Hey! How are you feeling?

That's the infamous question a pregnant woman gets throughout her pregnancy, and it pretty much is tenfold once the due date comes and goes. I know people are just anxious and really do care, but after a while you just don't know how to answer it!

So I guess there will be no July baby for us this year. Now I've pretty much expected it and always told people to expect it as well, but now that it's a reality it's a little disappointing. Oh well. I know the baby will have to come some time!

Oh this also means the eggplant parm experiment did not work. The only result we got from it was Mr. Ellis throwing up about three times during the night. This is because Mr. Ellis has poor portion control and took the biggest piece of this multilayer parm as his meal. No one should have that much cheese.

I have been having some mild contractions and just feeling pms-y, so I guess that's better than nothing. I have a doctor's appointment at 12:15 today, so we'll find out where I stand and probably will be scheduling an induction date. Sigh.

So to pass the time, I made a banana bread yesterday, because quite honestly, what's better than banana bread? Even though it was 90 degrees out and I had to turn my oven on. Here are some pictures of the bread fresh from the oven. I had a piece immediately.

I also figured I'd include some pictures of the nursery. It's not completely finished. We need to hang some pictures on the wall, which we're still trying to figure out what that should be. We might do the whole name thing, once this kid has a name, and then maybe include some pictures taken of the baby and us. I don't know, we'll see. As of right now, the baby will be sleeping in our bedroom, so there really isn't a rush.

Here's what it looks like when you enter the room.

This is the crib and glider.

This is a closeup of the crib.

This is our somewhat organized closet.

These are the little elephants we painted around the room. Mr. Ellis made the stencil.

Today's the day..... or not.

Well today is my due date. Yippee. Unfortunately there hasn't been much sign of progress and it's never good when your OB at your last appointment says "We can talk about induction dates at the next appointment". I really would prefer not to be induced especially if my body isn't showing any signs of laboring (right now I'm not dilated and the baby is still high up) because those labors can be very long and can end up in a c-section. It seems like she'll let me go until next Thursday, Aug. 9 which works for me.

I'm still hoping for the full moon to help get things going. It was full last night and there have been studies that show many women will have their water break around that time. I'm all for that.

Also, if you haven't voted in "the poll", I moved it over to under my profile. I find it funny that I've had 8 votes yet over 100 visitors since then. I know some are repeats but there are many that aren't. So if you don't know me, don't be bashful about voting. It makes things more interesting.

So to get labor going, I found this article online about eggplant parmesan. This restaurant boasts that over 300 women have gone into labor within 48 hours of eating their eggplant parmesan. They will even give you a free meal gift certificate if it doesn't work. It sounded pretty good, so Mr. Ellis and I took it upon ourselves to make the recipe. We had no idea what we were in for.

This is the tomatoes boiling in preparation for the marinara sauce.

This is after Mr. Ellis cut up THREE eggplants that the recipe called for. It said to weigh them down with something for an hour.
This is the marinara sauce once it had all the spicy goodness added to it. Although I would say it could use a little less crushed red pepper flakes since I found it almost too spicy and couldn't enjoy the other flavors (I'm sure Lisa would disagree!).


This is the beginning of the eggplant frying.
This is after an HOUR of eggplant frying, and we were only halfway through.
These are all the eggplant slices we had left to fry!
This is when I finally finished all the layers and topped it off with the 1.5 LB of mozzarella cheese.
And this is the finished product.
It was quite tasty although as Mr. Ellis commented, he didn't think it was so great that it needed 3 1/2 hours of preparation! It's almost like a eggplant parmesan lasagna. There is so much cheese, so you'll either have a baby with this or a major heart attack. Either way, you're guaranteed to end up in the hospital.

(By the way, these pictures were taken with our new Canon S5is. We had a Canon G3, and we still really like it but this has more megapixels and we originally thought of getting a video camera, but decided against it and looked for a higher quality camera that takes movies as well. We looked into the G7, but for $100 more we didn't think we were getting much more for our money. We also looked at the Sony DSC-H9/B that Lisa uses but ultimately we were more used to using the Canon menu and interface, although it was a very tough decision.)

Boy or Girl?

So as most of you know, we have chosen not to find out the sex of the baby. I decided to add a poll to this blog for you to weigh in on what you think the baby might be. Feel free to post a comment, as well as any suggestions for names or when you think the baby will be born, etc.

I'll give you a list of things that I've experienced through my pregnancy if you think it might sway your decision on the gender.

