We're back!

Well, we have this computer fixed in the most half assed way possible, but it's usable and I've got pictures to share!!

This weekend was Memorial Day weekend, and while the rest of the weekend was a rainy and gross mess the actual day of was perfect!! We spent most of the day in Nanna and Bapa's pool and even had visits from Uncle Dave and Melissa :) I was on pool duty (twist my arm, it's really hard to get me into the pool...lol) and totally forgot to bring out the camera so we could get some pictures. Just as we were getting ready to head home for the evening, Eddie decided to run away and park his little toosh at the top of my mom's stone steps so he wouldn't have to leave. The light and everything was perfect, so I decided that I should take advantage of his stubborness....and I got some great shots!

{laughing at daddy goofin' off behind me}

oh, love this little man.

an-ther -ne bites the dust

and we've g-t t- take a break here. -ur laptop (hey! g-t it!) is a broken peice of crap-la. but i do want t- put here that i didn't break this -ne! it was eddie. takes after his m-mma.

if y-u can't tell, the o key is m-stly br-ken. eddie likes t- pull it off. i've g-tten it t- stick back -n bef-re, but this time it just w-n't p-p back -n. s-metimes it w-rks, -ther times it just falls -ff when i press it. classy.

in additi-n, the screen is totally br-ken. it started when eddie stepped -n it -ne day, the c-rner hinge br-ke. and the -ther night, FRANK!! br-ke the rest -f it -ff. N-T ME!! I DIDN'T D- IT!! FINALLY!! so the screen won't stay up. at all. but hey, that's like, 2 o's without a problem so that's a win! damn. st-pped w-rking. eff. anyway...right n-w the screen is resting -n a pill-w t- stay up. again...classy.

i have n- idea h-w l-ng it is g-ing t- take t- fix....we've g-t an ever gr-wing list -f pr-blems and i have n- idea where this falls -n hubby's list. sigh.


c-ngrats if y-u can understand this....haha!

Social Hour

The other day, after a breakdown of epic woe-is-me proportions, I called my cousin Jen and told her I needed to get together.

Thank God for amazing family members....they're totally obligated to hang out with you when you text them saying that you've cried for  the third time in as many days. Heh.

So off we went to the Shedd. My lovely Jen Jen drove, while Eddie and I took the train (and then the bus) to the Shedd. And the first time we did this, it all went perfectly and was so beyond easy that we were shocked. Which means that this time totally had to be a cluster fuck, right? RIGHT! The train was great....Eddie loved it as always and thankfully didn't cause any trouble. After a potty stop, we headed out to the bus stop...I looked at the sign, it still had the #130 on it, as it should...I checked the website about a zillion times to check that it was running and what time it started. We were golden.

Except we weren't. The other buses passed us 4....5.....6 times and I'm wondering what to do. Eddie is still happily chilling in his stroller asking where our bus was. Another couple came for the 130. At this point, I had been waiting for about 30 minutes. The guy asked 3 different bus drives if the 130 was running, and sure enough 2 out of 3 said yes. The last driver? Oh no. She says that the 130 doesn't run anymore and we have to go to State Street to catch the 146. I had been waiting for an hour at this point.

WHAT THE MOTHER EFFING EFF.

So we hop on her bus, hop off at State (except "hop" is far from the right word here...pregnant chick struggling with a full sized stroller and a toddler is just too long though) and low and behold that first bus is so full that eddie and I stand. So I'm trying my best to shove the stroller against the wall while keeping Eddie standing upright and trying to explain that no, this is not a monkey bar and we don't swing on it, we have to hold on for dear freaking life and try our best not to fall while the other toddler-less and non-pregnant effers on the bus sit comfortably. (oops, sorry for the rant). ANYWHO. We finally get the right bus to museum campus and happily jump off and try to find Jen. An hour and a half after Eddie and I got off the train.

And then? Everything was perfect. We checked out the new Jellies exibit (small, but neat), saw everything else, laughed at the teenagers trying to ditch their field trip (in their super cool sweat pant and school t-shirt uniform) at lunch and chatted away about various things while trying to keep things semi-educational for Eddie.

Our trainride home was happily uneventful, the giant afternoon thunderstorn just missed us and I was a happy camper. So when Hubs got home, worry written all over his face and asking about how stressed I was after our horrible morning misadventures, I had to stop and think about what he was talking about.

Yeah, that bus situation sucked something hardcore, but the time I got to spend with one of my favorite people ever? Totally made up for every bus standing second.


Thank God for family that has to hang out with you. And thank God that I am able to know someone as awesome and amazing as Jen.

23 week appointment

Weeks: 23w4d
Measuring: 27 weeks. UGH. Dr. K was not very happy about this, and while it can mean many things, we just have to hang tight and wait until my next appointment to find out what.

Heartbeat: Found via doppler without trouble. Baby is still hanging out on my lower right side...perfect place to kick my bladder, of course :)

Weight: +7lbs. Can I get another UGH? This one I was surprised by...while I know my belly has grown a bunch, I wasn't expecting that big of a jump! I had been feeling the effects of not swimming though, which was easily fixed because we just got our Y membership back! WOOOT! I'm back swimming at least 3 times a week, which feels great. Although I am pretty sure that I scared the shit out of the lifeguard there the other day. In the middle of my cool down (after an a-mazing 45 minute swim) baby decided it had enough and hit me with a take-your-breath-away cramp on my left side. I had to stop in the middle of the pool (a gorgeous new 8 lane lap pool, about 10 ft deep all around) and tread water for a sec, then made my way to the side, took a break, then finally kicked back on my back with my hands holding my belly. Poor kid looked like he was going to have a heart attack. But hopefully my swims get my arms a little toned again....and maybe help with these massive weight gains!

