39 weeks!

as the title of this post would suggest, or would blatently spell out, we're 39 weeks today! i know i keep saying this, or at least i keep thinking it - i can't believe this has gone by so fast. it seems like just yesterday that i was on the floor of our bathroom, staring at the positive preggo test. and please excuse my hair in this photo - i had just walked in the door. that's my excuse. that, and i'm 39 weeks pregnant, so back off! haha. my hair doesn't photograph well. neither do my thighs. sigh...anyway, the belly, as you can see, is HUGE! i love it. he's getting so big, but hopefully not too big. just need to stay away from the halloween candy for a few more days... he's still squirming around like a champ, and methinks he wants out. pronto. i've been having more and more contractions - just the regular braxton-hicks kind, but they were persistent all day long and i've had some cramping. a little tmi, but just thought i'd share. i don't want to jinx myself, but i wouldn't be surprised if he made his grand entrance this weekend. bill predicted 11/1 and he may just be right. but who knows? it's sam's world - we're just living in it. speaking of which, i wanted to post a picture of our living room, complete w/ sam's swing and stroller (folded up) in the background. our house is quickly being overtaken by baby gear and we couldn't be happier about it. like i said, it's sam's world...

it's here!

no, not sam, he's still baking. our new fridge arrived today. puhraise jesus! after being without a fridge for almost 2 weeks, i am so, so happy to have our new, working one. i almost hugged it when i saw it. and i opened it to see that alex has already christened it w/ some beer. because he's a man with priorities. in all fairness, it's not cold enough yet to store food, so i can't be mad at him for not buying, oh, you know, milk, eggs, and other staples. so, one more night of takout and we're back to cooking with gas, baby.

speaking of babies, we went to the doctor today and sam is doing great. his heart rate is still really strong (they say that it usually starts dropping down a bit as they get bigger/older, but not for this guy), he's super low, and the doctor guesstimated (love that word) that he's in the higher 7 lb range, so he's definitely going to be a formidable baby. and i'm thinking he's really tall/long - i can feel his butt on one side of my belly and when he stretches his legs, i can feel his feet all the way on the other side. i have a feeling he's going to have his dad's legs and his mom's head size. oy...we can't wait to see if that's the case - any day now!!

37 weeks - hey ooohhhhh!!!!

that was my best ed mcmahon impersonation. forgive me, for i am delirious. this is what happens when you're about to birth a child and running on an average of 6 hours sleep a night. anyway, here we are, at 37 weeks. little sammy is full term! good job, buddy! we went to the doctor today and he's doing really well - heartbeat is strong, his booty is firmly lodged on my right side, and he's low - heading for the door, if you will. that, plus the fact that i was 50% effaced as of last week led my doctor to predict that he may come a little sooner rather than later. of course, she quickly followed that up with "don't curse my name when you're two weeks over-due". we'll see, but i'm taking bets from anyone that wants to throw out some predictions.

in the mean time, i can't wait for our fridge to be back up and running (it's been dead since last week, but the maytag repairman - yes, THE maytag repairman, or just some repair dude named Steve - is coming out tomorrow to fix it. it'll be a baking/cooking fest this weekend, as I need to get our freezer meals lined up so that we don't have to rely on the craptastic takeout options that we have around here once we bring sam home. well, it will be a kitchen fest in between the red river shoot out on saturday morning (hook 'em horns!), and the saints game on sunday (saint brees, pray for us..).

okay, my 7th take out dinner of the week just arrived. gotta go!

