Bump Watch - 18 Weeks

We're headed out to go meet our new nephew, but in the meantime here's how our little bean is coming along. Exactly one week from today until we know the sex! Although now I'm all paranoid about an incorrect ultrasound reading since my dad's friend was told she was having a girl and just delivered a little boy a few days ago - yikes! There was a last minute trip to the store to go buy some clothes that weren't covered in princesses. So here's hoping that the little bean is an exhibitionist and really shows their stuff to the ultrasound tech!

Get Organized

As I've been going through the house these last few months I've become more fixated than usual on organization. I realized that the reason everything got cluttered so easily was because there wasn't a place for everything. Things are getting whipped into shape now, but to my mind, there are always more good tips out there. I ran across this video from The Today Show and thought it had a few cute ideas. They give you the prices and websites of everything, so it's very useful. I particularly liked the underwear and jewelry ideas. For another jewelry organization idea, look at this wonderful item. I've been meaning to order it for months now and haven't gotten around to it yet, but I will.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I'm an Aunt!!!!

B's sister just had a little baby boy about 15 minutes ago!!! No names or pictures because I try to only pimp out my own life on here, not other people's, but we're SUPER EXCITED!!! We'll be leaving first thing Friday morning to see everyone.

Yeah!!

Movin' Things Around

It was a weekend of productivity around here. Three days of moving, organizing, throwing out, weeding out, and more, all in preparation for our eventual move. There's plenty of progress I can make during the week by myself, but then I get stuck and have to start making B a Honey-Do list. He's been sick for the last three weekends (foot, cold, knee, etc.), so we had been falling behind. Plus, the next shipment of bubble wrap came so I can start packing boxes again. Woo Hoo! I sound facetious, but I'm actually completely serious. Every packed box makes me feel like we're one step closer to getting to Albany.

We capped off the weekend with an absurdly expensive trip to the grocery store and then some Sunday night cooking - meatballs, homemade sauce, New Orleans shrimp, cornbread, etc. Lots of yummy treats for Oscar night. We only made it to 10:30pm though, so I had to read about some of the winners this morning.

Also this morning, I decided to attempt a slow dive back into the fitness pool with some yoga. All I can say is - damn. Taking five months off for my injury, morning sickness, and pregnancy has not done good things for me. I mean, 30 minutes of slow yoga is pretty much the easiest and slowest exercise you could possibly do and yet I still feel creaky and over-stretched. Apparently physical therapy exercises don't count for jack when it comes to overall fitness.

And lastly, a warning to anyone who dares call the house this week - we are on high alert baby watch for our niece or nephew and panic ensues every time the phone rings. So if you call I will inevitably sound disappointed when I answer. It's not personal - it's just that you're less exciting than a new baby.

Friday Philosophy

Here's something for you to ponder - as a society are we getting more enlightened as the years go on or are we dumbing ourselves down? It's actually something I think about sometimes and of course I come up with a different answer every time. So I was struck when I was reading Girl's Gone Child and she posted this video of Comedy Central's movie Idiocracy. I haven't seen the movie, but the trailer is enough to scare the crap out of you. Years ago someone said to Feather Nester, in the midst of a conversation of whether is was responsible to have children considering the population problem, that it was people like her (educated, thoughtful, etc.) that should be having children. Any thoughts as to whether we're getting more or less enlightened as the decades tick by or on the children conundrum?

To all the Facebook users...

Uh-oh.

As I was perusing my celebrity trash blogs today I learned that Facebook actually owns the rights to all of those photos we've been uploading - indefinitely and even if you quit. Am I going to stop? No. Do I really think it matters? No, but there aren't any inappropriate photos of me or my family on there either. Is it wrong just the same? Of course.

Click HERE to read the story.

Cupid - no, Candy - yes

Today is Valentine's Day and I swear to god I wouldn't even know or remember if it weren't for all the media reminders. And I'm not an angry Valentine, I've never gone on any tirades about it being a "Hallmark Holiday" or anything like that, but it does feel very invented to me and I kind of just don't get it. It holds the same place in my life as St. Patrick's Day - if it happens to be on a weekend and if I happen to not be doing anything else, than I may go out for a drink if someone else brings up the idea. Other than that, I'm pretty much out.

When I was single I would make these really great care packages for my girlfriends to tell them how much I loved them, and that was great because it involved all of the creativity and none of the expectations. But the absolute most that B and I have ever done for Valentine's Day is Dollar Store Valentines Day. And if you're in the mood for something different, I highly recommend it. You get a $10 allowance and get to give your sweetheart all kinds of stupid, ugly, random, and funny crap that lets you have fun, take off the pressure, and kind of make fun of the holiday all at the same time. We didn't do that this year because we're trying so hard to weed stuff out, but it's been fun in the past. Other than that, for six Valentine's Days there hasn't been a single dinner, not one rose, and I'm pretty sure not any chocolates.

