New Project

      I’ve had this project in my head for several months, and I tried to find fabric once before but it didn’t work out because I wasn’t sure what I wanted.  This project involved getting three kinds of fabric that somehow coordinated with each other, putting them on canvas and sticking them on the dining room wall.  At first I wanted to frame them but that’s way more expensive.  Also I wanted some geometric fabric at first, in three different bright colors. 

     I told Eric about my plans a couple months ago and he said “you should take me with you to pick out fabric!”  Eric is way more artistically creative than I am, and he has a good eye.  Plus his taste is more similar to mine than Matt’s is, so Matt just gets frustrated when he tries to help me.  Eric is moving to Minnesota in about a week so I finally decided to get the ball rolling before he left.  On Wednesday we went to Mangelson’s.   It must have been a funny sight, us standing in the fabric aisle. I was in my giant puffy purple coat and Eric was in his badss leather jacket.  It was fun though, and here are the three fabrics we picked out:

     My camera decided to die after a couple pictures so I'm stuck with these.  The blue is prettier in person.  I'll post the finished project though!   I actually decided to have 6 square canvases and make two out of each fabric.  So this will look entirely different from my first plan but I’m really excited!  I feel like I would have passed by the blue fabric, but Eric pointed it out and I think it’s really pretty. In fact I got two yards in case I find something else to do with it.  


  Today we went grocery shopping for the first time since October.  It's hard to plan meals since I have to consult the powers that be whenever I get hungry.  It was double coupon day though!  We only saved $10 but that's better than nothing.  Yesterday we bought this 6 month size sleeper.  The clearance was 33% off at Gordmans so it was super cheap.

    

13 Weeks! Plus last weekends shenanagins

How far along? 13 weeks, I just told you

Total weight gain: I have no idea but considering I keep feeling like I’m starving, then get sick when I put food to my face, I can’t imagine I’ve gained anything.

Maternity clothes?  Needing the belly band again because I can’t button my pants.  Also, 90% of my dresses don’t fit anymore. I figured this out when I was getting ready for church and couldn’t zip it up due to my growing chest.  TMI?  Well you asked.

Best pregnancy moment this week: Getting to the 2^nd trimester!

Miss Anything? Being able to eat whatever I want, specifically fried rice, burgers, pizza.   

Movement: Maybe by the end of February?

Food cravings: Tacos, breakfast burritos, baked potatoes

Food aversions: Breaded chicken, pizza, still anything greasy or unhealthy

Gender: Still saying girl

Symptoms: I normally just get a stomach ache at mealtimes and especially at night.  I’m not as tired, but when I get hungry it’s out of the blue and I’m just all of a sudden starving. No warning.

Looking forward to: getting a baby bump!

     Last weekend we went to visit Anakin.  I got to hold him first and he was so tiny and cute!  I was a little nervous because I forgot which ways you can hold a newborn.  I mostly just remembered to support his head. I forgot how heavy 7 pounds is though, I can’t believe in a few months I will have that weight in my uterus.  And I thought my back hurt now!  Anyways, it was really fun seeing them.  Matt held him too and was a little scared, it was his first time holding a newborn and he hasn’t held many babies at all in his life.

     Before I was pregnant I watched a couple documentaries that made me leery of epidurals, even though I knew they were very biased on natural childbirth.  But I have to say, after reading Jill’s birth story and seeing Anakin’s (perfectly normal sized) head in person, I decided I’m just going to get a damn epidural.  Jill got to play pretty contentedly on her Ipad for much of her labor instead of writhing in pain for several hours, so I figured I would rather have that kind of birthing experience.  At least with the first one, maybe I’ll get brave next time and say "bring it on!"

     After that we went to a get-together at Emilee and Aaron’s place.  We watched “The Office” and “Hallpass” and I had a caffeine free soda (Did you know it tastes the same as regular soda? WOOT!) while everyone else enjoyed some gummy bears soaked in vodka.  A couple of Aarons friends came that I recognized from Peru, but had never talked to.  Seth came too, it was fun! 

     On Sunday I went to see Beauty and the Beast in 3D but I wasn’t all that impressed.  It just wasn’t made to be 3D in the first place.  I’m not a fan of 3D anyways, I just thought it would be fun to see it in the theater again.  Now I’ve had the songs stuck in my head all week. 

     Tomorrow I want to share my new project but I'm too lazy to take a picture of the fabric right now and I don't want to make my post too long.  

