinced that I was going to be fine by tomorrow. However, no matter how much tea I drank at work today by the time 3:30 rolled around my throat was on fire. Then, as I sat working on an Academic Assessment it hurt even more. By the time Jesse came home from the gym my speaking voice was close to a whisper. He told me he was going to the grocery store and asked what I needed. My answer: ICE CREAM! (shouted but barely the volume of my regular speaking voice)


He told me to take tomorrow off. I replied "I can't" 
He reminded me that my job is a job. Not my life. And that I need to take care of myself and AKC (preview to the baby name...)
He's right. 
I called a coworker to get validation that I should stay home tomorrow. 
Then I called another to cover one of the parent observations I had tomorrow. 
Then I called another to make sure the last one was free.
Then I called out.
Then I emailed two parents, one to cancel, one to let them know about the staff change of co-observers. 
Then I texted my support staff. 


And I still haven't written a sub-plan for tomorrow! That will get done tomorrow morning as I'll be up before 8:00 so I can type one up and email it in. 


I miss my old immune system. Does being sick now give AKC a better immune system? 

19 weeks, 4 days

Today we did the first fire of the season. I have been begging Jesse for weeks (literally) to do a fire, and I think because I'm sick he finally had pity on me and built me a fire. It's been nice to look at, sit next to, and enjoy all day! I even went and sat for about an hour in front of it with my laptop whilst I worked on a report for work. You can see the embers built up underneath. This fire is going to keep us cozy for the rest of the evening. 

My day started out with a nice omelet. I'm finding that on Sunday morning I just want a huge breakfast. Last week it was bacon and bagels, this morning it was an omelet with chopped veggies and a bagel. Of course, the second I left the plate Jake gobbled up what was left, so I only got to eat about 80% of my omelet. 

As well, this has been my day of tea! I have had the makings of a cold for at least four days...sore throat, post-nasal drip, etc. So this weekend I literally decided to try to tea it away. I'm not sure it's working, but at least my throat doesn't hurt as much because I'm staying hydrated and it's warm liquid. About a year ago I met Teavana. It's a store in one of the local shopping malls that does amazing loose leaf teas. For Christmas, Jesse bought me a tea strainer that you put the tea leaves and ruffage in and then add the hot water to steep. 

You let it steep for a few minutes (times vary depending on the type of tea)...

and then put the strainer on top of a mug and the pressure on the bottom releases the tasty liquid. Each variety of tea has it's own color and taste and you can mix and match the different loose leaves and ruffage. I have three different kinds and one of them has orange peels in it so I figure at least I'm getting a good dose of Vitamin C. 

In other news, Jake went with us to babysit for Chloe and the twins and was so bothered by the fact that these two little boys could now move that he couldn't rest. Literally every time that one of the boys started crawling towards them he would give a little growl and run away. He had his eyes on both of them the entire evening. So today he's been tuckered out and just sleeping everywhere. He's also been having some doggy dreams and I have to laugh trying to figure out which of the boys he's dreaming is crawling towards him!

Also, today is a tracing day so I will add the new photo tonight or make it the focus of tomorrow's post. Depends on how dedicated I get to the couch. I have had some more ligament pains today - it seems to be my Sunday routine...this boy likes to grow while football is on TV!

19 weeks, 3 days

For those of you who are having difficulty following this blog or making comments...


I did some research online and it was recommended that I change the comments format to come up in another window. Please let me know if that's helpful or not. 


For those of you who want to follow but do not have a Google account...
You can now subscribe by email. I believe it would send you an email when I make a new post so you wouldn't miss one. I will not be posting links on facebook for much longer. 


My next goal is to see if I can put an "email me" link on there and end up phasing out facebook for myself personally altogether and just using this as a forum to keep in contact with friends and family. 


Thank you to those that do read this, comment, and follow. 

19 weeks, 1 day

How much is the way you raise your pet related to how you'll raise your child?

Jake is a German Shepherd. Depending on how they are raised they can be fighters or lovers. He is most definitely a lover. When reprimanded he comes and leans against us to make amends. He snuggles likes it's nobody's business. He thrives on routine but makes the best of a changed schedule.