34 weeks! and nursery progress!

i've been taken to task for not updating the old blog lately - sorry, folks! i don't really have a good excuse, other than the past few weeks have been crazy at work (they're really making me work for this maternity leave - haha) and i've been preoccupied with all things nursery related. seriously, who knew you could become obsessed with curtains and valances, neither of which are hung up yet, but we're getting there. so...here i am at 34 weeks - 34 weeks!! holy mackeral, we're in the final stretch. i can't even believe it. sam's doing great - we went to the doctor yesterday and he is head down, ready to go. well, he's got at least 3 more weeks of baking to do, but at least he's locked and loaded in position. that's not to say he doesn't spin around on his head - i think he's been doing exactly that, as i can sometimes see little ball-like forms move around my belly that could only be knees or feet. it doesn't freak me out at all - i love it! and i'm thinking we may have a tiny break-dancer on our hands...

and note to self: under-eye concealor, look into it. seriously, though, i just ran to the bathroom to see if i really looked that tired and i don't. i'm blaming the lighting in the photo. so there.

and here's a shot of one side of our wee nursery. totally not near complete yet, so it's just a work in progress. i haven't put sheets on the mattress yet - those are pages of wall decals that we're thinking about putting up on the wall, above the crib. i really wanted to do wooden letters spelling out his name above the crib, but quickly got that little idea out of my head when i had a mental picture of those wooden letters falling and hitting tiny sammy boy in the face. we live in an earthquake zone, y'all - we have to think of these things. so....decals it is. just figuring out how to best incorporate them. anyway.....we are getting there. i hope to have the nursery totally done by the first weekend in october, if not, the second. alex is going to build shelves to put above the changing table, so that may take a couple of weeks. i'll post more pics as we get our stuff together.

11 weeks to go!

ah, 28 weeks and 5 days down. little sammy could be here in 2 months! that is blowing my mind...we went to our first childbirth class on saturday. it was 4 hours of helpful/confusing/gross info. the helpful part being general info around when you should go to the hospital. the confusing part being when the loopy instructor told us that every time the baby moves, that means you've had a contraction. well, then, i guess i've been in active labor for two months now...and the gross part, well, the video. THE video. they broke it out into clips based on the stage of labor. let me tell you something, i was not really traumatized by the actual birth -i was traumatized by the labor part. three women, no drugs, lots of moaning and squating and rolling around on exercise balls. all i can say is, sign me up for the epidural! more power to you if you can do it au natural, but i'm not down with it. i just want for sammy to be born safe and healthy, and i'd rather not turn into a crazed banshee (which i will do if not given drugs. i know my own tolerance for pain and it's fairly minimal) while i'm at it. again, mad respect for anyone that can do it, but i'm weak, i'm weak i tell you!! ah...can't wait.. oh, and check the new haircut. one of my co-workers told me today that i looked like michelle obama. i am taking that as a compliment, thankyouverymuch.

Cake Time!

Okay, this turned out pretty darn good, if I may say so myself. As noted in a previous posting, I used Smitten Kitchen's recipe (http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/07/best-birthday-cake/). I did not; however, use her frosting recipe, as it called for sour cream, and I didn't think that it would taste right after a day or two of sitting out on the counter. And, oh yeah, it might make us totally sick. Totally fine if you're having a party and you know the cake will be eaten quickly, but not when you're having a party of 3 like we did (that's right, I'm including you, little Sammy). So, I used this recipe from America's Test Kitchen (using Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips):

Foolproof Chocolate Frosting from the Episode: Everyone's Favorite CakeThis frosting may be made with milk, semisweet, or bittersweet chocolate. Cool the chocolate to between 85 and 100 degrees before adding it to the butter mixture. The frosting can be made 3 hours in advance. For longer storage, refrigerate the frosting, covered, and let it stand at room temperature for 1 hour before using.Makes 3 cups to frost one 9-inch 2-layer cake

20tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter , softened (60 to 65 degrees)
1 cup confectioners' sugar (4 ounces)
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
Pinch table salt
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces milk chocolate , melted and cooled slightly

In food processor, process butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Add corn syrup and vanilla and process until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Scrape sides of bowl, then add chocolate and pulse until smooth and creamy, 10 to 15 seconds. Frosting can be used immediately or held.

I didn't use a food processor b/c, well, I don't have one. I used my precious, my Kitchen Aid stand mixer and it turned out just fine. The key is to not overbeat it. Same goes for kids I hear - don't beat them too much or they'll turn against you. I'm going to be a good mom.... Anyway, Alex brought out his inner cake boss and helped frost it, and by helped, I mean he frosted the whole thing b/c I started making a mess of it. All in all, it turned out pretty lovely. The cake is really light in texture and not at all too sweet, which is a good counter to the *very rich* frosting.

