Less than 14 weeks to go....

So my countdown has reached the double digits.... one more week and I will be in my third trimester! Holy cow, that's a little nerve-wracking really. I'm not really sure what makes me more nervous, the whole never-know-when-it's-gunna-happen labor thing or the fact that I will be away from the studio and it's supposed to run right without me. Either way, I think it comes down to the fact that I can't plan it all. So I guess all I can do is just hope and pray this final trimester goes as smoothly and easy as the last two.

Supposedly, I am going through this little thing called "nesting". The other night I was on my hands and knees scrubbing the kitchen floor with paper towels in one hand and a bottle of Mr. Clean in the other when Brett walked in. He said something like, "why don't you just sit down and relax?"... but that is starting to get difficult. I want so badly to start working on the nursery but we don't really have anything ready to go yet. Brett has to finish painting our hand-me-down changing table and so far that is the only thing we have to put in the room. Yay. I just feel like I don't even know how to begin. The room has been painted, but now I'm even a little unsure on the pink color we picked out.

I think it's too dark or too fuschia or something. I wanted to be able to use shades of light pink and hot pink with it but I think that it might clash. So now I'm debating on re-painting. Ugh.

And well, the baby is still unnamed. Although today was a bit of a breakthrough and Brett said "that's cool" to not only one, but TWO of my ideas over the phone. However, there's a good chance he just wasn't listening....

How far along?: 26 weeks
Total weight gain: 16 lbs.
How much does baby weigh?: 1.7 lbs... supposedly
Maternity clothes?: Finally caved and bought maternity leggings & jeans from Forever 21. Haven't worn them yet though. And by that I mean they just arrived on my doorstep today.
Stretch marks?: None. Crossing my fingers that it stays that way.
Sleep?: Sucks. I wake up from all the twisting & turning.
Best moment this week?: SEEING her move! It's really cool actually.
Movement?: She doesn't move while I'm teaching at all, but the minute I get home she's all over the place. Payback??
Food cravings?: Still chugging milk. And I've been waking up and eating ding dongs like all week.
Labor signs?: No, but I have been feeling totally uncomfortable. My belly feels so heavy.
Belly button in or out?: I don't think it's going to poke out. Thank goodness.
What I miss: Being able to do everything I used to... and I mean just moving around and doing things on my own. Standing on chairs at dance. Being able to bend over. And I still really miss margaritas and sushi. I had a dream about them last night. Haha!
What I'm looking forward to: The holidays and the break from work. It's getting frustrating since I can't really do much & my feet are starting to hurt... especially on Sundays.
Milestone: Double digits!! 97 days left! Eek!

Funny things from my students - Part 1

After telling my studio that I was pregnant, I have laughed a lot during class at some of the things these little ones... or not so little... come up with.

MM: No one kick or hit her in the belly, there's a baby in there! I know these things, my mom has had like a million babies.

PM: Ashlee, your belly is getting fat!
AB: It's not getting FAT, it's getting ROUND.
Me: Well she does weigh over a pound now!
AG: A POUND?! That looks like more than a pound!

LK: Have you had your baby yet?
(every week)

I got a homemade card from one of my first graders that had a drawing of me and a baby that said, not with these exact letters, "have a good time with your baby".

PS: When do you find out if it's a boy or girl?
Me: I find out in a couple weeks!
PS: Really? Are you sure? My mom was THISSSS BIGGG when she found out.

CC: (Talking to another student) She can't do it anymore! Cuz she has a baby bump!

HB: It's a good thing you are pregnant, I thought you were just getting fat.

CK: Do you know what you're going to name the baby?
Me: Not yet, I have lots of ideas but her daddy doesn't like any of them!
CK: Well what does he like?
Me: I'm not sure, he hasn't came up with anything yet.
CK: Soooo...(thinking).... that means you get to name her!!!

MM: What are you going to do with the baby after it comes out?

HD: Can I touch it?

BUMP PIC - 24 weeks (& 5 days to be exact)

I feel like I look bigger in pictures than I do in real life.

But maybe I'm just in denial.

Pumpkin pie & our attempt at making it

For the first time ever, probably as an unconscious attempt to become more mommy&daddy-like, Brett and I attempted to make a homemade pie. Pumpkin pie. Which is probably near the bottom on the pie making difficultly list. I seriously still have no idea what provoked this idea inside Brett’s head but while walking back and forth and down again through aisles at the grocery store, he just blurted out with the kind of delight that strikes toddlers when they get an idea, “Let’s make a pumpkin pie!” I had tried to talk him into pumpkin bars instead or even just buying pre-made, but he was dead-set on this whole making a pie deal. I mean, we just moved and are still living out of boxes, but what a great time to learn how to make pies! Such is life with Brett. He called our friend that actually knows what she’s doing for a how-to and then we continued our bobbing and weaving and back and forth aisle dipping to find what we needed. (We did cheat on the crust though, and purchased a box of Pillsbury pre-made pie dough.)