I often find myself saying to Jesse that if how Jake turned out is any indication of how our children are going to turn out then I think we will be ok. We will create a child who apologizes, who loves, who empathizes, who likes consistency but can deal with the occasional change, who can entertain themselves but ultimately just wants to spend time with the ones he loves, who likes the quiet down time, who protects those that he loves above all else.

It's a weird thing to think about - but I look at my dog and I love him so much...and it's just a DOG. My child is going to provoke deeper feelings of love and pride. Of course as I'm typing this Jake just shoved a new bone under the ottoman and pounced around and barked before he was able to problem solve a way to get it out...which he did cause he's just so smart!

Let's hope that I can give my Jakers the time that he needs to feel loved and important to me after the baby arrives. Jake is our first child :)

Belly photo at 19 weeks

19 weeks!

Today I came home and once again attacked the kumato's and mozzarella cheese. For those of you wondering what kumato's are...they're brown tomatoes. Jesse got them for me as a treat once and I have loved them ever since. The one disappointment that I have is that I didn't get the "good" mozzarella this week at the grocery store, but baby boy likes it just the same. He starts bouncing around in there after I've eaten a few pieces. 

For dinner, I had apples and Ashley's homemade Dutch Chocolate Peanut Butter with apples. I heated up some leftovers for Jesse of Chicken Salsa Quinoa and realized that I didn't really want any. Which was good, because Jesse ate all of it and wanted more so I'm glad I didn't take a portion! I had eaten most of it and then had to use the bathroom. Of course Jake took this opportunity to make me a member of the clean plate club - he licked the plate clean. Ashley, I think it's safe to say Jake likes your nut butters too! Is Dutch Chocolate bad for dogs? Man, he's such an idiot! Yesterday Jake tried to eat one of my Reese's Peanut Butter cup wrappers. The sad thing is that even if he gets sick he won't put 2 and 2 together. 

Tonight baby boy is listening to his playlist that Jesse made on his iPod. He's heard some Avett Brothers, Muse, and Beatles. I'm hoping that Jesse will be able to feel a kick which the little one is dancing in there. I also hope that our son has a bit more rhythm than his father - no offense Jesse! 

Two more days until the weekend and this weekend Jesse and I are watching three kids for half the day on Saturday. Talk about practice! 

18 weeks 6 days (edited for content)

I had every intention of coming home and working on writing up an Educational Assessment for one of my students...every intention. But instead I came home to two packages from my mom. Upon opening I found three great sweaters, a pair of leggings, a gray shirt, and a pair of cargo shirts. One of the sweaters is somewhat a shrug structure...so I put it on right away and soon I was in comfy mode and I needed comfort food and my couch.

It has pockets! I'm in heaven!

My comfort food was kumato's and mozzarella cheese drizzled in oil, italian herbs, and sea salt. Yum! I also had a few slices of bacon and most recently some peanut butter and chocolate ice cream. Altogether, that sounds disgusting...but over the course of 2 and a half hours it was quite satisfying!


I am flying solo this evening as Jesse is playing in a Harlem Wizards (kinda like the farm league for the Harlem Globe Trotters) game at one of the schools in our district as a fundraiser for a new playground. I didn't but a ticket because I foolishly thought I would be able to go see my husband play, but nope...it was sold out! So I asked him to make sure someone takes a picture and I'll see him sometime after 9:00. Hopefully the Wizards don't pants him when he goes to make a lay-up! 


So I'm going to get deep, and I'm apologizing for that. I was just looking online and have seen some cute pregnancy bump pictures on a forum that I visit at times. That got me thinking that it'd be nice to price out some shirts cause I saw one gal who had a top that stated the number of weeks to wear when she did her weekly photo. Pretty cool idea! While I was researching I came across a website that I wanted to share...and here's why. 


Some of you know this, some of you don't. Jesse and I struggled with infertility. We had over a year of failed attempts before finally getting referred to see a specialist. During that year many of our friends knew we were trying as we didn't think it'd be much of a try so we told our friends we were trying....well, I told. That's not really a guy thing to talk about. Well, the months dragged on, and on, and on. My emotional state was not great. It wasn't even close to good. It was bad. 


