7 weeks update

We are 7 weeks and 1 day pregnant today : D Just wanted to give you an update on what's happening as far as baby growth goes... this info is from babycenter.com.

Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs- although they look more like paddles at this point that the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of the tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

If you could see inside your womb, you'd spot eyelid folds partially covering its peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of the nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby's brain are growing, and its liver is churning out red blood cells until bone marrow forms and takes over this role. Baby also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby's growing intestines is bulging into the umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from its tiny body.

Not much of a tummy yet, although I sure do feel like it! I can feel a lot of stretching down there, and I have to pee about every hour or so! Sometimes my jeans don't fit quite right, so I have been wearing a lot of stretchy pants and skirts, and keeping my jeans up with a hair tie. From what I understand that's more bloat than baby, but oh well. No morning sickness yet (thank God!) but the nausea is there sometimes... especially when I smell things like vinegar, bbq sauce, worcestershire, alcohol, etc. I have been feeling much better the past week than I was before- the last 2 weeks my hormones were in overdrive and I wasn't sleeping well, so I was crying everyday for no good reason. My only excuse was because I'm pregnant lol! This week I don't feel quite as exhausted, which is nice. Probably thanks to the wonderful vacation I had last weekend.

Anyways, there's the update! I am crossing my fingers for a sticky baby- I know it is still early in the pregnancy, but I am still allowed to be excited!!

A weekend in Austin

Mike and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary yesterday : ) We left for Austin with Buddy on Saturday around 11 am- we stopped at McCallister's for lunch, and got on the road! It was about 100 degrees on Friday, so it was quite an ordeal traveling with the dog- he gets car sick with the A/C on (he threw up twice before we figured that out) and whenever we stopped, there was no shade, so one of us always had to stay with him in the car with the A/C on, or walk around in the sun while the other was going to the bathroom, getting food, etc. But we enjoy bringing him with us- he loves Grandma Angie's backyard : ) On Saturday night we went to eat at McCormick and Scmick's, I got to eat my one serving of ocean fish for the week. Boy was it incredible! Then we went to bed about 9:30 or so to get ready for the next day.

On Sunday I took Buddy for an early morning walk with Angelia, and then we went to breakfast at Guerro's to meet up with Mike's brother Brent. Mike's mom had to go into work for a few hours, so we went back to her house to relax. I took and hour nap (I am appreciating afternoon naps more and more lately!) and read my book, and watched some of "Six Feet Under" with Mike. Then we went to the Alamo Drafthouse (a movie theater in Austin that serves meals during the movie) and saw Disney's "Up" in 3D- that movie was great! Then we went to bed early again (are you seeing a pattern here? I like to sleep).

Monday Mike and I went to breakfast at Cafe Java, and then out to find Barnes and Noble- there were a few books that Mike wanted to look for in particular, and we have their membership discount. We entertained ourselves by getting lost for a little while, then after we finally found it we spent some time shopping around there. There was a nice salon in the same shopping center, and having mentioned before that I was hoping that someone professional would fix my hair for me so I didn't have to dye it more than necessary over the next nine months, Mike gave me the okay to get it done while he waited for me. Two hours later (sorry Mike!) my hair is a beautiful chestnut color. She had to strip it and then color it, and she deep conditioned it for me too. I had gotten the okay from my doctor to dye my hair already, but I told her because it's a lot of chemicals, I wanted it to be done in a way that would need little touch ups over the next few months.

After the salon, we grabbed a quick bite and then went and saw "Year One," which was pretty funny, but you have to already appreciate Jack Black style humor to have enjoyed it. After the movie, we went back to Angie's and read for a while, then went to dinner at P.F. Chang's. I couldn't remember the last time I had good chinese food : D