The Name Game

     Even though we have several months to come up with an identity for our child, the name game is at the forefront of my thoughts. Girls names are easy, we already have two girl names picked out as well as their middle names.  (So hopefully we get at least two girls!)  Boy names on the other hand are very difficult.  They are SO difficult that at one point I decided to give the job to Matt because I trust him and I honestly couldn’t think of boys names that I liked and Matt agreed with.  I like:

*Henry

*Jack

*Milo

*Lewis (too close to Lucy, our second girl name)

*Theo (but Theodore is forever a chipmunk to me)

*Jasper

*Leo (but Matt only likes Leonardo and although it might grow on me, it’s a little too much for me right now)

*George (I have an obsession with old man names.  How cute would a little baby named george be?  But maybe not a 16 year old…I’m not sure)

     Plus, with the exception of Lucy, I want the first name to have more or less than two syllables so it sounds nice with our last name.  Also I don’t want the first name to end in R since our last name ends in R. Finally, there are a lot of names that I either have negative associations with or just pop culture associations with that I can’t get over.  I have all kinds of issues, can you tell? 

Matt likes:

*Gabriel

*Leonardo (Heroes in a half shell.  TURTLE POWER!)

*Elijah (A child I came across while learning to be a teacher.  Bad associations.)

*Isaiah

*Isaac

*Abraham (just a little too old sounding for me)

*Oliver (Matt’s cocker spaniel.  That’s just wrong.)

*Archer

*Sterling

     First of all, I was all for Gabriel and then Matt decided he doesn’t want to make a decision until we know the sex.  That’s in March (hopefully) so the planner in me is going crazy because I hate waiting.  Second of all, Sterling Archer is the main character in the inappropriate cartoon “Archer.” He’s not someone I want to name my kid after.  I jokingly said the other night “hey, we should give our kid the middle name Danger” (even though my instincts shouted STOP YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING)

Matt LOVED it.  He said he wants to name our kid Sterling Danger Palmer.  No joke.

“This is your pilot, Sterling Danger Palmer, speaking. Buckle up”

“Your surgery is scheduled with Dr. Sterling Danger Palmer”

“And now ladies, welcome to the stage, Sterling Danger Palmer”

The third one fits the most. Alas, that is not the life I wish upon my child.  I realize the middle name won’t really be used much but it’s necessary for dramatic effect.

I’ll just hope the baby is a girl.

For any name lovers, these are girl names I love in no particular order:

Ophelia           Eleanor            Elaina             Lorelai

Lydia               Charlotte          Lucy               Cecilia

Alice                Helena             Clara              Audrey

Margaret         Evangeline      Georgia         Elizabeth

Samantha       Cordelia           Fiona             Bernadette

More Rantings of a Crazy Pregnant Woman (is that redundant?)

     I’m very grateful for this baby, he is a dream come true.  That being said, there is one thing about pregnancy that bugs me the most: being told what to do.  I realize that it’s for the safety of the baby, and it’s for the best (blah blah blah) but does a book really have to lecture me on eating a donut?  One donut? A month week? I wanted to see the progress of the baby at 11 weeks so I went to this website and it said you better not eat any ice cream for dessert, it’s best to stick with carrot sticks but PUT DOWN THAT RANCH DRESSING!  I made some of that up but seriously, pregnant women shouldn’t eat ice cream?  My body is telling me what I can and cannot eat and if I don’t eat that ice cream, I will not be able to function while my head is screaming ICE CREAM!!! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY PICK UP THAT FREAKING SPOON!! 

     It has calcium in it right?  I drink milk and water and orange juice every day, I eat fruit and veggies and whatever my head decides is acceptable for the day.  I think I deserve a little ice cream, or a piece of cake or a cookie for heaven’s sake.  These people must not understand cravings. I didn’t know what a craving really was until yesterday when I thought I smelled a breakfast burrito (jenny had made a chicken tv dinner) and all I could think of were breakfast burritos and I had to force feed my spaghettio lunch to myself because it sounded disgusting compared to the burrito.  So I made 4 last night and saved a couple for lunch.  Then I fell asleep on the couch because I was exhausted from cooking apparently. 

     The point is, I know why I can’t have alcohol or too much fish or raw food.  I don’t really like any of those anyways.  I understand why I should exercise and eat healthy, ditch caffeine, take my vitamins, and avoid dangerous sports and roller coasters.  However, my doctor says “everything in moderation.”  So to the pregnancy expert book writers: You may take my rum and coke, but you can never take my donuts!

At least I'm honest (or, Julie the music snob)

     My friend Jill had her baby, Anakin, last Wednesday!  I’m hoping to visit this Saturday.  It feels like we waited forever for him to be born.  My baby will only be about 7 months younger, I’m sure they will be friends!  Although I bet they will be a grade apart.

