I can't believe it is already 2011

Sorry for being MIA these past few weeks. Getting back in "work mode" after my 2 week Christmas break was very hard. I am now officially 27 weeks (hard to believe!) and feeling pretty good. Although I feel like a beached whale, the doctors assure me that I am right on track with weight gain (and actually a bit low compared to the average at this point in pregnancy) and belly size. Baby Hake is QUITE the kicker these days. He likes to kick at the most inopportune times though - while I'm teaching, when I'm laying down trying to go to sleep, etc. But I can't complain - it's so magical and wonderful, it doesn't bother me one bit.

I will try to catch you up on the past few weeks...

Brian and I had a fun New Years Eve. We went to Fleming's with our best friends - Greyson and Adam. In the pics below, Greyson is 23 weeks pregnant and I am 25 weeks. We will be having 2 very different babies, even though we are both having boys. G/A were both 5 pound babies. I was 8 lbs 15 oz and sweet little Brian was 9 lbs 4 oz. Yikes. So needless to say, Greyson and I are carrying different size baby boys. The four of us had dinner at Fleming's and then came back to our house and played a new game we found (you know Brian and I LOOOOVE games!) called Buzz Word. If you haven't played, it's a must. Surprisingly, Greyson and I were able to stay awake to watch the ball drop!

Brian and I have been taking baby prep classes at Northside Hospital (where I will deliver Baby Hake and where my mom delivered me!) these past few weeks.
The first one we took was Baby Essentials. Even with my 8 years of nannying experience, I still was able to learn a few things from this class - such as circumcision care and umbilical cord care YIKES. Brian learned a lot and I think it was much better coming from an instructor than me! We also took a couples breastfeeding class. Talk about awkward but informative haha. Brian and I were like little school kids in the back giggling and making faces at each other. But as silly as it was, we learned a LOT and gosh I'm grateful I took that class. This past weekend, we took Part 1 (of 2) of Childbirth Prep with Greyson and Adam. It wasn't as bad as I thought - Brian was fearing for his life with "the video" he knew they'd be showing us. But it wasn't that bad and I actually teared up during it! The instructor taught us different breathing techniques, ways Brian can massage me (yes please!), and all about the stages of labor. Next week she'll talk to us more about pain medication (also a big yes please!). I am currently very freaked out about the epidural. Don't get me wrong, I am 100% getting one, I just am concerned about a catheter being threaded into my back (I'm about to pass out just writing this!) and then it being in there for hours as I lay back on it! AHHHHHHH So hopefully, next week's class will calm me down. The only other 2 classes we will be taking are: Infant CPR (a must) and a hospital tour (Brian is excited about this one. He is anxious to learn the route to take me as I'm having contractions, what to expect in the delivery room, where to park his car, etc.). Again, I HIGHLY suggest taking these baby classes - you'd be crazy not to!

On Friday, Jan 7th my entire second grade team from school took me out to Kelly Kakes for a celebratory dinner!
Not sure if I've mentioned it before now, but I LOVE my second grade team. Although I am by far the youngest in the group, they treat me so well and have welcomed me since day one and guided me through my crazy first year of teaching. Needless to say, I would be completely lost without them.
These lovely ladies and I had a delicious dinner (and dessert of course!) together.
They showered me with adorable baby boy gifts and lots of love.

On Saturday, Jan 8th I had a play date with Lydie. Gosh, seeing her makes me miss the days of nannying for her and Hudson. The past few times I've hung out with Lydie, it has been with a group (including her parents, Brian, her brother, Penny, etc) so this time we decided to have a date "just us." I took Lydie out to lunch and then for pedicures. I cannot believe she is already 4. She acts like an 11 year old and we have conversations like we are best friends. Of course, she said a lot of funny things throughout our date, but the best was when she asked if she could be present during Baby Hake's delivery. Here is our convo...
Ellen: Sure! You can come see Baby Hake after he's born, I know your mom would bring you up to the hospital to meet him.
Lydie: No, I want to be there when he comes out of your tummy.
Ellen: What?
Lydie: Yeah, my mom wouldn't let me be there for her 2 babies coming out, so I need to be there for yours.
Ellen: Well, it's kind of an adult thing and Brian and I are going to be the only 2 people in the room when Baby Hake comes out of my tummy.
Lydie: Why?
This conversation continued on for about 5 minutes. Lydie just could not understand my reasoning. I truly think she thinks she will be there for the birth now. Haha!

