24 Weeks

We had a great 24 week OB appointment a few days ago - baby is measuring right on time and he's kicking me like crazy. And he's definitely a boy, I had someone tell me I should be prepared for a girl "just in case." Uh no - girls don't have scrotums, TYVM.

I had seen a few 4D ultrasound photos and thought they looked a little creepy, not to mention I didn't want to bother scheduling another visit to wherever it is they do these ultrasounds. Sounded like too much trouble to me. BUT, my awesome doctor's office does them in the office, for free! Or at least I think for free, we'll see what the next statement says when we receive it in the mail in 4 months. :/

The tech did the regular ultrasound then hit some button and voila - 4D. The little bugger was picking his nose, ha!

I swear he has my profile, which is both weird and fascinating at the same time since we have yet to meet him. We were able to see he has 10 fingers and 10 toes and a perfectly formed mouth, so no cleft palate:

The tech showed us some other stuff - his stomach, spine, yada yada, but I can't really remember details. Whoops.

And although he supposedly only weighs about 1.3 lbs, mama feels HUGE:

[wow, I look like crap]

I had my first random person ask me when I was due - that was nice since I still feel like I've simply had a big lunch. Although he mentioned his girlfriend was due in a few weeks so I think he's used to being around large bellies. I'm wearing maternity clothes 99% of the time, a few random things still fit but those are mostly workout pants and sweatshirts.

And that's all for now - knowing me, I probably won't update again until week 28...no news is good news, right?

20 Weeks

Half way there! We had our 20 week appointment on Friday, all looks good with both me and the baby. I had just assumed we'd have another ultrasound since we'd had one at each of our last 3 appointments, but the nurse simply listened to the heartbeat on the doppler. Oh well, next appointment is the "big" anatomy scan, we were told the sono would last about 30-35 minutes so I guess that will make up for this 2 minute visit!

I'm starting to feel him move, which pretty crazy. It's more noticeable when I'm laying on my back in the mornings and feels like muscle spasms.

I finally feel like I have more of a pregnancy belly than simply a beer gut - although I have been wearing scarves to hide it as much as I can. It still doesn't look pretty but it is what it is.

From the front - doesn't look too bad:

And the side (and don't pay attention to the crap in the background, I still need to hang that map):

Who am I kidding? Totally looks like I ate too much:(

It's a...

BOY!

I am, how shall I say this politely, a little shocked. It's been two days and I'm still absorbing the news that I'm going to have a son. Gulp. I think I always envisioned having a little girl - you know, someone I can dress up, have tea parties with, go shopping with and whatnot. And now I have to imagine baseball games (please God no), Tonka trucks, and lots and lots of dirt. Yeah, I know there are some boys who might like tea parties and some girls who like to play with trucks, but I feel like stereotyping at the moment. Let me be.

There are some positives to having a boy: Less drama. - let's face it, us girls like us some drama. Boys are (hopefully) cheaper - there are only so many ways you can dress a boy. Shirt, pants, shorts. Done. There's no option for dresses, skirts, tank tops, hair accessories, and 47389472 different kinds of shoes. And my personal favorite (someone told me this so I can't take credit), with a boy, you only have to worry about one penis. With a girl, you have to worry about allllllllll of the penises. :/

We're back to the drawing board with names, we were 99.99% set on a girl's name but have always gone back and forth with a boy name. We've come up with a few so we'll see if any pan out. And no, I won't be sharing until he arrives as I don't want any opinions either way.

On another note, I love my OB/GYN - he definitely knows what he's doing as evidenced by the sonogram photo. And baby is not shy:

Yep, it's definitely a boy. Gulp.

EDD 5/26

:: tap, tap::

Is this thing still on? I've probably lost all 3 of my readers since I haven't updated this blog in, oh, 434378294798 years. Alas, life has been pretty uneventful lately - no fun travel excursions (unless you count Tulsa, OK or Lexington, KY as "fun" for work - I certainly don't) and although I've been cooking here and there, nothing has been worth blogging. We've just been chugging along in good ol' Texas.

That being said, life for us will be changing come the end of May/beginning of June because of this little guy or ::crossing my fingers:: girl:

I promise the baby has arms and legs - the photo just makes it look like he/she doesn't. :/ Baby was moving around like crazy, probably due to the (doctor-approved) cup of coffee I'd had earlier that morning.

I actually found out I was pregnant while on a work trip to Scottsdale - I knew I could test on a certain day so I brought about 10 tests with me. OCD much? Hell yes. I remember waking up around 3:30am due to the time change, peed on the stick, and about freaked my freak when I saw that second line - and then proceeded to take a test everyday in AZ until I ran out. The worst part was it was waaaaaaay too early to call Steven about it, so I had to keep it to myself for a few hours. Torture! I finally called and romantically (ha) told him over the phone. There was no way I was going to wait to test until the weekend when I was actually home, I don't have the patience for that.

