crib!

We have a crib! Crib indecision officially over. 

So I had big plans of painting a different jenny lind style crib that we bought a year ago. But ya know what? That ol' craig has a fantastic list...and unbeatable. I stumbled upon a white jenny lind crib and sealy mattress- barely used for $50. So we decided to go check it out, what was the harm? We pulled up to this huge beautiful house...and laughed for a second- what if these people are our age?! People making good life choices...living grandly. Anyways. They weren't. Phew. We still have a few years to catch up to that. But they were super nice people, very loving kids that immediately gave us hugs. The little boy said he hopes that we have a boy baby, that they are the best. Matt agreed. Although the little girl was equally as sweet, just hanging on my legs and gave us hugs goodbye. We left with the crib and huge smiles. Holy cow- our lives are going to change dramatically!

The crib is virtually new and the mattress too. And a sealy mattress....wow. I couldn't have painted a bed for cheaper nor would it have been as nice. This was a crib that they had at the grandparent's house that was never used...and quite obviously. We lucked out. I love how the crisp white rungs look with the orange walls...now all I need is some fresh white curtains to match. I take that back...I need a lot more things than just curtains. Project to-do list to follow in a post soon!

Matt making me laugh hysterically...immitating the prego-weekly pose I do, sticking out his belly with his hands on his hips. Pretty hilarious... but seriously he has to stop making fun of me...I really am pregnant!

[week 20]

20 weeks! I am at least half way through, how unbelievable is that? And another HUGE milestone this past week...I felt spud kick! I felt it once on my night shift....but I wasn't convinced, I thought it might have been all in my sleepy head. Then the next day at work I felt it again. I almost, ok fine, I started to tear up. AMAZING. Seriously. Borderline nightmarish, but really great. I wish Matt could feel it right now, it's weird that I can't share this with him. Every time I sit still now I feel little kicks and punches. I just laugh or smile with each kick. Like I have some fantastic little inside joke only spud and I share.

Some pregnant women are just like...oh yeah... of course the baby kicks me. No big deal. So I thought I just needed to feel it, and go on with pregnancy. But let me tell you, it's a big deal. Our little spud is getting strong enough to kick me?! That's huge. That means things are going well in utero-land.

We are also having our ultrasound soon...so that's super exciting, something we've been waiting on for only 20 weeks. There are certain times in my life that I get goosebumps I am so excited and extra happy with life. That each time I walk by a mirror...I think to myself is this really possible to be so happy?! Does this time have to end?! Cloud 9 moments being a grown-up: the first month meeting matt, moving into the same house, being engaged (something about a ring on the finger from matt for forever- fantastic), being accepted into nursing school, our wedding, the first month of our positive pregnancy test, seeing a baby bump appear, and now feeling kicks. Big moments in life that I just want to savor every last little bit of excitement. It's hard to replicate those times-where nothing could rain on my parade or stomp on my sunshine. Just bliss. I have a feeling we are entering into a HUGE one in April. One I want to hold onto for forever. Right now my sister is starting at the beginning of her cloud 9's. I just want her to cherish every last second and I hope it's just as fantastic. Those "firsts" are hard to do-over, they are for keeps. So wring every last drop of happiness out of it...and relish it.

my husband, the blogger.

[us bottling his first batch of beer, back in week 6 of pregnancy]

So I have to give a little shout-out to my husband, a new blogger in our blog world. He has started his own blog, and I am o-so proud of him. He's so cute he even chose a name similar to mine... Homegrown Suds. You see, he brews his own beer in our home- thus the homegrown suds. We take pictures together of the beers he reviews. Some are just fantastic beers he likes and some are his own creations. Then I edit the photos in a montage of sorts and he writes his posts. He is poetic, thoughtful, and a lover all of things beer. 

Most of the beers he brews and drinks are ones I find a tad bit repulsive- I am just not an IPA/ hop fan. However, I love his enthusiasm. Once I start up the drinking of alcohol again, I am sure he will make some wheat/hef/fruit beers for me to enjoy, but for now it's his time. Which I love.

Someone asked me at work the other day if I was one of those prego wives who wouldn't let their husbands drink, because I can't. I thought it was a little silly. Sure, I don't want him drinking my favorite wine...but hoppy beer- why not?! I guess we don't have the kind of relationship where I tell him what he can and can't do, but he also isn't one to rub something in face...like a nice glass of pinot on a rainy day. Now that would be hurtful and downright mean. So drink on my blogger husband :) For drinking time *may* be a bit infringed upon come spudtime.