Snowpocalypse has hit us. It started snowing on Sunday, Jan 9th and today is Tuesday and there is no sign of it disappearing. I am actually off work today (and was off yesterday) because the roads are SO unsafe. We got about 5 inches of snow but now there is an extra 1-2 inches of ICE on TOP of that snow, making it very dangerous to drive on. The weatherman predicts it won't be gone until this weekend! Which sounds great to be off work for an entire week, but you know that we won't go unpunished. That means our school will probably take away our winter break or add on extra days of school in May/June UGH. So as much as I love being off school and having days at home to lounge around in my jammies, I hope we go back to school tomorrow!

Our Last Christmas Sans Children

Well this is our last Christmas without children... sad to see the "just us" go, but super excited for what is in store for our family :) We went to Huntsville the weekend before Christmas to be with Brian's parents, brother & sister-in-law. We had a lot of fun spending time with his side of the family and were glad we were able to visit! We attended our church, North Point Community Church, the Wednesday before Christmas for a "traditional" Christmas Eve service filled with TONS of music, communion and the Christmas story. Baby Hake was jumping all over during the music - he's obviously a fan. Brian and I spent Christmas Eve at my parents house along with: Dad, Mom, Deborah, Mema (dad's mom), Mimi (mom's mom), Aunt Barbara (dad's sister), Amy (Aunt Barbara's daughter), Drew (cousin) & gf, Sydney, Vada and Penny. It was a full house to say the least! But we had some amazingly delicious food: honey baked ham, green beans, my famous "Over the Rainbow Macaroni and Cheese" (as featured on Oprah many years ago), pineapple casserole, rolls, sweet potato casserole and MANY MANY desserts. We opened one gift each (family tradition) on Christmas Eve and then Brian and I returned back to our house to spend Christmas Eve night at home snug in our bed. Christmas morning we returned to my parents' house and began our tradition - we walked down the stairs from oldest to youngest while my dad videotaped, we acted completely surprised that Santa had visited our house, and then we divvied up the gifts to everyone. We opened half our presents then stopped for breakfast intermission (sausage/egg/cheese casserole, hashbrown casserole, upside down pineapple biscuits and fruit medley), only to return to more gifts. While we were eating breakfast it started to snow! This is a HUGE deal for us because the last time it snowed on Christmas Day was in 1993 when I was in 3rd grade!! All in all, we had a wonderful Christmas with Brian's family and with mine. I still cannot believe that this time next year we will have a tiny tot with us on Christmas morning!!!!

24 weeks preg on Christmas Eve
Aunt Deb gave Baby Hake a new toy (we opened this on Christmas Eve)... Penny is a little unsure about all the new things we keep bringing home
My two grandmothers haven't been together in MANY years. Sadly both of my sweet, precious grandfathers have passed away so it was special to have both grandmothers together for Christmas this year. Mema (dad's mom) and Mimi (mom's mom) get along very well and spent a good 2 hours browsing through my mom's copy of our wedding pictures. It was SO sweet!
Penny, Sydney and Vada are all very protective of Baby Hake
4 generations in this picture: Mimi, Mom, me, Baby Hake4 generations in this picture too: Mema, Dad, me, Baby Hake
Christmas breakfast = YUM!!!

Penny & me in the snow
Penny was VERY unsure about the snow

Baby Hake's first snow :)

Our little family of 2 (well 3 including Penny) will soon be expanding!

3 Recipes - Dip, Muffins and Cake

I have had a few requests for some recipes over the past few weeks so I thought I'd just post them all here :)

Buffalo Chicken Dip

1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese

1/2 cup ranch salad dressing

2 cans (9.75oz each) chunk chicken breast, drained

1/2 cup hot sauce (or more if you like it hot!)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

*Heat on stove until bubbly, stirring frequently. Serve with pita chips :)

Sunny's Morning Muffins (as featured on The View)

1 cup strawberries, chopped

1 cup sugar, plus 2 tbsp

1.5 cups flour

pinch ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp salt

1 ripe banana, mashed

2 large eggs

1/4 cup canola oil

1 lemon, zested

1/2 pint blueberries

1 cup chopped walnuts (obvi, I left these out when I made them!)