• I experienced hardly any morning sickness.
• I carried the baby very high.
• My belly looks more like a basketball than a watermelon.
• My original gut instinct was boy, Mr. Ellis's original gut instinct was boy, but now we've both been feeling girl.
• Every time they've checked the heartbeat it's been over 150 (highest being 167).
• The Chinese Lunar Calendar predicts a girl.
• I craved granny smith apples, pineapple, and ice cream.
• I never had any acne breakouts, and my skin has stayed soft.
  
• Almost everyone has said boy, except for my boss, a 3 year old boy, and Mr. Ellis's co-worker (who told us yesterday he is 68 for 75 on guessing the correct gender).
• We've been pretty solid on a girl's name (although we have a couple others) since before we were pregnant, but we've had a much harder time narrowing down a boy's name.
• My hair did not seem to grow very fast while I was pregnant, which is unusual since I normally have to shave every other day.

Ok go at it!

I'm back and bigger than ever!

As Salvatrice pointed out in the last post, I dropped out of the blogosphere. I apologize. I'm just not good at it, but I do promise to make this post a good one.

So I pretty much have 10 days left (after today) until my due date, July 30. I would love to have the baby in this month, but quite honestly I'm not holding my breath. And neither is my doctor, who said apologetically last appointment "Yea, I'm thinking 41 weeks." I do have an appointment this afternoon, though, so I'll update with any progress, but I'd be surprised if there was any.

As my pregnancy winds down to a close, I figured I'd post some things that surprised me or were at least unexpected.

• I didn't know how much my back would actually hurt, and how soon it would start. I was in significant pain in April where I ended up sleeping sitting up on my couch for a few nights because it was so bad. Amazingly, this past week my back hasn't hurt at all. I'm guessing the baby moved and I can at least have relief from that. I'm sure if I were to stand for quite a while, though, it would come back quickly.
• I also didn't realize your pelvis could feel like it was cracked in two starting at about 14 weeks. It got so bad at points that I couldn't walk for more than 5 minutes. It's not at the point where I just deal with it. I never thought I would be ok with the feeling of having my pelvic bone feel like it was broken at all times.
  
• How few people touched my belly. I was all ready to be on guard, but even friends and family hardly touched it. I never had a stranger or a co-worker come even close to doing so. For this, I am grateful.
• I never had anyone say "Oh my god, you're huge!" Thank the Lord.
• I DID have people ask my how much weight I've gained. I'm always taken aback at how bold people can get with questions once you're pregnant. Luckily I remained in the recommended weight gain so I could answer without feeling embarrassed.
• The reaction I got when I told people we didn't find out the sex. Many people told me "That's how it should be" or "That's great, we did the same thing". I've only had two people (who will remain nameless) give me a hard time about not finding out the sex. Oh and I did have one other person say "What are we suppose to get you for your shower?". Are you kidding me? Clothes were the least thing we needed.
• How many people really do ask you "How are you feeling?" And how I would feel unable to answer the question. I think most people want to hear "Fine", but quite honestly I have a small person growing inside of me, so I'm probably not feeling 100%.
• How generous people were at my shower. We got 99% of the stuff we needed/wanted. And had to return almost nothing. (See picture below)
• How it would actually start to feel normal to feel my belly shift to a completely different shape. There are even times I don't notice the movement anymore.
• That I would see the inside of my belly button, and that it would turn completely flat.
  
• How I would not be apprehensive about going to see my OB anymore. I've lost almost all modesty, which I guess is good since a whole bunch of strangers are going to watch me push something far too big out of something far too small in a couple days.
• How I would be an expert on my veins and having blood drawn. I have horrible thin veins that "roll", as the nurses like to say. I know a butterfly needle should be used at all times, unless you take blood for a living and have done so for 20 years. I know which veins are good and which aren't. I know which blood labs to go to and which to steer clear from.
• How I could fall in love even more with my husband, and the baby isn't even here yet. He has helped me so much, and has put up with my impatient nature lately.
• How NON-impatient I have been about finding out the sex and waiting to have the baby. My husband can't believe I still can handle not knowing the sex. I mean, I do want to know, but I know I'll find out when the time comes. I'm also not feeling desperate to have the baby yet either. Maybe when I'm 2 weeks overdue it'll be a different story, but I know it has to come out sometime!
• How we still don't have finalized names at this stage of the game, and I'm pretty sure we're going to go with the whole "look at the baby and see what name fits" scenario.
  
• That's all I can think of for now.

So here are some belly pictures I had taken.

These are either 31 or 32 weeks.

These are today at 38 weeks and 3 days.

This one is my bellybutton with my heart shaped hands.

