week 24 (and meatloaf)

Only 4 more weeks until I'm in my 3rd trimester! That seems ridiculous! I'm going to sidetrack here for a minute and announce something amazing...y'all, I got Will to eat meatloaf!!!!! I feel like more people hate meatloaf than people that like it...much less love it. I love meatloaf good meatloaf. I am a sucker for any restaurant offering a meat and 3 combo. 

"MAAA! THE MEATLOAF!!!!" This a glorious slice of meatloaf-heaven from Dish, my favorite restaurant in Charlotte! This is what I was eating when we found out Jameson was a Jameson...claaaaaaaaassssssssssy! I will make Jameson love this place too...(majority rules William!)

I don't even remember if we ate meatloaf growing up. Anyway, I tricked Will. Most meatloaf has onion or celery or some other "crunchy vegetable" (is an onion a vegetable?? I count it). Anyway, I made it boring but with lots of sauce and he ate it. He ate it all. AND I made mashed potatoes (real ones) and he liked them. For those of you that don't know...Will and I are very stubborn about our Thanksgiving mashed potatoes. He prefers his mothers' and I prefer my mothers'. Since I make them, I do it Patti's way (they have sour cream and cream cheese in them). Anyway, I had all the intention of having baked potatoes and then decided that was dumb and made mashed potatoes at the last minute. He only liked them because I added triple the amount of butter I normally put in them. I don't know how we are still breathing this morning. 
Alright, enough about that. Let's see what the fatty has been up to!

FAT GIRL IN A LITTLE COAT! Someone stop letting me wear stripes dammit!

Total weight gain:   Dr. H only has me at +17lbs so I'm totally going with that! 

Will quote of the week: "You don't look pregnant from behind...I mean you're a little wider but I'd still 'date' you."  The man of my dreams ladies and gentlemen! This quote was not even instigated. I was simply getting ready for bed and minding my own....

Maternity clothes?  oh yea oh yea oh yea. I just ordered some new items from Old Navy. Gotta keep things interesting!

Stretch marks?  Not yet....I wince every time I look at my belly after I get up...as if they appear over night. Actually, they probably do.

Sleep:  I tried to switch sides of the bed with Will to see if it made a difference. It really did, but then he gets in bed before me and steals his spot back so I'll never get to retest. So selfish. Also, both cats have had increasing interest in the Snoogle. I woke up this morning to both of them sleeping on it...along with me!

Best moment this week: A "stranger" in my neighborhood pulled over to tell me congratulations. I was weirded out and then got emotional at the same time. I've never talked to this lady but from what I can tell she is a nice lady!

Miss Anything?  Summer cocktails. And more specifically a turkey/bacon/brie/honey mustard sandwich from Laurel Market. Whoever delivers that to me at the hospital can have a million dollars after I win the lottery. Dead serious.

Movement:  Yes! Mostly at night. Will's face was hilarious one night when he felt her dance around over and over. She's got Will-moves.

Food cravings: Just the normal forbidden items. I don't really get crazy for anything. I have been eating a lot of red meat though... 

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Just chicken on the bone still. The thought of it can make me dry heave.

Gender: Pretty, pretty princess!

Symptoms:  Soooo out of breath walking up hills. I caught myself walking with both hands on my hips through the neighborhood. Stupid. People probably think I'm about to have this baby any second with the way I struggle/waddle on my walks. For the record, I waddle because of chub rub (inner thighs rubbing when I don't wear pants).

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy...I told Dr. H about all my delivery fears. She is due in less than 2 weeks! She told me I was being crazy and that mine would be perfect (liar, but it made me feel better).

That's all I got!!!

week 23

Looking and feeling larger by the day it seems! This is crazy talk! I had a pretty emotional past week or 2. Last week my BFF Kirsten gave birth to a precious baby girl. She was just under 7lbs but she feels and looks soooooooo tiny!! I have to watch how I say that because I'm sure 7lbs does NOT feel small coming out of you. I only have my cats to compare sizes to, so that is what I'm basing it off of...no offense KK! Sike, KK won't be offended. She loves cats as much as I do!
And theeeeeeen, my friend Aimee in Hawaii had her baby boy early this week. So many babies. I am overwhelmed! I haven't gotten to talk with Aimee that much since the time change is ridiculous and I want her to get situated before I bombard her with 5 million questions. Good luck Mimi!
Alright, here is the boring stuff...