*Preheat oven to 350*F. In a small bowl, mix together strawberries and 2 tbsp sugar. Let sit 15 minutes until strawberries give off juices. In a small bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, eggs, oil, 1 cup sugar, strawberries, and lemon zest. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. Do not over mix. Fold in blueberries and walnuts. Scoop batter evenly into muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out with a few crumbs but not wet, about 20-30 minutes. Cool on a rack to room temperature :)

Chocolate Chip Cake (a family CLASSIC!)

1 box yellow cake mix

1 small package instant chocolate pudding

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup oil

3/4 cup water

4 eggs

8oz carton sour cream

1 small package chocolate chips (I like the mini ones!)

*With wooden spoon or in a mixer, mix cake mix, pudding and sugar. Add water and oil. Add eggs, one at a time. Add sour cream. Then chips. Bake in greased and floured bundt pan at 350*F for 50-60 minutes. Cool in pan for 1 hour.

*If you want to add icing: Melt 1/2 stick butter in microwave. Add 2 tbsp cocoa powder and 3 tbsp milk. Mix. Put in microwave until it boils. Add 8oz powdered sugar. Stir. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla. Pour slowly over cake.

24 Week Appt & Glucose Test

24 weeks :)

Two days before Christmas, we had our 24 week appointment and glucose testing. I had to fast for about 2 hours ahead of time (which includes water!!!). We arrived early to our appointment, as I was a bit nervous about the blood work. We were seen right away (thank God!) and I was given a choice between a yummy orange flavor or delicious Hawaiian Punch flavored drink. I chose the orange and was told by a nurse to chug it within 5 minutes. I thought to myself, "No problem, that's easy." I took one sip and realized how serious this was - it was disgusting. I can imagine that for someone who usually drinks soda and other sweet drinks it wouldn't be too terrible, but all I drink is water, milk and juice so this was horrible to me. Brian stood in the corner and cheered me on as I chugged the chalky, orange drink. The nurse told us to go out to the waiting room (and gave us packets of info to read and fill out) and she'd call me back in one hour for the blood work. I wasn't allowed to drink water, chew gum, or anything. So I had that yummy orange taste in my mouth for an hour. Sick. Brian and I thumbed through the paperwork and filled out our "Birth Plan" - we had to say who was going to cut the umbilical cord, if I wanted an epidural or not (YES PLEASE), and other birthing options. I finally got called back to the lab and they drew blood. Brian did a great job of trying to distract me while they nurse did her job. Needless to say, as soon as she finished drawing blood, I chugged a bottle of water.

After all of this, we were seen by a doctor. Most of my appointments from this point on will be pretty routine - weigh on the scale (lots of fun), measure my belly, listen to the heart beat, and Q/A. The measurement of belly (24.5 inches) lined up perfectly with being 24 weeks pregnant. My weight gain was right on target for where I was at, even though I feel like a beached whale. The doctor said I was right on "schedule" with everything.

I got a phone call a few days after this appointment with my results. The glucose test came back normal and it looks like I do not have gestational diabetes - YAY! One thing I can cross off my list :)