After being referred to see the specialist, undergoing numerous embarrassing and somewhat invasive tests for both of us, we began the task of fertility treatments. This is where your life, your world, your schedule revolves around MY hormone levels. I missed a wedding of a good college friend because it was around my ovulation time and I needed to do 2 consecutive days of IUI's (intra-uterine insemination, aka artificial insemination)... needless to say that friend did not understand my vague excuse for missing her wedding and promptly unfriended me from facebook. Nice. 


Our first IUI was a fail. I was so hopeful...and it didn't work. I had at that point gotten the love and support of a core group of friends and it killed having to follow up with each of them and tell them it didn't work. The 2nd failed and I developed a cyst so they couldn't continue treatment until that went away. Another month went by wasted. The third cycle was a bio-chemical pregnancy. Do you know what people say to comfort you when they hear about this type of loss? They tell you "Well, that's your bodies was of getting rid of something that's genetically wrong" Thanks. So now it's a genetic problem. Awesome. Then we were referred for IVF and went through the consultation process for that. 


The good news is that with the end of a stressful school year and the hope of IVF, we conceived naturally. (All those that have suffered infertility definitely want to smack me right now, I would...I don't blame you!) As I'm beginning to get to the point of this orange rant I want to state that 1 in 6 couples struggle with infertility. Which means that you or someone you know has struggled. We did the math. Out of the people we know, that statistic stands true...and we were part of it. Your friend with infertility doesn't want to talk about it all the time. Nor do they want to be tiptoed around. My favorite things were when a friend wrote me a card (Laura) or made sure to always follow up (Anna) or sent me something to let me know they were thinking of me (Kara) or let me participate in what their children were going through (Jess) or remembered the things that broke my heart (Stacey) or supported me by attending an appointment (Lorie) or was there and treated me normal (Ashleigh and Ashley) or admitted that they had no clue what I was going through but would listen (Patty) or travelled 3 hours just to hold me hand (Rachel)...Man, I love you all! 


The point is: I found a wedsite that just put a comical spin on all of this with shirts like: 

Shirt Example 1

Shirt Example 2

Shirt Example 3

Shirt Example 4

The website is: Click here for AMAZINGNESS

18 weeks 5 days

Since I haven't posted in a few days I actually had to look up how far along I am!

I needed to take a bit off of writing to gain my inspiration back. For reasons that I won't go in to, I had a tough day on Friday. Then Saturday Jesse and I attended the funeral service of a great friends' father. That was the saddest loss of my adult life. To see a young family, a young woman, lose their father was devastating. I felt a huge surge of empathy and cried with our friend for a bit...I think if I were to see her tomorrow I would probably cry with her again. I was a bit over emotional last week.

On the bright side, we did have a great lunch with the in-laws - delicious pizza and salad! Of course I'm just realizing that I should have avoided the feta cheese like the plague! Jesse and I also hit up Acapulco's and brought with us an internet coupon that we got about a week or so ago - we paid $12.50 and got a gift certificate for $25. Yay for savings!

Sunday I woke up in pain. I tend to exaggerate...and be a hypochondriac...I can admit to both of those, but I was legitimately in pain. It hurt when I got out of bed, it hurt when I moved my right leg, it hurt when I got up, it hurt when I laid down...it only stopped hurting when I stayed in the same position for a few minutes and didn't move! It especially hurt when I went to the bathroom (sorry for the TMI, Josh). I began my day brushing it off as round ligament pain. I ended my day convinced that I had a UTI. I couldn't call out of work this morning because I had things that needed to be done in order for my students to be productive (like prescribe data sheets). So I went to bed dreading going to work with the pain.

However, I woke up today and the pain was just a dull ache (baby just kicked). I tentatively went to the bathroom and was relieved that it didn't absolutely hurt. The pain did not return - however I did call my doctor as a just in case (you know, I'm a worst case scenario thinker so maybe the placenta had detached from the uterine wall...that of course was my thought process). I went in late this morning and did some lab work. The results are still not in - but I'm back to thinking it was just round ligament pain and that maybe the uterus changed position. I wonder if I look differently...?

After work, Jesse and I stopped at Target and picked up an outfit for the baby. Really we stopped by and picked up his hair gel and some chocolate for his class, but we walked by the aisle that has New England sports paraphernalia and there were onesies...so we got one :) really, we got three (it was a set).

