Adventures in La La Land

Baby is the size of a plum this week. How Far Along? 12 weeks Total Weight Loss/Gain : +1 as of my appt on Friday Maternity Clothes? I haven't actually worn them again since last Sunday. Sleep : Exhausted 24/7. Pretty sure I could sleep 24/7. Still having disgusting night sweats. Best Moment This Week : Another ultrasound! Baby was jumping all over the place. So crazy. Movement : Not that I can feel. Food Cravings : It's funny how I crave the same things this time around that I did with Lena. I bought Dinty Moore beef stew this week. And red white and blue popsicles. Food Aversions : There are times when nothing sounds good. But once I start eating, I like it. Gender : Still thinking boy. Although I wouldn't be that surprised if it's a girl either. Haha. No strong inclination one way or another. Labor Signs : None What I Miss : Making it through the day without taking a nap, rolling over in bed without the breath-taking round ligament pain. What I'm ...

1. The big news of the week was Lucy's first week of school. It actually went amazingly well and I realized that it went exactly as I prayed it would. I've been praying for months that Lucy wouldn't be nervous, but that she'd be flooded with excitement, that she wouldn't cry, that she would love school and make at least one good friend. On Monday morning, she woke up saying, "I'm so excited to go to school!" Up until then, every time we went to school she hid behind me or dropped to the floor refusing to cooperate. But on Monday morning, not only did she let me do her hair (a major fight around here), she smiled happily for her first day of school picture, and marched right into her classroom with only the slightest hesitation. Mrs. Ellsworth had a coloring page for her to do, so she sat right at her desk and started coloring. The girl sitting next to her at the table immediately started talking to her and by the end of the day, they were ...

Affiliate Link Amazon Synopsis: Kirsten Raymonde will never forget the night Arthur Leander, the famous Hollywood actor, had a heart attack on stage during a production of  King Lear . That was the night when a devastating flu pandemic arrived in the city, and within weeks, civilization as we know it came to an end.  Twenty years later, Kirsten moves between the settlements of the altered world with a small troupe of actors and musicians. They call themselves The Traveling Symphony, and they have dedicated themselves to keeping the remnants of art and humanity alive. But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who will threaten the tiny band’s existence. And as the story takes off, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, the strange twist of fate that connects them all will be revealed. How's that for different than my norm?? I actually am kind of interested in dystopian litera...

Lucy is so in love. And I am going to be so huge. How can I be showing so much by 11 weeks?? The baby is the size of a lime this week. How far along?  11 weeks Total weight loss/gain : I was back down to my starting weight at my doctor's appt last Thursday Maternity clothes? Broke out the maternity jeans today! I couldn't take it anymore. Sleep : Same as before. Exhausted all the time, but have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. Major night sweats. Best moment this week : Seeing the baby on ultrasound again. Movement : Not that I can feel. It was moving all over on the ultrasound. Food cravings : Fizzy drinks.  Food aversions : Hardly any.  Gender : Thinking boy since I feel so different this time around.  Labor Signs : None Belly Button in or out?  Half and half What I miss : Feeling good. Having energy. What I am looking forward to : The second trimester. Less nausea. More energy. Finding out gender. Milestones : I think  the n...

Are you ready for a baby-centric edition of the Saturday 7? I've kept this a secret for 5 weeks (hence the lack of blogging)! It's time to spew all I've been keeping pent up. 1. I'm nervous that we told Lucy about the baby too early. She is already so in love and so attached. She kisses my belly and sings songs to the baby and says at least five times a day, "I can't believe we're having a baby!" She is going to be so devastated if this baby doesn't make it. 2. I had my follow up doctor's appointment after going to the ER with bleeding last week. At the ER, they couldn't find a reason for the bleeding, just told me it was normal and to follow up with my doctor. At my doctor's office, I had an ultrasound where they diagnosed me with a subchorionic hematoma . Apparently, it's not a big deal and my doctor fully expects it to resolve itself. But I'm purposely not googling and discovering the worst case scenarios. The good news...

Don't let Lucy's expression fool you. She is beyond thrilled. How far along?  10 weeks - due March 13, 2016 Total weight loss/gain : I was up 2 lbs as of last week. Haven't weighed myself this week. Maternity clothes?  Trying to hold out until 12 weeks, but doing the rubber band trick on a lot of my jeans already. Sleep : Exhausted all the time, but have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. Major night sweats. Best moment this week : Seeing the baby on an ultrasound. Telling the girls and the rest of the world. Movement : Not that I can feel. I saw it wiggling all over on the ultrasound, though. Food cravings : Fizzy, fruity drinks.  Food aversions : Some. Nothing specific. Usually nothing sounds good.  Gender : Thinking boy since I feel so different this time around. Labor Signs : None Belly Button in or out?  Half and half (it never really went back in after Lena) What I miss : Feeling good.  What I am looking forward to :...

How far along?  9 weeks Total weight loss/gain : I was up 2 lbs at my WIC appt on Wednesday Maternity clothes?  Trying to hold out until 12 weeks, but doing the rubber band trick on a lot of my jeans already. Sleep : Same as before. Exhausted all the time, but have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. Major night sweats. Best moment this week : Feeling good a few days in a row! Movement : Nope Food cravings : Fizzy, fruity drinks. Anything cold. I made cheesecake this week just because cold and creamy sounded so good. Food aversions : Getting better. I did make Justin fry the hamburger meat for chili this week. I just couldn’t look at it. Gender : Thinking boy since I feel so different this time around. Labor Signs : None Belly Button in or out?  Half and half What I miss : Feeling good. Not having to hide my belly. What I am looking forward to : Feeling better, hearing a heartbeat at my 12 week appt. Sharing the news. Milestones : I gagged while...

