i miss jamba!

I have finally established the perfect combination of sherbet, fresh fruit, juice and ice... when blended together they taste very similar to a Citrus Squeeze at Jamba Juice. Steve and I crave the Jamba at least once a week (although he prefers the Strawberries Wild), however we unfortunately don't live on the west coast so we have resorted to creating our own.

heaven.

Holy crap. I just found out the Whole Foods in Silver Spring still has a Jamba inside (why would they take the one in Clarendon out!??!)... we'll be in Mclean for my sister's lacrosse game this afternoon - what's another 15 miles around the Beltway? Yum. Can't wait.

time flies

I'm a day early on my fruit update but I have the time to make the update now... so I'm taking advantage. Now that I'm fourteen weeks, he/she is the size of a lemon (very cute). Also, "Your adorable little fetus is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, and (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over the body for warmth." I can't believe we're this far along already - it seems like just yesterday that we found out and September seemed so unbelievably far away... but in fact that was way back on January 20th. Here it is, practically April... and September definitely doesn't seem so far away anymore. I had an appointment on Friday which was short and sweet - but I got to hear the heartbeat again! This time it was much easier to find but still just as fast.

While Steve is putting the final touches on his car (what that is, I have absolutely no idea) I overhauled my closet. When I start running out of room (which is ridiculous considering the size of my closet) I wait until one day when I cannot take it anymore and I start tearing things off their hangers and putting them in trashbags. That's my overhaul. It has nothing to do with reorganization or rearranging - I just enjoy throwing things away. If I haven't worn it in the past six months and can't see myself wearing it anytime soon (post-baby, at least) then it's outta here. Plus, I have to make room for my expanding maternity wardrobe! Now that I'm finished, it looks nice in there.

Time is up. Steve should be home any minute now so we can grab lunch and watch basketball all afternoon. Tennessee's loss really screwed up my Final Four bracket but I'm not so sure they would have been able to top UNC anyways... just as long as KU and UCLA stay in there until the national championship. I know KU and UNC may potentially meet in the near future but I'm crossing my fingers for the Jayhawks. I've got to support my Kansas boys! I'm jealous of all the old friends of mine that ended up at KU (because, lets face it - you either go to KU or K-State out there) and spent their year cheering on Mangino and the football team and now, of course, their stellar basketball team... Mary Wash's sports teams are nothing to write home about (or cheer about). The campus was beautiful, though! :)

happy easter!

I only have a second but I thought I'd make the thirteen week fruit update (for my sister - she likes knowing the fruits). Now that we're thirteen weeks along, "Your fetus is forming teeth and vocal cords... savor this, their non-functional phase. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with a head now only one third the size of the body. Intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy. (Much more convenient.)" The baby is the size of a peach! A month or so from now, we'll know the sex and can get serious about shopping for baby things. I bought our first newborn-sized baby outfit a few days ago but I can only buy so many green outfits...!

be careful out there

I love to research useless (and in this case, useful) information... for example, digging up Scientology websites will blow your mind. Yes, people actually believe that garbage. With the recent exploits (assumed, at least) of our creepy ex-neighbor it reminded me that I hadn't checked the Sex Offender Registry lately. I came across this website at work when I lived in Richmond and was shocked to discover how many sex offenders surrounded our apartment. We did live downtown but it was still nevertheless surprising to see that many flags pop up. There's only one flag popping up that is remotely near our new address, thank goodness... but I thought I'd provide the link to those of you that are interested.

Virginia Sex Offender Registry

almost as good as snow!

I love a good thunderstorm. It's relaxing to fall asleep to and I love to have our sliding door wide open while it's pouring outside... plus, the dogs like to lay on the porch and watch the rain. Maybe the combination of 70 degree weather and a powerful midwest storm will bring some Kansas City like tornado excitement (with no injuries, of course)?

