Is it spring yet?

The weather has been so nice here. Even when it's raining it has been warm (as in, the 50's) and trees are getting little tiny buds and it makes me want spring to be here so bad! Partially because I'm ready for the Bloob to be born, and also because I want to wear tank tops and work in the yard and soak up some sun.

Josh has been spending all of his evenings in the basement, apparently having a great time. I snuck down and took pictures, and here's what he was doing.

I'm pretty sure he was dancing when I walked in. See all those dust particles that the flash caught floating in the air? That's why I'm not supposed to be down there I guess. See Josh not caring about 1970's asbestos by not wearing a dust mask? Uh huh. There were all these built in cabinets, which Josh is really gung-ho on saving. I think they are outdated and ugly, but he's fighting for them. He has this obsessive love of storage, while I have this obsessive love of getting rid of stuff that just sits untouched in ugly cabinets for years. But since I can't go down there, he is pretty much getting to do what he wants. 

This next picture is boring, except I wanted you to see that I wasn't lying when I said that Josh has his own carpet steam cleaner. When I first saw it, I thought he had two vacuums, you know, a back-up one in case something happened to the first and he just couldn't go ONE SINGLE DAY without the ability to vacuum the house. Turns out it's for those quiet Saturdays when he feels the need to move all of the furniture out of a room and clean the carpet. The carpet then looks, to the untrained eye, exactly as clean as when he started. But it makes him feel better, and that's all that matters right?

There are more basement pictures but they are, in my opinion, which I know my mom will not share, boring. It looks like any other messy half torn apart basement, so I'm sure you can imagine. You're probably more interested in this!

Hey-o! It's my maternity swimsuit! Grandma Mary got it for me when I was in Salt Lake at Christmas. I'm sorry that I'm not willing to try it on for a photo, but I will be wearing it again this evening when I attend the swim class, and I will once again tell myself that everyone is admiring my nautical style, and not just sideways staring at my tattoos, hoping I don't notice. (OMG, is that a stretched out roach tattoo on her belly? And is he carrying a coffee mug? oh. my. god.) And here is how I currently look in my regular, modest clothes.

My hair is doing something weird (again) so don't judge me. Also, taking pictures of yourself is hard, and I have a new respect for people who do it well. A few notable things about this picture. I tried a new "hands framing the belly" pose (awkward?), the SUN IS SHINING outside the window, and do you see those boobs?! I've been trying not to mention the boobs too much, because I think Dads read this too, and I don't want to make them uncomfortable. But as a part of the whole pregnancy thing, I guess it just comes with the territory, so I will just say, I just bought a new D cup bra, and it scares me, and I had to ask what size comes after that because I did not know. The answer is DD, and I see it in my future. Aside from the boobs and belly, my weight is holding steady at 170 (I passed Josh! um, yay?) and I think I've been doing a lot better with eating. Sometimes I feel like my legs are little sticks moving around under that big belly, as this other picture I took seems to accentuate. 

I had a nice talk with my manager at work, who is taking over while I am unable to work myself to death. After this last week, I realized I can't do it anymore, and we've officially taken me off the schedule. I can work whatever schedule I want, but this is going to give me a lot more forced resting time, and more time to start baking at home, and working on the cookbook I have been putting off for 2 years now. It also gives me 3 months to make sure all of the tools they need to run the bakery without me are in place. It's been up and down, getting ready for this, but I feel like I've done of decent job of  preparing for my absence. Seems crazy that it would take so much energy to prepare for a couple months off! Anyway, the other night I baked some banana mango muffins for us to eat, and for Josh to take to work. They were so good, and I took some pictures, and this one is my favorite.

I didn't notice it until I uploaded the pictures. Do you see that cat hair? Ha! Kind of ruins it don't you think? I'll put that one in the "bloopers" section of the cookbook.

100 days to go...

