I've got stroller on the brain

You may be thinking, it's just a stroller, right?  WRONG.  And I've come to find out that when it comes to your first baby there is no "it's just this or that" about anything.  I've been researching strollers on the consumer reports website, in books written by parents, on message boards, and amongst other new mothers that I know and everyone seems to have a different opinion.  One mom loves the travel system that comes with the stroller and matching infant baby seat while another calls it the SUV of strollers and that it's too bulky and no good.  She likes the easy one-handle fold stroller with the infant seat adapter that's lightweight and portable.  The good news is that it seems that once a mommy has actually picked her stroller, she absolutely loves it.

That said, I knew that no amount of research on the internet, or in books, or with other moms was going to help me pick a stroller out, partly because I didn't quite understand the lingo, and that I had to just see them for myself.  So, Saturday morning my husband and I got up bright and early to take a 1 1/2 hour trip to Babys R Us to "test drive" stroller for ourselves, and I have never been more scared.

First of all, when we walked in, we looked like a couple of idiots because we just stood there at the entryway for a minute in absolute wonder and fear.  Where on earth were we supposed to even start?!  This was not just about "test driving" strollers, this was about investigating everything baby and learning the lingo.  As I gazed over the crowded baby super store I envied those parents with a younger child in tow because I knew that they at least had a clue as to what they were doing.  However, I knew in order to get through this day, I had to let go of my fear, and envy, and just forge ahead, possibly breaking a stroller or two in the process.

Our game plan was to first walk the store trying to familiarize ourselves with the layout and products.  After completely failing at the familiarizing part, we decided to go check out something we already knew about and had successfully accomplished, picking out a crib!  We hadn't seen it in person but the reviews were great and it was a very good price.  After seeing it all set up, and Greg shaking it to make sure it really was as sturdy as it claimed, we felt confident that if we could make one good choice, we could do it again.  Off to the strollers we went

Did I mention that neither Greg or I had ever pushed a stroller let alone seen one up close until we visited my sister last fall in Texas?  Needless to say, we were SO out of our league.  I thought, "well, there's no time better than now to get familiar with all the buttons and features of strollers!"  I hoisted the first stroller, the one my sister owns, off the display rack and starting pushing it around the aisle, then pulled the one-hand release handle and wah-la!  It folded right up!  Maybe this will be easier than I thought!  Next Greg gave one a whirl pushing it around, trying to release the car seat, and then folding it up.  Not so easy this time.  Well we must've looked completely clueless because during our test driving expedition, at least 8 employees asked us if we needed help.  Finally one guy, who seemed pretty knowledgeable, ignored us when we said we didn't help and that we were just looking, and proceeded to give us a 20 minute tutorial on strollers and their features.  I liked this guy.  I then hauled him with us to each different section of the store, all of which he said he had previously worked, to give us tutorials on them as well.

At the end of the day we left with a confused head full of knowledge and trunk with a highchair...don't ask.  On our way out of the city we hit up "Moe's Southwest Grill," which if you've never been you have to try, and discussed our options.  There are just so many considerations.  Like, does it hold an infant car seat?  Which models is it compatible with?  How does the adapter work to secure the seat?  Are the wheels going to withstand our road conditions?  What are we going to be using it for?  How much will we use it?  And the list goes on and on.  I just can't get strollers off my mind!  I went to bed last night thinking of them and woke up this morning with them on my brain again, hence this blog post :-)

We've narrowed it down to a couple favorites but have to do a bit more investigating on the infant car seat options, but hopefully we will make a decision soon; I'm not sure how much more calculating and deliberating my brain can take.  One thing I've learned from this trip is that when it comes to you and your baby, everything is really just about your personal preference and to not overwhelm your head with too much information.  Nothing is ever going to be perfect.  Just narrow down your options and go with the most practical one and the one you are most comfortable with.  (We'll put this theory to the test when Greg and I go back to pick out the rest of our baby gear in a few months, I'll keep ya posted...)

InStep Grand Safari Swivel Wheel Jogging Stroller.  Now we all know that I don't jog but we like the tires for our country living.  Cons: It's really heavy and we're still skeptical of the infant car seat adaptor.  This is my fav so far though.

