6 Weeks

Weeks along: 6

What's new with baby: Currently the size of a sweet pea. This week the major organs and systems begin to form.

Maternity Clothes: Nope

Symptoms: Tired, and a little nauseous during the morning hours. Oh, and my boobs. Yea, those things feel sore and swollen 24/7.

Cravings: I don't think this is necessarily baby-related, but froyo has sounded amazing lately so we indulged and had some Saturday :-)

Workouts: Run/walk on Monday for 3 miles, 2 mile walk Wednesday, walked 5 miles Saturday and did a Body Pump class on Sunday. Not too shabby!

Baby Purchases: None yet.

High point of the week: We told my family this weekend! Nate and I went out to lunch with my parents and little brother Saturday morning and told them then. When we were waiting to be seated we were just hanging outside the restaurant, and I told my dad "did you know there was 6 people in the car?" Of course he didn't really quite understand, so I then just said "well, 6 because I'm carrying an extra one - I'm pregnant!" My parents proceeded to shower us with hugs and kisses and tell us how happy and excited they were for us. My older brother wasn't at lunch, so at family dinner the next day I gave him a mug that said "good things are going to happen" and on the inside of it wrote "Baby Myers coming April 2016" He had the same reaction, and my sister-in-law almost broke out in tears she was so happy. It feels so good to have so much love and support.

Concerns/Issues: Trying to enjoy  this pregnancy, but also wanting time to speed up and for my 10 week ultrasound to get here. Our #1 thing is we just want a healthy baby.

Sleep: Good! Some tossing and turning at night, but overall I've been going to bed EARLY (like 9:30pm) and waking up at around 6:30am. 9 solid hours helps a little to not be so tired, but I still find myself feeling like a zombie some days.

Looking forward to: My first appointment next Friday, the results afterwards, and scheduling my first ultrasound.

The Positive Side

Written August 10th, 2015

It's hard to believe that it's been less than a week before I saw the magical plus signs and realized that yes, this is really happening.

Being 5 weeks today brings such a rush of mixed emotions. I'll admit I google too much, and for every happy baby story it seems like there's five about miscarriages. We told N's father's side last night after his sister revealed to everyone she was expecting her 2nd. We kind of just blurted it out, and ever since I've been slightly regretting even saying anything. It's still so early on, and while part of me is on cloud 9 imagining what life is going to be with a baby, the other part is terrified that it might not happen.

We still have 7 long weeks until we're officially in a "safe" place, but now begins a life where nothing is truly "safe" anymore. I keep telling myself the best way to be is positive, so for now I'm focusing on today. Today I am pregnant, and today I love our baby.

Weeks along: 5

What's new with baby: Currently an apple seed. This week the spine starts to form, along with some of the major organs.

Maternity Clothes: None yet.

Symptoms: Getting the tiniest bouts of nausea and some mood swings (Ns mostly getting the brunt of those), but otherwise feeling great.

Cravings: Nothing so far.

Workouts: Just a 4 mile run on Saturday. I didn't get back from visiting NY for my Grandma's funeral until Wednesday, and Thursday/Friday I was wiped out.

Baby Purchases: Nope

Rants/Raves: N has been great throughout this process so far, and seeing him so excited melts my heart.

Sleep: Okay, but not great. My brain has been on overdrive ever since we've found out, and I've been having really vivid dreams so it's been hard to stay asleep.

Looking forward to: Telling my family this Sunday at family dinner. I can't wait to see the look on my parents faces :).

Concerns: 7 weeks seems like such a long time. I'm so anxious to get my first ultrasound so I can see Baby M, but 5 weeks seems like such a long time away.

How we found out: I was in New York visiting my family since my Grandma had passed away, so I took a test the day before I left. We had been trying for about 3 months, and when the test was negative I assumed nothing was out of the norm so I didn't think anything of it. Well, when nothing came during my 5 day trip, I was officially late. N picked me up from the airport and I had him drop me off at home so I could take the one test I had left while he went to buy a couple more. Almost instantly it was a positive. I texted him the picture of the test and added in a "Yep, definitely pregnant!" but never got a response back from him. Then I realized I just texted my husband the biggest news of our lives so far. TEXTED. Who does that?! I was so excited at this point I waited for him in the driveway to get back, and when he got out of the car I asked him if he had checked his phone. Luckily he hadn't, so when he looked at his phone and read the text I got to see the full effect of him realizing he was going to be a dad. It was the cheesiest, happiest face I've seen, and we sealed the good news with a kiss.