It's all boobs. Gross. Also, now I get why prego ladies always put their hand where I have mine. We aren't being "tender"...it's so people can tell that you have a form and are not, in fact, wearing a bed sheet. It's proof that there is a reason you look like a sweaty obese homeless lady. 

Total weight gain:   18.5 lbs........ga-ross. Oh well. I eat what I want and exercise. Although, I mostly do more of one than the other (it's not exercise...shhhh!).

Maternity clothes?  I just put on my stretchiest outfits out of my closet. I did finally break down and buy new bras. I went to VS for their semi-annual sale and to my surprise I found some of the most comfortable bras ever! The only catch was they came in hot pink with sequins and lime green with leopard print trim. Ridiculously inappropriate for this fat-pregnant lady in my opinion. 

Stretch marks?  No, but if I ruin one more shirt with disgusting oily cocoa butter stains seeping through silk/sheer polyester AND still get stretch marks...heads will roll!!!! For some reason I don't trust anything else but that paste...it's mental.

Sleep:  I can't even tell anymore. I feel the same when I sleep 5 hours or when I sleep 9 so I'm clearly missing that median number. It's probably 7...but I'm too lazy to get up.

Best moment this week: Our glider AND crib came in. Plus I bought a Sleep Sheep impulsively. The cats love it...

Miss Anything?  I have dreams about running and playing soccer. So I guess I miss that?!? Who would have thought!

Movement:  Baby James plays soccer with my bladder from 10pm until I fall asleep. I hope this isn't a sign to come for sleep patterns. If she is like me she will be a night owl and nap away her days!

Food cravings: I want frozen yogurt every night! The craving doesn't kick in until 9pm and it's too late for TCBY at that point. It's for the best though....oh also, I crave frozen coffee drinks. Never in my life have I been like that! 

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Not really, just gross heartburn/acid reflux after certain meals.

Gender: Guuuuuuuuuurl

Symptoms:  Just weight and sometimes weird random pains. Oh and my tums is itchy even though I lotion it in the AM and PM!

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy but delivery fears have begun to set in! I am terrified of the unknown. 2 of my best friends gave birth this past week and their birth stories are so completely opposite. I like to read blogs and freak myself out too. Am I right Jessica?!? Anyway, I have a while to think about it so I may as well get over it!

This post was weak, I know. I don't even feel like checking for errors....sorry grammar police! I wanted to post pictures and do a nursery update but my glider and crib are in pieces right now. Once Will finishes the bead board installation in the nursery you won't be able to get me out of there. So hurry up Will, dang! The people are waiting!

week 22 and some change

Whoooops! Super late on this guy. Blame Jameson...she's craaaaazy! Jk, I got distracted by vacation time this weekend. I didn't get a really good picture of the bump but it is HUGE! No really.

This is from the 22 week mark....I just forgot to post!

Total weight gain:   I either did some really bad math last week or gained a ton this past week. I'm up 17.5 lbs....If I'm only a little over half way does that mean that number will double?!!?

Maternity clothes?  I'm in the depression phase of dressing while pregnant. Everything looks like a piece of fabric draped over a car on me. T-shirts make my tums hang out so I look like a fat redneck...and I still have 4 more months!!

Stretch marks?  Not yet....

Sleep:  I'm all over the place. Sometimes I sleep 3 hours in the evening or sometimes 9 hours. And now I don't wake up in the middle of the night until I'm literally doubled over in pain from a full bladder. This weekend I couldn't sleep so I woke up and did some squats in the hotel room. I have no idea what my reasoning behind that was. Thank goodness no one woke up to see me because they were not pretty.

Best moment this week: I saw a ton of family and got surprises for Jameson and my mom bought me a dress to add to my rotation of 5 things! Whoo hooo!

Miss Anything?  Ummm I miss my thighs not rubbing together...and I miss working out. I always had a love/hate relationship with working out but I really miss it. I also lost all muscle in my thighs....I guess from not playing soccer?? Wtf??

Movement:  A LOT! I like to pretend whatever I am eating or drinking at the time she is moving is her favorite thing. So far she likes soda....and soda.

Food cravings: Fruits and waters but instead I'm eating carbs and carbs. Lazy. 

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Not really that I can think of. Hot drinks maybe??

Gender:  Lady baby

Symptoms:  General largeness. I can't last in the heat as long as I want to...and ridiculous thigh rubbing. So sick. Like to the point where I might start wearing sliders in public. 

