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For the first time since we found out that we were expecting, I've made a meal without Josh's assistance! He laughed when I came home and said we wouldn't be eating out, but I actually did it (amazing since the thought of cooking has been anything but positive for the past several months)!
I also am doing more around the house for a weeknight, and I'm not sure why now that I'm in week 29 the energy is returning. My mom thinks I overworked myself before. Regardless, I'm glad to be more normal today than I've felt in a while.
Tonight I made Cheesy Baked Tortellini, a recipe by Giada de Laurentiis. It is in her Everyday Pasta cookbook. She has a new cookbook coming out the day after Ben is due, so I'll be sure to pre-order, as I've never been disappointed by her recipes - and just as important - neither has Josh.
Hopefully my time in the kitchen will continue, as I used to really enjoying cooking and baking. For now, here are photos of Sadie and Perry:
For almost a year, Josh debated whether or not he should do the Houston Marathon this next January. The training program started this past Saturday, and he got up early to do his time trial. He'll get up early every Saturday from now on for the runs, and will run on his own a few times a week.
He wants me to run it with him next year, but running has never been fun for me. Considering how hard it is for me to run though (= the huge workout I get from attempting to run), I'm likely going to start doing so as my post-pregnancy workout towards the end of the year.
Either way, Josh signed up for the Chevron Houston Marathon on January 18 of next year. I hope to be there supporting him on his way to the finish line!
Josh and I brought the dogs over to my parents' house for the fourth of July this past weekend. I didn't have to do any cooking (although we did bring McAlister's sweet tea - yum!), but found this article by Mark Bittman called 101 20-Minute Dishes for Inspired Picnics. One of my brothers cooks a lot of his recipes, which I've always been curious to try.
Lately I feel like my brain has temporarily left the building. I'm still going to work (only one vacation day in total taken so far this year!), still am pretty productive - but think I am losing my mind!
While I've heard that happens with pregnancy, I sometimes wonder how much of myself I'm losing. The hardest thing about being pregnant is not the morning sickness (which lucky me, has made a small comeback for the third trimester), but not being as self-sufficient as before.
I've had to start counting on others to do things I would never think twice about. Josh now has to load the laundry, while I can fold it - and he is in the middle of studying for the BAR! Since I tend to overexert myself with housework, we finally gave in and called a maid service this past week. While I am no longer disgusted looking around the house, I feel lazy for not keeping it clean myself!
The big consolation is that I am able to do a couple of things despite the expanding baby boy -
1. Work - While I am not now, nor have I ever been, a morning person - going to work everyday is something I tend to look forward to, as I get to be productive.
2. Cooking - I used to cook much more often. Two weekends ago, Josh endured some not-so-good meals - did I lose my touch? I have probably cooked less than 10 times in the past 5 or so months. However, I'm actually starting to do it at least twice a week - baby steps... but closer to where I used to be.
3. Knitting - I spend most of my energy Monday - Friday at work, so there's not much activity once I get home. My big "to do" now - before the baby is born - is to finish his baby blanket. It's going to take some time (I started on it in the end of April), but I'm over 2/3 done with it by working at least a few rows a night. Anything where I can see progress helps motivate me, and seeing how much of this blanket has come along in the past two weeks definitely helps.
So now I am sitting in bed with two funny little dogs, a kicking baby boy in my belly, unable to sleep. Since I'm already up, why not think about some of the things that I could not be without during this pregnancy:
1. Josh. One of my former colleagues says she doesn't know how women can go through this without a supportive husband. While Josh can't help out quite as much until he takes the BAR exam at the end of this month, he has been more supportive than he knows. Our families have also been very supportive, which is encouraging.
2. Ice cream. Need I say more? First a Culver's opens up nearby, and now the Dairy Queen Blizzard of the Month is the Girl Scout Cookie Thin Mint type. It's a guilty pleasure, but (seriously) if I don't get enough calcium, my legs ache and I limp (not so attractive) - so I'll take my calcium anywhere I can get it.
3. Breakfast. No longer an option. During the first trimester, it was generally something like apple sauce or smoothies. During the second trimester, it was frosted mini-wheats with my soymilk. Now it is berry, yogurt and granola parfaits. Anything to beat the small bit of morning sickness that has come back to haunt me!