How far along?  8 weeks Total weight loss/gain : started at 143 Maternity clothes?  Trying to hold out until 12 weeks, but doing the rubber band trick on a lot of my jeans already. Sleep : It’s weird. I’m exhausted all day every day, but it takes me about an hour to fall asleep every time – whether for a nap or at night. Best moment this week : Movement : Nope Food cravings : Fizzy, fruity drinks. Food aversions : Pretty much everything. Gender : ? Labor Signs : None Belly Button in or out?  Half and half What I miss : Feeling good What I am looking forward to : Feeling better, hearing a heartbeat at my 12 week appt. Milestones : Nothing really I feel miserable. Usually, I feel okay most of the day, and then around 4:00 the nausea starts to hit me. Today, I feel like my gag reflex is working overtime just to keep the puke down – and has been since about 9 am. I never actually puke, but sometimes I wonder if it would be better just to get it out. ...

1. A few minutes after writing last week's Saturday 7, Justin brought in the mail with a letter from Lucy's teacher! There's an open house to meet her/see the classroom/have our questions answered this Thursday. So I'm feeling a bit more confident now. Whew. 2. I read two books this week: The Anatomist's Apprentice by Tessa Harris and Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. That puts me at 26 books read. Only 4 to go in 7 weeks. Easy peasy. :-) 3. I saw a great article floating around facebook this week: I Don't Know How You Do This Every Day . Here's kind of a long excerpt from it, but it's so good. It became a daily routine in our house – my husband walked through the door at 6:02 p.m. and I promptly dumped two children into his arms, along with three dozen complaints, before locking myself in the bathroom to be alone for 10 minutes. Every night my knight in shining armor took over kid duty as I unloaded every rotten detail of our exhau...

The Beginning I took a test on Tuesday, June 29 even though my period wasn’t due ‘til Sunday. I thought there was a line, but it was gray and it’s supposed to be pink, so I bought another one and waited til the next morning. On Wednesday there was a definite line. But just because I’m neurotic, I bought a digital test and took it Thursday. It clearly said “pregnant.” On Thursday afternoon I started spotting. (Here comes some TMI.) It was just light brown, but historically, spotting has never been a good sign for me. Both of my miscarriages started with spotting, but I never spotted at all with the girls. So I was pretty sure it was over. It’s amazing how you can get attached to something – or at least the idea of something – in two days. I had already looked up my due date and figured out the age difference between Lena and the baby and honestly, started thinking of baby names. I was devastated with that spotting started. It was semi-heavy, but never changed color. When I w...

Affiliate Link Amazon Synopsis: A murder…A tragic accident…Or just parents behaving badly? What’s indisputable is that someone is dead. Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny, biting, and passionate; she remembers everything and forgives no one. Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare but she is paying a price for the illusion of perfection. New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for a nanny. She comes with a mysterious past and a sadness beyond her years. These three women are at different crossroads, but they will all wind up in the same shocking place. Big Little Lies  is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive. This is one of those books that has made the bestseller list, but didn't initially interest me. I'm desperate to finish my last 5 books before my birthday, ...

Affiliate Link The Amazon synopsis: The death of Sir Edward Crick has unleashed a torrent of gossip through the seedy taverns and elegant ballrooms of Oxfordshire. Few mourn the dissolute young man--except his sister, the beautiful Lady Lydia Farrell. When her husband comes under suspicion of murder, she seeks expert help from Dr. Thomas Silkstone, a young anatomist from Philadelphia.  Thomas arrived in England to study under its foremost surgeon, where his unconventional methods only add to his outsider status. Against his better judgment he agrees to examine Sir Edward's corpse. But it is not only the dead, but also the living, to whom he must apply the keen blade of his intellect. And the deeper the doctor's investigations go, the greater the risk that he will be consigned to the ranks of the corpses he studies. . . I'm not really sure what compelled me to read this book. Probably my love of the TV show Bones . I thought it'd be interesting to read about the...

1. Lena had a WIC appointment this week. She made it to 25 lbs! Haha. Little shrimp. I'm always amazed at how nice the WIC employees are. They're not grumpy government workers. And, honestly, I think I'd be pretty grumpy if I worked there. I'd be so judgmental about women coming in saying they can't afford food, but playing on their iPhone. Which is ironic since I'm on WIC, but still manage to afford to go out to eat a couple times a week, and have a pretty nice smart phone myself. When will I ever learn? 2. Lucy starts school in 16 days. I've been trying to talk it up, and act like it's no big deal and she's going to love it and have so much fun. But one night this week, while we were snuggling in her bed, I finally asked her, "Do you think you're going to cry on your first day? Are you going to be sad or scared?" She said, "I'll probably cry a little bit. I'm not sad, but I am a little scared." Oh man. How am I not...

1. Justin and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary this week. We spent one night in Petoskey last weekend, ate good food, shopped the cute little boutiques (and marveled at the prices!), lounged on the beach, slept in!, and Justin even got to do a tiny bit of fishing. We took the scenic route on the way up (which didn't end up being that scenic) and realized anew that I am a terrible traveler. I got reeeeeeal grumpy after about 2 hours in the car. Needless to say, we took the more expedient route home. 2. After a very mild summer, we finally had some hot weather this week! We spent lots of time swimming and Lucy really got the hang of it. Until this week, she could swim flawlessly in the shallow end of the pool, but was terrified to try the deep end. Now, she zips right through it! 3. So today is the first day of August - which means my 30th birthday is in just over 2 months. After getting off to a great start, I'm not sure I'm going to complete my 30 Before 3...