Oh, and I guess the really big news is the gender of the baby...well, first I'll share some of the newest pictures of the baby:

Right and Left feet...and all the toes!

The profile...who does it look like?

It's a BOY!

18 weeks 1 day

This post is going to be short mostly because I'm EXHAUSTED!!!

I worked a full day, was at doctors appointments from 3-6, had a large dinner (which leftovers need to be put into the fridge) and made about 60 mini cupcakes and frosted them. Literally I have not relaxed since 5:20 this morning.

I did get an amazing care package from my mom with lotions, fuzzy socks, and maternity clothes :)

Also...I upgraded my iPhone operating system and I need to figure out how to work it! I will say that the upgrade "removed" all the applications that I had previously downloaded...however iTunes has a record of everything that you have purchased in the past (free or for a fee) and you can just click to re-download it and then sync! Pretty impressed and it didn't even take that long :)

Ok - off to the couch!

Oh yes, the baby is HEALTHY!

18 weeks!

I feel like I just wrote about being 17 weeks along...thank goodness the time is flying by!

Tomorrow is the big day that we find out the gender of the baby - as well as finding out if all the organs are in good working order and it has all the necessary parts.

I had originally wanted to keep the gender of the baby a secret - just between Jesse and I - and have the inside of the cake at the shower be blue or pink. I even told our intake nurse that idea and she asked if she could share it with other parents-to-be. However, the number of people who want to know or are convinced that they can figure it out (by looking at my facial expression)...paired with the people we would want to tell (family and close friends as well as the amazing ladies planning my shower)...well, it just negates the need to keep it a secret. Plus, Jesse really wants to share the news and if I'm being logical (which yesterday and today I haven't been...yay hormones) he needs to be able to have some say in this whole process. The guy gets the shaft in this whole pregnancy thing.

So, tomorrow I will come home from our appointment and make some cupcakes that will either be pink or blue inside...and then I can share those cupcakes with close family and friends over the following few days. The gender will not be posted on here until probably Monday. So keep putting in your votes on the poll! And for those family and friends close by - touch base with me to get your cupcake! (How many should I make...?)

I finally spent some time cleaning out my armoire to get rid of the clothes that have been taunting me. I hung up all my maternity clothes so I can open the doors and see what is a logical option for me to wear. It's a fairly bare sight - but that's ok. This is such a short time of my life so I can wear the same things over and over again. Next up I'm going to go through my t-shirts and put away the ones that will already show belly.

Next project will be to finally start uploading Europe pictures...grr - why am I procrastinating on that?

17 weeks 6 days

I had a large craving on my way home today...and it had to do with chicken - of the patty form. I needed to swing by Target to pick up bins to start putting away my non-pregnancy clothes so I checked out the grocery section to see what I could find. 

First, I put together our respective plates...mine with lettuce, tomato, mayo, onions, and BACON!!!! Jesse's with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and bacon. The bacon was left over from this weekend and in my defense it needed to be cooked (to perfection, I might add) before it went bad. I was really thinking about the bacon. 

Then, I added the chicken patties and viola, a masterpiece was born! It was a delicious dinner that really hit the spot. Of course the McDonald's fries that I got on my way home hit the spot as well - but that was more the icing on the top so to speak. To be completely honest, I have a Monopoly piece that guarantees me a McFlurry that I'm contemplating cashing in tonight...how bad would two trips to McDonald's in one night be??? 

The real reason I went to Target was to get these bins...and see how wonderfully I used them tonight!? (They're on the floor next to the dining room table....I put them on the table when I arrived home from work in order to get my butt on the couch to enjoy the fries). Needless to say I still have a lot of work to do - but none of it is getting done tonight.  

I'm hoping/dreading that when I put away all the clothing that I cannot wear due to my increased belly size and breast size that I'll have room to put all the maternity clothes - because right now they're inhabiting a hefty amount of floor space in front of my armoire. 

On the docket tonight is a viewing of The Pacific with Jesse. Once my episode of Gossip Girl is over...

And on a more important note - the baby is kicking up a storm randomly throughout the day -  but not enough that it can be felt on the outside yet!