The baby ticker says 100 days left! That seems like a lot from where I'm standing, but I'm sure it will fly by. I have had the work week from hell, but I can't stop thinking about how lucky I am to be having an easy pregnancy. What if I wasn't well enough to work 56 hours this week? What would we have done? I know it's just the the way it goes when you own your own business, but part of me wishes someone at work would say "Lisa, you are kicking ass for being 6.5 months pregnant! I'm so impressed you are holding up so well!" But I'll just tell myself, because I don't think it's gonna happen.
All of the standing up at work this week, plus missing my yoga class, and not drinking enough water because I was too busy to pay attention, means that my ankles are finally swollen. Which, while obviously a rite of passage of pregnancy, is still a bummer because I like to wear my pants rolled up and shoes with no socks. But now I have fat ankles and it's not so cute. Plus, I wasn't able to zip up my favorite black boots yesterday evening, because my calves were too swollen. This is really going to cut into my high fashion pregnancy.
I can't believe I'm even posting this photo, because swollen ankles kind of freak me out, especially when they're mine. But here you go. Sometimes, the truth hurts. Look at that cookie, he's staring at my ankle with dismay!

On the upside, Josh's stomach was hurting last night so he slept on the couch for most of the night (he said it was more comfortable, I dunno) and so I slept in the middle of the bed with my leg kicked up and a pillow under my knee and I slept like the dead and it was the BEST EVER! I'm not letting myself feel guilty about that.

I finally got to go to the prenatal swim class, and it was pretty great. I was worn out by the end, it was a good workout, and it felt so good to be in the water. I'm gonna try to make it more often (it's only $5, for an hour class!) but the class times don't work very well with my schedule, so I probably won't make it as regularly as my yoga class. Also, everyone else had really boring or too small bathing suits, but mine was adorable, so I win.

And! We got a whole bunch of stuff in the mail the other day from Ali and her family for Christmas, and it was from our Baby Earth registry. It's all so cute, I've been just sitting in the nursery snuggling all the tiny little clothes and stuff. It's so fun to look forward too! Thanks Al!

I feel like it was a busy week and I could just go on and on, but I'll stop for now, and try to post more tomorrow. Tomorrow I can include pictures of our now demolished basement, since Josh has spent the day ripping out all of the sheetrock and carpet and everything. He never stops.

January Midwife Appointment

We went in to see the midwives today. Our midwife had a baby last week, so we won't see her for this visit or the next. We met another midwife this time, named Carrie, who we also liked a lot. Everything is going fine, I'm right on track for growth, and the bloob's heartbeat was loud and clear (and fast!). At this point, I'm supposed to be getting 80 grams of protein a day, which seems pretty daunting. We stopped at Trader Joe's on the way home and got some hemp protein powder so I can make smoothies and up my protein intake. We're trying to avoid too much soy, because I guess too much can be bad, but man I love soy. They said my uterus is right where it is supposed to be (18 inches? 25 inches? I can't remember now) and we can feel it, hard as a rock and stopping right above my belly button. I also have low risk for gestational diabetes, and no protein in my urine, so I think we are skipping the gross glucose test.

I'm pretty much ditching the Target registry, because they don't have much stuff we want, and I've added a whole bunch to the Baby Earth registry instead. They have pretty much everything, and shipping is free on orders over $45, which seems not too bad. I think there a few things we want from Babies R Us so I'm keeping that one open too. The links to the registries are on the right side of the page now.

Don't feel like you have to stick to that registry though, if you can find similar or same things somewhere else it's fine with me. Mary and Sherry and Krystal, I'm going to try to make a registry at Babinski's with similar stuff if that's easier for you guys. (They actually have the baby monitor I like, which Baby Earth doesn't.) Or you can just pick what you want, I trust your judgement! They also have such a great selection of trendy diaper bags, I bet I can even find one Josh would like.

Josh is making a lot of noise down in the basement, I'm going to go see what's going on.

24 Weeks

I'll start with the 24 week picture, which I took of myself, as usual. I tried a different location, approximately 90 degrees to the left of the previous location, where there is a solid colored wall. I also tried to get my face in the picture, and not chop myself off at the neck.

This is what I had to construct to hold the camera up high enough to make this happen. Those are Pringles all the way from Germany, that my friend Sam sent. They are paprika flavored, which basically just tastes like fake cheese. Delicious fake cheese. And that canister is empty, because we ate them all in like a minute.

