What a Steal! Modern Baby Furniture

I wish they were some more attainable options for modern baby furniture, seems like everything that has great lines comes with a huge price tag.

Take these dark wood cribs, the first is beautiful designed but $700 is ridiculous, a similar version at Target is $160. Personally I'd rather spend the extra $500 on...umm anything else.




ModernNursery.com $699.99

 

Graco Lauren Crib $159.99 Target.com

Best Fried Chicken

My husband and I were watching the Food Network last night while we ate dinner (which always makes your own dinner seem inferior) and they were featuring the best fried chicken places nation wide.

My hometown wasn't featured so I decided I'm going to spend my downtime today looking for the top 3 of so places to eat fried chicken in the Twin Cities.

Growing up here you'd think I'd know but we never strayed too far from KFC. I have to admit there was a time in my life that the mac n' cheese from KFC was my favorite thing in the world to eat.

Smiley Faces

You know what I hate? Like seriously loathe?

Smiley faces.

Why do people feel the need to put a smiley face on the end of a sentence or to ease the blow of a negative statement by adding a smiley face.

It's passive-aggressive and annoying. If your going to say something rude in email have the balls (or lady balls) to stand behind what you're saying.

P.S. In case you wanted to know I just received an email at work that had not one but two smiley faces.

Clearance @ Children's Place

For the price, this is so cute!



Clearance event at Children's Place



Children's Place too!

Pre-Baby Projects

My husband and I are lazy. We just are and I like it that way but now we have this very permanent deadline of when we should have stuff done. I'm not even talking about a nursery - that will be exciting - I'm talking about those giant looming projects like a new roof, refinishing the hardwood stairs, recaulking the tub (this one takes 5 mintues but somehow it gets clumped in), and regrading the lawn.

We were going to do all these projects this summer but now it just seems daunting. Especially since the majority of the work is going to fall on him. Poor Mitch.

I read that a lot of new parents do actually get a lot done in preparation for their new baby. I envision these to be the kind of people that regularly get their hair cut and skipped ahead on homework just to be safe.

Nerds.

Weird Dreams

I had the weirdest dream last night - scratch that - it wasn't actually weird but it felt so real. I was walking to my little sister's High School Graduation party (way to go Ash!) for some reason and it took forever. I was walking all day and had to jump fences and got bitten by some dogs.

Anyway - it was a dream and it was weird. I'm pretty sure this represents either one of two things.

1) I am about to embark on a great journey in my life by having this baby (presently known as kidney bean)

2) I read an interview with Zach Galifianakis in Rolling Stone before bed last night where he talked about his love of walking. He walks everywhere.

So either I am about to go on a sweet Bill & Ted style adventure or I want to be more like Zach Galifianakis.

Amazon Mom

Has anyone signed up or used the feature Amazon Mom? They advertise 30% off diapers, free shipping, and exclusive email offers on baby related items. This sounds kind of amazing but I don't know if their 30% off is still more expensive than say Costco or Sam's Club. I think this might be an interesting comparison. Of course, prices change locally so it would really only be interesting to me and other Twin Citians. Dang!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/mom/signup/info/ref=sv_ba_2

I don't want to sign up for this so early in my pregnancy because I'm afraid there is a short term promotion along with it and I'll miss out.

My husband and I traded in a bunch of DVD's on Amazon recently and have a large credit so I am mildy obsessed with buying things on Amazon and not having to spend real money.

Free Pizza

Are there any words in the English language as beautiful as free pizza? I think not, my friends. Today at work I had a meeting through the lunch hour which is bogus on a couple of different levels. I ate a protein bar right before but honestly it wasn't enough. After the meeting I smelt it - pizza! And good pizza, not the crappy chain kind.

Luckily my pregnant comrade stole us a couple of slices from the adjoining conference room. Ahh to be pregnant and in cahoots!

Awww...Girl Edition

Gap really has the cutest stuff right now. I wish I knew if this little Rudy was a boy or girl.

Girly biker jacket $34.95 Gap.Com

Polky-dots $34.95 Gap.Com

Onesie $14.95 Gap.Com

Skinny jeans for babies! $24.95 Gap.Com

Too amazing to pass up $12.50 Gap.Com

Awww.... Boys Edition

Our little Rudy is going to be a Winter baby so I've been looking at winter baby clothes. Today's Aww comes from a new collection from Gap.

Just like dad. $24.95 Gap.com

Dark wash for babies...so cute. $24.95 Gap.com



Makes any Mom's heart skip a beat. $26.95 Gap.com



Little bruiser $10.50 Gap.Com

P.S. For those of you having summer babies, check out this shark swimsuit for boys.

Down with the sickness

This is what my stomach feels like. All weekend with no break, slosh...slosh...slosh.

Super 8

Mitch and I went to see Super 8 this past Friday night. I don't think I can convey to you how excited I was to see this movie. First,  it's J.J. Abrams. He's kind of awesome and a nerd which I love. Secondly, it's a throw back to my ultimate (or so I say now) kind of movies - Kid Adventure flicks.

If you're not sure what the movie is about it's kind of a Goonies meets Cloverfield. Sort of. It's a coming of age story with some sci-fi adventure thrown in.