Baby Jogger City Mini.  This is the one my sis has that folds up easily, is lightweight, and has the right car seat adaptor.  Cons:  The tires are foam and probably wouldn't withstand the walk down our gravel drive not to mention there are no parent cup holders, which according to Greg is imperative.  His big concern?  How is he going to drink a beer and push a stroller without a beer holder?!  Although you can add that on as an accessory,  It's just not the same...

Heartbeat Strong!

Happy Birthday to me, babies heartbeat is strong, 150.  My doctor said that between 120 and 160 is a good heart rate and that it slows as you get closer to the third trimester.  I've realized that I really do need these little signs of life in order to keep making it real that I'm pregnant, though the belly growth is helping.  Apparently I will begin to feel the baby move between 16-22 weeks, but more than likely between 18-20 weeks.  I've heard that it may feel like the butterflies in your belly, gas (what do you know, more gas), a pop feeling, or any combination of these.  Most new mommies don't recognize the movements so I have a feeling that I'm going to be spending many evenings sitting still trying to notice the movements.

We have our ultrasound date to find out the gender scheduled for March 29th, and I don't think it could come any faster.  We've waffled back and fourth on whether or not to find out the gender but truthfully, with this being our first, I want to be as mentally prepared as possible for him or her.  And, not gonna lie, I can't wait to start picking out Bob's things!

Mommies health seems to be on track too.  My blood pressure is pretty low, 90 over 70 something, which the doctor said is normal.  The lightheadedness gets to me when I stand for too long or get up to fast, or bend over, or, well I'm kinda always lightheaded.  Which may be contributing to my lack of concentration and ability to remember things.  My poor husband keeps having to explain simple driving directions to me over and over, and then I will have him draw me a map, then I forget the map, and then have to call him and have him explain them to me again, very slowly this time, and then explain them again, until he's so frustrated he can hardly stand it.  What really stinks about this is that I'm normally really good with directions, so Greg's frustration frustrates me and then, WAIT, don't stress!  Bob doesn't like Stress!...It's really a vicious cycle.  I believe this is what is know as pregnancy brain.  And anyone who doesn't believe it exists is WRONG.

I'm updating my check-in again because it seems that I was a bit off on a few things :-)

15.5 Week Check-In
Weight Gain: By afternoon it was about 5 pounds, which is apparently right on track.  I have had a voracious appetite that can't be satisfied and I feel like I've been eating 24/7 for the past few couple.
Cravings: I can't get enough salads or blueberries, and it's been that way for over a week now!  Though candy is a close second and, for those who know me well, I'm sure this comes as no surprise. =DShowing: See picture :-)
Maternity Clothes: nope, but my sis is sending me her Bella Band which will hopefully make my current wardrobe last a bit longer.
Favorite Moment This Week: Hearing Bob's heartbeat!
Most Looking Forward To: Getting the crib in that I ordered, it should come this week!!!  Hopefully the assembly instructions aren't too confusing because we already know that Mom's baby brain will not be able to tackle it.  I have a feeling Dad will want to take on that manly task anyway though.

Week 15-Are you looking at my bloat?

15 weeks down, 25ish to go!  My how time is flying already.  I still don't really feel pregnant, though the frame on my desk reminds me every day of the little guy or girl growing in my belly.  And even though I keep telling people that I'm finally showing, they all continue to tell me it looks like I'm just bloated, which I'm pretty sure isn't a compliment. :-)  I thought that the major bloating was over, boy was I wrong.  I definitely tried on a pair of dress pants this morning and, if this tells you anything, I'm not wearing them.  Happy birthday to me, my pants don't fit!  I really can't wait for there to be a real and noticeable baby bump so I start to feel pregnant, and not just full of gas.

On a good note I get to go to the doctor today for a check-up and for the doc to listen to Bob's heartbeat.  I tell ya, not being able to feel the baby kick and squirm, which I know he/she is based on the last ultrasound, makes a mom-to-be a little nervous.  I know I know, I should be happy that my baby is safe in my belly and should cherish this time, but I still can't wait for Bob to be out and about where I can see him/her.  In the mean time I try to just keep as low stress as possible and feed Bob right.

