Week 22 & Other Things

I have been completely ignoring my blog. I am so sorry blog. Life has been one crazy thing after another and my two summer classes have almost killed me. However, those are done now and I have a few weeks before the fall semester starts. Yay?
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Pregnancy Things:
Well, I'm working on 23 weeks but only took a photo at Week 21.

I got those tank tops from Old Navy and I wish I would have picked them up in every color. I LOVE them.... and can wear them after baby.

Feeling: Fat. Ha! That's no joke though. Sometimes I lay in bed and just rub my belly and go "Holy crap.... my stomach is HUGE." And it is only going to get worse.... I still have random nausea and find myself getting really tired after certain household chores but this is the best I've felt during pregnancy and I will take it. And I know I feel fat but guess what? I still haven't gained any weight. I've gained a half a pound. That's it. Baby can continue to keep using up my current fat stores to feed himself. Ha! 

Cravings: Vanilla ice cream with Hershey's syrup. Still. I could eat that all of the time. Fresh garden vegetables (that was my dinner last night), and Chinese food. I think Chinese is happening because of the sodium. That and it is freaking delicious. I have also been wanting a lot of tea lately. Thankfully I did buy decaf so when I make my iced tea I do a mixture of mostly decaf with a couple bags of regular. OH! I've also been craving sushi. I miss my favorites but I am still content with just veggie rolls and California rolls with the imitation crab. 

Other Things: We picked a name for baby! His name will be Carson Michael Cowan. We had a really hard time deciding. I was attached to some girl names but nothing in the boy department jumped out at me. Then, Andrew's aunt gave him an award that his grandfather had gotten and it had his full name printed on it: Coley Carson Cowan. I was sold. I loved how Carson Cowan sounded. No, I am not one of those weird people that wanted a C.C. name. I just loved it. Plus, Andrew loved his late grandfather SO MUCH. I knew it would be a great way to celebrate the memory of his grandfather and make Andrew happy. Michael is my daddy's middle name and I have always love the name Michael so that was a no-brainer. Naming baby C was becoming such an ordeal to me just because I never thought I would find something I liked, but now it is like a HUGE weight off my shoulders. Carson, we cannot WAIT to meet you! 

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My Newest Obsession:

Planetbox. I love my Planetbox. It is entirely Valerie's fault that I bought one of these and am now in love. Thank you, Val!!! 

So, once you check out the website and see what they are you can see what I love it so much. I know people scoff at the price but seriously? That thing has already paid for itself for me. I hate packing lunches and snacks and would find myself going out to eat quite a bit. I haven't been out for lunch since I bought this thing. Therefore, it has paid for itself in full. Plus, I think the damn thing is indestructible (and dishwasher safe!). When little Carson is old enough to start taking lunches to school I will be buying another one of these. (I know that's a long way off, but I'm a planner.) I bought the Rover box, an Aqua colored bag, an ice sleeve, and got the paisley magnets. 

Anyway, here are some of the lunches I have come up with so far:

I have been making my own sushi at home. YUM.

Garbanzo bean salad, crackers, cooked pepperoni, cheese, strawberries and 2 candies

Bell Peppers, cucumbers, ranch dressing for dipping, penguin PB&J (don't be jealous), trail mix, cheese and candies

Garbanzo bean salad, cucumbers, cheese & crackers, trail mix, chocolate chips

Sushi, soy sauce, cheese, trail mix, grapefruit, candies

Penguin PB&J, cheese & cooked pepperoni, crackers, trail mix, candies

It is 100% the perfect amount of food for a lunch and snacks. Half of the time I don't even finish what I pack. I have also been eating healthier since I bought this thing. What I am most excited about is how much this will help me after baby is born and I get back on WeightWatchers. Meals will be so much easier to plan now. 

Making sushi at home has been quite the adventure for me. The rice is a PAIN IN THE ASS. That is the hardest part of the whole process. Once you get the rice perfected making the rolls really isn't that bad. Even making an "inside out roll" wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Again, it is just the process of cooking and cooling the rice. I found everything I needed to make the sushi at Hy Vee. Thanks, Hy Vee! 

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Ok, nothing else to really report on. I've been at home the past two days sick with a nasty head cold that started in my throat. I am back to work today but still insanely congested and I find I can't hear very well because of that congestion. I will be happy when I feel better. Being sick and pregnant is NOT a good time. 

It’s A Boy!