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy/bossy/cranky...all of the above. Less crying than before. I've learned to channel that into rage instead! :)

L to R: Patti (Mom), G-ma Bobbie, Les, Sarah (sistas!), Large Marge, and McWill. Hangovers courtesy of the previous night's wedding. Not me, I was just sleepy. Also remind me to never wear a sports bra while wearing maternity clothes. Can we say uni-boob/tummy!?

In other news Will and I went to Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island (Florida for those not familiar) this weekend. We had the dumbest trip down there...I went to bed at 2AM and woke up promptly at 5:45AM(!?!?)to get ready and load the car. Will decided he needed to work for like 45 minutes so we ended up getting on the road around 7:45. No idea what we did for 2 hours. Anyway, our trip started off all wrong. We stopped at Dunkin' Donuts to get breakfast and I accidentally ordered a milkshake for breakfast soooo that was weird. Will and I have differing opinions on what happened next but I'm sure I'm right...I got my milkshake (fat) and decided I was annoyed with everyone in sight so I decided to go outside and wait. Will said a woman from the back kitchen brought his food to him and said "have a happy father's day". He was appalled. "Do I look like a dad?!?!". He has been told by my brother that he looked like a dad because "he was hairy and wears loafers" so this really sent him over the edge. He was not pleased. Ummm, I have a bowling ball floating off my front so I don't really feel sorry for you if you look like a dad. Silly Will.
Anyway, after that we set off for I-77 south only to hit traffic 25 minutes into the trip. I convinced Will to get off the interstate and take back roads only to encounter some jerk running a red light and another jerk driving on the wrong side of the road. Hillbillies. Oh, then I needed to mail my father's day card to my dad so it could get there in time (only to remember later that he was on vacation until next Saturday). Fail. At least we got a nice tour of the SCANA facility in Cayce, SC.
Hooray we made it to I-26! Wait why are we in North Charleston?!?! Whoops, we missed I-95 because I was talking about snacks. AND since we are both stubborn we didn't want to back track on I-26 so we got off and did 17 south instead. Fail. Needless to say, 7 hours** after leaving Charlotte we were ready to see beach. Queue the rain! But then family-time happened so it was okay!

Our only picture from the wedding, not great quality but it works! It was an outdoor wedding (a tad warm but it cooled down for the reception).

Sarah's first Stella :) Beautiful reception on the harbor! Already looking puffy...can't wait for months 6-9 :(

** I am notorious for ruining car trips. I mostly drive on trips (unless we already know where we are going) because I stop paying attention to the map. I accidentally turned off GPS this trip which is really why we missed I-95. We both knew that we needed to get on 95...but my snack stories were soooo riveting. I have also gotten us turned around in Tennesee while on the way to west Georgia (you should never need to go through Tennessee from Charlotte FYI). These are only a few of my many direction related blunders but I'll save myself some embarrassment. I prefer a list of directions to a map...I'm reeeeeeeealllly good at following lists...just not movable picture maps. "But how am I supposed to know which way north is if every time I turn the phone the map re-orientates itself!??!?" (that is rhetorical...Will has answered this out loud to me many times). 

week 21

{Sigh} The 21st week, the rainiest and most depressing week since week 10 in Dublin! It's not really that bad...I exaggerate of course. Nothing can top my last weekend so I don't have much to report this week. The baby room is in progress. As of THIS SECOND I hate the color in the nursery but I'm not 100% the color is the issue. There are a lot of terrible things going on in that room (like the worst invention of architecture/design history: popcorn ceilings). Just awful. The lighting is stupid and the bead board isn't installed. That part is my fault...I wanted to paint first, and by I, I mean Will. I will see how it looks with 2 more coats of paint before I officially decide to set off a bomb in that room. I'm not sure if indecisiveness is a pregnancy side effect but I'm claiming that for now. Here is my 21 week bumpdate:

FAT FACE! Not the best photo but the warehouse guy took it for me sooooo.....

I appear to have some sort of uni-boob/belly combo going on. Whatever. I was convinced I was going to fit into these pre-prego clothes. I have no idea why or how this still fits me. That's Target clothes for you! Anyway, I digress....

Total weight gain:   Still at 14lbs...so I feel certain I was just having a fat McDonald's week last week.