My body is still doing weird things that are taking some time to get used to.  When I stand up or roll out of bed I feel my hips pop and my vertebrae crack like a zipper up my back.  Not loud, it just feels funny.  I'm told this is because of the hormone relaxin that is produced in the body to prepare your body for birth by loosening up ligaments.  In addition I experienced severe pain last week in my tail bone that made it almost impossible for me to walk up or down stairs and would sometimes drop me to my knees.  (I tired to bowl under these circumstances and looked like a complete idiot...just ask my coworkers)  Thank goodness that is subsiding, but I'm not going to get too excited because it may return.

15 Week Check-In
Weight Gain: This morning it was 3.5 pounds :-)
Showing: Apparently it's still more bloat than baby, or so I'm told
Maternity Clothes: Not yet, but I feel some shopping coming on!
Favorite Moment This Week: Waking up to my birthday card from my husband that said to Kerry or Mom
Most Looking Forward To: Hearing Bob's heartbeat today!!!

Check In: Week 13, I Popped!

I have finally officially gotten to my second trimester!  With that I have realized that many of the early pregnancy symptoms have somewhat subsided, thank goodness.  The nausea is very infrequent, my boobs are not as sore, and my energy level is coming back.  In addition I have finally popped!  In other words, I'm showing...a little :-)

My husband has been in Florida helping his brother plant for a little over two weeks and I was so hoping by the time he got back I would be showing.  Now you remember how much Greg has been dying to see a little bump, so of course he was on my case to send him pictures while he was there so he could see the progress.  I didn't want to disappoint him but was still unsure if it was truly a "Bob bump" or if it was still the lovely bloating.  He asked on the perfect day though, because literally that morning, I popped!  Seriously, it was like now you don't see him, now you do!  I hesitantly snapped a picture of myself in the hotel bathroom, yes I was traveling too, and sent it on his way.  His response?  "That's definitely a baby bump!"

Joyously I shared my bare belly with my mom, grandma, and friend Lauran.  It seems kinda odd lifting up my shirt to take a picture of myself and sending it to people, but I guess think that's what pregnant people do, right?  Needless to say, you are in for a show too because I am sharing my self portrait with you all :-)

In celebration of the bump I have decided to start perusing some maternity items.  Let me tell you, people say that maternity clothes have gotten so much cuter, however, it makes me wonder how bad they were before because I haven't really noticed the cute factor.  Maybe it's because I live in a rural area, but boy do I have slim pickins'.  And the smalls are still huge, which I'm sure will change belly wise, but in the sleeves and yes, even though they HAVE grown, just ask my husband, they are still big in the boobs.  Like I said, I know my belly will eventually fill these out but I am definitely thinking I need a trip to the city where malls exist once I get further along.

In the mean time I'm enjoying still fitting into my current wardrobe and will hopefully not have to spend money on clothes soon.  I did spend money on a cute frame though!  I know, I'm a nerd, but I just had to splurge.  How cute is this?!  It sits on my desk at work.

That's my 10 week ultrasound :-)

13 Week Check-In
Weight Gain: 2.5 pounds, I think mainly in my butt to be honest, haha
Showing: refer to picture above!
Favorite Moment This Week: Valentines Day when Greg surprised me with a porch swing, with cupholders! Oh yeah, that's how we roll swing! He said he got the medium sized one so we could fit Bob on their with us :-)
Most Looking Forward To: My next appoint on March 1st because then we'll be scheduling my next ultrasound that will tell us the gender!!!!  I can't wait to start shopping!

Homemade Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Rolls

Intimidated by the word "homemade?"  I know I was!  But, the enticing words "ooey, gooey, and cinnamon rolls" had me hooked.  I just had to try to make these sinfully delicious sounding rolls.  I actually got the recipe from another famous blogger known as "The Pioneer Woman."  She made the claim that once you make these rolls for family and friends, you will forever be known for them, and only them.  Now that HAS to be a great cinnamon roll, right?!