17 weeks, 5 days

Time just seems to be flying by! I can't believe I am already 17 weeks! 

This weekend Matt and Kara visited with their German Shepherd, Reece. We kicked off the weekend with resting on the couch - we pregnant ladies get tired out by the littlest things! Then we stopped by a local consignment shop where we showed them the Jeep all-terrain jogger stroller that we had seen there on Friday. It was only $25 (normally retails for $180). It was definitely used - but you could only tell on some of the plastic towards the bottom that had hit some terrain. The fabric was all clean and was good colors! It came with a snap on mini steering wheel with a horn that Matt used while Jesse was driving. 

Then we went to an apple orchard where we did a hay ride, had apple cider donuts, amazing chili, and of course picked apples. The joke (since I've cooked with them) is what kind of apples did we use...because we definitely didn't have any rhyme or reason to what we picked and how many we picked...which reminds me, the Honey Crisp were amazing and I think those are at the bottom of the bag. We came home and I made apple crisp (see previous post), relaxed for a short time, then headed to the oh-so-busy outlets where I had to off-road it with the RAV-4 in order to park. 

Kara and I found some good deals. We stopped at a maternity shop and I got my nursing bras...and news flash folks (boys stop reading here and go to below the pictures - Josh, this is your warning!) I am officially a D! What in the world!?!?! I am going to own my new letter and sport my bras with pride. And, for the record, I will now be wearing real bras, not just sports bras. 

This could be for a girl or boy, right? 

Gray and white stripes...but the best part is in the next picture!

Monkey BUTT!!!

The above pictured cuteness was purchased at Carter's. Kara and I figured that since baseball season starts in April it would be a good idea to get a baseball outfit. We also both thought that it can pass as gender neutral as our child - regardless of their gender - will be wearing plenty of New England sporting team paraphernalia! And, if it's a girl it will NEVER wear pink sport wear...we are not pink hat fans! 

After the outlets (the boys were at Uno's getting a drink) we went to Patriot's Place and purchased a new BB gun at Bass Pro Shops - as well as a laser light to improve aim. We have a squirrel and chipmunk problem at our house that needs addressing. We ladies got pretty hungry by this point so we grabbed some fries at Five Guys - very very very tasty!!! And then had dinner at Bar Louis. Eric and Laura joined us there and then came up to our house after for a fire on our patio - no book burning occurred this time!

Sunday was mostly spent recuperating from Saturday. However I did make a pretty fantastic dinner - pulled chicken with quinoa and a salad and roll with home made apple sauce for dessert. By 9:30...we had all fallen asleep on our respective couches or chairs. 

This morning Kara and I made a bee-line for McDonald's where we got a bacon, egg, and cheese on a bagel. This was my first breakfast at McDonald's since our road trip two summers ago! And sadly, shortly thereafter, they departed. 

I love long weekends! 

17 weeks 3 days

Today we went apple picking!  Matt and Kara went with us. Of course, upon arriving home I immediately made my mom's apple crisp...and then ate some! Below is my documentation of the process. 

17 weeks 1 day

After a day of work in which I can't seem to uncover my desk - but merely shuffle things around, I arrived home to a house that smelled of sewer.

The good news is that our pipes are all ok. The bad news is that our puppy was not. He had vomited and pooped in numerous places and upon going outside immediately dropped a huge bomb and vomited twice. Now he's snuggled up in Jesse's lap sleeping away whatever is bothering him.

We are hoping it is just something he ate. He has had a few squirts throughout the evening - but his system is pretty empty. We found a few corn nuggets in his poop and vomit so we are wondering if that was the culprit. Last night we gave him the leftover chicken and one piece was sitting on corn.

There wasn't a whole lot that happened today. The only funny story I really have is that one of my students stated that I have a baby inside, and then went back to playing. And that story wasn't even that funny or good...merely a stating of a story or a fact. I am enjoying the calm before the storm so-to-speak...the storm being guests visiting for the long weekend. Matt and Kara are coming up and I'm VERY excited about that. I'm going to see if there's a gadget for a countdown to an event.

Hopefully tomorrow I have something better to share...

