updated photos

Wednesday marked 30 weeks; I feel like I'm entering the final stretch and it is amazingly scary and exciting to think in about 10 weeks Peanut will be here!

In response to some questions I get asked multiple times a day:

• I'm feeling tired (no, I'm not sleeping well)


• I'm feeling big


• no, I'm not carrying twins (gee, thanks)


• yes, I do REALLY have 10 weeks left; I'm sorry if I look like I'm "ready to pop" ahead of schedule


• yes, that is indeed "one big baby" in there

Notice the trend?? I'd like to state for the record that I've under-gained weight; the 20 lbs just happens to pretty much be all in my stomach area. Cut me a break - I'm pregnant. It happens! Though it is nice to have my boobs not be the biggest thing on my body anymore - ha ha ha. The shirt I am wearing below isn't even a maternity shirt...

Oh, and I just had to show the cool cake my mother in law made me for my Easter birthday. It may look like a sunflower, but the "petals" are sugar peeps! mmmm, peeps!!!

Happy spring, Easter, & 34th bday!

I just got back from my birthday "extravaganzapalooza" afternoon / evening. Dave had planned a special day to celebrate my birthday tomorrow. I only had been told to be ready at 3:00 and to get dressed up. As I was getting ready, Dave had my present ready for me. A pair of beautiful diamond earrings was in a lovely wrapped box with a sentimentally sweet card.

We then headed to Phipps Conservatory for their spring flower show. Neither of us had been there for years. It was so beautiful to see so many flowers in such creative ways - and the smell... heaven!!

Next we went to the Gandy Dancer at Station Square for drinks (for Dave) and a small appetizer since I was hungry. We had a little time to kill before our dinner reservations at the secret restaurant.

When the time came, we pulled up to Isabella's along Mt. Washington!!!!!

I'd always heard of how romantic and wonderful the food was here, and we were not disappointed in the least. We had a corner table along the windows overlooking the point and the entire city. As amazing as view was, the 7 course meal was even more amazing! Our courses were:

1. Blue crab & avocado salad with cilantro


2. Caramelized leek and cauliflower soup, crispy Gruyere cheese (for me - probably my favorite course) and Ancho Chile-Cherry braised duck leg, ricotta cheese polenta (for Dave)


3. Halibut fillet, sweet potato gnocchi, crème fraiche (for Dave) and red curried corn crusted sea scallops, sweet mango juice, cilantro-yogurt foam (for me)


4. An intermezzo of pineapple lime sorbet


5. Cabernet braised Kobe skirt steak, Porcini mushroom, poached garlic risotto (for me) and venison leg steak, blood orange jam and potato-parsnip puree (for Dave)


6. A salad of baby greens, dried apple, goat cheese & vanilla-cardamom vinaigrette


7. Blue cheese cheese cake, dried pears and port wine reduction (for Dave which he adored) and house made chocolate truffles (for me which was excellent and I could've had 4 orders!)

And I had a glass of wine as well, which tasted so wonderful. We shared our meals with the exception of the cheese cake, which I wanted no part of. I can't remember when I had such a good meal. And Michelle, I thought of you every single course!! (It started as soon as I saw they had a leek soup, but then every thing tasted so darned good that I knew you'd really appreciate it. You need to leave the Boss with me one evening and take your hubby for any occasion!)

We had an amazing day, and I'm heading to bed soon. Tomorrow we'll have a nice breakfast, head to church and then see Dave's family all day. Being 34 doesn't really feel any different than 33 (or any of my recent years to be honest) but I can say that I'm looking forward to the upcoming year and know it will be one of the best in my life! I hope you all have an Easter that is as blessed as I feel right now (and that just isn't the wine talking).

Shower RSVPs

Just a quick note- if you haven't called Angie already to RSVP for the shower on April 12th (not to be confused with the other shower on April 19th), please don't forget!

If you'd rather email your response, you can always email me for Angie's email address. Deadline is April 1st! And don't forget to include your meal choice.

She said YES!