This is Mr. Ellis and myself at a wedding reception in the beginning of June. I look ginormous, and the angle is taken from above because my father-in-law is 6'6".

This is all the stuff we got at my shower! OH! And someone sent us the Chicco stroller (in ORANGE!!! YAY!) that we registered for, but it had not information on who sent it. If you know who might have sent this, PLEASE let me know. I would like to thank them!

This is me trying to sit in the middle of it all. (Mr. Ellis's idea, not mine)

This is the diaper bag, quilt, and diaper cake my mom made for me. She is so crafty! I LOVE the diaper bag.

Mr. Ellis and I spent a weekend in Boston at the Royal Sonesta Hotel. My brother works for them and could get us a great deal on a room. Two sides of the room were complete windows looking over the Charles into Boston.

These are some of the views Mr. Ellis took pictures of.
And that's all for now, folks. I will try to be more diligent about posting.

So.... Are you pregnant or just fat?

That's pretty much the stage I'm in right now. My boobs have completely taken over my body, and my belly sticks out but not in a cute way. I've made my way over to maternity pants now though, and they feel great! Elastic waste forever! So here's a picture of my progress so far. And yes I had to take it in my dining room mirror and yes, it's mess because the computer is in it right now because the floors still aren't done! So don't mind the weird twisting angle I had to take it at. I did my best.

I also had a doctor's appointment today. Everything is going well so far. I was glad Mr. Ellis was able to come with me because I still get anxious since I'm such a worry wart. We declined to have the prenatal screening since there are so many falst positives, and if I were to get a positive I would have to have an amnio and there is no way I'm getting that done. I'm just putting faith in God and know I can handle whatever He gives me.

But anyway, I've gained a total of 2 lbs so far which my doctor said was perfect. My blood pressure was 112/66 which was awesome as well. I'm also measuring 17 weeks already, and I'm only 15 weeks and 3 days. My doctor said it was really good, so I'll just roll with it. Mr Ellis is hoping for a big baby, and I told him he can put that thought right out of his mind since I'm the one doing all the carrying and pushing!

The only scary moment was when the nurse was trying to find the heartbeat. It took a good 30-45 seconds of her searching all over my belly until she finally found it. The baby was hiding on my right side. I actually let out an audible sigh of relief, and the nurse said "Oh I'm sorry was I scaring you?" I just said I tend to worry.

All in all a great appointment and I can't believe I'm so lucky to have everything work out great so far. It's becoming a lot more real.

Why'd You Done Gone Do That?!

Well some of you know and some of you don't and some of you kinda guessed, so I guess I'll officially announce it. I've gone and gotten myself knocked up. But the good thing is we totally wanted that! Haha!

So, we're really excited although catious at times because of my previous miscarriage. But I've reached my 13th week today, and we hope to have a new little one sometime around July 30 although I'm planning on sometime in August.

So other than that, I feel good. I had mild morning sickness and quite a few food aversions. I'm not as tired anymore, but can't get comfortable at all at night. And it totally sucks. My back has started hurting me all the way into my bum. So yea, hopefully that stops.

We've had an ultra sound already and saw the heart beating. We also got to hear the heart beating last week. It was very surreal. I don't think everything will really hit me until the baby starts moving. But for now he/she is just our little peanut.

Speaking of peanut, we've already picked out our bedding. Since we're probably going to keep peanut a surprise, we're going to go with green. And since I love elephants, I found the perfect bedding at Target of all places. Here's a picture of it although it doesn't display it well.


Here's the link to the other stuff. If you scroll down you can see some of the other things for the bedroom. We hope to paint the nursery in some sort of green and chocolate brown. Right now we just need to finish doing our wood floors! AAAAAAA!

Get Your Beat On!

Mr. Ellis found a deal for Donkey Kong Bongos along with the game for about $15. I was kinda excited because although I'm not a fan of video games, I enjoy ones that have anything to do with music like Kareoke Revolution and Guitar Hero. So this game came the other day and to my dismay it's an actual game with no musical qualities to it at all. You just hit the bongos to run and clap to make Donkey Kong doing something else.

Anyway, I had Mr. Ellis play it and eventually decided to film him because it's too hilarious to see him sitting in front of the big tv hitting bongos and clapping like a mad man. (By the way, his bongo technique is a little weak, but you can forgive him since he's an engineer. ALSO, my house is a mess right now since we're putting down wood floors so please excuse the craziness in the background.)

Christmas List goes hi-tech!