[latest review: Hop Notch from Salt Lake City...cute label, right?! Different mason jar pictured than the baking soda or drano test jars, FYI.]

baby quilt

[spud quilt]

Happy Thanksgiving!! 
We couldn't be more thankful this year...we have our health, each other, a little spud brewing, and such incredibly supportive friends and family. Sharing this pregnancy with all of the ones we love has been a blast. Spud will be welcomed into a pretty loving world. We are extremely lucky!

My mother in law sent us this adorable baby quilt that she made (remember our wedding quilt she also made here?!). Adorable or what?! It's like those old fashioned pull wood duck toys... just amazing. Matt noticed that the quilting along the outside is even teeny-tiny ducks. Crazy. So now this is spud's first quilt. Perhaps this is why matt's mom kept on asking if we were changing the room colors. It matches perfectly. Thanks Janice!!

[matches with the wall colors]

[see the little duck stitching above?!]

the baking soda test.

[baking soda before]

What's more fun than peeing on things?! We don't know. Here at our house this thanksgiving it's all about being little scientists. So here is one more experiment we had to do. Erin, over at seeingdouble, is an old highschool friend of mine that just had twin boys. Due to the world of blogging we have reconnected- how fun is that?! Anyways, she told me about this fun gender test...baking soda and pee of course. If it bubbles it's a boy, if it does nothing it's a girl. Hers must have been some huge bubbles having had two boys brewing.

[baking soda after]

So we did the test... baking soda says spud is a... BOY! You know, it was all fun and games when the drano turned out to be a boy, but now two unreliable tests reading BOY...that's just crazy talk. Are we really ready to have a boy? What happened to my little dreams of building doll houses and sewing tutus?! Now it might be race car tracks and superhero capes. Anyways, thanks Erin (and Wyatt & Ian) for the tuesday fun!!

the drano test.

A nurse at work had told me that with her two pregnancies she did the drano test, and wanted to know if I had done it yet. I had no idea what she was talking about. She explained that you pour some pee on drano crystals and depending on the color it turns it predicts a boy or a girl. She said it was right on for both her boy and girl babes. I thought it was silly and wildly exciting. After a little research on good ol' google.... I found TONS of resistance to this old wives tale. Gosh, people get so heated! Which really made me want to try it even more. So what if it was wrong? It's a fun science experiment. In a few weeks we will know anyways, and we surely won't be painting a room based on my drano-pee. Oh yeah, and I guess there are bad fumes with the experiment. Whatevs.

So our science experiment took place in the backyard. Well, let me clarify this... I didn't pee outside. I took my sample outside and put some drano crystals in a mason jar. I then ran inside, and matt poured my pee over the crystals and ran inside to watch from the window with me and the dogs. It bubbled and perhaps fumed...we don't know, we were safe inside (sorry mason jar). Then the resulting color was black.

[drano before]

Our key:
(depending on the site there can be different interpretations, perhaps this is why it is unreliable at best... again, whatevs. I chose this key from my nurse-friend)
brown/black= boy
unchanged/blue (color of crystals) = girl

[drano-pee after...do you like those fumes?!]

So drano concludes that we will be having a boy! Fun right?! We think so. We will all find out in a few weeks if it was right.

**Oh yeah, and if you're looking to buy drano crystals...it's hard to find! Lowes had it though, for $6**

[week 19]

It's thanksgiving break for us... yes, we still have to work but we have this week off from school which is amazing. Lots of cleaning, raking, relaxing, and eating this week. It will be fantastic. Matt and I are doing an abbreviated thanksgiving meal on wednesday (we both work thursday) so that should be fun and easy. To make things even simpler, our turkey will be cooked in the crock-pot this year. I don't know if it will turn out the same, but it's worth a shot. Then I am making these little tasties... pecan pie bars! I am hoping they will taste like my dad's pecan pie, but without the extra work and calories (calories, who am I kidding?! I get to eat for two, right?!).

Here is the recipe from allrecipes.com (no not pinterest, crazy right?!) Oh and it serves 48, so be careful! I will be bringing most to my work potluck...well if they make it out of the house.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups light corn syrup
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Cut in 1 cup of butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the prepared pan, and press in firmly.
3. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven.
4. While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. In a large bowl mix together the eggs, corn syrup, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 3 tablespoons butter, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the chopped pecans. Spread the filling evenly over the crust as soon as it comes out of the oven.
5. Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until set. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing into bars.

oh boy, big changes.

[do I even look older?! a little older maybe...mom-ish?! haha... just kidding]

P.S. blog world-

I just looked back at my old self at 11 weeks. Ha. I am HUGE now. I mean like thighs, butt, face, overall...I look like a big version of Lindsey. And this is only week 18. Pregnancy is crazy stuff. I am not worried about my weight...I just can't believe I haven't noticed the changes. I guess when I forgot to tie my scrub pants and they didn't fall off- that should have been a clue I am growing. No wonder my pants are getting trickier to put on. Perhaps I should have been happier with my pre-pregnancy weight. Hmm. Interesting. Crazy stuff, this baby-growing thing.