Last night a couple of policemen visited our next door neighbor. To make a long story short, the husband finally (!) moved out last week (much to our anticipation) and the wife is still living there since it was her place to begin with. We'd noticed she randomly came home with a full-grown German Shepherd one day but I just assumed it was because she had an affinity for the breed... come to find out it was for protection from her psychotic soon-to-be-ex-husband. Big surprise. Apparently she had to change her locks and her phone number and he's been creeping around our building so we overheard her speaking to the officers last night about a restraining order and what she should do. I felt bad for her and also realized that I should really keep an eye out for him whenever I'm by myself at home or walking the dogs - he's got major issues. From the sound of it, the husband had been creeping around last night before she called the police and, coincidence or not, we wake up to find a slashed tire on Steve's BMW. We live in a pretty nice neighborhood and have never seen anything remotely shady or sketchy going on so we're pretty sure it was Mr. Psycho Husband venting his frustration. Of course we can't pinpoint him but it seems pretty obvious - especially since he's well aware of the fact that we despised him. Lame. Luckily we have jobs (unlike aforementioned loser ex-neighbor) and can afford to replace the tire with little time or money wasted, but people like that really tick me off.

I'll have you know that I am lounging comfortably at work in my maternity pants. You'd never guess they were maternity pants (aside from the growing bulge that is slowly stretching them out) and they are incredibly comfy. My only wish is that they would somehow fit me after I give birth... why can't all pants be like this?

I'm craving pineapples lately... yum. Chocolate milk, too.

second trimester

I am officially in my second trimester! I am also officially three months pregnant, I am officially showing (have been for a week or so now - just a little bit, though) and I have officially made my first purchase of maternity wear. I know I swore off maternity wear at the beginning but I was an uneducated never-been-pregnant lady at that point and by now I know the truth. I tried to wear my normal clothes as long as possible but that's going to have to change pretty soon. I bought two new pairs of work pants at It's Hip to Be Round in Carytown yesterday (cute and comfortable - who knew?) and in a few weeks I'm going to have to get some new tops for work... and a pair of jeans. I have my eye on a pair of Citizens of Humanity maternity jeans - if I'm going to wear maternity jeans I'm at least going to look good wearing them, right? I actually found a lot of cute skirts at that store yesterday... so I might actually be outfitted in cute maternity wear throughout the summer. The prospect alone doesn't horrify me anymore - I have finally given in!

Also ran into an old friend from Richmond while we were in Carytown... she just had her second baby (her second boy, so adorable!) five weeks ago and she looked hot. Please oh please let me have my pre-pregnancy body back ASAP. I'm not asking for much... certainly not better than what I had to begin with... but if I can have my flat tummy back and very few stretch marks I promise I will be better about exercising (meaning, I actually will exercise)... I promise!

We had a great time in Richmond yesterday. It was 70 degrees and sunny and gorgeous and Carytown was packed and the dogs were running around Stony Point... made me miss Richmond, as usual. I just keep reminding myself - one day... we'll be back. Steve loves his job and is so happy at work but their headquarters are in Richmond, so I know there's a chance if we ever sold our condo and decided to go back that he would have a job. Nice to know. So, we enjoyed the weather, the shopping, lunch at Nacho Mama's and dinner at Bottom's Up (Hill Cafe was too crowded - bummer). Steve also got to stop by Salvation to talk to Jimmy about finishing his arm... we'll be back down there on Aptil 12th to get that done (and I can finally make a hair appointment for while he's getting tattooed - split end city over here). It's going to look awesome.


Finally, the requisite baby bean update. Now that I'm twelve weeks along, here we are: "As you move into the second trimester, baby shifts into the growth and maturation stage. After weeks in the critical development stage, almost all of baby's systems are fully formed." I don't really think plums are bigger than limes but I could be wrong. All I know is that it's definitely getting bigger - no wonder my clothes don't fit anymore! It's a good think I finally told my bosses at work because there's no way I can fool anyone into thinking I just had a big lunch at Baja Fresh anymore... it's pretty obvious now.

recipe for...