Lots of Little Things

1. Prenatal Yoga - I have been taking prenatal yoga classes with 2 of my pregnant friends here in Roswell. It is VERY "yoga" and the instructor loves to pass around lavender oil for us to rub in our palms and then hold over our hearts. She tries to encourage us to do an "all-natural" birth (obviously she doesn't know me well enough). She ends every session with 3 "ohms" and plays very interesting music. But, once I get past the weirdness of it, it's very relaxing and great for stretching. It is SO much better than taking a regular yoga class because the instructor knows which stretches and poses are safe for us and which ones are not. I highly recommend taking a prenatal yoga class to any preg friends :)
2. Maternity Manners - You would not believe the comments people make to me (and my pregnant friends for that matter). It's almost like people don't know what to say, so instead of keeping silent, they blurt out some randomly rude comment. Here are some comments either I myself have heard or pregnant friends of mine have heard:
- WHOA you're huge!
- How far along are you? (6 months.) Is your husband a tall guy or something? (Yeah, sort of.) Geez, you look way further along than 6 months!
- Are you having twins or something?
- Are you due before Christmas? (No, due in April, thank you.)
- Geez, you keep growing. Everyday you look bigger and bigger.
Word to the wise... there are MANY other sweet comments that you could make to us. Why do you feel the need to comment in such a rude way? Obviously, as women, we spend our whole lives sucking our tummies in and trying to maintain our weight. This is a glorious time in our lives where we cannot control our weight or how/where we grow and you should be saying positive, encouraging comments about our beautiful bodies. Some examples could be:
- You look so great!
- You are absolutely glowing!
- You make maternity clothes look fabulous!
- You are all belly!
- I hope I look as good as you when I'm pregnant!
- Your baby bump is so cute!
Sorry for the rant here, but it's been driving my preg friends and I nuts! Think before you speak people! We're having a hard enough time as it is with our growing bodies, a little encouragement could go a long way!
3. Brian is the best - Not sure if I've mentioned it yet or not, but I have the best husband in the world. I truly cannot imagine being a single pregnant woman, much less a single mom. I would be lost without Brian. He has been SUCH a big help during my pregnancy. Here are some of the selfless, sweet things he has done these past 6 months to help me out:

- rub my achy back and neck
- help me put on and take off my shoes
- go to the grocery store for me
- lift any and every thing I need help with
- brought me flowers for no reason
- given me pedicure gift certificates
- run out to get my any food I may be craving
- let me sleep in the bed with 42912 extra pillows
- cooked many a meal for me
- told me I'm beautiful
- loved me despite my crazy hormones and mood swings
I am beyond excited to be having a baby with him! He will be the most wonderful, loving daddy and I cannot wait to see it all in action!

4. Registry - Registering for baby items is SO much more fun than wedding registry. There is a lot more you need of course, but to be shopping for someone other than yourself is great! When you get married, you typically have a lot of items you can already bring to the marriage (sofa, dishes, towels, etc). But, when you have a baby you start from scratch. You need EVERYTHING - from cribs to baby shampoo. We registered at Babies R Us and Buy Buy Baby - 2 great stores!

We registered in person at both stores but only scanned a few items in the store. I have been slowly adding to each registry here online after doing extensive research on every single item (thanks to Baby Bargains book).

5. Good books to read while pregnant:

Baby Bargains by Denise and Alan Fields (as featured on Oprah)

What to Expect When Expecting - such a classic

The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine - hilarious!

Expectant Moments by Gene and Lisa Fant (not the best devotional, but literally the only one we found for expectant couples)

6. Nursery - We have slowly but surely been working on Baby Hake's nursery in our house. We had to clean out the junk room (yes, it used to be used as a junk room b/c we were too lazy to find a spot for some of our items). Brian and his friend Adam painted the room "Sweet Blue" last weekend. My parents gave us our crib. Our baby bedding has arrived and been set up. We bought a dresser a few days ago and our glider/ottoman will arrive in about 6-8 weeks. It's all coming together! The hard part is trying to make it all fit into such a tiny room! Pics to come soon...

20 week appt

We went in for our 20 week appointment on December 8. I was actually already at 22 weeks but with my crazy school schedule, I couldn't make my appointment until now. First, we met with Mary, the ultrasound technician. She was VERY quick and not as friendly as our tech at 16 weeks. Mary was knowledgeable and pointed out EVERY body part - kindeys, bladder, heart with 4 chambers, brain, spine, femur, arms, etc. You name it, she found it and documented it. The heartbeat was up to 154 and our little guy now officially weighs 1lb 1 oz! Isn't it fun to think that he only weighs 1 pound and yet I've gained 8? Oh joy :) Mary confirmed (again) for us that it was a boy. I had this fear going into it that the tech would say "It's a Girl," but thank goodness it was still a boy :) Mary told us that my placenta was in the front (inb/t baby and my belly) and that would explain why it took me so long (compared to my other pregnant friends) to feel him kick. She also said that it would take to about 28 weeks for Brian to finally feel him kick too. That put both our minds at ease!