My brother asked Kelly to marry him last night, and she said yes!! I am so excited I can't stand it! They are away in Vegas; I just may show up at their house on Friday to give them a huge hug when they get back!!! Pics to come I hope!

Early Celebrations

Hope you had a great weekend! I got to spend time knitting with my friends this Saturday, and today some of my family came over to celebrate Easter & my birthday early. (My niece and nephew are spending time with their biological dad next Sunday, so we opted to celebrate today.) After a yummy lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, we came back to our house to give the kids their Easter bags.

I got to open some gifts too! I got a "Mommy & Me tub time" themed gift from my mom - wonderfully soft bathrobe and slippers, towels, soaps, and a robe and wash clothes for Peanut. I got beautiful bookends that I've wanted and a tea kettle and a maternity outfit as well from my bother, Kel & and my "extended family". Best of all, we just had a blast.

Dave is snoring on the couch right now (rough weekend, right?) and I'm trying to motivate to go grocery shopping. Do I look any bigger at 7 months? Someone asked me at church today if I was having twins.... ugh, I guess I look big huh?

7 months = trip to L&D

Well, yesterday was 7 months pregnant and we had quite an evening to show for it. It started when I wasn't able to sleep well early Wednesday morning. I had a very weird pain right near my belly button from 3-4 AM. It was strong enough to wake me and then keep me from falling back asleep. I'd chalked it up to Braxton Hicks contractions (which are normal at this stage and a way for the uterus to prepare for delivery). It was in a new spot and felt a lot stronger and more painful. But who am I to question? When your uterus expands to 1000x its normal size (no exaggeration) you assume things like this will occur.

During the day I'd felt fine, but then in the afternoon around 4:00 I started to get that pain again. And it wasn't going away by 5:00. So I did what any person would do who didn't want to bother her OB after hours - I searched for info on Braxton Hicks on the internet newspaper (ha ha Anna - I had to work that in...) It said that you weren't supposed to have >4 an hour or for them to be painful, and I thought "uh-oh!". So Dave came home at 5:30 and it was still going on every 5 minutes or so. He convinced me to call the OB; after speaking with her, she did what I thought she'd do and said there'd be no way to know what was causing the pain unless I went to the hospital. Great...

But she did bring up something that I didn't think about (which is why it is always important to call your doctor) - my placenta is in the front and they wanted to make sure it was still in place and not tearing away. So it was with an equal mixture of fear and foolishness that we hopped in the car and went to UPMC Magee Women's Hospital. When Dave eventually got us there via Greenfield the long way (thanks to the Oakland detour and probably nerves), we were seen right away, which leads me to ask why all ERs don't work this smoothly.

They did all my vitals and hooked me up to a contraction monitor which I was familiar with thanks to my experience with Angie's delivery. I got a little scared when the bottom line started zig-sagging up and down since this shows if you are contracting. I think my exact words to Dave were "Dude - holy crap I am contracting!" Alas, it was just the monitor moving thank goodness. Agh, to be naive.

After blood work, and internal exam (ouch) and lots of questions, we were running out of explanations. The final step was an ultrasound to look at the placenta, muscle, and baby. So I got to experience my first ride in a wheel chair and away we went. We were seen right away and it is no understatement to say Peanut is HUGE! Our little over-achiever is in the 81st percentile for weight and measuring 3 weeks ahead of schedule. A whopping 3lbs 3ozs already!! (normal is around 2 lbs 4 ozs). I just looked at Dave (who weighted over 9lbs at birth) and gave him the "you're to blame for this, aren't you?" stare... never mind my chocolate ice-cream cravings.

The bottom line is that they couldn't find any reason for my pain. Peanut and I are both fine. The pain finally subsided around 9 PM - so a total of 5 hrs of on & off pain (mostly on). They said that I wasn't silly to have come in, as much as I felt like I wasted their time. I have instructions on what to do should the pain return (which is basically just to head straight there), but I'm hoping it doesn't. It hasn't been back since, and I slept like a rock.