Ok, enough of the rant. I am glad that I have a baby bump to go along with my increasing thigh circumference :) And I don't honestly think ever in my life I have actually touched my stomach- it's just not a thing females do. But now it soothes me. I've never felt more comfortable about my abdomen and seeing it makes me extremely happy.

pinterest wednesdays & nurseries

[orange inspiration found on Pinterest]
sunny nursery orange nursery
violets nursery

Well I have been doing a lot of thinking about the spud nursery. I finally have enough energy in this second trimester to even contemplate tackling a project. I thought about my inspirations to have a yellow and gray nursery here... remember? Adorable. Well, on closer inspection it's not really yellow, it's more of an orange. Like pumpkin on two of the walls and pumpkin latte on the other. Wishful thinking on the yellow room. It's orange. So, on Pinterest Wednesday I am now looking for orange inspiration. Why is that such an uncommon color? I think it's cheery and gender neutral. And it happens to already be the color of the room....easy!

I think it will be the same look in the room as someone who paints theirs bright turquoise or yellow- it's bold. And I will have the duty to mellow it, make it peaceful, and serene. Am I able to do it?! We shall see.

[color inspiration for the spud room as it currently stands, see the orange wall color?!]

Did I also mention it's a room that is teeny-tiny?! Like 7' x 7' tiny, with a little closet/nook. Back here is when I talked about the size and how it's my office currently. Yup, small. But babies are small right? Oh, it will be so helpful to know if we are expecting a little boy or girl. Then the few accent colors and artwork pieces can be chosen accordingly. So much fun!

[accent piece like this beautiful fabric by joel dewberry for a boy or girl]

While wearing these outfits...
Isn't pinterest fun?!
Oh man, now I want to go shopping.

[week 18]

[I realized I can't take a picture in the afternoon/night with my camera yet, I haven't the DSLR skills. So note to self: take weekly photos earlier in the day or else they will turn out crappy. Thus, my late weekly photo :)]

Spud is now the length of a bell pepper... I don't know about you, but I find these vegetable/fruit comparisons rather tricky. Depending on the state I live in, the size of produce varies greatly. Have you ever seen an avocado in California?- HUGE! Idaho... not so much. This could be a whole month of growth difference in pregnancy world. Anyways. Spud is growing, I know this much.

A perk of my Labor & Delivery/ Post-Partum clinicals in nursing school is that I know where to find my fundus (top of the uterus)! You just lay flat... and depending on which week you are in, you can feel the top part of a hard ball (the uterus) in your belly by gently pressing down, just like at the prenatal appointments. It should be growing higher and higher with each couple of weeks. I can feel mine. It's right below my belly button, right where it should be. This is also a bit of a wonderment for me... how do I have a relatively big baby bump, when I know exactly where my uterus is... it's much lower. What the heck?! Fat? Water? Displaced organs? Regardless, I love it...whatever it may be.

[fundal height according to weeks, little polka dot above the "20" is the belly button]

Happiest Baby on the Block

[here]

Last night Matt and I watched an informative DVD " Happiest Baby on the Block." This book is recommended everywhere, which we will be buying soon. But we also got the good advice from fellow blogger-mom Claudia, to get the DVD version. Turns out my library had it...and it is fantastic! We thought he (Dr. Harvey Karp) was a little hokey and it feels like it was made in the 90's, but after we started to watch his method of the 5 "S's" Oh my. Magic. We were entranced. We wanted to have our little fussy spud right there in our arms to try it out for reals.

The 5 S's:
1. swaddling
2. shushing (which in reality is a VERY loud shushing, borderline irritating)/ white noise
3. side or stomach lying
4. swinging/ vibrating (weird jiggling thing you have to see on the video excerpt below!)
5. sucking (nursing, bottle, finger, pacifier)

The theory is that each fussy baby will be different, but they all will respond to 1-5 of the above. The 5 S's simulate what life was like for the little babe in utero for the first 9 months of life. Sometimes all it takes is just swaddle and shushing, and sometimes it's all 5 at once. Has anyone tried this method?! Does it work in real life?

elfster.

So it's *almost* Christmas! Not really, but it is next month! I love Christmas. Definitely one of my most favorite holidays. Unfortunately for our work schedules, we are unable to go home to California or Colorado this holiday season to see our families. We usually alternate years going to spend Christmas-ish-time with Matt's or my family.  It's tough living in a different state from everyone! So last year we decided to start a thing called elfster. It's a free gift exchange program on the internet that chooses names for you...secretly. That way we have a spending limit and we each give/get one present. We do a separate elfster group for each family. It's a blast. It worked out so beautifully last year. I have to admit it was a little weird not getting a car-full of gifts...but we are all adults, it's about time that we grew up...I suppose :) I think once we have kids in our families the kids will get gifts from everyone- because isn't that more fun anyways?!