And this year it seems like we get an even better excuse for forgoing the holiday. On my end, nothing says I love and appreciate you like letting your unborn child wreak havoc on my body. And on his end, nothing says I love and appreciate you like dealing with your non-stop nausea during the first trimester, waiting on you hand and foot when your back inevitable gives out during the third trimester, and being willing to still sleep in the same bed with you during your NON STOP FARTING of the second trimester. Love comes in all forms.

In reality, the biggest and most important symbolism for me is the candy. Valentine's Day signals the beginning of Candy Season. It's no secret that my love of candy is deep and pure and the sweet tart hearts that I snack of for all of January and February do a good job of tiding me over until Easter. Easter candy is like crack to me. Of all the candy ever invented, Easter candy is the top of the top for me. Jelly beans, black jelly beans, Cadbury Cream Eggs, PEEPS... I can't say enough.

I mentioned in my Little Chirps that I was averaging 4 Cadbury Cream Eggs a week and that has held very firm. Every Sunday at Wegmans I buy 4 and by Friday or Saturday they're gone and I need more. And admittedly, as I've gotten older and more sugar and health conscious I've eaten less Easter candy than I used to. But that was before I was pregnant. If you could only see the devilishly huge Peep-induced smile on my face right now, you'd understand the purity of my love.

So whatever you're doing for Valentine's Day, I hope it meets your expectations. I'll be spending mine skipping through the candy aisle at Wegmans.

My uterus has made me stupid

I finally figured out why I can't think of anything to write about lately - pregnancy brain. See, most nights on the couch I have plenty of blog ideas, I write them out in my head, and then intend to dazzle you with interest the next day. Then the next day comes around and it's nothing but tumbleweeds. Much like the whole cravings thing, I never totally bought into that whole "all my blood and energy is going into making a person, so there's none left for my brain" phenomenon. Ah... jokes on me.

One of my strengths has always been my memory and general put-togetherness. If you do or tell me something, I'll remember it. You'll get a card on your birthday and I can tell you all kinds of anecdotes from our past together. And believe me, if anyone gets to carry the title of Most Flighty and Forgetful in this household, it is NOT me. In fact, I'm pretty sure our entire relationship to this point has hinged upon me being the rememberer of all things relevant to life and then making sure that B actually executes them. The system is failing!

In other pregnancy related news, we had the 4 month appointment yesterday and all is well. Weight - good, Blood Pressure - good, Heartbeat - good. We also made the appointment to find out the sex of the baby in three weeks. Yea!!

According to the old wives' tale about the heartbeat, 152 beats per minute means we're having a girl. And according to this super random Chinese Gender Chart I found, we're also predicted to have a girl. But I still think it's a boy. Feel free to start placing your bets now. It only seems appropriate that people should be using this opportunity to make a little money.

Aaaaannnnddd... I'm done.

We're exactly ten days into February and I've decided that I'm over it. February is useless, I want it to be March. March is when our new niece or nephew gets here (and I'm just now starting to get really anxious for that!), March is when we can find out the sex of our little one, March is closer to April, which is when our vacation is, and sometimes (but only sometimes) the bitter horrible cold of winter starts to subside in March and I am reminded that winter isn't actually a year-round season.

I think the key to surviving winter is finding fun indoor activities to keep you distracted - cooking, craft projects, reading, etc. But as everything I own is packed, my only indoor activities are functional - weeding out, organizing the filing, packing, etc. And functional doesn't really pass the time the way you'd like.

Also - if I'm complaining, I might as well just bring it home! - I'm starting to wonder if you can catch a cold from a cat. Miles has been all kinds of sneezy for a week now and yesterday I caught a horrible cold and have been a walking ball of pregnant phlegm ever since. But, I did actually sleep last night, which means I can play house catch-up today. B was forced to go to work naked today since everything he owns is dirty. Normally that would be a problem, but he doesn't work with any women, so it's fine.

If you find something genuinely redeeming about February, let me know.

Things I Learned by Watching the Grammys

Hi loves. Sorry about the lack of posting, I'm feeling like an exceptionally boring person lately. While walking through the grocery store yesterday thinking about what I could write, I genuinely considered writing a post about how, regardless of our increasing culinary sophistication, when it comes to cranberry sauce, I far prefer the creepy, gelatinous stuff from the can that is reminiscent of a Jello jiggler. It's cold, it's refreshing, it's like taking a little drink with your roasted chicken. But then I realized that - in addition to not being interesting - it's not really a post so much as a sentence.

It was a pretty low-key weekend around here. B hurt his foot working out and is hobbling around on crutches, so between that and my back, nothing that required movement got accomplished - no garbage or recycling out, no boxes of Salvation Army crap hauled to the garage, even getting the groceries in from the car was a task. I'm anxiously awaiting a gift basket for "all of our continued and loyal business" from the physical therapist's office soon.