     Yesterday we went to Target for some random things and I told Matt I wanted to stop by the baby section and look at the strollers and swings in person.  I’ve been looking online but they don’t let you zoom very far.  This was obviously torture for Matt because it isn’t a very manly section and heaven forbid anyone knows he is going to be a father.  He would rather be in the more mature toy section by the Legos and super heroes.

     There’s a bird/dog themed pattern that I kind of like there.  I figure I should probably get unisex gear that I can use for all my kids.  (Sometimes being practical is boring.)  Most of what I saw would work for either sex though, so it’s not going to be difficult. I think the bird mobile is adorable.

     I bought an Everly Brothers CD last night.  They are known for such hits as:

*Bye Bye Love

*All I Have to Do is Dream

*Wake Up Little Susie

     I got it in my head that the first songs the baby hears in-utero will be 50s/60s.  Not that it will make any difference in his life but it’s a start to getting way more musically cultured than his/her father.  I wont leave the other decades out though, they are all awesome!  I grew up with tons of music, music is a big deal. Matt is mostly apathetic.  I LOVE Sam Cooke so I want some of that too.  In all likelihood the first music the baby will hear will probably be me singing to Death Cab For Cutie in the car because I'm pretty obsessed with them right now. At least I'm honest.

Dear Food, I Miss You

     As soon as I can eat like a normal person I’m going straight for fried rice at either china road or Vietnamese Restaurant, and this chicken, barbecue sauce, cilantro pizza at Extreme Pizza.  Oh and tator-tot casserole!  Also some chicken tenders and mom’s enchiladas and a sausage biscuit.  Geeze I look like a real healthy person.  No wonder my body is averse to all these things.  Matt’s been taking care of dinner for a few weeks now but he only makes things that I can handle so he is missing our old diet too.  

     Even with all the pregnancy symptoms, seeing the baby and hearing his/her heartbeat, it still doesn’t feel real that I’m pregnant.  Maybe when I feel the baby for the first time and actually look pregnant it will kick in more.  A part of me felt like this would never happen for some reason.  Although I also felt like high school would never end, I would never grow up and I would never get married so maybe big changes just take a while for me to grasp. 

     Only 14 days and the first trimester is over!  Then we (me, mom and Michelle) might have to do a little neutral baby shopping.  If I have a girl I’m getting a ton of those baby headbands with flowers/bows on them.  I can see a new obsession forming. 

I found a random quote from when we first got married:

Matt: I’m on an ego trip now, for the past 20 minutes.

Me: How’s that?

Matt: I looked in the mirror.

I also found this fun pregnancy questionnaire.  I’m 11 weeks today!

How far along? 11 weeks

Total weight gain: Last I checked I've lost two pounds compared to what I weighed before I was pregnant.  Thank you food aversions and all day sickness.

Maternity clothes?  I got a belly band, but I haven't needed it since last month..

Best moment this week: Buying girl scout cookies!

Miss Anything? Food.  Also, Coke.  

Movement: Hopefully in a few weeks!

Food cravings: Tacos and ice cream.  But not together, that's gross.

Food aversions: Chicken, pizza, anything greasy or unhealthy

Gender: I say girl, Matt says boy.  Hopefully we will find out in March but I'll be happy with either.  But I'm leaning towards girl because then I would know for sure that I get at least one girl.

Symptoms: Nausea is starting to wear off, so is fatigue.  But the other day I smelled trash and there was no trash around.  Then it happened again at work.  Pregnancy is weird.  I told Matt "I know for sure this is your kid because he is being a pain in the ass."  But I'm just kidding because it's not the baby's fault.

Belly Button in or out? In, no change.

Wedding rings on or off? On. I doubt I'll have to take them off.

Looking forward to: Hearing the heartbeat again so I know everything is still OK, our 20 week ultrasound and feeling movement!  Also getting into the second trimester at the end of the month.

Things I have cried at/about

Before I got pregnant I had dreams about babies every night.  Now I dream about everything but babies.  Like being a spy or last night when I was Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and I met the beast and he was disgusting. Luckily Matt's alarm woke me up.

I've also been crying at everything.  The other day I came home from work crying and told Matt that if this is a boy, one day he is going to grow up and find another woman and replace me.  I'm already feeling territorial, that doesn't bode well for the future.  Sorry future daughter-in-laws!  Daughters are different because they are always pretty loyal to you even when they get married.

Other things I have cried at:

* A Best Buy commercial where that chick was mean to Santa.  SERIOUSLY why be mean to Santa?  He gives you gifts out of the kindness of his heart and you have to be a jerk?  I'm not apologizing for this one.