Well I started by getting all of the ingredients....almost a week and a half ago.  Not gonna lie, in the face of the word homemade, and navigating a recipe that was not written in traditional recipe format, it took me a while to muster up the courage to try to decipher and tackle it.  (From this experience I did learn that for the sake of your readers to make ANY future recipes crystal clear.)  Another intimidating factor was that it made a HUGE batch; 6-7 pie tins of rolls to be exact.  I was so afraid of messing up the recipe and ending up with a huge bowl of wasted ingredients.  So I stressed about the impending chance of failure and kept putting it off.

I must say the only thing that got me to tackle the rolls was the expiration date on the milk and some words of wisdom about stress and anxiety from my dear aunt.  She said that so often we stress so much about the unknown and put things off only to find out that our fears are unfounded, which really struck a cord with me.  Why was I stressing about making cinnamon rolls?  The only way to ease that stress and know if my stress actually had any grounds, was to try it.  And, of course, it was a learning experience and I made many notations on the original recipe, but the rolls turned out great.  All of the stressing for nothing!  So if you see these rolls and think, "I have GOT to try to make them," go ahead, conquer your fear of yeast and rising dough and give it a whirl!  You'll be glad you did.

Here is the link to the new and BETTER recipe from Ree, aka the pioneer woman.  http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/
It is much easier to understand than the one I used and has step by step instructions with pictures, which would have helped when I made it.  I have also added pics of my cinnamon rolls below, which I must confess truly are as sinful as they look and are SO much fun to make!

A shower? Really...?!

They say that hindsight is 20/20 and, in this case, it was.  I'm sure you've all heard reports and saw the news about the horrible storm that ripped through the mid to northeast part of the United States.  Well, living in southern Indiana, we tend to get more of the ice and freezing rain rather than the snow.  After experiencing such ice that blankets the entire area, I without a doubt prefer the snow I used to get in Michigan. Well as this storm approached I kept a watchful eye on the storm, knowing full well that if something happened it was me and only me here to take care of things; poor Greg was in Florida.

As I left work Tuesday evening I thought to myself, "well this isn't too bad."  It was just a light rain and wasn't freezing.  However, 20 minutes up the road, I was in hell.  Ice completely covered the roads and tree limbs were shattered all over the place.  When I got home I knew that there was a good chance that my house would lose power, especially considered that the city 30 miles north of me was completely shut down.  My first thought was to take a shower because if I lost power in the night, I may not be able to take one in the morning...  Really...Really!?  A shower!?  Who thinks like that?!  Needless to say about 15 minutes later, with soap in my hair, the lights go off.  So I'm in the bathroom, with no window, feeling around for my iphone so I could use my handy flashlight application to get me through.  Then it dawned on me.  No electricity=no water or heat and soon it would be pitch black outside!  I raced to finish my shower before the tank ran out of water and scurried to pack an overnight bag.  Not sure where I was going, but I knew I couldn't stay in a freezing house.  Feeling blindly through the house I found our Coleman Lantern which enabled me to at least finish packing.

About an hour later, and after much debate, I ventured back on the roads to head to my friends house near my place of work, and of course the roads 15 minutes south of my house were FINE!  The difference in weather was night and day.  When I arrived she had made dinner and baked brownies to curb the pregnancy cravings, yay me!

Now, moral of the story.  I have realized that you DON'T take a shower if you think there is a chance of losing power.  There are more important things to consider like food, shelter, and water.  Needless to say, I will definitely be setting up an emergency plan well in advance and be prepared for any other storms that decide to head my way.

Edits to the Stir-Fry Recipe

Just an FYI that apparently my "eyeball" measurements are off.  I remade my stir-fry recipe and realized that I needed to make a few changes.  Thanks to my mom I have a kitchen scale now that helps with the weight of the protein so I don't have to hold the item while stepping on a scale to see the poundage anymore.  Which, by the way, does NOT work very well.  Anyway, I made the changes in the recipe and promise to never post another recipe without first testing my "eyeball" measurements. :-)