So I didn't quite make it into work today. I made it out of bed, stumbled into the shower, actually got ready and did my hair and stood - dumbfounded and frustrated - in my closet while struggling to find something that still fit, then was in the kitchen getting a drink when I decided, "no... I'm exhausted... going on day three of my killer headache and I am not going to work today." I called my boss and proceeded to sleep until 11. I was hoping to sleep off the headache (its been my hope for days now) but since it was still there when I woke up, I called my doctor. As of this evening, my daily pregnancy medication recipe looks like this:

• (1) Multi-prenatal vitamin (horse pill - nasty)
• (1) Lipil DHA supplement (softgel - not so bad)
• (2) Calcium/Vitamin D supplements (tastes icky)

In addition, I (thank GOD) am still taking my angry stomach acid medication and have now added Tylenol 3 with codeine into the mix for my lovely headaches. Remember the days when medicine tasted like bubblegum? I wish they could do that with pills. I would ask for Hubba Bubba strawberry-watermelon... it's my new favorite.

Off to weed through my closet so I can figure out which of my work clothes still somewhat fit me. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm really excited to hit up It's Hip to Be Round in Richmond on Saturday. I'm in the market for some new comfy pants.

sleepytime trio

Daylight Savings Time is already screwing with me. Normally I pass out as soon as my head hits the pillow (thank you to the little bean inside of me for that) but last night I laid there for one… two… three hours. I kept trying to play with Luke to pass the time but he would have none of it. Even he was sleeping, it was awful. I tried to turn my brain off and just lay absolutely still but there was just too much running through it. Hopefully it won’t take my body two weeks to catch up like it did when we gained an hour a few months back.

As far as the little baby/bean is concerned, this week it is the size of a lime (much better than a prune). During this week, "your fetus currently enjoys a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent that blood vessels show right through. But, fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds and nail beds are forming -- setting up a significantly more attractive future." How cute. The fruit updates don’t quite get me the way they used to because I’m struggling with other not-so-cute aspects of the pregnancy… the most frustrating being my migraines that I can’t take anything for (extra strength Tylenol is useless). They’re basically ruling my life at the moment, until I have a chance to make it to the doctor. The only relief they can give me is Tylenol 3 (pretty bizarre that codeine is considered safe)… I’m assuming that means no driving once I take that so I’ll most likely have to leave work for the headaches. Oh well. What can you do. I bought Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy because I heard it was hilarious and brutally honest (which it was) but it was about a 45 minute read. I’ll pass it along to the next pregnant lady I have in my life so she can be entertained for slightly less than an hour. I also flew through Beautiful Boy by David Sheff recently – it was extraordinarily close to home but an interesting read and I’ve passed it along to my mom... I think she’ll get a lot out of it.

Most of this past weekend was surrounded by basketball – championship tournament, team party at Glory Days, All-Star practice last night and finally the All-Star game tonight. I was pretty bummed last year when the season ended because it’s always fun to coach… but this year I’m just too exhausted so it’s ending at the perfect time. Our record doesn’t really prove how well we did but I think everyone had fun and that’s what counts. Other than basketball, we had a pretty relaxing weekend. I think we’re heading down to Richmond next Saturday for the day with my mom and sister to do some shopping… eat some food… and Steve wants to stop by Salvation to meet with Jimmy about finishing his arm. He has some good ideas and has taken awhile to figure out what he really wants – he’s big on his tattoos meaning something extremely important to him rather than just looking good, so he takes quite awhile in between to plan… he’s too cute. His next tattoo will be representative of our honeymoon – awww.

I stopped at Manhattan Bagel this morning on my way to work… I don’t normally eat breakfast that early but I scarfed a blueberry bagel down in the car and now I’m uncomfortably stuffed and it’s a Monday morning at work. Can this week please hurry up already?

epiphany

I had an epiphany tonight. Steve has been trying to slowly convince me of this for the past few days but I kept shrugging it off. Yes, I'm bloated... but I'm not this bloated:

Nope, that's just pregnant.

dun dun dun...