* A "What Not to Wear" reveal.  But those people are doing the world a huge service.

* Christmas songs/love songs/any songs that have to do with parenting or Jesus

* When I couldn't eat my burger on the way home from MN, due to morning sickness

I'm sure the list will grow but that's all I remember for now.  Matt and I have colds again so it will be a pretty chill weekend.  Saturday marks 10 weeks!  25% of the way there!

One of the first things people say when I tell them my due date is "you're going to be so hot this summer!" and I decided to respond with "I know, but Matt says I'm hot every day."

Yep, that’s your kid in there

     I am a very impatient person.  I cannot keep my own secrets to save my life, so it’s a wonder I’ve waited even this long to blog.  Today we got a really good look at one of God’s miracles:

     We’re having a baby!  Today was our first ultrasound and our due date is August 4^th, 2012.  So I am 9 weeks 4 days today.  His/her head is on the right and the little feet are sticking up.  You can see the umbilical cord in the middle.  

     We found out the day after Thanksgiving.  I took a test on the Monday before Thanksgiving and it was negative.  I just had a feeling though so I took one that Wednesday morning before work and saw a very faint positive line but thought I might be crazy.  So work was not fun.  Then I took two when I got home and swore I saw faint lines but Matt was in denial.  So we had to leave for Minnesota that night.  We got back around midnight on Friday and I finally took a digital test, and had proof for Matt.  He was scared at first but he is very excited now and like my mom said, very giddy after this appointment.  He said he prepared himself for twins all morning but now he and my uterus are relieved.

     The baby bounced once and kept moving his/her arms and legs.  Matt said he/she was doing the Robot.  I said “yep, that’s your kid in there.”  The baby is about 2.81 cm.  We got to hear the heart beat, it was 184 bpm.  I heard that girls have a faster heart beat…hmmmm.  I’ve got the feeling it is a girl, but I also kept thinking it was twins so maybe my instincts are off. 

     I told myself I wouldn’t buy anything until my second trimester but I just HAD to buy cloth diapers and they came in today!  I’ve done tons of research on cloth diapers and I’ll do a specific blog on that later to explain to people (my mom) why I’m not crazy and how different they are from 20 years ago.  Here’s a picture though, I got gender neutral colors and they have really cute names.  I’m going to get different brands since we won’t know what works best for us. 

      These are Bumgenius one size pocket diapers.  The one on top looks white in the picture but its a light mint color called "sweet".  The yellow is "butternut" and the green is "ribbit." 

     I’ll definitely be blogging more now that I can talk about this.  I started off being a hungry hungry hippo and eating everything in sight.  In the past couple of weeks I’ve gotten a huge aversion to most foods and I lost 5 pounds in a month.  I can’t eat pizza or anything else with melted cheese, anything with a strong taste, greasy foods, or sweet sandwiches (jelly and honey cannot accompany my peanut butter anymore.)  My body wants fresh fruit and blt sandwiches. 

     Poor Matt has been living off my diet as well and I think we have had a lot of macaroni and cheese from a box.  He has been taking very good care of me and will go get me a donut, a sandwich or ice cream whenever I ask.  I’m already a little needy when I’m not pregnant, so you can imagine what I’m like now.  Maybe in a couple months I'll be able to post some belly pictures!

Happy New Year!

Last night I didn't feel well so we ended up inviting Chris over and just watched a marathon of The Big Bang Theory.  We watched the ball drop at midnight and went to bed right after.  I feel so old, normally we will go out but I couldn't even eat my dinner last night so I wasn't getting off the couch.  Hopefully 2012 will be a good year!

On Monday I got sucked into a marathon of “The Haunted” which is a real ghost story show on animal planet.  I must be a sucker for punishment.  If I watch enough of those shows I start getting paranoid but it’s so hard to turn away!  They do have an awful lot of mean ghosts on that show; like one where the ghost moved someone’s baby from their bedroom to their son’s bedroom. No one else was home.  Creepy! As long as I keep my closet door closed it should be okay. 

Speaking of being a sucker for punishment, when I was 8 or 9 I watched “the Dollhouse Murders” about 20 times in a row.  It’s about dolls that come to “life” and reenact a murder so the little girl can figure out who the killer was.  They were possessed by a ghost or something.  The house would glow before the dolls moved.  It really was a kids movie, I swear.  It scared the heck out of me and fascinated me at the same time.  I had to put my American girl dolls away in my parents room because I was afraid they would come to life at night.  They still freak me out a little.  So does the song “Have you seen the ghost of John” which they kept singing in the movie.  I think I should find that movie and watch it!