Bon appetit!

I'm 30 and Huge!

Woah..this is me at 25 weeks, 1 day. I was really taken aback by how big I'm getting - lawsie! Maybe it's the dress, but really, I'm getting quite large. But it's all good because it's all little Sammy. Well, maybe a few dessert treats here and there, but it's mostly Sammy boy. He enjoyed the birthday today - kicked around a bit today at work - I think he was practicing his scissor kicking, b/c that's what it felt like. And hopping around after I had some birthday cake. The little guy is tuckered out now, though. We have a doctor's appt tomorrow morning, so we should get to hear his heart beating, which is definitely something to look forward to! I love hearing that thump thump - it's honestly the best sound in the world -dare I say better than the sound of a champagne bottle being uncorked. Yeah, definitely better than that. Cake post to follow shortly...

it's the final countdown...to 30, that is. 10 more days. i'm feeling really good about turning the big 3-0. and sammy boy is excited, too. he told me so. he's really excited about the cake i decided to make for myself.

http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/07/best-birthday-cake/#more-3882

it's from smitten kitchen, one of the food sites that i visit, but then stupidly forget to make any of the recipes. not this time, my friends. no way, no day am i passing this beauty up.

sadly, i won't be able to share w/ you guys, since, well, you live far away, but i'll let you know how it goes after i've eaten the whole thing in one sitting. mwaahahaha..

must. make. this. immediately.

oh, lawsie, this recipe for watermelon lemonade sounds delicious right about now -

http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/07/watermelon-lemonade/

there's a "moderate heat wave" in seattle this weekend, which is just a joke, as the high's won't get above 87. these folks don't know what hot is. then again, i've kind of forgotten, but i know it's not defined as 85 and breezy.

anyway, little sammy boy, a.k.a. mcnugget, is doing well. moving around - he seems to enjoy turkey burgers and strawberries, as those items have drawn out the most rolling/dancing in the past couple of days. what sammy wants, sammy gets, so pass the strawberries and burgers!

happy 4th, y'all!

21 weeks and 2 days down..

so, i think this means i'm almost done with month 5, which is crazy. the belly is getting bigger by the day and mcnugget keeps on keepin' on in there - moving around and having a grand ol' time.

it's a...

boy!! (i think everyone that reads this already knows that, but i'm still really excited, so forgive the exclamation points) our cute little man was moving all around during the ultrasound, and even flexed his little arm muscle for us, as seen in the second pic. that made his dad very proud. the funniest part was when the ultrasound tech honed in on the, um, male indicator, and said "look, there's the little tool". very scientific term, sir. the most important part is that mcnugget looks healthy - 5 fingers on each hand, strong heart rate, etc. - so we are over the moon.

tomorrow's the big day!

we're going in for the big 20 week ultrasound. and if mcnugget cooperates, we'll be able to see which of the above fashions the little one will be sporting. more important than that, we want to make sure mcnugget is as healthy as can be. we can't wait!

mcnugget says, check out my crib, y'all

so, we've decided on a crib for the wee one. very exciting stuff, i know. ;) we still have to order it, but this was exactly what we were looking for. it's called the "straight up" crib from land of nod. i like a crib that has some moxy. straight up.

It's official..

I can no longer see my toes if I look straight down. Is that normal? Well, it is for me, I guess. McNug is just right out, front and center.

Baby McMillen - 18 weeks down, 22ish to go!

Here I am, starting week 19. I can't believe it's going by so fast! I've been feeling McNugget move for a little over a week now and it's really great. It lets me know that everything is going okay in there, and it's fun to think that the wee one is getting exercise. At least one of us is... And I know the focus here is the growing belly, but seriously, my head is HUGE!! I've always been aware of this, but this picture really caught me off guard. McNugget, I apologize in advance if you inherit this trait. I guess I'll be crying myself to sleep tonight on my huge pillow. Name that movie! :)