Oh, I stopped at Staples to pick up a small gift for a co-worker and was in line behind a cranky old man who kept bragging about the amount of business he does with Staples and then hemming and hawing about not getting a cheaper price in a non-sale flash drive and basically was trying to convince the girl behind the register to give him a deal on it when he didn't get the right product for the sale. She did a good job remaining pleasant and calm - but boy was he cranky!

I also saw the Arc System hole punch that I've been waiting for for MONTHS is now available at Staples - but I'm a bit disappointed that it is $39.99 and am contemplating either saving up for it or waiting for the price to drop (of course by the time I save up for it the price might be lower).

The League is on tonight! Of course at 10:30 so I'll be asleep. Watching it tomorrow!

17 weeks!

Homemade Chicken Parm

Apparently 17 weeks is magical! I was just saying at work today how I am not really hungry, but that, yes, I do snack throughout the day. Then I subconsciously devoured an entire boca burger and then made a Nutella and Banana sandwich for lunch. As well, that dinner hasn't been appealing at all and that I have my after work snack (french frieds, apple pies, marshmallows, or other nasty stuff) and then I'm pretty much done eating for the evening. On the way home from dinner, I wanted to go home and make a broccoli, onion, and tofu stir fry with cheese on top in a pita. Let me fill you in on the items that we currently have in our house: the cheese. We didn't stop at a grocery store on our way home so that plan was a no-go. 

When I got home I had a sudden urge to cook chicken parmesan. This is important for two reasons: 1) I usually get home and crash. B) It involves more than 1 step to complete and 3) the chicken was not even defrosted. (That was really three, but who's counting?) So I put the chicken in warm water to defrost and waited for Jesse to go to the gym. While he was at the gym I made a full meal with starch, protein, and veggie! (corn). Upon his arrival home I prepared our plates and served them...of course now I'm wrapped up on the couch in one of my mother-in-law's quilts whilst he does the dishes. I love my husband!

On another note - I am actually watching the new Charlie's Angels (ridicule to ensue...now). One of my earliest memories was of coming home from pre-school and sitting at my little picnic table in the living room with my My Little Ponies dinner tray and a tuna fish sandwich (or whatever my mom was eating, may favorite was when she made me one of her grown-up salads and we had the same thing) and watching the original Charlie's Angels with my mom. I loved that! This new version is actually really good! It has the same theme music, the same Charlie voice, the same scene change graphic-y things, and the same names of characters! Is it weird that I'm actually thinking ahead to when my little one is 4 years old and we are watching Charlie's Angels together after school/work (fingers crossed that the show is still on). This is where I think of all the happy things from my childhood and I want my child to experience those things!

Tomorrow is the last day of my week with students because Friday is a Professional Development day. Fun times :)

16 weeks 6 days

I want french fries, vanilla shakes, pickles, marshmallows, and Ashley's homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter. Just saying.

I also won a free medium fry from McDonald's today on my large fry Monopoly piece - pretty excited!

I was sitting my my monogramed chair at work today and I literally almost fell asleep! I am still waiting for this energy thing to return...pretty sure it's not going to. I also discovered how amazing mens shirts are wrapped with a cute belt and a pair of leggings.

The weather today is perfectly cool and rainy - and I just want to draw a hot bath with bubbles and soak in it, but with my luck that would be a no-no during pregnancy. I also think I will be hitting the sack at about 8:30 tonight to try to prepare myself for another work day. Each day I get more and more tired. I think that's why I liked my schedule so much last week; 1 work day, 1 day off. PERFECTION!

I'm still on my quest for the right child-care scenario for next fall. I want someone who will only charge me for when my kid is there and not give me the story of "This is my income" because it doesn't work like that in the real world. People who provide a service can charge for services rendered. You don't get to tell me that this is your intended income and I pay you while I'm on vacation or taking the summer off. And don't even get me started on the whole "You pay for your day-care providers vacation"...my job doesn't pay for mine! I only get paid for working 185 days a year.

That is my rant for today. I will take suggestions for child care providers!

16 weeks 5 days

I just want to open up with a picture of my beautiful niece, Kirstan...LOOK AT THOSE EYES! I hope beautiful babies run in the family :) (and big blue eyes!)