Also, on elfster you can make your own wish list. So I am sculpting mine! :) It's fun!! Prenatal massage perhaps? Manicure/Pedicure? Etsy jewelry? Do I choose baby-things? Or do I enjoy my last Christmas as a non-mom, being selfish and decadent?

Oh, and if you're wondering Matt and I have our own tradition that we started up...we exchange stockings! I think gift giving is nice, but we share the same bank account...and we are on a budget. So we do a stocking thing. We fill up each other's stockings with at least these 7 certain items. Then we open up the stockings on Christmas with each other.

1. an ornament
2. something shiny
3. a fruit or vegetable
4. something utilitarian
5. something salty/ spicy
6. something sweet
7. something green

Do you have any new family traditions you started up? I love thinking of starting new ones with our growing family while carrying on old ones.

[week 17]

Matt has started to play the guitar for me... well who am I kidding, it's for spud. He has been holding back until he got the green light from the baby books that spud's hearing is starting to develop.  It's wonderful. It reminds me of our honeymoon months when we first met when he'd play for me all the time. I am hoping it sticks now.

Cool things spud is up to this week:
-turning bone into cartilage
-hearing is developing
-learning to how to suck his/her thumb
-blinking
-swallowing
-growing of course

Cool things I am up to this week:
-writing a nurse advocacy paper
-going to class
-simulation lab for community nursing
-taking a test to see how well I will do on the NCLEX
-studying for said test
-going to work

I think spud wins. Way cooler week.

the great protein struggle.

Eating healthy has not been a total struggle this pregnancy...however eating protein has been. Anytime I try to think of a meal containing meat, it makes me want to gag. I can't seem to want to eat chicken, fish, or steak. It's very difficult! 70 grams of protein daily! Outrageous. I used to eat a lot of meat, but now I just can't stomach it. I know spud needs it and matt reminds me of this daily... but it's tough. I eat greek yogurt, cheese, milk, but it's no where even close to what a slice of steak would do for me. So I am trying to get creative. If I even get a twinge of a craving for a burger, tacos, new york strip steak I go for it. So, last night I felt like cooking some meatloaf, mom's meatloaf. Oh my...it was fantastic and almost purely protein.

Want the super easy recipe?!

Mom's Meatloaf (my mom that is)

-1 lb ground turkey or beef
-1 can Italian stewed tomatoes
-1 egg
-1/2 cup ketchup
-1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs (or a slice of bread cubed)
-1/2 of a yellow onion cubed
-1/4 cup brown sugar
-1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
-1 tablespoon minced garlic
-little salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients...throw in a glass dish perhaps 6x9. I like to put a little ketchup and brown sugar on the top to make a sweet topping. Cook at 350 F for 1 hour. Ta-da! Meatloaf.

[you'll notice my ingredients in the picture differ a little, depends on what I have in the cupboards. But the great thing about this recipe is you can never go wrong- that is, if you like meatloaf]

[week 16]

Ahh.... week 16! This is really getting exciting! You know how people talk about their bump just "popping." Well, I noticed something crazy. My stomach is hard. No, not from my abs. I assure you I have zero muscle tone... which is probably why I started to have a squishy "bump" soo early. Anyways, my abdomen is hard and it's getting bigger. I cannot physically suck in my stomach any longer. The bump is there and I love it. Almost every time I pass a mirror I think this is the most amazing thing I have ever done... I'm growing a human! (I'd like to say I'm exaggerating, but I'm really not...come on...this is brand new to me!) It makes me smile, holy crap...I'm pregnant. We did it!

So now I am just waiting to feel those little baby movements...what does it feel like?! I don't want to miss them. I also have something awesome to share with you...

a spud movie. from homegrown spud on Vimeo.

Yup, that's spud! I was at work... just a coworker, myself, and an ultrasound machine. So we thought what the hey... no guarantees...let's try to find a spud! And oh my gosh, we found a little person! It is absolutely amazing. Talk about a world of change from the comma-shape we saw at week 9. I had my handy iphone...so I was able to share the video with all of our family and matt of course. Do you see all the little punching, kicking, and thumb-sucking?! Adorable. I could watch it all day (actually I try to, believe me). I tried to see if it was a boy or girl...but our ultrasound machine is far from what an OB office would have. It's grainy at best. Oh yeah, and I'm not an ultrasound tech. So there was all of that working against me. So for now we were lucky enough to see our spud alive and growing. And we will have to wait a month to find out the sex.