We decided since we were going back to CA for Thanksgiving, it would be a good time to tell our families then. Plus, I'd be over 13 weeks at that point which would put me in the second trimester. The look on my mom's face was absolutely priceless and was worth waiting those agonizing 13 weeks! I told my mom, dad, and sister that I had a cool photo to show them - I pulled out the ultrasound photo and my mom just said, "what? no!" I think we truly shocked everyone since no one knew we'd even been trying. Steven's family was in Colorado for Thanksgiving so we told them over Skype instead of in person - not quite the same, but better than over the phone.

We will hopefully find out if we're having a boy or girl in a few days. And the baby purchasing is in full-effect - I found a great deal on a stroller (a Phil & Ted's Explorer)and a friend was selling some baby stuff that I didn't want to pass up. I think it's all downhill from here, right?

It's been a process to get where we are - quite a few doctor's appointments, tests, and meds, but I know we've been really, really lucky since others have gone through so much more.

Oh, and I'll try to update this thing more often - now that we have some interesting things going on!

Coconut Cake

I'm back, sort of. Sadly, life in the lone star state is not exciting by any means. It certainly doesn't help when we are on day 57 of triple digit heat and it's only mid-August. - apparently, we've already set a record. :/

Being a lady-of-leisure (aka temporarily unemployed) has allowed me to try some new recipes. I'm proud to say most have been winners, such as homemade pizza dough, chicken & summer vegetable tostadas (this calls for using the broiler, yeah right. I warmed the tortillas in the micro), and my new favorite salad because it requires 0 cooking. ZERO! I cheated and used defrosted corn, but hey - can you blame me? Lemon mint granitas and watermelon lemonade are really refreshing, especially when vodka is added.

Sadly, some of the recipes have been duds. Do yourself a favor and don't bother trying these, they aren't worth it. Eggplant pizza? No. Way too much eggplant and just a weird flavor. Peanut butter world peace cookies? Sound great in theory, choc + p.b., even the dough was tasty. The final product? No thanks. I'm thinking adding eggs would make the cookies chewy, these were rather hard - and I not blaming it on my crappy oven that may, or may not, have overbaked them (I need a new oven, Steven!!!). The chocolate-covered marshmallow cookies were edible, but even with cutting the recipe in half, it was way too much. And the entire process was fairly time-consuming.

We celebrated a neighbor's birthday this past weekend and I went back to an old standby that I knew was good - a coconut bundt cake. And instead of using the glaze, I decided to drizzled with the chocolate sauce from this recipe. I was also channeling my friend Jocelyn since it was her birthday Saturday and she loves coconut; sadly she lives in VA so no cake for her.

Because Steven is the biggest.football.fan.EVER, I had bought a football stadium cake pan to make a birthday cake for him a few years ago. It's been sitting on the shelf ever since. :/ In honor of football season starting (already, really?), I thought I'd dust it off. And because Texans are absolute freaks about their football, I made a little University of Texas flag and a little Ohio State flag (our neighbors love OSU).

The final product:





I'm hoping this means I might be a little more motivated to blog. Don't be too optimistic, this lady-of-leisure is going back to work soon.

Butternut Squash + Chickpea Salad

I've been on a new recipe kick lately...while most have been duds, this one is a winner. Really good! I refuse to take photos with our craptastic camera, so enjoy the ones from the pro.

All info/photo courtesy of Smitten Kitchen (she's my new hero):

Warm Butternut and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing:

Yield: 4 servings

For salad:

1 medium butternut squash (about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed

1/2 teaspoons ground allspice (I skipped this)2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt

One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (1 1/2 cups)

1/4 of a medium red onion, finely chopped (not a fan of red onions, I used shallots)

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro or parsley (forgot to buy either, subbed for thyme)

For tahini dressing:

1 medium garlic clove, finely minced with a pinch of salt

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 tablespoons well-stirred tahini

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to taste

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

In a large bowl, combine the butternut squash, garlic, allspice, olive oil, and a few pinches of salt. Toss the squash pieces until evenly coated. Roast them on a baking sheet for 25 minutes, or until soft. Remove from the oven and cool.

Meanwhile, make the tahini dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic and lemon juice. Add the tahini, and whisk to blend. Add the water and olive oil, whisk well, and taste for seasoning. The sauce should have plenty of nutty tahini flavor, but also a little kick of lemon. You will probably need to add more water to thin it out.

To assemble the salad, combine the squash, chickpeas, onion, and cilantro or parsley in a mixing bowl. Either add the tahini dressing to taste, and toss carefully, or you could serve the salad with the dressing on the side. Serve immediately.

Yum!

I'm thinking I need to tackle these tasty-looking cookies soon. Possibly for Super Bowl Sunday.

Hello, Mr. President!

we've waited a long, painful 8 years for this:

[and good riddance to this]

happy inauguration day!