Cutest thing ever!

I'm thinking I need to do a new style with my hair - but that could just be the emotions talking. I want either layers or shorter or both. I always feel more professional with shorter hair - mainly because at the length it is now I end up putting it in a pony tail all the time...and a messy pony tail is less than 2 weeks away (aka failing to wash/comb my hair). I am sick of styling it, there's too much of it, and I think I just plain need a change. If I can figure it out I'm going to add a widget or gadget, whatever they call those do-hickeys, to the side to take a poll of what other people think I should do.

I officially wore a painfully too small shirt today. I found a cute orange and tan striped shirt (shocker that I was wearing stripes) that I felt was fabulously fall-esque. However, upon arrival at work I realized that the back had crept up to expose my maternity pants band - it was oh so sexy. Then I was constantly pulling at it to keep it down all day long. I also realized that the pants that I wore today - correction, picked up off the floor this morning - were on the floor for a reason. Each leg had it's own stain on it from a bowl of ramen that I consumed last week. I kept it classy today! Tomorrow I'm going to have to put a little more thought into my outfit!

My after work snack today was a good sized bowl of home-popped popcorn with a healthy (I mean hefty) amount of butter and salt on top. Basically, that will end up being my dinner cause I'm not gonna get hungry again for the rest of the night. I am hoping to muster the energy and creativity to put together a crock-pot meal to throw in the fridge and toss in the pot tomorrow before work. Chances are that'll be a failed endeavor because I have about 20 more minutes of energy (and I'm spending it doing this). I realize a little bit more every day how little I do for my husband. I need to domesticate myself a little more before my kids get old enough to remember what their mother served them. I want to have my kids say "No one can cook like my mom"

Well, I think that was sufficiently random - welcome to the crazy mind of me! I switch topics every minute!

16 weeks 4 days

Today was the day to do the next belly trace. The only kink is having Jesse delay his tracing while I take a breath so that he doesn't follow the filling up of my lungs (see the hill awkwardly on the top of my belly). Either that, or else my kid is really unique and has decided to hang out in my diaphragm. 

We had a fun weekend! Our town had it's annual Oktoberfest (although I say annual...but I didn't know that they had ever had one before). The in-laws and Samantha came up and went with us. We walked around downtown and checked out a few booths along the way. I picked up some bread and butter Jalepeno pickles and of course fried dough. Then we hit up the beer garden. I saw one pregnant lady sipping a beer (it was light colored so maybe O'Douls). Then our friends Brandon and Jess joined us with their 3 kids. I immediately grabbed our Godson for a snuggle and my mother-in-law grabbed his twin brother. Eventually I passed off my Godson to my father-in-law and quickly realized Jesse and I need this baby to multiply so they can each get a snuggle in. After the beer garden we got over to the bandstand in time to hear the last 30 seconds of the James Montgomery Band playing (which is the band our in-laws came up to see). After that Jesse drove the in-laws back to our place so they could head out to dinner and brought Jake back to Oktoberfest. Whilst he was doing that I shared a second fried dough with Jess...and I must say, I WANT MORE!

I couldn't wait to delve into my new pickles!

Saturday night we went out to one of our favorite restaurants where I, yet again, couldn't eat much for dinner. We ended up sharing the leftovers for an early dinner tonight. Then went to Brandon and Jess's to watch college football (I think...)

Today we got up bright and early to have a Birthday Breakfast for my cousin Lorie and her family. The food was great - the wait was not. The company and conversation were well worth it though! I got a little inside information that kids meals at McDonald's are going to be much healthier starting later this fall depending on where you live (here it'll be October 25th). I'm pretty excited about that - although I will be buying adult meals for the duration of the Monopoly promotion! 

I ended my day with a trip to BJ's with Jess to stock up on essentials - toilet paper, paper towels, dishwasher packs, milk, cereal, and fruit. Which reminds me...I picked up the most yummy organic apple juice that was only $3.99 for a large bottle. I love bulk buying. I also got some tips on good couponing and buying in bulk for a mother of three! P.S. I also keep thinking of Jess and my friend, Annie, and her many shopping excursions with 3+ kids at Market Basket - Annie, you are a very brave woman!