Thoughts on TTC

Written March 31st, 2015

We're still 2 months away from trying, but just knowing we're working our way towards having a hard date at TTC is making me giddy, nervous and so happy.

Now don't get me wrong, I haven't been this way until recently. Honestly, the last year has been a year of ups and downs when it came to this topic. I love kids, but frankly, having one has scared me ever since I can remember. Hearing from friends (and the internet) how expensive day care is, how uncomfortable pregnancy (and labor, yeesh, that one still freaks me out) can be, and the million things that can go wrong along the way, there were lots of times where I thought having kids maybe wasn't worth the trouble.

Then..... my mind changed. I started thinking for myself. Kids will always be expensive, pregnancy is tailored to the individual (I can only pray for an easy one), and there's always things that can go wrong, but that's just one side of it. The underlying theme to almost everything that I've heard or read is that yes, there are sacrifices and pain and long nights, but it's worth it. It's so, so worth it.

My mind changing was the last piece that needed to click into place. N's been ready this whole time. I can see it in the love he has for our nieces in nephews. The excitement he gets when helping the neighbor's daughters with a woodworking project. The way he would talk about our future children and his hopes and dreams for them already. As soon as I brought up that I had been thinking about us starting a family, and starting one soon, he was all in. Having his support and love was all I needed to be reminded that no matter what challenges come our way, we'll tackle them together.

I've always heard babies change your life, but I guess it's time to see it for ourselves.

-A

15 for 2015 Check-In

It's September! I know I'm impatient, but I'm ready for everything fall. Plaid shirts, boots, cooler weather, fall leaves, candles, and of course ALL the pumpkin flavored things. I want all. of. it.

Here's how I'm doing on my 15 Things for 2015 so far:

1. Try 6 new recipes that aren't desserts (and post the review/recipe on here).Almost there! I tried out another Skinnytaste  recipe and tested using zucchini as noodles with this zucchini lasagna. It was more labor intensive than the other recipes I've tried, but it made a family-sized portion and was pretty darn good. You can see the other recipes I've made here, here, here, and here. 
2. Read 5 new books. Read 10 new books. Added What Alice Forgot to the list. It was a really interesting read, with the premise being that this woman falls down at the gym and can't remember the last 10 years of her life. I loved the ending, and it makes you think about how much time can change things. 
1. Bossypants by Tina Fey
2. Is Everyone Hanging Out With Me? by Mindy Kaling
3. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (seriously, SO good!)
4. First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen
5. The Vacationers by Emma Staub
6. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
3. Try something that takes me out of my comfort zone. Turning this one into a list so I can keep track of everything that took me out of my comfort bubble this year. 
1. Pushing myself skiing (hello black diamond runs!)
2. Flying 8 (yes, freaking 8) times over the 6 day trip for work to Puerto Rico, Barbados and Trinidad. 
3. I'm still thinking there's an even bigger one though that I'd like to get to this year, which is TBD
4. Take pictures for at least 4 family functions. One more to go! 
1. Family Ski Vacation - Colorado
2. Little Brother's Graduation
3. Ashton's first birthday party
5. Hang pictures of family/friends on the walls (this sounds simple, but our home has had nearly bare walls...for almost 2 years). Completed! 
   