My brother sent me his Christmas list this year (which includes a Dyson vacuum and new Mac, and I laughed) through this site . I'm still figuring it all out, but it seems very cool. You can shop around various sites and add them to you list. Check it out!

Oh and while I'm posting various links, check out this fun link my mom sent me. If you like dogs, you'll think it's cute. Although I'm still trying to think of more commands to give it.

Edited to add: Now you can check out my list! And if you start one yourself, add me as a friend.

Just a friendly reminder to go out today and vote! Although I love America, I find we as a people have become too apathetic and complacent with the happenings in our country. Today is a day to have your voice heard! Maybe we should spend a little less time today wondering about who in Hollywood is divorcing whom or who's headed into rehab, and care a little more about how our country is working for us and our family. And for those who feel their vote doesn't count, well first you're wrong, and second it definitely won't count if you don't vote. So spend a little time researching your options so you can make an informed decision! Remember there's no excuse to not execute a right we are given that isn't afforded to many in this world.

And this is why I hate bugs

So I should start off by saying I'm not a fan of most bugs. I can handle mosquitoes and the occasional lady bug, but other than that, not a fan. I'm especially afraid of bees, hornets, wasps and other stinging insects.

So on Tuesday I spotted what I thought was a wasp near the ceiling of my bedroom. Now normally I would run out of the room screaming, close the door shut, and wait for Mr. Ellis to come home and get it. Unfortunately, Mr. Ellis was gone for the night in Chicago, and I was going to have to solve this problem, otherwise I was sleeping on the couch.

Now luckily hornets are usually half dead by this time of the year, and they're just looking for a place to get warm. So I was brave enough to go back in the room and take a closer look. Upon inspecting this slow crawling insect, I notice it wasn't a hornet at all but a scary long bug with lots of legs and big antennae.

Here is a poorly drawn version of the scary bug in its actual size:

This presented a whole new dilemma. I had no idea what kind of bug this was, thusly I had no idea what kind of super powers it had. My belief is all bugs have super powers and usually try to trick you into believing it cannot do certain things such as leaping, flying, biting, stinging, revealing hidden wings, turning into a completely different bug altogether. My feeling was that since this bug was crawling so slow it certainly had a hidden super power. I felt it was most likely "leaping off of the wall at me to tear my face off". Well maybe not tear my face off, but certainly to scare the heck out of me that I would remain paralyzed in the fetal position in my room until Mr. Ellis came home.

So upon the suggestion of a friend, I tried spraying hair spray at it hoping it would shrivel up and die. Now this probably would have worked wonderfully except I couldn't get myself to stand any closer than about ten feet away and my hair spray probably had a radius of about five feet. So I just ended up with a whole lot of hair spray landing on my carpet and bed. I then turned to air freshener, which definitely had a greater radius, but seemed to have little effect other than have the bug fall off the ceiling consequently making me scream. I continued to spray for another 30 seconds, but this bug seemed to be not affected. It did manage to crawl back down into our heating vent were I was hoping it was going to die. But subconsciously my theory had changed on what super power it had. I suspected it didn't have the "leaping off the wall at me to tear my face off" super power, but a much worse super power: "armor of steel that could quite possibly help it survive through nuclear war." This is definitely the most troublesome super power since without me probably setting it on fire, I was not going to be able to kill it. But I managed to sleep on Mr. Ellis's side of the bed with the covers over my head hoping it would not come out to get me.

But I should have known better that it wouldn't come back. As I went into my bedroom today and picked up my cat Betty, I found the bug underneath her. Of course the bug was still alive because my cats don't like to actually kill the things they find, they just like to watch them and maybe paw at them a couple times.

I tried to turn Betty around and have her look at the bug again, telling her to "Go get it!". But all she did was sniff at my finger and then felt things were getting too weird and crawled under the bed. So I grabbed my other cat, Domino, off the bed and put him near the bug. After turning around a bit and looking at me with the "what is going on lady?" look, I had to forcibly put his head right above it for him to notice. Of course, he only stared a bit and then meandered off.

I again tried in vain with the air freshener, hairspray, and even Tilex bath cleaner all to no avail. And I'm saying I poured these things on the bug, but it still crawled around on the carpet. It eventually made it up to my cats' scratching post. At this point I figured I had a good enough angle to hit it with a rolled up magazine. Although I didn't want to get as close as I had to, and I feared it would stick to the magazine I was holding, I felt I had no option. I hit it twice and it still was moving, so I reared back and gave one last smack. And so far it has remained motionless for the last 2 hours.

But I don't give up hope that it will come back to life after the stunning effects of the pummeling wear off...