Snow

We got almost 6 inches of snow night before last...and most of it is still on the ground now. It's still really cold, but the sun has been out most of the day today and yesterday, so some of it is slowly melting. Not like Texas where it's snowing one day and 70 the next. No, we won't be seeing any 70 degree days anytime soon. I thought I'd post a few pictures.

Colby had to work from home yesterday...his truck wouldn't make it out of his parking spot. He's got rear wheel drive, so no matter whether it's rain or snow or ice, his truck has a really hard time making it when it's the least bit slick outside...can't get traction. We even loaded down the bed of the truck with 240 lbs. of sand tubes...but with this snow, it didn't help much. Anyway, I was glad he got to stay home!! :)


The dogs (specifically Mazie) enjoyed the snow. Mazie has always liked it (from the rare occurrences that we actually accumulated snow in Lubbock). One of my favorite pictures of her is from our house in Lubbock, when she'd been playing in the back yard, and came to the door with snow covering her nose and chin, like a little beard. Well, she didn't disappoint me this time either...although she doesn't have near as big of a yard to run and play in now...she still made the most of it:


Happy Thursday everyone! The weekend's almost here...

Baby. It's Cold Outside...

It's snowing today...a lot. Actually, there's not THAT much accumulation, but it has literally been coming down all day. We were awakened at 5:30 this morning to snow trucks and men shoveling sidewalks...not really a pleasant way to start your day...the sounds of metal scraping concrete. But, I rolled over and went back to sleep a happy camper. The good thing about living in an apartment/townhouse complex is that you don't have to do any of that yourself. So, in that regard...it was a great start to the day. :) Not that I really care, as I haven't set foot out of the house today because:


A. I have a snowy-ice covered windshield that would need to be scraped (probably for at least 30 minutes) in order to drive safely...yeah, no thanks.
B. It's FREEZING...actually, below freezing, if you want to get technical
C. I hate driving in snow/ice...and I hate other people driving in snow/ice even more!
D. I really have no where pressing I need to go
E. I have a snowy-ice covered windshield that would need to be scraped

So...the puppies and I just sit in the warm (*kind of) house and watch the snow through the windows. Them more than me really...watching snow fall doesn't really amuse me the way it does them...


*Sidenote: I say "kind of" because our house is very hard to keep comfortable temperature wise in the winter. The lower level (which has a sliding glass door leading to the frigid temperatures) is almost always cold. We got an oscillating space heater...but that really only helps if you're sitting within 5 feet of it. This room is just too big for that poor little heater. The main floor of the house is usually a great temperature...which is perfect (sarcastic tone) because that's where we spend the least amount of time. The upstairs where the bedrooms are is warm...most of the time too warm...which sometimes leads to lack of sleep, because there are no ceiling fans (only standing floor fans, which we purchased) Note to self: in the future, do not opt for a three level house.

Sorry for the ramble...it's just that my fingers are getting frostbite as I type, so that is whats on my mind at the moment.

In other news, I made my menu for the week yesterday, consisting entirely of recipes from Janna's food blog, Honeyed Hashette. Last night, I was in the mood for soup...mainly to warm me up. So, I made the tomato basil soup recipe from her blog, as that is definitely one of my top 3 favorite soups. It was SOOOOOO good, and definitely hit the spot! She claimed that it tasted like the TB soup from La Madeline...but I was skeptical, seeing as how they have the best TB soup, possibly on the planet. BUT...let me just say, I think it was a dead-ringer for LM! I had it for lunch today too...mmmm....yummy. Could be the entire stick of butter in it...I'm just sayin'.
Tonight, is Soy Ginger Glazed Tilapia and Cous-Cous...
Okay...no more food talk, I'm starving! Must. Get. Snack.

Onto another topic...I scheduled our U/S last week to find out the gender of the baby!!! WooHoo! March 4th is the date to look for...or forward to, rather. Let the countdown to blue vs. pink begin! :)

Mini / Pre-Baby / Valentines / Birthday Vacation

I think the title is pretty much self-explanatory...but we've decided to take a long weekend in February (over Valentines weekend), and plan a little trip...for many reasons.

1. It's Valentines weekend...what's better than a weekend away with your hubbie, especially when he's been working so hard and such long hours (even some weekends). It will give us some time to just hang out and be together without having to think about work (hopefully!)

