My favorite things

Some updates, and a few of my favorite things.

In Cedar news, we still have no middle name.  They're over rated and silly, and I grew up hating mine, so what's the point?

Also, it's impossible to get ideas out of Jody without him suggesting, Cedar Harbaugh? Cedar Kaep?  Maybe Cedar San Fran Powell?  (Go Niners, but good-freaking-riddance to football season!)

She is supposed to be weighing in around 2 lbs, and I can now feel her above my belly button, which means I'm really beginning to round out.  Jody mistakenly used the word 'plump' the other day, a word which was quickly amended by yours truly and then was dismissed from any vocabulary in our house, especially regarded Kayla, pregnancy, or bottoms. 

Last week, she was a flip-flopping-kicking-boxing maniac, but has really taken it down several notches since the weekend.  I really love it when she moves, and it still blows my mind that my daughter is living and growing in my own belly.  It's fantastic, and the thought of parenthood overwhelms me daily.  God has really changed my heart in these last few weeks, because there is no other thing in this world that sounds better now to me than being Jody's wife and Cedar's mother.  I feel truly, truly blessed and I can't wait to meet our baby.

Now that's one happy preggo with some 'tude!  I took this at (on?) 24 weeks.  I'm now 25ish.

 I feel great.  I ordered two prenatal exercise dvds off of amazon a few weeks ago, and I'm fascinated with how much better my back is feeling after committing to doing one or both dvds almost daily.  Almost daily.

It has been very cold here lately, so I haven't been to the gym.  (Like how I use 'So', as if that is a legitimate excuse?)  I hate the cold.  My skin is dry, my feet are freezing, and my attitude is not great.  Is it Spring yet?

Anyway,

I am not really experiencing any horrible symptoms of pregnancy.  I don't know what's normal for this end of second trimester phase, but I'm growing very tired again.  I do wake up at night every now and then and am unable to fall asleep, despite being exhausted.  It's odd.  I'm not feeling outrageously hungry, but I think that's because I eat meals every three hours, whether I'm hungry or not.  It's just safer for Jody if I keep that blood sugar level at all times.

No silly cravings, but I'm very into sweets and desserts.  I bought a carton of ice cream for the first time since we've been married a few weeks ago, and have been taking spoonfuls straight from the box every now and then.  Nothing, however, beats a bowl of vanilla yogurt mixed with frozen fruit and dark chocolate chips.  Mmm.

I am not going to keep talking about how much I love chocolate chips.  I'm not.

Moving on, before I lose you to boredom -

I wanted to share a few recipes that I've decided I can no longer live without, and neither should you.  Enjoy!

• A friend and I made this scrub a few weeks back, and I've had to resupply myself at least four times since then.  You can use it as an exfoliant before shaving, or as an all over body scrub.  Better yet, if you're like me, just stinking rub it all over, daily, if you're very superficial and are afraid of the things pregnancy has been known to do to a woman's body.  The scrub itself smells amazing, and you should have all of the ingredients in your pantry.  (we subbed out almond oil for coconut) Just be sure to clean out the tub when you're done :)
• Here is a wonderful recipe for eczema cream.  I am convinced that bathing my body in this stuff is keeping my skin from peeling right off during the winter time.

For the foodie in me, (or rather, the hungry, hungry hippo in me) here are a few of my favorite most recent recipes:

•  It is a bad idea to be alone in a house with these cookies.  Sweet balls of peanut butter, they were delicious!  I knew there was nothing 'bad' in them, so I had about zero self control.  Good news?  They are grain, dairy, egg and sugar (except for chocolate chips, but I maintain that those are a health food...) free.
• I made these for dinner a few weeks ago, with tomato soup.  My only mistake was thinking that I could still eat tomato soup without a volcano erupting inside my chest for the next three hours.  Oops.
• This is the best burger recipe, and this is the best guilt-free pancake recipe I've found.  Cedar likes three things:  burgers, pancakes and chocolate chips.  So back off, and just trust me on this.  Yum.

Let me know if you end up trying any of these, or have any fun projects/recipes to share.

Just because...

 

Because I'm now enjoying pregnancy,

because I'm overwhelmed with excitement,

...and because Cedar is on my mind 24/7, I decided it was time to fill out my first questionnaire. 

Enjoy, and Yahoo for embracing this strange time in my life!

How far along are you: 23 weeks.

Size of Baby: A full pound, or just under.

Maternity Clothes: I've been sporting a belly band for six weeks now, and bought two pairs of maternity pants over Christmas break.  Not quite a huge necessity yet, but good for 'comfy' days.

Stretch Marks: Not yet.

Weight gain/loss: Up about 13 lbs.

Sleep: I sleep like a rock, and I'm still a frequent napper.

Best Moment of the week: No one 'moment' - this kid is just constantly on the move!  So much so that Jody feels her kicks and bumps often, and I can usually see my belly pop up further when she moves.  That's my favorite - the visual that she is really in there makes me smile.

Movement: You bet!  Mostly on the sides of my belly and towards the bottom, like she's standing up in there and stomping down on my bladder.

Symptoms:  My back definitely gives me some grief now that I'm tipping towards the front more, but it's nothing a hot bath won't cure. 
My prenatals also make me very queasy, but they were expensive so I'm determined to finish this particular bottle before I switch brands.