Sam didn't just send Pringles, she sent us the most awesome package ever, which contained a completely hand stitched baby quilt! Look at the detail! I can't imagine hand stitching and quilting an entire quilt. She's amazing. I've been trying to go to Berlin for to years to visit her, and I just haven't been able to make it happen. Now I want to take the Bloob!

The curtain I ordered from Target came, and then I modified it, and I think it came out perfect for the closet in the nursery. I love the orange, and I found that fabric in the clearance bin at Fabric Depot, so I was stoked. 

I also decided that buying a big comfy glider chair was probably a waste of my money, and that I should use what we have, so I moved a comfy chair of Josh's into the room. I moved it by myself, and he reprimanded me when he got home. I'm trying to decide if I should slip cover it, because the colors in it are pretty blah. We'll see how much energy I have. We also hung one of the paintings that my friend Kurt did for me.

Also, I need to move that plant. Josh put it there, and it reminds me of a spider and creeps me out. Which is weird, because I'm not really scared of spiders. I think it's called a spider plant. Is that right?

Josh has almost finished the changing table. It has been too cold here for him to clean it up and paint and varnish it, but here is it's current state. I can't wait to see it all shined up and not covered in dust.

As for crafting, I found some non-wool felt at the store, made from recycled polycarbonate bottles. I made a pennant banner. This one is a gift, but I'm making another longer one to match the Bloob's room for sure.

I also made myself a pin cushion! I didn't have one, and found a tutorial for one online that was really simple. It came out so cute, and I feel like this picture looks like one of Josh's paintings. I'm gonna see if I can get him to paint a portrait of my pin cushion.

I think that's all I have for now. Oh, except to mention that since those two candy bars yesterday I have been eating non-stop. I think my appetite has finally arrived! I'm happy about that, and looking forward to a few weeks of eating the hell out of some food. Yay!

Cauliflower

24 weeks and the bloob is a head of cauliflower? I am having trouble with all of these round food analogies, because the baby isn't round. Why not something longer than it it wide? Like, say, an eggplant? Or the cable tv remote control? Or maybe something with arm and legs, like a 10 week old kitten?
Bloob's been kicking up a storm the past couple of weeks, especially after I eat, and at about 8pm. Josh and I can see the movement from the outside of my belly now, and it's SO WEIRD! Yesterday I google image searched 24 week old baby to see what she (we're on a "she" week) looks like, and she's like a real baby in there! Lucky for you, I did the google image search. DON'T DO IT! There is a lot of sad and disturbing and gross stuff that comes up. Here are the highlights, so you can skip it.

baby panda, don't know how many weeks, but if I don't have a human baby, i hope I have a panda baby.

24 week old preemie who survived. I cried when i read the story along with this one. But that's what the bloob looks like right now! like a BABY!

And believe it or not, those were the only good pictures. So to distract from that topic, I've been crafting up a storm, and really really enjoying it. It will be the beginning of February before some of you get your xmas presents, but it will be worth the wait! I'm finally getting used to my new sewing machine too, which is making things a bit easier.

Julie bought us the first items from our Baby Earth registry! I'm feeling jealous, because that means she has those cute orange diapers in her possession to look at and snuggle with any time she wants. I have a bunch of pictures to post again, including another belly picture, because I am growing fast now, but this time Josh has the camera with him at work. I finally gained a pound, which puts me at 168. Part of me is ready to cross that 170 mark, and the other part is dreading it. I ate two candy bars today, (after my healthy lunch) so I should be well on my way. I ate one, and then I wanted another, and I thought, how often in my life can I do that without feeling guilty? So I did. The second one wasn't as good, so lesson learned for later when I'm trying to drop the baby weight.

Anyway, when Josh gets home, I'll add some photos. Right now, I gotta go sew.

omg I NEED this!

Matryshoka Measuring Cups

Pictures!