2. This will probably be one of our last, if not the last vacation/trip alone before the baby comes...just a fun romantic weekend away.

3. My birthday just happens to fall 2 days after Valentines, so we'll also be celebrating my 30th birthday!! :)

I can't think of many more good reasons than that to take a trip. Plus the fact that we're in St. Louis now, and so close to so many neat weekend getaway spots...like CHICAGO!!!...definitely doesn't hurt!

We're taking the train (Amtrak-which will be a fun adventure in itself) in on Thursday afternoon, and then coming back Sunday night. I'm super excited. I've made our train and hotel reservations, and am now just researching things to do, places to eat, etc. If anyone knows Chicago and has any ideas...I'd love to hear them!

Since Lauren (sister) lived there for 3 years, I have some ideas, and she's helping me with how to get to places, good restaurants, etc. Our hotel looks AWESOME!! I'm really excited about it! Since it's definitely low tourist season in Chicago (with the bitterly cold temps and snow), a lot of great hotels (4 star!) had really good rates. So we were able to get a fantastic deal at a 4 star hotel right smack dab in the middle of the Magnificent Mile...close to all the shopping, and a quick trip to lots of other things Chicago has to do!

The hotel has been recently (2008) renovated completely, and looks really cool. Here are a few pics:

They even have a "Pillow Menu" for goodness sakes...which I'm really excited about. I know, seems odd to be excited about something as trivial as a pillow. But I've woken up many mornings in hotels with a pounding headache due to a terrible hotel pillow! So...I think a "pillow menu" is a wonderful ammenity!

I only wish that we could have our u/s to determine boy/girl by then so we could do a little baby shopping on Michigan Avenue..........

A New Start

Okay, so I have not been good about keeping up with this (I know, that's an understatement), but I'm hoping that now everyone knows ( I think) our big news, I will try my hardest to keep it current so that friends and family can follow along with us through this exciting, joyous time! :)

Like I said, I think most everyone (or at least everyone that's probably reading this) knows by now, we're expecting! We are so, so excited and cannot wait until July 20th!!! (that's our due date) So, that means I am 14 weeks and 3 days along now, and everything is going great! I did have a few weeks of nausea and extreme fatigue where literally all I wanted to do all day was lay on the couch and not move for fear of hurling. But, that is long past, and I now feel wonderful. I have energy (most of the time), no nausea, few headaches (probably fewer than I normally have, which is a very good thing), and can get hungry faster than even I thought possible.

Yes, so far, pregnancy has been very good to me...and I'm hoping and praying that it stays that way!

This week marks the beginning of the second trimester, and supposedly this is supposed to be the 1/3 where you feel good, and want to get things done. So, I'm looking forward to that. :) (fingers crossed) I feel like I have a ton to do before July, and I know that time is going to fly by. A friend said to me yesterday that she wished it wasn't nine months...that that seemed like a really long time to wait for all the excitement...but honestly, I'm glad it's nine months! I mean, if it were 4 or 5 months, I think I would be having a panic attack right now. I think nine months is the perfect amount of time to prepare yourself, your home, and your life for the new little bundle of joy that's about to make it's appearance into your life and turn it all upside down (in a good way, of course!)

We had our second appointment last week with our OB. Everything went well, and we were in and out of there in about 20 minutes! We listened to the heartbeat, which sounded good and strong at around 140-150 bpm. At our previous appointment, the hb was 170, but the Dr. said that it's completely normal for the heartbeat to slow a little as it develops. So, this week, I have to schedule our next appointment, and then also scedule the much anticipated ultrasound where we get to find out the gender!! I cannot wait for that...so exciting! In the back of my mind, I had always wondered if (i.e. feared) I would have 3 boys...because that seemed like the natural order of things. My dad was one of three boys, then my dad (being the only one in his family to have kids), had 3 girls...so the type A part of my brain just assumed that the most logical outcome was that I would have 3 boys, and carry on the family order. Now, being a little older and wiser, realize it doesn't work that way...but we will honestly be exsctatic and overjoyed with whatever God chooses to bless us with!

Now that the news is fully out, I will definitely keep everyone posted on the "goings on" of our daily life p.b. (pre-baby); all of the exciting (and not too exciting) Dr.'s appointments, aches, pains, cravings and mood swings of a pregnant lady; and our ongoing process of getting our house and our life ready for the little one! :)