Royal Wedding Morning

That's right, I'm sure you're not too surprised but I was one of those crazy people crawling to the couch at 4am to watch the royal wedding! The last memory I have of something like this was when Princess Diana died while I was in sixth grade. My mom, a Diana fan, woke me up in the wee hours of the morning so we could watch the funeral procession together. I would have loved to have watched this happier royal event with her, but Adam made a pretty good substitute. Thankfully, my husband is not among the men you'll find online mocking those who want to watch the wedding. While he probably wouldn't have watched it without me, he agreed it was history and worth watching. Smiling while I cried (hey, I'm pregnant, give me a break!) and laughing at my running commentary, he was a pretty good early morning companion. *sigh* I just love all the pomp, history, and pageantry. Her dress! The Abbey! Those hats! TWO kisses!! Definitely worth the lost sleep.

God Save the Queen.

Baby 001-17.5wks

Today, we had our first appointment in 4 weeks with Dr.Autry. Adam had to miss the last one, so this was the first time he got to actually hear the heartbeat, and the second time for me. I have to admit, that while I'm excited for these appointments, I become irrationally nervous too. For example, when they take my pregnancy test at the beginning of each appointment I wiggle around anxiously thinking "What if it comes back negative? What if I'm not pregnant anymore? What if that's why I haven't felt sick the last two days?!" Thankfully, it seems these worries are for nothing, and I am given momentary relief until it is time to stand on the scale, my born enemy. By the time we get to our room, and it is announced they'll be doing an ultrasound or doppler, I hold my breath until I can see baby, or hear that little heartbeat. I'm always frantic it won't be there. Today was no exception. It was a treat, however, to hear just how strong and quick baby's heart was beating, like a quick little drum. It makes me smile, it was even better to turn to Adam and see his concentrated face as he smiles... I am dying with excitement to find out whether 001 is a little boy or a little girl, and we've got to wait almost 19 days!!! ACK!!! The problem was, they didn't have an appointment that would work for us and be very soon anyhow, and since my mom & dad are visiting in 2weeks...I figured it would be more fun for her to be there with us and thus picked a later date. The question is, how will I EVER make it that long?

In Fives...

The 5 Best Books I've Read In The Past 5 Weeks

"Lost" by Gregory Maguire

"Spritual Midwifery" by Ina May

"The Dante Club" by Mathew Pearl

"Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert (I will confess this paperback already looks years old from re-reading)

"The Duggars: 20 and Counting" by Jim Bob & Michelle Duggar

My 5 Favorite Nostalgic Childhood Foods

PB & Fluff Crackers

Cheesy Spaghetti (still a favorite)

Club Sandwiches (the kind with eggs...make me think of Sundays)

Peanut Butter on Celery (I know...I know...)

Mom's No Bake Chocolate Cookies

The 5 Articles Of Clothing I'd Remove From Existence

Crocs & Birkenstocks

Golf Visors

Jean shorts (aka "jorts")

Wind Suits

Replica NFL jerseys

The 5 Things I'd Take To A Desert Island

Life Supply of Diet Coke

Battery powered fan

Plenty of batteries

A towel

A tent

5 Things That Always Bring Tears To My Eyes

Parents outliving their children

A moving piece of music

Examples of genuine love & generosity

Seeing awkward kids being shunned by their peers

A moving dance piece

5 Things That Always Bring A Smile To My Face

Decorating for Christmas

Hearing people's nostalgic tales

Baby laughter

My Boston Terrier Dutchess

Looking through scrapbooks

5 Things That Always Make Me Laugh

Adam & Ryan

People walking into glass doors

Brian Regan (it doesn't matter how many times I've seen his sketches)

My mom's laughter when she's teasing people

Tina Fey. Period.

5 Best Quotes I Have Recently Read

"Character may almost be called the most effective means of persuasion." -Aristotle

"If you care about what others think of you, then you will always be their slave." - James Frey

"I want God to play in my bloodstream the way sunlight amuses itself on the water." -Elizabeth Gilbert

"Remember this, for it is as true and true gets: Your body is not a lemon. You are not a machine. The Creator is not a careless mechanic. Human female bodies have the same potential to give birth well as aardvarks, lions, rhinoceri, elephants, moose, and water buffalo. Even if it has not been your habit throughout your life so far, I recommend that you learn to think positively about your body." -Ina May Gaskin

"Books do pretend ...but squeezed in between is even more that is true—without what you may call the lies, the pages would be too light for the truth, you see?" -Mathew Pearl

(Shannon, I can count on you reading this, consider yourself tagged)

17 WKS

Happy Easter!

Just for fun, here is your 17wk Easter mama.

PS: This photo is the first time I'm realizing how inappropriately short the dress is, even with leggings...don't judge! ;)

Twitchy Witchy Woman

This week, for whatever reason, I am fairly certain I have lost my mind. My right eye, which has been twitching for over a week and a half now is slowly driving me into madness and that's just the start. For whatever reason, I have gone from being a reasonably deep sleeper to the kind the wakes up every 30min throughout the night. Dog moves? I'm awake. Adam rolls over? I'm awake. AC kicks on? I'm awake. More than likely this has something to do with my lovely little tick I've developed.... The dogs are driving me less nuts, which is good considering the first few months I was ready to give them all away. I have also noticed a new, passionate and completely unreasonable side to myself, one most likely to make an appearance at night or in my afternoon slump. For example, yesterday while driving to work Adam asked, "how are you doing?" I responded by bursting into tears and saying "AWFUL!" Why you ask? I couldn't say. I don't actually know.

.....I blame it on the eye twitch.

Four Months Pregnant

Saturday marked 16wks for us! I feel enormous already, and am pretty sure I will be spending my pregnancy scrutinizing if I look the "right amount of pregnant" for how pregnant I really am. That said, I actually felt pretty Saturday night (when Adam took this picture) because we'd dressed up to go on a date and it was the first time I got to wear my new maternity dress! I did learn that wearing 4" heels pregnant is more difficult then when you're not....

Baby Guesses

Gender prediction so far:

*My Chinese Gender Chart says: Boy

*The "key test" says: Boy

*According to baby's heart rate: Girl

*My face is gaining weight too: Girl

*No blemishes to be found: Boy

*Craving protein: Boy

*Craving fruits: Girl

*Moody: Girl

*Gaining lots of weight: Girl

*Hairy legs: Boy

I can't tell if I'm carrying high or low, and for your sakes I left out the more, ehem, graphic "clues" to the baby's gender. ;) We have our next appointment in two weeks, and I couldn't tell from the way Dr.Archer spoke if we would try and see then and confirm later, or if we would just find out at our next appointment following up. Either way, at most our appointment is 4 weeks away and I am DYING to know!!!