Josh came home and was reading the blog over my shoulder, because he was worried I was making fun of him again. I don't consider that poop sweeper thing making fun, so I think I'm in the clear. He really had put the cord somewhere new. But he saw the title and said "Second Trimester almost over?!! NOOO!!!" and I asked why and he said "Because now it's going to get bad again. You're going to feel bad!" To which I replied, "I think it's already started, you haven't noticed I've been really cranky?" (Trick Question!) He sucked in a bunch of air and lifted up his shoulders and then shook his head really fast and said "Nooooo, I hadn't noticed." And then we both laughed really hard for a minute. He said he'd been practicing that answer in the mirror all day. Especially since I was really really grumpy this morning because I slept horribly, because he was SNORING SO LOUD all night.

Anyway, here is your 23 week belly picture!

And here is Josh toting his best friend Richard around the house. This is a common activity.

Here is a reversible bag I made for Julie, just for fun. Julie, that wasn't your christmas present, a different one is coming!

And I finally finished that quilt! I love it, it's so happy! I lined the back with turquoise flannel. So cozy.

I used the extra flannel to make an owl for baby Tripp. I got to use fusible interfacing for this, which was new for me.

This is my new favorite dog, JJ. She is a super sweet ball of energy! We did lots of snuggling in Utah.

When we got home, we finally rearranged the family room to turn it into a craft/art room, like we have been talking about for a couple of weeks. I LOVE having this giant table to work on, and it's tall so it doesn't hurt my back!  You can see my fancy new sewing machine here too!

We squished the tv into the corner, so it's like a tv cubicle now. Kind of weird, but it works okay.

And Josh gets a painting corner too. He likes it to be all crowded, so he can reach everything.

And last, but far from least, Josh's sister Krystal made us this super adorable pea pod for the baby. She crocheted it! I want it to be the first thing the baby goes in, I'm going to take it with us to the birthing center. It will be like one of those fancy white dresses that babies go home from the hospital in, but way cooler.

Josh's mom made us some stuff too, but I haven't taken pictures of it yet. That's the teaser for you, so you'll come back. If you're lucky I'll post a picture of the new nighttime nursing bra I just got too. I'll make Josh model it.

23 weeks. Second Trimester is almost over!

It was a hectic December, and I have to admit, I'm glad it's all over and there is no more traveling in my near future. Although, after all of that flying, I got a free ticket on Southwest, which I will be hoarding until I am ready to go somewhere warm, and I'll be leaving the baby with a set of Grandparents! I have a bunch of pictures to publish, but Josh always cleans everything up (I picture him running behind me sometimes like the little poop sweeper at parades. Is that gross?) and he put the cord for the camera away, and I don't know where it is. When he gets home I'll post them all. Although, I didn't take a single picture in New Orleans, and only took pictures of the dogs in Utah. Ha!

Now that we are at 23 weeks the Bloob is dancing up a storm for a good part of the day. Usually after I eat there is quite an uptick in kicks and punches, and when I put dance music on, like Ke$ha, or that G6 song. The other night I could see my belly move as the Bloob kicked! Feeling it still kind of feels like gas bubbles, but seeing it was weird and REAL for me, I got teary for a second.

I also finally feel like I have enough maternity clothes. I have layers and layers, which have been awesome since it has barely gotten above freezing here all week. My coat is getting a little funny around the belly, but it works. Mom sent me an awesome hoodie (!!) for christmas, and a few more shirts, and when I was in Utah Josh's Grandma (Mary) bought me a swimsuit for the prenatal swim class. I'm ready for Julie to be pregnant now so I can pass along all of these great clothes when I'm done, it seems so sad to not be able to wear them anymore.

While I was gone for 2 (or 3? I can't remember) weeks, everyone in my yoga class gave birth. They were almost all due around Christmas, and when I went to class today, there were 4 of us left, out of 10 or 12! It was kind of sad. One of the other ladies is due in the next couple of weeks, so we'll be down to three. I hope more people start coming, I love hearing about how everyone else's pregnancy and lives are going. It really helped to make me feel not so alone. All three other ladies in there now have other kids between the ages of 2-3 years old, so they talk a lot about that. I miss the ladies with the same first time excitement and cluelessness as me.

I'm going to save everything else for when I can post pictures tonight. It sure was nice to see all of you guys in December! I'm looking forward to when you all come here soon!