Well, our big news from yesterday is that Andrew and I are having a little boy! I'll be completely honest and say that I'm happy, but also a little sad. I was, in fact, hoping for a girl to start off our family. Baby boy is incredibly healthy though and I couldn't ask for anything more. According to the sonogram yesterday he weighs 13oz and is right on track. All of his organs look good, they are working properly, and he still has a nice steady heartbeat! The only two pictures they couldn't get during this visit were his spine and the four chambers of his heart so in another four weeks I get another sonogram! I consider myself lucky that peanut didn't cooperate because I'll get more pictures of him. Little stinker was making it difficult to even get the gender because he kept moving around and his legs were crossed almost the entire time. Already a stubborn brat…. Just like his daddy. (Love you, Andrew)

 Other Pregnancy Things:
I'm officially half-baked at 20 weeks and working into week 21. I haven't been taking a ton of belly pictures because we forget about it; but I made sure to get one at 20 weeks before we headed out to the Mall of America!

Craving: It is really sporadic anymore. I get a craving at the last minute for something and try to recreate it at home the best I can with what I have. That is kind of hard to do when you haven't been grocery shopping in two weeks though. I still eat a lot of pickles, a lot of cheese, and I am still on an ice cream with Hershey's syrup kick. I'll be interested to see what kind of foods I want for the rest of this pregnancy. Luckily I have been able to throw in a lot more healthy options (fruits & veggies) without feeling as shitty afterwards. I just have to make sure I do it in moderation and eat something with carbs along with it. I would love to just sit and eat a salad, but I have to have some kind of roll or crackers with it or else I will feel like garbage the rest of the day.

Feeling: Still nauseous. That should've been my first inclination that I was having a boy. I haven't felt good at all during this pregnancy and my mom was the same way with Andy. I still take my nausea pills and do the best I can. Days that I feel really sickly though suck. I usually just want to stay in bed and curse my body for sucking so much; but I don't. I'm lucky to have a healthy baby inside of me….. regardless of how sick he makes me feel. I haven't really felt him much yet. I have felt a few flutters here and there but I really have to be paying attention in order to feel those. It'll be exciting once Andrew can start to feel him move around.

Other Things: I bought our very first baby item at the Mall of America during our vacation!

So precious! Since I am a Cheesehead by birth it is a given that my child will also be raised a Packers fan. Of course, when he gets older if he chooses another team that's perfectly OK; it is just as a small child I will mold him into a mini Packers fan and he'll love it! Darn it.
Also, now that we know the gender I can really start nursery planning. Again, I had some really cute girl ideas in my head and have to swap that over to boy. I think I know what I want to do. I'll just have to see if I can make it work!






Our Vacation:
We had a fantastic time! We started our trip on Wednesday and headed to Monona, WI to see my cousin Amber. She was a wonderful hostess and it was great seeing her and meeting her sweet little bunny Bunsen. She took us to some amazing places to eat and we got to visit a small little farmer's market where I, obviously, purchased some fresh Wisconsin cheese curds. So.Good.
After a delicious breakfast with Amber on Thursday, we said our good-byes and packed up to head to Minneapolis because that was the day that we were going to see Rifftrax Live! Sharknado! I couldn't wait to go and see Kevin, Bill, and Mike in person. When we got to our hotel we rested for a bit, showered, and then headed downtown to get a bite to eat before the show. We found this little dive bar that had really great food and then started our walk to the theater.

Bill, Mike, and Kevin

Because of the lighting and my phone camera not knowing how to process this… my picture of the three dudes is not very clear. The show was AMAZING and absolutely hilarious. The guys were as funny as ever and being able to see them the whole time during the Riff was pretty cool. Bill and Kevin really like to dance to cheesy movie music!

After the show we headed back to the hotel and I passed out. It was a tiring day for this pregnant lady.
Friday was our Mall of America day. Andrew and I both had never been so it was really exciting. Luckily for us the hotel we stayed at offered free shuttle service so I definitely took advantage of that. We signed up for the 11:15am – 4:15pm trip. That mall is insane. I looked at Andrew afterwards and said "I don't know if I ever need to go there again." Haha. In fact, I don't think Andrew ever wants to go to any mall ever again! We got to shop in some really neat stores and I got to go to Sigma Beauty which was a real treat for me. (I LOVE SIGMA BRUSHES!) We also got to eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. The food was fantastic, the wait-staff was hilarious, AND they quiz you on the movie. We got all questions right of course.
Once we got back to the hotel after our shopping spree, I once again passed out for about an hour. Andrew mentioned something about dinner around 7:00 and I said "Find something that delivers." We ended up having Chinese in the hotel room. Works for me!