We capped the weekend off by watching the Grammys last night, which was a little bit strange as I'm not that in touch with current music and there was a lot of this: "BOYZ II MEN have an album out?!!! WHAT? As in 'Motown Philly' - that Boyz II Men??" So in addition to being reminded of how woefully out of touch I am, I learned a few other things as well:

• After all these years and the impending "comeback" album, Whitney Houston still can't speak in public without sounding like she's on something.
• Between all of the young, blond, semi-country singers (Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Kelly Pickler, etc.), I can't keep track of who was on American Idol, who sings what, who may have come from Disney, etc.
• Until seeing the interview on 60 Minutes an hour before the show, I had seriously underestimated how hot Chris Martin of Coldplay is.
• I still have yet to hear a Jonas Brothers song - the only part of their performance I caught was them singing Superstition with Stevie Wonder. (As I'm partial to the Tar Beach version, it didn't count)
• Somehow Kid Rock continues to pull the collective wool over people's eyes and convinces them that he's worthy of performing at the Grammys or receiving them.
  
• And in a piece of wisdom that will come in handy next summer, I learned that you can be 9 months pregnant and still look so disturbing that you'll want to make bystanders cry.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Our efforts to take down the world one webcam at a time are working swimmingly. Since yesterday's post, two friends and one more family member have signed up for ooVoo. Now I need to figure out better webcam placement since it currently faces a white wall, which makes it look like I'm talking to people from prison and not the corner of our living room.

But while you're waiting for your camera to arrive, you should occupy yourself by making Ina Garten's Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup. I made it for the first time and it's amazing! B said that he wished he had a bigger spoon so that he could get more into his mouth at once. It was an easy recipe and very easy to make while you're completely distracted because you make it in steps. So as I was trouble shooting the video connection with my brother, I kept dashing into the kitchen to complete and step and then I'd let it do what it had to do and come back five minutes later. The only change I made to the recipe (other than using dried herbs instead of fresh) was that I used an immersion blender at the very end to make the consistency creamy, but that's just my personal preference.

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 5 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 5 ounces fresh portobello mushrooms
• 5 ounces fresh cremini (or porcini) mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon good olive oil
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 sprig fresh thyme plus 1 teaspoon minced thyme leaves, divided
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Clean the mushrooms by wiping them with a dry paper towel. Don't wash them! Separate the stems, trim off any bad parts, and coarsely chop the stems. Slice the mushroom caps 1/4-inch thick and, if there are big, cut them into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

To make the stock, heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large pot. Add the chopped mushroom stems, the onion, carrot, the sprig of thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Add 6 cups water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving the liquid. You should have about 4 1/2 cups of stock. If not, add some water.

Meanwhile, in another large pot, heat the remaining 1/4 pound of butter and add the leeks. Cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the leeks begin to brown. Add the sliced mushroom caps and cook for 10 minutes, or until they are browned and tender. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the white wine and stir for another minute, scraping the bottom of the pot. Add the mushroom stock, minced thyme leaves, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the half-and-half, cream, and parsley, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and heat through but do not boil. Serve hot.

Now live and in technicolor!

Last night I took yet another technological step forward. First it was the Blackberry this past summer (which I still love and will never deviate from) and now we're set up with a webcam. The idea originally came about when we were supposed to move to Nashville as a way for us to see our future niece or nephew (due in only 4 weeks!), but then we decided to postpone Nashville for a few years and will now have the pleasure of seeing the new little baby in person. However, then we got pregnant and my west coast family thought it would be a great idea to keep in touch, so everyone got each other webcams for Christmas.

My brother and I tried several different programs last night and none of them were quite right, so we got off the phone for an hour so I could finish dinner and he could do some research, and he came up with ooVoo - by far the best program that we tried. It got the best reviews, so it's no surprise that it worked so well. After we set ourselves up, we tested it out and it was awesome!

As most people know, it can be terribly hard to live so far away from your loved ones. And while phones and email and Facebook and texting and everything else can greatly shorten the distance, there's just nothing like seeing the other person and watching them laugh to the point of tears at the story of how your husband hurt himself on his very first workout day 30 seconds into the video by RUNNING IN PLACE and now can't walk.

Tonight Feather Nester and I are going to try to set ourselves up with a connection as well, which is good because every time she posts a picture of adorable baby L my heart breaks a little. And even though I still won't be able to kiss her perfect little cheeks, I think at least seeing her will help. So if you live far away and you want me to entertain you with video of the growing bump, watch as I try to force the cats to say hello, or entertain you with an endlessly funny list of B stories, spend the $60 for the webcam and get yourself hooked up.

For all the self conscious out there, I will warn you that those little cameras are not forgiving. As soon as the image popped up on the screen I was all "Well HELLO pregnancy zits! Boy! Those are REALLY HIGHLIGHTED on the screen, huh? Maybe I'll throw on a little makeup next time."

Mondays are for Montages

We got our wonderful wedding video about a month ago and B was able to upload one of the chapters on You Tube in case anyone wanted to see it. He tried to upload a second chapter, but the music in that chapter (In Your Eyes) is copyrighted and the magical You Tube elves knew that, so the second montage no longer exists. It's too bad too, because the second montage is all of the reception footage and some of it is hysterical. This clip is from the picture taking session on the lawn behind the resort.





If you want to watch the video in better quality without all the fuzziness, click HERE and then click the link on the bottom right of the video that says "watch in high quality."

Enjoy!