The nurse called from my doctor's office and after a lot of medical mumbo jumbo relayed to me that I have some wacky blood (my verbiage, not hers) so... yeah... we'll need to draw more blood during your next appointment. My arm just healed from its last stabbing and you already want more? Leave my little veins alone!

I waited on nationals.com in their 'virtual waiting room' for ages this morning only to see a pop-up announcing "We're sorry! Opening day tickets are no longer available." Bummer. Steve and I were really excited to go to opening day in their brand new stadium... we've only been to one other Nats game where the stadium looked remotely crowded, so this was a good opportunity to wave the foam finger among thousands and thousands of (non-Yankee) fans. I'd like to go when they play the Cubs but unfortunately that falls on the same night of the JEW/Paramore show... but maybe we can make it to the Sunday afternoon game. I hear the new stadium is amazing.

Every month our project makes a sad attempt at keeping us happy by having 'Terrific Tuesday'. It's a lame name for a lame breakfast - bagels and fruit. It never used to be lame. The fruit used to be delicious and arrive on these giant fruit trays with huge pieces of pineapple and canteloupe and lots of grapes for me (and only me)... the quality of the fruit tapered off over time until they eventually settled on these big bowls of mixed fruit instead. It's bizarre but each piece of fruit tasted the same - like vinegary garbage. True story. Everyone mumbled to themselves about how sad it is that they can't at least get us some decent fruit when we're one of Accenture's biggest contracts... and what do I find on this first Tuesday of the month (aka Terrific Tuesday)? No more fruit bowl... in fact, no fruit at all! You guys suck. I just want some pineapple with my bagel.

It's beautiful outside... we've been taking the dogs on some great walks, enjoying the weather, grilling hamburgers... but it's all a tease. By this weekend, we'll be freezing again. Enjoy it while it lasts!

we've got a heartbeat!

We spent a couple of hours at the doctor yesterday morning covering some of the necessities - lots of tests for me (my arm is still killing me from the seven vials of blood drawn), meeting with the women's health nurse to learn about the practice, signing a stack of forms for the delivery and aftercare and, finally, listening to the heartbeat! The nurse carefully explained to us that we should be prepared to come back in a couple of weeks because there was a possibility we wouldn't be able to find it... she spent four or five minutes with the doppler device rolling all over my tummy listening to my heartbeat (very creepy - sounded like it was a submarine) and I am pretty sure she was about to give up when all of the sudden we heart it - the steady, rapid and loud beating of a little baby heart! She let us listen to it for a minute or so and I just laid there with my mouth open - pretty amazing. I know it was a relief for Steve... he was really counting on hearing it at that appointment so I know he left happy. My official (albeit estimated) date of delivery is now September 29, 2008. I'll be happy if he/she is born in either September or October because I think they're both great months... so it works out well.

Speaking of the baby, we are now in week ten! This week the baby resembles a prune (as far as size is concerned), but I'd really prefer something cuter... like a walnut. This week, "with bones and cartilage starting to form and vital organs beginning to function, baby is making major progress. Body length will almost double in the next three weeks, and arm joints are now working. (Soon, legs will too.)" Great success!

We officially have our tickets to see Jimmy Eat World and Paramore on April 26th - we bought them presale. Morgan is actually going which is awesome because she never goes to shows... and I finally get to bring my little sister (plus her friend) to her first show. It would have been better had it been at 9:30 instead of Bender Arena but I think she'll still be blown away. Steve and I are going to see Tracy Morgan tonight, too. I'm super excited because we've seen him before so we know how shocked the crowd is going to be by his act - he is dirty dirty dirty, but hilarious. We also have the first games of our basketball tournament this afternoon so today is pretty packed - I should go shower... but I figured this needed an well-deserved update - hearing that heartbeat yesterday blew my mind and we've moved onto a new (yet uglier) fruit.

How embarassing is this - this week in my car I toggled between two songs on my iPod: Dizzy by Jimmy Eat World (not embarassing, just the best song on their new album)... and that freaking Miley Cyrus song. I can't get it out of my head. Help!