Saturday was our not so fun morning because it was the longest stretch of our drive to head back home. We decided, kind of last minute, to go through Iowa and visit Valerie & Kris on our way home. The drive from Minneapolis to Davenport sucked. Now, I'm from Iowa, born and raised. I love Iowa and would live there again given the opportunity. However, the northern part of Iowa SUCKS TO DRIVE THROUGH. There is nothing up there. Stops are few and far between and when there is a gas station it is usually 5 miles off the interstate in a small town. I was very happy once we hit Waterloo/Cedar Falls area because civilization happened again. We stopped for lunch around 2:00 (finally) and then the rest of the drive to the Quad Cities wasn't bad at all. I have to say, thank God for audio books.

We got to Val's and had a nice dinner and spent time just talking and watching (or trying to watch) one of my Rifftrax Live movies I own. Their internet kept being wonky though and we gave up and went to bed.
We left Val's on Sunday around 1:00 and it was our last stretch of drive before finally being home. Boy were the cats happy to see us! Hobbs is still glued to us like we had been gone for years. Poor cat. He misses his daddy when we are gone.

It truly was a wonderful vacation and I am glad we got the chance to have a nice trip, just the two of us, before baby boy gets here. We have one more trip to make this fall, my cousin's wedding, down in Memphis. I'll be about 28 weeks pregnant for that trip. Should be interesting!

Long blog post today, kiddos. I hope you enjoyed reading my novel!

When Did July Happen?

Seriously. I swear I woke up and it was July already. Time flies when you're busy as shit and work doesn't slow down. Ha! Andrew and I leave for our "baby-moon" tomorrow and I am very excited to have 5 glorious days off of work. We head to Wisconsin tomorrow to stay with my cousin, Amber. Then on Thursday we head to Minneapolis to see Rifftrax Live! Sharknado. I am so excited that I FINALLY get to see a Rifftrax Live event. We are going to hang out in Minneapolis/Bloomington and go to the Mall of America because neither of us has ever been! On Saturday we are heading to Davenport and will stay with Valerie and then finally head back home on Sunday. We are going to have a nice little tour of the upper Midwest. I'm hoping my nausea doesn't ruin my trip and when we aren't out and about I plan on napping and doing as little as possible.

 
Pregnancy Things: 19 Weeks

Andrew didn't get to be in this one because I took it here at work. Haha. I haven't been taking pictures because I always forget and then I wake up on a Friday and go "Wow! It's a new week already, I should take a picture." And then I don't. I will hopefully take one on Friday at the hotel for 20 weeks. That is the halfway point after all.
Feeling: Still nauseous every day. I am so thankful for the pills my OB gave me or else I don't know how I would function. I haven't thrown up since week 10 or so… but I do dry heave in the mornings sometimes and it isn't fun. I'll be one of those women that puke during labor. Just you wait. I have my moments where I have super bursts of energy but for the most part I am still very tired; especially after a long, busy day at work. I had to be here at 7:00 this morning and I guarantee by 1:00 I'll be ready to leave and go take a nap.
Cravings: One week I only wanted Arby's roast beef sandwiches. Another week I only wanted ice cream with chocolate syrup. This last week I've wanted meat. Mostly beef. It is so funny to me that every week I want something different. It is so hard to grocery shop when my body wants different things all of the time. Oh, and I'm still on a pickle kick. EAT ALL THE PICKLES. I make Andrew laugh on a daily basis when I randomly say "I need pickles" at 9:00 at night. The other night I cooked a thing of Mac'n'Cheese at 10:00. Almost ate the entire box. Andrew helped.
Other Things: We find out the gender of Baby C on Monday morning!! Right away at 8:30. I am so excited. To this day I still have no inclination one way or another of what this baby is and I am so excited to find out so that I can start making a registry and start planning my nursery! I have a feeling I'll still paint the nursery the same color for either a boy or a girl; I just want to pick out my accent colors and some kind of a theme (if any)!

 
That's really all I have to update, folks. I know I've been MIA for a while… but between school, work, and a new house I find it hard to sit down and take a moment to type. I do miss my blog though and hopefully will be able to post more regularly soon.