6. Send a birthday card in the mail to 3 6 friends/family members. No progress over the last two months, but still halfway there! I had sent 2 cards for Valentine's day to friends, and in June sent my BFF in Minnesota a b-day present and card.
7. Do an act of kindness. So far I paid for a person's coffee behind me, but it felt a little too easy.Still keeping this as incomplete. 
8. Visit 3 places I've never been before. Complete, with adding another one to the list! This ties in with #15, but we're visiting our friends that moved to Atlanta this month. I've only ever driven through the city, so I'm counting it.
1. Trinidad
2. Barbados
3. Puerto Rico
4. North Carolina
5. Atlanta
9. Follow a clean eating or whole 30 plan for a week (hopefully longer, but baby steps, right?) I've come close, but haven't done a true consecutive week of clean eating yet.
10. Work back up to running a 5k again, straight through. Completed this on the treadmill in July, but have yet to do it outside. Maybe with some cooler weather coming I'll be more motivated to run outside.
11. Blog at least 24 times. Almost there! I've definitely had a lull in the past 2 months, but I'm still on track to get to this number. 
12. Clean out/organize all of the closets in our house. Blech, my least favorite activity. I cleaned out part of our bedroom closet last weekend and got rid of some clothes we don't wear anymore, but it still needs a deep scrubbing. 
13. Surprise my husband in some way. The concert tickets I surprised him with are for tonight! He's pretty excited to go :-)
14. Do a house project.  We got the house painted/added shutters, but it feels a bit like a cop-out since we hired someone to do it. N and I went out and bought trim paint and plan on replacing all the trim/molding/doors upstairs with white to make it brighter. It's an undertaking, but hopefully we can knock it out in a couple weekends. I'll have to remember to take some before/after pictures!
    

    

    Before

    
    

    

    After

15. Go visit a friend that lives in another state. Going to Atlanta this month to see our friends. N and I are both so excited!

-A

Friday Five

Happy Fri-YAY! I'm so ready for this weekend. My brother turns the big 3-0 this weekend so my sister-in-law is throwing him a party tomorrow night. Adult beverages + family + BBQ = a good time. 

But before I get ahead of myself, here are my top 5 from the week!

1. Target curtains. This store has come up in 90% of my Friday Five's, but I can't get enough. I've been wanting to spice up our family room for awhile now by adding in curtains with more visual interest (we just had plain beige ones before). I score a big 0 in the decision making department, so I ended up buying 4 different patterns and hanging them all up at home before deciding on just one. Below is the winner, but the other contenders were this one, this one, and this one. 

Source

2. New lipstick. I'm in love with the Clinique Chubby Sticks, but since the one that I have decided to grow legs and walk away, I decided to splurge on a new lipstick. I picked up  Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Suede Lipstick in High Heels. It's the perfect bublegum pink, and although it's not as moisturizing as my beloved Chubby's, I'm digging the color enough to run with it.

3. Beauty Brands Liter Sale. I usually settle for Dove conditioner/shampoo, but I'm currently stocking up on salon-quality liters thanks to Beauty Brands. I've picked up a couple liters so far of Redken Blonde Idol Shampoo. I'm obsessed, and planning on stocking up on at least 4 more liters before the sale ends. It's sulfate-free, smells great and has the feel of a really high quality shampoo. 

4. All the chips and guac. N and I had a dinner date this week at our local Micro Brewery, and they had homemade guac as the special appetizer. It was seriously the best guac that I've ever had, and even though the appetizer was meant for at least 4 people, we definitely polished the whole thing off. I've been craving it ever since. 

Source

5. N being home this week. He was gone all last week thanks to a work training in Boston, so having him back has been amazing. We even went running together for the first time in ages on Wednesday, and are both thinking about getting back into running some 5ks/10ks coming up. Hanging out together completely unplugged from all technology is the best!

-A

15 Things for 2015: July Check-In

Hello and happy July 1st! I'm pumped for this holiday weekend. 3 day of relaxing with friends and family sounds marvelous.

Here's my progress report on my 15 Things for 2015 so far:

1. Try 6 new recipes that aren't desserts (and post the review/recipe on here).Finally got this to 4! I put my new Skinnytaste cookbook to good use and made her Bangin' Good Shrimp. It was delish, quick to make, and the sauce (which was to die for) was only 3 ingredients! I definitely need to try out another one of her recipes for this month.You can see the other recipes I've made here, here and here. 
2. Read 5 new books. Read 10 new books. I finished my 5th book last month, so I want to up this to 10 for the year. I think this is definitely do-able since N got me a Kindle Voyage for my birthday. I was so anti e-reader, but I can officially say I've seen the light! It's the perfect size, lightweight and it looks exactly like a book page. I'm kind of obsessed. 
1. Bossypants by Tina Fey
2. Is Everyone Hanging Out With Me? by Mindy Kaling
3. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (seriously, SO good!)
4. First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen
5. The Vacationers by Emma Staub
3. Try something that takes me out of my comfort zone. I could probably name off two big ones for me: pushing myself skiing (hello black diamond runs!) and flying 8 (yes, freaking 8) times over the 6 day trip for work to Puerto Rico, Barbados and Trinidad. I'm still thinking there's an even bigger one though that I'd like to get to this year...
4. Take pictures for at least 4 family functions. Two down, two more to go. I plan on taking LOTS of pictures for my nephew's first birthday this Sunday! Helloooo baby picture overload. 
1. Family Ski Vacation - Colorado
2. Little Brother's Graduation
5. Hang pictures of family/friends on the walls (this sounds simple, but our home has had nearly bare walls...for almost 2 years). Completed! 
   
6. Send a birthday card in the mail to 3 6 friends/family members. Halfway there! I had sent 2 cards previously, and in June sent my BFF in Minnesota a b-day present and card. The time spent at the Postal Office waiting in line was totally worth the sweet text she sent me after she got them!
7. Do an act of kindness. I paid for a person's coffee behind me a couple weeks ago, but it felt a little too easy. I'm keeping this one as incomplete for now.
8. Visit 3 places I've never been before. Complete! Our trip to NC was 7 days of pure bliss. I'm kicking myself for not writing a recap, but we had the most amazing, relaxing time with our friends. My next trip will probably be to Boston to visit N while he's training for his job up there, but I've been before so sadly this can't go on the list. 
1. Trinidad
2. Barbados
3. Puerto Rico
4. North Carolina
9. Follow a clean eating or whole 30 plan for a week (hopefully longer, but baby steps, right?)LOLOL. Yea, this hasn't happened. It needs to, but all the prep work for a Whole 30 diet (even if it's just 7 days) is a little intimidating. 
10. Work back up to running a 5k again, straight through. I think I've done 3.1 straight on a treadmill, but I can't remember. I'm regularly running at least 2 miles straight through, albeit slow, but I need to start pushing myself more to do the full 3.1.
11. Blog at least 24 times. Pretty sure this is complete? I'm too lazy to check, so I'll verify next month ;)
12. Clean out/organize all of the closets in our house. We haven't done any more in the last month or two, so I think we still have 2-3 more closets to go.
13. Surprise my husband in some way. I surprised N for our anniversary. For our 5 year we got each other bikes, but a week or so before our anniversary I found out one of his favorite bands is coming to our town. I bought the tickets and stuck them in the card, and he was definitely pleasantly surprised! 
14. Do a house project.  Done! We bit the bullet and got our house painted, plus added some new shutters to the 2nd story. I wish we could afford siding, but I was hoping that at least painting the house would make it more modern looking. I can't say I was 100% in love with it at first, but the new color has definitely grown on me!

    

    Before

    
    

    

    After

15. Go visit a friend that lives in another state. Still need to do this one! I'll be going to NYC, Atlanta or Minneapolis before the end of this year, NO exceptions!

-A

Five and Ten

It's hard to believe, but five years ago today I married this guy, and ten (TEN!) years ago we started dating.

First vacation together - 8 months dating

I mean, 10 years is no short amount of time. A decade. 3,650 days, 87,60 hours, 5,256,000 minutes. We've been together through high school graduations, college graduations, new jobs, new friends and really, new phases of life.  

Vacation 2015

I remember always hearing as our wedding was getting closer and closer that your wedding day is one of the best days of your life. I hoped it wouldn't be, not because I didn't want to have a beautiful and perfect day, but because I hoped there would be days in our marriage even bigger and better than that one day.

I can safely say I've had not just best days, but best years with N. Seeing him graduate college, and flourish in his career. Buying our first home and fixing it up to make it our own. Enjoying our days whether their spent on the beach on vacation, or on the mountains skiing, or simply at home, snuggled next to our dogs. 

Family pictures - 2013

The past 10 years have been, simply put, the best. Cheers, love, and happy anniversary.

-A