At least we learned where to go when you're in real labor, got to test run the driving detour in a stressful emergency, and found out that the hospital pillows really suck. Oh, and that triage can be a very scary place when all the women around you are screaming and moaning. That was honestly an eye-opener for me. Heck, the couple that came up to the triage window when I was registering - the woman laid down on the floor and I think her eyes rolled back into her head. I kindly asked that she be seen before me - good heavens! As I told my sister-in-law today, a planned c-section would circumvent all this! And at the rate Peanut is growing, that may seriously be an option!

Aaaaaaagh - relaxation!

Last night I took the inaugural soak in the new bath tub. Wow - now I wonder what was I waiting for! It felt so good that I honestly felt like I was in a spa. It made for a great night cap before bed (the only kind we pregnant folk can really have these days) and even helped reduce the swelling in my feet.

A lot of people have asked what I'd like for my birthday (on Easter Sunday this year, but I don't mind sharing as long as I get some caramel eggs!). Well, truth be told, there isn't much I'd need, but that excuse doesn't seem to cut it for some people. So in random order are some things that would be neat to have (I've left off things like a new car, world peace, painless labor, etc):

• a new tea kettle or a gift certificate from Bed Bath & Beyond to go towards purchase
• Macy's gift card to go towards purchase of a new robe (I figure I'll need this in the hospital)
• Lowe's or Sear's or Home Depot gift card (we need a new grill, a sun umbrella, and a deck storage bin. Plus it is always just fun to shop at these places! Mmm - power tools!)
• Aveda gift card (my new obsession for body products)
• Vera Bradley tote bag like this in color "peacock" (for the hospital, and I'm sure will be used again & again)

10 days until Spring as well, and I'm ready!

New Bathroom Photos

The bathroom is 99% done. I say only 99% because we're missing a very important part.... for privacy at least. A door! Dave still has to apply the gel stripper to the door to get rid of the hideous blue paint; once it's down to the wood grain, we can stain it like the rest of the bathroom wood. I don't think the wall color shows up as well here - it's more green and called "Crocodile Tears"

Looking in from the hall

The corner tub for 2 (or one very pregnant woman)

The glass shelf was Molly's idea - and a good one!

The new vanity & medicine cabinet - the lights dim too!

If the shoe fits... oh wait, it doesn't!

Yesterday it was 34 degrees outside, and I wore a dress to work with flip flops.

No other shoe really fits!

Can you find my ankles in this shot? Oh, and this was taken in the morning BEFORE the big swelling sets in....

Nursery - check!

We had a really busy weekend, especially with me getting over the flu (and Dave looking like he is going to come down with it). Oh, and an emergency trip to the ER Wednesday night. Did I fail to mention that Dave accidentally sliced his thigh with a box cutter? Yeah. The cut was really bad and needed stitches. He's recovering okay and the stitches should come out next week.

The bathroom is 95% done, and I'll post some pictures in a few days when we're 100%. But Dave and Mike moved in the nursery furniture, and Dave put together the crib on Saturday.

Now that the room is just about done, we both find ourselves just standing in the room without reason, looking around. Doesn't it look awesome? Yeah, we think so too.

But we knew it was only a matter of time before this happened.....

This may mean trouble.

We also moved the computer and desk up into the "office" (our smallest bedroom) and redid the entry way. It's now a little reading nook (picture below). So upstairs, 3 of the 4 rooms are completely made over, and with the new carpet (which looks amazing) - it almost looks like a new house up there!

Today I had lunch with Angie and had some great girl time. We talked and laughed and saw the new movie "The Other Boleyn Girl" (since we both read the book). The movie was really good, very true to the book. And the acting was superb. I've always been a fan of Tudor history and that period. I guess you'd enjoy the movie even without knowing the history behind it all (heck, Eric Bana is pretty easy on the eyes, though supposedly Henry VIII wasn't that attractive, but whatever...) All in all it was a fantastic weekend, but back to the grind tomorrow. At least it's March now - spring and my birthday!