Maternity clothes?  Aside from whatever that outfit up there is...I am happily wearing maternity clothes. I need to invest in some other pieces though...I'm running out of clever combinations of the same 6 pieces. I don't know how people with corporate jobs find anything to wear (Jessica!?!?!).

Stretch marks?  Not yet, but I know they are hiding somewhere. I will make Will get some tattooed on himself to match me. It's only fair.

Sleep:  I don't know what my sleep is right now. I stay up late OR fall asleep early. I never wake up early (unless 3:30AM counts). I busted my friend Aimee in Hawaii up at 4AM her time and she said she had been up a while! (She is due next weekend EEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!)

Best moment this week: A lady on the phone remembered me from stopping in the shop and told me I was "an adorable pregnant lady". I really enjoyed that since most of the people that come in here are afraid to acknowledge that I'm pregnant so I just look like a jerk when I don't help them lift a 30lb piece of decorative concrete....jeez what an a-hole! 

Miss Anything?  Still my deli meats/steak/sushi and tropical mixed beverages. I have sniffed so many mixed drinks that I'm sure if it is possible to get a contact-buzz....I got one.

Movement:  So much this week! Mostly when I eat and then she goes nuts at night. Playtime!

Food cravings:  I'm not completely sure how this whole craving thing works. I had a ridiculous need for pineapple juice....not fruit...just the juice but Will wasn't home and I was pretty invested in Seinfeld* at the time so I just pretended it didn't happen. Does it count if you don't fulfill your "need"?? Otherwise I've been eating a lot of pancakes and I sometimes have an insatiable thirst for water...bizarre!

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Just overeating. I can't stop once I start.

Gender:  Big, fat, pink baby!

Symptoms:  Sometimes I get weird pains in my "abs". Will likes to tell me when he catches a glimpse of the muscles formerly known as abs...."there they were!". Ass.

Happy or Moody most of the time:  I think I was pleasant this week. This question should really be filled out by Will. I've busted him laughing at me while I randomly (and frantically) start cleaning things at 10PM. Or when I try on something that I think I might still be able to fit in and then rip it off in anger and punt it into the closet and threaten to wear sheets for the remainder of pregnancy. I don't know if that counts as being moody or unintentionally comical. "I don't give any care!"

*I saw 2 Seinfeld's that I have never seen before! (impossible right?)I don't even remember what they were about but I do remember that Jerry's dad was a different character than usual. They must have been the first couple of shows EVER...further investigation is required!

babymoonin'

Apparently that is a term made up by my generation. I saw it on the internet though, so it must be real. Anyway we went on a quick little vacation this weekend to Sonesta Resort in Hilton Head. It-was-awesome! We left early afternoon Friday and came back late Sunday...but it felt like we were there all week. Here are some photos documenting our trip:

Will's FAVORITE part of the resort. "Man those turtles have it made....", because they live at a resort. He said it every time we walked by them.

We did some beachin' and some poolin' while we were there too! It wasn't crowded at all...we couldn't have asked for more perfect timing. We spent some time at the pool spying on "family dynamics". One of my favorite things to do (even before we were pregnant) was to watch families and how they interact in public places like the pool, restaurants, or the mall. So many hilarious scenarios. I watched Will cringe as he watched a dad of 3 girls try to throw the football with them...it wasn't pretty. He is convinced that is what we will be at some point. One at a time Will, one at a time.

The walk to the beach access at the resort...also the home of the turtle family Will is envious of.

WARNING: A LOT of pale-skin surface area coming up!!!!!

Will going SPF free for "just a little while". Fast forward to neon pink skin that can't be touched (even for aloe) by 6pm. He will never learn.

First and last time I will take a pregnant bikini shot... 2 stories about looking/feeling farther along than I actually am: First, as I was walking up the beach in the soft sand, a man said to Will "don't just walk behind her, PUSH!". Embarrassing. Second, Will was saving seats for the sunset so I was on ice cream duty. I walked around the corner holding both of our cones and some random dude yelled, "TWO?!?!?!", and then got embarrassed and walked the other direction. That is the second time I have been mistakenly accused of eating 2 desserts.

 We also went to The Salty Dog Cafe...it was delicious. Followed by ice cream and sunsets! A really good trip. I want to go again immediately. We have decided we want to be "Hilton Head People". I will always love Charleston but I think this is our new go to beach. Until next time HHI...

Will's dumb finger.