yawning/talking... looks like he's blowing a bubble :)

still a boy, phew!

side profile (my favorite shots!) and his little hand is up by his face :)

Even though I have read 3 pregnancy books cover-to-cover, I sometimes forget to apply what I have learned. I know that I should not lay flat on my back while pregnant - either for crunches or relaxing. But I forgot why. So in the middle of my ultrasound, I started to feel faint. I was embarrassed by it so I didn't want to announce it. I tried to play it off, but I was soon drenched in a cold sweat. Brian immediately noticed (he has seen the signs MANY times before!) and asked if I was okay. Mary and Brian helped me turn over to my left side so I could get circulation back. Mary kept on with the ultrasound. I was now laying on my left side, facing the screen, and Brian was behind me also facing the screen. Brian, being the sweet wonderful husband that he is, started to scratch my back because he knows that calms me down. We were both watching the ultrasound scree and as soon as he started scratching, our little baby started nodding his head up and down as if saying, "Yeah that feels good." It was SO sweet!

After we finished with our ultrasound, we met with Dr. Sharon. He was very nice, but also very sarcastic. And not in the way that I like, more dry humor. Oh well, it was fine. He answered all my crazy questions - like about leg cramps at night. Dr. Sharon went over our ultrasound results and blood test results from the last visit. He said everything looks healthy and normal. My MSAFP test came back normal - which was testing for spina bifida and other neural tube defects. He said our baby boy looks completely healthy - SUCH a relief to hear that!

Our next appointment will be December 23 when I will undergo glucose testing to check for gestational diabetes. No more ultrasounds from this moment on - which really makes me sad inside. Although, my sister and mom and I are going for a girls night of ultrasounds in January just the 3 of us. We found a place here in Atlanta that will let you come in for an ultrasound session - we will get some 3d/4d pictures and videos again! So that'll be nice. I can't believe that the next time we see this baby's face will be around April 12!!!

St. Thomas

My family (mom, dad, sister) and Brian & I decided to spend Thanksgiving in St. Thomas this year! It was beautiful and wonderful. I LOVE to vacation with my family because they have the same "vacation style" that I do--> we like to lay out on the beach ALL day, eat out for almost every meal, watch movies while eating dessert on the sofa, and play board games. We throw in an occasional site-seeing something or other, but for the most part we are all low-key.

arriving in St. Thomas

St. Thomas was GORGEOUS! Brian and I have been to our share of tropical locations (St. Lucia for our honeymoon, Punta Cana for our 1.5 year anniversary trip, and we have also gone on separate cruises to Jamaica, Bahamas, Cocoa Beach, St. Maarten, and St. Croix) in the past. Each island has something different to offer but really in the end they all have white sand and clear waters. Don't worry about ever taking me on a skiing trip or to a cabin in the mountains... just take me to an island, really anything that starts with "St." and I'm set.

view from our condo
our condo

We truly ate our way through the island... we ate at Havana Blue one night which was featured in Gourmet magazine. It was such a cool atmosphere, very posh with blue lighting, on the ocean, all open air, candlelight, awesome bar (although I didn't partake), and amazing food. On Thanksgiving night we ate at Banana Tree Grille. Brian and my mom opted for the traditional Thanksgiving food (turkey, stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, sauteed squash, etc) but I got filet and fried onion strings (I blame all my random food choices on the baby). We ate dinner at Room with a View and had the BEST waiter who kept us laughing all night long. I could truly talk about food for 5 more paragraphs, but I'll end it there.

Banana Tree Grille
Havana Blue

We spent our days on the most beautiful beaches you can imagine. Magens Bay is rated top 10 beaches in the world so of course we had to check that out. We spent a day each at Coki Point Beach, Morning Star, and Magens Bay. While at Coki Point Beach, we went snorkeling out in the ocean where we saw rocky reef and beautiful fish we could feed. We took a ferry over to St. John for a day and hung out at Trunk Bay. The waves were HUGE - Brian and I took full advantage of the body surfing of course. Baby Hake loved it!