We arrived back home and immediately started preparing dinner. Yes, we whipped up both dinner AND desert, very ma & pa like, right? While dinner was cooking, we laid out all of our purchased pie-making magic and questioned why our “evaporated” milk was still very much a liquid. The whole attempt was pretty laughable, I must say. Half way through mixing the ingredients, my detail-cautious fiancé realized the recipe actually made TWO pies. Fortunately, the box of dough we had purchased came with enough for two, although having just one to ourselves already seemed a bit daunting. We figured we’d just give the other away… to someone who loved us before they tried our pie.

Then came the whole pie crust thing. Since we have both never made a pie before we were unsure of our next move once the dough was laid out in the pie dish. We knew what pie crusts usually looked like (and thankfully had a quite detailed reference on the box), but we had no idea how we were supposed to make this limp dough do... THAT. I figured it was just a matter of squeezing the edges precisely, but I’m pretty sure there’s got to be another trick to it. We were too confident in our ability to figure this whole thing out ourselves, so we decided not to look it up online or phone a grandma and just kind of pushed on it until it looked, well, pie-like. (For future reference, it might be helpful to make the edges even while you are forming it to the pie dish… or just not let afore mentioned, detail-oriented significant other do this part.)

We poured the orangey goodness into the sad little pie crusts and immediately it was obvious which pie we were keeping for ourselves and which one we would send to someone that would pat us on the back for trying and say “it’s okay, we still love you”. We placed tinfoil strips around the flawless edges (thankfully our friend gave us that little tip) and slipped them in the oven to bake.

Almost an hour & a half later, this is what we pulled out.

Apparently the recipe then says to jab a knife awkwardly into the somewhat middle, I guess, according to Brett.

We let them cool and after awhile I kindly offered to cut him a slice, to which after all that excitement and determination displayed earlier up and down the Target grocery aisles he answered with...

"It just doesn't really sound good right now."

Seriously.

And now almost two days later…

Anyone like pumpkin pie?

Our move / 24 weeks

Well after a very long, exhausting, and COLD weekend, we are finally all moved in to our new place. I can't even explain how nice it is to come home and park in a driveway instead of a parking lot, or to be able to do laundry without digging through the bottom of my purse for quarters. I mean I thought after two years I had gotten used to the noises of apartment living, the slamming of that damn hallway door that was placed so conveniently outside our bedroom wall or the footsteps and toilet flushes of the people living above us... but the past couple nights we've been here I have gotten some of the best sleep I've had in a long time.

I had thought at the time we signed the lease that we would probably only be here a year or so, until we were ready to buy, but after painting and cleaning, I could see us staying here longer and being perfectly happy with that. We'll see what happens though, obviously lots of changes are in store for us. And our landlord is 87 years old for heaven's sake. I thought he was going to croak before we even moved in.

So along with the weekend being long, exhausting, and cold, it also happened to be obviously stressful (duh) and tremendously sad as Brett managed to get bleach on the front of my black leather Christian Dior bag during the process. Ugh. Not only is it my favorite handbag that I carry 90% of the time but it's DIOR. I'm heartbroken... but still carrying it. Not the best time in our lives to have to replace a Dior bag, you know.

Ok, so have I even mentioned anything about being pregnant in this post yet? Well, I am still... very much so. I'm starting to look it and I'm definitely feeling it. I did a few cartwheels today during a tumbling class and I swear I saw stars for 20 minutes afterwards. Push-ups are also getting quite difficult but I need to feel good about some part of my body, right?

PREGNANT PERSON SURVEY TIME
How far along?: 24 weeks
Total weight gain: 15 pounds... thankfully it's all in my boobs and belly.
How much does baby weigh?: She should be a little over a pound now.
Maternity clothes?: No... although I will probably be purchasing some maternity tanks here soon.
Stretch marks?: None so far.... & crossing my fingers.
Sleep?: I hate sleeping on my side and lately I have been ready to pass out MUCH earlier than usual. I'm also waking up earlier.... which is good.
Best moment this week?: MOVING OUT OF OUR APARTMENT
Movement?: Yes, although it hasn't gotten more frequent yet. Still only feeling her mostly at night.
Food cravings?: Well, I go through about a half gallon of milk a day now, which is weird because I never used to drink it.
Labor signs?: No & hopefully not anytime soon. Still got 16 weeks to go!
Belly button in or out?: Still very much in... & hoping it stays that way.
What I miss: Sleeping on my back, sushi, tanning (I'll admit it), margaritas, t-shirts fitting baggy.
What I'm looking forward to: Thanksgiving! Mashed potatoes... mmmm
Milestone: Finally having a baby bump instead of rockin a beer belly.