On Tuesday the plan was to take off around noon to head home. It was our actual anniversary day, so neither of us were looking forward to spending it in the car in 103 degree weather with Buddy. But we packed up and got Schlotsky's for lunch and met up with Angie at her office before we were leaving. After talking about how hot and uncomfortable it was outside, we decided to hang out for the day- Mike said he would be fine driving late at night and I could sleep in the car. After taking a few moments to watch the wild deer we saw at Angie's office, we went back to the house to read and relax and enjoy the day! We hung out at the pool for a bit, but there were too many teenagers there to our liking, so we ended up going back and reading some more. I think Mike went through 2 books while we were in Austin! Then we went to dinner at a mexican restaurant called Abuela's- it was delicious!! And we went over to the mall so Angie could pick up some knives that were on sale- she works at Williams- Sonoma on the weekends, so she gets an incredible discount! Also she gets a discount at Pottery Barn, so we went and looked at Baby Pottery Barn and thought about what we can get the baby for 40% off : D

We ended up leaving Austin about 9 PM. I slept most of the way home, waking up every time Mike stopped of course, and we got home about 4 AM. I went straight to bed, but Mike was too wound up on energy drinks to go to bed. He ended up going to bed about 7 AM- the same time I was waking up. Poor guy- I hope he gets some sleep today while I am at work.

So that was our weekend. I enjoyed the lack of planning, and abundance of relaxation. It was pure peace and quiet : D

Exciting News!

I dropped Mike off at the shop at 2 AM Wednesday night/Thursday Morning June 3rd. Went to bed, woke up at 10 AM and took a preggo test.... positive! I knew it would be- I felt a little off, and I was late. Bummer part is, Mike and I had already discussed what to do if I found out I was pregnant while he was out at work- wait until he gets home to tell him. I can understand that- he didn't want to be overly distracted at work, it could mean someone else's life. Also, he wanted to be with me when he found out, that way we can be excited together : ) So for one week, I had to keep my mouth shut... it's not fair for me to tell everyone else and have Mike be the last to find out! I did slip a bit though, I was too excited to not tell anyone! So for that week I was trying to figure out the best way to tell Mike. My friend Tiff (one of the only people I slipped to lol) told me to give him a gift- that way when he came home from offshore, he could open the gift after he got settled in. So I bought Mike a book and a onesie, and put them in a box with the test.

It worked out well : ) He was just as excited as I was, and this way I was able to tell him without just screaming it out at him.

I went to the doctor yesterday for my first appointment. Didn't really find out a whole lot- my thyroid is a little enlarged, so he took some blood, but said that it's not uncommon to be related to the pregnancy. Our estimated due date is February 13th, 2010 just based on my cycle. I am 6 weeks tomorrow, and I am going back to the doctor in 4 weeks. He said we will probably do an ultrasound at 16 weeks, I am guessing they will have a more accurate due date by then. I am trying not to be too excited- 6 weeks is not very far along, but I figure of if I try not to be too excited by reminding myself how easily I could miscarry in the first trimester, I will only make things worse. Now I am just excited to know that I am pregnant! And I am hoping things work out best : D

Being pregnant kind of sucks though. I have not had bad morning sickness yet- although I have a pretty tough stomach, I hardly ever through up normally. I am a little sick to my stomach in the mornings, and I have been crying almost every day over the stupidest things, and I am just uncomfortable. Not to mention I am so so tired! I have been sleeping 8 hours give or take every night, but I am always so exhausted! I pretty much had a temper tantrum last night from being so tired. It's terrible, I feel like a giant four year old.

But I am excited, I am off work for the next 4 days- Mike and I are celebrating our 3 year wedding anniversary on Tuesday. We have pretty much decided we are going to Austin tomorrow to stay with Mike's mom. So I am looking forward to that- a nice break from work, to spend time with my honey and recoup from my exhausting week.

Sorry it's been so long

I just haven't been in the mood to write. Not a whole lot has been going on anyways, but I figured now was as good of time as any to give you guys an update.

I dyed my hair, for fun. Mike helped me. I know, you probably hate it. But I think it's fun. And it's just hair- it grows.

And no, at&t doesn't mind. LOL

I have been busy at work this month. Don't know if you heard, but Apple announced the new iphone to be released on 6/19/09. So needless to say work has been busy. It's tiring, but it also makes the day go by quicker so I don't mind.