4. Ninja Warrior. I had never seen the show before this past month, but given the lack of new TV, things like this help keep me entertained (and the not-so-intense intellectual stimulation allows me to knit at the same time).
5. Boppy Pregnancy Pillow. While I've typed about it before, words cannot do this pillow justice. It makes sitting up knitting, reading, typing and even sleeping more comfortable. I'd be amazed if I don't continue using this pillow post-pregnancy. My favorite feature, however, is that baby Ben seems to like it. He gets active whenever I sit on the couch leaning on it!
6. Sadie & Perry. Even though their competitive dog barking can be annoying, our dogs do entertain me. Given my now emotional state (and the fact that the long ASPCA commercial that would make me cry regardless of my current state seems to play over and over on TV...), they sit nearby and provide their typical companionship. Given the fact that Josh is studying (understandably) like crazy right now, I'm also amazed at their activity level - not as hyper as I'd expect for dogs that aren't getting nearly as many walks as they should.
7. Soymilk. I'm lactose intolerant, and find myself having to take about 3 lactose pills a day due to dairy intake. It's not the hardest thing to deal with - but if drinking soymilk means I take less of them, it's worth it. Add in that that soymilk I drink has Omega-3's (good for the baby, especially since I don't eat tons of seafood), and it's even a feel-good drink!
8. Dresses. I'm carrying Ben very low (and admittedly I can get jealous of those carrying high sometimes!) Recently putting on maternity capris really hurt, which makes sense since the baby is right there! I now rely on dresses for the rest of the pregnancy as comfort is key.
9. The Internet. Being a first-time mother, there are a lot of unknowns - many "is this normal?" moments. Different parenting websites and books have helped me realize that while I'm not my normal self, I'm not expected to be - given what's going on inside of me. Basically - it's normal for me to not be normal for now.
10. The Baby. Still 12 weeks to go, but I am very excited to meet Benjamin Michael. His activity level increased quite a bit lately (or maybe his larger size just means I feel it more - he was active during all three ultrasounds), and Josh is able to feel him move daily now. I've heard becoming a parent is the biggest change you'll ever experience - and no matter what books I do read (right now I'm actually reading a parenting one - What to Expect the First Year), I don't think I'll really get it until he makes his appearance!
Last week, I had my biggest "change" in terms of baby weight - the doctor says I'm playing catch up. It's hard to believe that there are still three months to go! Here I am last weekend - filling my maternity clothing without any problems! I also had a business trip last week - while the flight was only 40 minutes, I realized I can no longer travel comfortably, and that great back support is more important now than ever before!
Josh and I also decided on a name - Benjamin Michael. Benjamin is the only first name we could agree on (we went through tons of names - some silly, some not) - and it is the only one we both liked. Michael is Josh's middle name.
During the last weekend, my mother-in-law provided us with some great stuff for the baby. We'll be decorating the nursery in Classic Pooh, and he'll look adorable in this outfit a year from now - when he's 9 months old!
She also made two blankets - very productive! One has satin edging, which evidently Josh really liked as a baby.
The other is a Classic Pooh quilt. Here are images of the front and the back:
Now that I have finished my 2007 scrapbooks, I'm going back to knitting a baby blanket. It uses intarsia, a knitting technique I had not yet tried, and I'm about halfway through. I'm now knitting at least a row a night to be sure it is ready before baby Ben makes his appearance!
This past weekend, Josh and I took the doggies to San Antonio. It was a lot of fun, but I could tell being in the CR-V for a few hours (even with breaks) was harder on me than before. We did, however, enjoy some pool time! Sadie jumped in to the shallow first step to cool down many times, and Perry did once - the first time he ever did voluntarily!
That Saturday, Josh's brother had his Eagle Scout Court of Honor ceremony. Since Josh became an Eagle Scout in 1997, he had a part in the ceremony.
The next day, there was a graduation party for Josh's other brother's high school graduation and Josh's law school graduation. As usual, Josh was thrilled for any photo op.
Today is my third wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe that Josh and I have been married for three years already! This year, however, is the first time we've really done anything to celebrate.
The first year, he got law school grades back the night before (and then the anniversary was the last thing on his mind). The second year, we had our last dog training session that night. This year, we just stayed at home, cooked his favorite pasta meal and relaxed.
Since Sunday I had some odd pains and am now told not to exercise and to take it easy, staying at home sounds pretty good!
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