This was an AWESOME trip! Brian and I are SO grateful to my parents for taking us. This was our last little getaway before Baby Hake arrives. I have a feeling our family trips will be a bit more like Disney World than St. Thomas in the near future :)

It's a Boy!

side profile - baby yawning... look at his sweet little nose!

It's a boy! This is a view from below. Pretend you set baby on a glass table and you are peeking from underneath him. You can see his fanny, his two legs stretched out in front of him, and his manhood.

side profile pic - you can see his spine, his little nose, and his sweet precious lips

side profile pic in 3D - our little guy is such a snuggle bunny already - he has his hands up by his face and his legs scrunched up to his belly :)

On November 3, 2010 at 8:00am we found out that we are having a boy!

The night before I had had a dream that the ultrasound technician had told us it was a boy. So when I woke up the morning of November 3, I told Brian that we were going to have a boy. He still didn't believe it. In fact, no one thought boy. I had my 2nd grade students "place bets" on whether they thought it was a boy or girl (most of them thought girl). I took some online quizzes to predict the gender (I was asked questions about morning sickness, fetal heart rate, how I was carrying, etc) and I got a 67% girl response. Most of my family members and friends guessed a girl. I am thinking that the reasoning behind their guesses was that I am SO girly, they thought "we can't picture Ellen with a boy." My oh my, everyone was wrong.

Brian and I arrived early to our appointment and waited anxiously in the waiting room. When we got called back to the ultrasound room, I lay back on the table as Brian found a comfy seat next to me right in front of the big screen tv mounted on the wall. The ultrasound technician was so sweet and you better believe I quizzed her on her credentials and asked her how long she had been working as an ultrasound technician. I wanted to make sure she knew what she was talking about before she revealed to us the big news! She spent a few minutes pointing out the baby's spine, fingers and toes to us. Then she announced, all too casually, "It's a boy." Brian and I were holding hands and we turned and looked at each other. We were in shock. Even though I knew that it was bound to be a boy, he still had thoughts of a girl. The only word I can use to explain how we felt was shock. We would have been shocked if she had said "girl" too, it's just the idea of actually knowing the sex. It's very overwhelming and exciting and shocking.

About halfway through our appointment, she asked me if I needed to pee. I had been told by numerous friends to make sure to arrive hydrated, and apparently I hydrated a bit too much. My bladder was 2x the size of the baby. I made a quick trip to the restroom and when I came back we could see a much clearer picture of our baby boy. She continued to roll all over my belly and point out different body parts, let us listen to the heartbeat, and even showed us our little boy in 4D. It was all very surreal and wonderful!

Brian and I left the doctor's office with a 30 minute DVD of our "session" as well as 8 wonderful photos of our SON (I love saying that!). We went out to the car and chatted for a few moments about what had just happened and how excited we were to FINALLY know the sex! Of course, we texted everyone we knew and immediately posted on facebook and twitter. We were thrilled to share the news!

The worst part of it all, was that we both had to go straight to work right after our appointment. Looking back, we wish we had made our ultrasound appointment for late afternoon so we could've gone home together and chatted longer. By the time I got to school, my students were on pins and needles. I waited to announce to them til afternoon (I told them they had to learn about patience haha) and they SQUEALED AND CHEERED with excitement when I said it was a boy. That made me feel so good inside!

Needless to say, when Brian and I got home from work that night, we stayed up and talked for hours - what would he look like, what sports will he play, nursery decor, name choices, etc. It cracks me up the way people respond throughout the pregnancy. The first questions are, "Were you even trying to get pregnant?" and "How are you feeling?" to "Do you think it's a boy or girl?" and "You look like you're carrying a boy/girl" to now "What will you name him?" To answer the last question - we have narrowed it down to a list of 10 possible choices. I am not sure that we are going to tell everyone once we have decided anyway. Based on the responses I've gotten when I've merely mentioned a name choice at school, teachers respond with "UGH I had a child with that name last year and he was so annoying." So we will probably only tell close friends and family once we've made a choice. For the rest of the world, you will just have to wait until mid-April to know the name of our precious baby boy! :)