Mike went back offshore too. He went out once or twice in May for about a week or so. He left last Wednesday the 3rd, I haven't heard from him since. Which is normal, I'm not worried. Just a little bummed- he hasn't been working in so long, and when he has worked in the last 7 months or so, he was able to call once or twice a week. 

Also, my friends cat had kittens. I asked Mike if we could have one and he said no : ( Other than that, I'm not sure what else to update on. I'll post some more when there are more interesting things in life going on other than dying my hair!!

Back to the way it was...

Well, it's official- Mike finally went offshore. Thank God! Now lets just hope he stays for a while! I know that sounds cruel, like I don't want him here. But seriously, he wants to be there. We were just starting to catch up on debts before work slowed down, not to mention the fact that Mike can get stir crazy like nothing else when he isn't working. 3 months and a week is long enough! So now back to the life I was used to- cooking for one, sleeping alone, etc. Well, I have roommates, sort of. Josh doesn't work offshore, but he is never home so he might as well. Dan is currently on the same job as Mike, so they'll probably be gone for the same amount of time. Doug just got back in from offshore- he was in saturation diving though, gone for 36 days, so when he leaves again he will probably be gone for a while. That's ok, I like my alone time. I have also met so many other diver's wives/girlfriends down here it's strange! I think I know more people down here in LA than I do back home LOL! In all seriousness, I am surrounded by plenty of people I really have nothing to worry about. Plus I have Buddy : D I wish my cats were down here. I have been missing them so so much lately. There is nothing that compares to a warm cat laying in your lap while cuddling on the couch. 

Betty Crocker

I think I am turning into Betty Crocker. I went on a bit of a rampage in the kitchen today- first I used half of the eggs we dyed for Easter to make some deviled eggs- my first attempt at it, and I must day I didn't do too bad : ) I've also had some bananas sitting in the kitchen getting way too ripe to eat... so I tried my first Banana bread- again, better than I expected it to be. I also decided to make some pumpkin muffins- I have made these before, they are so ridiculously simple to make it's silly, and they only have 180 calories per muffin, so they make a great breakfast that no one can feel guilty about- I even put a little bit of low-fat cream cheese on them. So after being a busy bee this morning, figured I'd post some recipes and some pics. Enjoy : D

Deviled eggs: http://www.deviledeggs.com.

• 6 hard boiled eggs
  
• 1/4 cup mayo (calls for light but I just used regular)
  
• 1/2 tsp dry white mustard (according to deviled eggs specialists, this is key, to use dry mustard rather than regular yellow mustard)
  
• 1/2 tsp white vinegar
  
• 1/8 tsp salt
  
• 1/4 tsp black pepper ( I used less because Mike isn't a big black pepper fan)
  
• Paprika as a garnish

I followed the steps it shows on how to get the yolks centered, how to boil, how to cool, how to peel, etc... pretty useful actually.

Banana Bread: Betty Crocker Cookbook

Fruit Loaf recipe

• 2/3 c sugar
  
• 1/3 c softened shortening
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 3 Tbsp buttermilk (or sour milk, wherever you get that)
  
• 1 cup mashed extra ripe bananas
  
• 2 c flour
  
• 1 tsp baking powder
  
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
  
• 1/2 tsp salt

Mix the first 3 ingredients thoroughly. Add the buttermilk and bananas and mix. Sift together dry ingredients and mix into bowl with other ingredients. Pour into a well greased bread loaf pan (9"x5") and let sit for 20 min before baking. Bake at 350 degree in preheated oven for 50-60 min or until browned and tests done.

Pumpkin Muffins: sparkpeople.com recipe

• 1 15 oz can of pure pumpkin
  
• 1 standard box of spice cake mix (betty crocker, duncan hines, etc.)
  

Mix ingredients together in large bowl. Will be a think consistency- spoon into muffin liners in a muffin tin, bake at 350 degrees in preheated oven for 20-25 min. Muffins are a little sticky on the outside but are delicious! : D

So I set up my mobile blogging today...

So I set up my mobile blogging today... Just testing out the first post!