Food Cravings: No cravings - mostly aversions, or just being more 'open' to eating crap that normally would never enter my body.  I no longer love vegetables the way that I used to, but I eat them despite this, and I'm embracing foods like pizza, french fries and full-flavored lattes on more occasions than necessary.

Gender: Girl.

Belly button in or out: In.  Does the button really pop?  Jody has a strange fear of 'outies' so I look forward to the day it makes it's transition.  Mohaha!

Anything make you queazy or sick?: Those dang prenatals and the smell of Jody's copenhagen.

Labor signs: No, thank goodness!

Wedding ring on or off: Still very on!

What I miss: Being able to work out really hard.  And wine.  And sugar-free Redbulls.

What I am looking forward to: Seeing Jody with Cedar.
 
Nursery: Nothin. Other than a corner of our bedroom we've set aside for baby.  Lucky Cedar.

Emotions: Better, I suppose.  I did cry the other day while watching my friend's two year old get stitches in her chin. So. Sad.  I don't think I helped the situation.

Stupid things I have done: Left my purse in a grocery cart, left the door to the house wide open while leaving to run errands, sent a letter with no address...I could go on.

Name: Little Cedar P.  No middle name yet.

Thoughts

You're aching and you can't sleep and your back is killing you and your ankles are swelling and you're constipated and bloated and you're passing more gas than a busload of high school football players.

In other words, you're pregnant.

Sheesh!  That's the first thing I read when I opened What to Expect When You're Expecting for the very first time this morning.  How encouraging!

On a different note,

I'm actually feeling pretty great.  My prenatals tend to give me a queasy stomach some days, but I'm sleeping great, staying active and feeling good.  I've gotten myself to the gym most days since coming back from Holiday Leave, and my goal is just to walk every day.  Not much, but it feels good and it's working for me.  I'm also still forcing down veggies like a maniac, although, sadly - they just don't appeal to me anymore.  What's happening?!

I'm having weird dreams again, but the last few nights have consisted of scary/awful-ish dreams, not dreams of marshmallow-steaks and pancakes, like the first trimester. 

No, these dreams are horrifying.  I dreamt last night that I had my baby, took her to summer camp (of course) and then completely forgot to feed her for 24 hours.  She did not...um, survive.  I spent the remainder of my dream sobbing and feeling like an idiot. 

Maybe I'm being prepared for the great sense of responsibility motherhood brings, and my dream suggests that I don't quite feel adequate.

Yet. 

But the ginormous protective mama-bear inside me is peering right around the corner, and is ready to cap anyone/thing who aims to hurt her.  That's my baby, man.  My little girl.

I've become much more sensitive to the world after realizing we're going to be raising a young lady.  I find myself staring in horror when I see teenage girls in skimpy outfits or getting eyed by grown men.  Then I respond by wagging my finger and declaring that my daughter won't be caught dead wearing that shit, and go ahead and just bury me under a rock if Jody's wild spirit shows up in Cedar around age 15.  Oh dear Lord!

Jody and I recently saw the movie This is 40.  While the trailer looked funny, and Jody and I embarassingly found ourselves more than once in the fim, I'm not going to recommend it.  There were far too many boob sightings and afterward, Jody and I couldn't help but recount how the general content of the movie included glorifying disrespectful relationships and beautiful women combined with narrow minded and less than spectacular men.
What's more, the kids in this show were outrageous.  At some point during the movie, there was a pubescent parent-child fued in which Jody patted my belly and whispered something to the extent of, 'why don't you just stay in there for another 18 years'.  I know hormonal teens can be pretty awful (I remember Matt's high school years, and I know I was some spawn of the devil during mine) but sheesh.  I found the kid/parent interactions just frustrating and annoying - and I couldn't even figure out the general plot after the (far two long) 2 hour and 15 minute film.  There seemed to be no conclusion, and I felt mostly discouraged afterwards.

But hey, that's just me.

In other news,

I am now 22 weeks pregnant and 22 years old!  How sweet it is!  Yesterday, I had the best birthday yet, as Jody made it more special than I could ever have wished.  Sound gushy?  It is.  I love that guy.
He sent me out of the house yesterday afternoon to work on another 'project'.  I'm happy to report that I did not indulge in a second coffee of the day, but did my grocery shopping instead.

Go me.

Anyway, Jody rearranged our entire bedroom to clear out a space in the corner (meant to be an office space, or a hiding place for tenants the throw their crap) for baby C.  We don't have a crib or bassinet yet (not sure what we're going to go with) but we do have a changing table, bouncy seat, and two strollers which we've very gratefully recieved from well wishing friends - for free!  Big blessings, but big space taker-upper's, too, so getting them out of the way and in an organized corner for the 'nursery' feels 100 % better.  My day got even better - I hopped into bed to find an electric blanket and big ol' body pillow, too.  Mmm, baby!  I did not want to get out of bed this morning.

After slaving away upstairs, Jody set to making me dinner.  He grilled up some some steaks, which I had requested, an acorn squash souffle, two appetizers and sparkling cider for dessert. 

Raise your hand if you think I'm spoiled!

I'm spoiled.

Anyway, thank you to Jody, my Handsome, for such a wonderful birthday - and to everyone else who took the time out of their day to call, text or message me.

Birthdays are my favorite.