Feeling: pretty good! I have a pretty frequent pain in my left side rib area at the end of the day or if I've been doing a whole bunch of stuff, which the doctor said was normal when you have a toddler and are pregnant. The weight of this giant belly seems to already be wearing on my back, which is going to make for a long third trimester if it keeps getting worse! Otherwise, I have a good amount of energy throughout the day and just end up crashing by the time hubs gets home from work.
Craving: sweets. (and I'm surprised at the weight gain?) anything chocolate and peanut butter lately. still lovin steak, but the sweets really overwhelm most of the time.
Next appointment: 4 weeks, and am supposed to see Dr. D (was supposed to see him this time, but thanks to a scheduling error I got to see my fav Dr. K). I have my always fun gestational diabetes test (yum yum, drinking the disgusting glucose mix!) and my Rhogam shot (I'm RHnegative, which just means that I have a negative blood type and they need to protect the baby incase baby is a positive blood type). So all in all, probably not the most fun appointment ever. To make up for it? I get an ultrasound!! Woot! Can't wait to see this little bug again....I'm hoping for a really great profile view so we can see if baby looks like Eddie :)

Eddie thinks: Eddie is in love with my baby belly. L-O-V-E. Baby gets a hug and a bunch of kisses at bedtime, and he's always talking to baby during the day. Yesterday he thought it was the funniest thing to knock on my belly "knock knock, who's there?" and then lift up my shirt and say "BABY!!" it was cracking him up...lol. I *think* he got to see my belly bounce when baby kicked the other morning, because he made his super funny surprised face when I showed him and kept giving my belly the side eye for the rest of the morning. Heh.
Belly pic: See the Momma's Day post below! Lots of belly lovin' pics there :)


ps - i know these are only interesting to like, 1% of you. but i love being able to keep track of my appointments and what not. sorry i got a little long winded this time!

Momma Day!

Of course, Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful Mommas out there! I hope you had a day filled with lots of spoils and love :)

My Momma Day started early when I got the bestest and most beautiful diaper bag ever, now known as the un-diaper bag - my Serena and Lily Peacock Gypsy Tote! (of course, they just came out with a super pretty yellow one...darn) And then on Saturday I got 24 beautiful, perfect pink with darker pink tipped roses. Sunday I woke up to a card literally thrown in my face (the intent was good, just not the delivery!) and a little boy grinning from ear to ear. Eddie absolutely loved the card he got for me and I got to hear the Mikey Mouse song about 150 times before it was taken away and hidden. Heh. From there we hussled over to the always yummy Uncle Julio's for the brunch, which was beyond yummy. BEYOND. We met up with my Momma and Dad, ready to eat and then head to the (oh my god, so freaking packed, why did we think that was a good idea?) Brookfield Zoo.

{me and my boy}

{lovin' on the baby bump}

{this boy and salsa....he's insane}

{me, eddie and nanna....poor eddie looks smooshed here, but I promise that he just had his arm around nanna!}

{the view from here....holy moly 24 week baby belly}

{eddie's favorite game at the zoo. this and running through the crowds of people like a hyper little hyena}

From the zoo we went to Hubby's parent's house, where Aunt Tissy (Christine) and Uncle Pat brought Gramma a DOG! Holy Moly. Why I forgot to take pictures of the oh-so-tiny-and-cute Gia I have no idea, because that dog was totally cute picture worthy. I probably wouldn't have gotten very many pictures of Eddie there though, since he spends 99% of the time there playing in the basement with Grandpa and kicking the rest of us out when we try to go down. Silly boy.

Baby was on my mind a lot yesterday...I find it so hard to believe that I am going to have another baby by next mother's day! Does that mean double the purses and roses and hugs from lispy little boys who say "Happy Moders Day" in a way that just melts my heart? I hope so :)

Strike!

Eddie and I finally got to do something that I've wanted to do forever....go bowling!! Pinstripes in South Barrington has a Mom&Tot bowling time....$5/child, moms are free (and get drinks!) every weekday from 10-12. It was totally worth the drive, it was cheap, clean and Eddie had a blast. Field trip win!!

{we went with cousins Shelby and Leah!}

{we had the bumpers up and used this little ramp...it was perfect. except for a few sharing struggles, Michelle and I got to pretty much relax on the couch and watch the kids have fun!}

{so happy to be bowling...eddie loves to look at this picture of himself!}

{our little cuties in their matching shoes!}

I kicked myself the whole time for forgetting my big camera...I will not make that mistake next time...so many cute picture opportunities! We can't wait to go back!

News

What I'm about to write isn't breaking news to anyone, but above all this blog is used as a baby book for Eddie and baby, one that we plan on printing into hardcover books (by year). So for the sake of that, I have to say...

Last night, May 1, 2011, an incredibly brave group of elite US forces killed terrorist Osama Bin Laden. Frank and I heard the report and stayed up late to listen to President Obama speak of this amazing endevor. And, my kids, amazing it is.

I hope that your world is a little safer now. I hope that you do not have to grow up and experience the kind of pain that this man put upon our country almost 10 years ago. Above all, I hope that you grow up to be thankful for the safety that our brave troops fight to give us.