We went to Leeann Chin for dinner because I had a coupon and my guts were craving it bad. Chinese food was exactly what I wanted. That bourbon chicken is the bees knees.

The movie was disappointing. Can you believe it? Me either. There were some good moments with the kids but they spent too much time on the dumb monster and ultimately I cared about seeing the kids and not the monster.

Elle Fanning was the sole girl in the group and she was excellent - there were some poignant moments with her and the kid lead Joel Courtney. Kyle Chandler played the dad and he didn't have enough to do which is usually the case for that role in these types of movies. He's amazing though and should get work until he dies.

7 Weeks - Books

I'm officially 7 weeks today!

Here is a growdy picture of my guts (Well some well proportioned girls guts).

I'm just amazed at how fast things really get moving in there. This is my first pregnancy and I knew quite a fair amount about pregnancy before it's nothing to the obsession now.

I don't think I have ever read so many books on one subject before. I'm feeling very nauseous lately, no vomiting or anything but just a constant queasiness in my belly.

Eating seems to help - but only while I am eating. Small meals are recommended in all the books and that does help. The only thing I haven't tried is the ginger ale. I'm going to pick some up tonight and see if that helps.

What books are you reading?

Here is my list that I'm reading/read:

What to Expect when You're Expecting: Great book written in a great format.
Recommend: Purchase. I picked one up at a half price store.
http://www.amazon.com/What-Expect-When-Youre-Expecting/dp/0761148574/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307991645&sr=8-1

What to Expect: Eating Well When You're Expecting: Some good recipes but a re-hash of the 6 meal plan in What to Expect.
Recommend: Library

Our Bodies, Ourselves : This is a wonderful book that is geared towards midwives and natural childbirth. A lot of great exercises, photos, and birth positions.
Recommend: Library. I have this in my Amazon cart and am debating picking it up.
http://www.amazon.com/Our-Bodies-Ourselves-New-Era/dp/0743256115/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307991284&sr=8-1

Feed the Belly: I enjoyed this book and used quite a few of the recipes.
Recommend: Library
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_14?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=feed+the+belly&sprefix=feed+the+belly 

Belly Laughs: I know a lot of girls love this book but I wasn't impressed. A quick read and a couple of funny stories. I didn't connect with her though and some girls might.
Recommend: Library

P.S. Remember the library? My husband Mitch and I rediscovered it late last year and I am thrilled to have so many great pregnancy resources without spending money. Free stuff is awesome!

Documentary Recommendation

I realize you don't know me from Adam but I have a recommendation for a great documentary. The documentary shows how pregnancy and labor practices have chnaged dramatically in the U.S.

Believe me - I am 100% not a hippie and this documentary opened to my mind to other birth plans. After watching it I looked at C-Section rates at local hospitals and starting doing research on the benefits of using a midwife instead of an OB/GYN.

Interesting stuff and definitely something I'd recommend to anyone trying to decide how they'd like to bring their child into this world.

First Prenatal Appt!

Mitch and I went to our first prenatal appt with our midwife today - I feel so relieved that everything looks good so far! She said I am 6 weeks and 5 days pregnant but wants us to get a first trimester ultrasound anyway to really lock down a due date. Which is fine by me!

We got there early to fill out paperwork and everything was wrong. It said I had acne, asthma, and all this other stuff and that my insurance was inactive. A mini-heart attack later we noticed that the sheet said my middle initial was M - well it's obviously J. Turns out the lady that made my appt took down my information on someone else's file (thus deleting some other lady) and made a huge mess. Apparently she was not very good at her job and doesn't work there anymore.

Our midwife was recommended to us by our couple friends Allison and Greg - she was so nice! She answered my long list of questions and the couple that my husband had too. The midwife said my nipples are nice...for breast feeding and that is exactly how she said it. "Your nipples are nice...pause...for breastfeeding". So funny!

My cervix was nice and purple and the right size for 6 weeks. Honestly, I felt so realized. Somehow I thought she was going to say "what makes you think you're pregnant" and it would be this humiliating doctors visit for a hysterical pregnancy.

We told her that we prefer a water birth and she was on board and ordered a Hep-C test which you need to have if giving birth in water.

Our ultrasound appt is June 22nd at 8am. I can't wait. Really, two whole freakin' weeks!

Oh my Achin' Back

I have a bad back...it's just a thing I have to live with. When I was 19 I herniated two discs in my back and it was awful.  I couldn't walk or work or do much of anything. Well, I lost 60 lbs so it wasn't that awful. Isn't that horrible that to me all that pain was worth it because I lost weight? So pathetic.

I was home sick with a fever last Tuesday and I felt awful, not only the pregnancy stuff but my whoel body was aching and sore. I called the babyline and they told me I could take Tylenol but that was it. My fever had finally broke on Wednesday just in time for my stupid back to break. I went downstairs carying my little shih-tzu Millie (our current baby) and as I set her down my back said "F you Steff." I hobbled back upstairs and laid down thinking taking it easy the rest of the day would make it better.

It did not.

Thursday morning my husband took me to the ER where they gave me two shots of something that sounds like Demerol but isn't Demerol. I felt amazing!

My husband took me home and deposited me in bed to sleep for the next seven hours. My back still hurt when I woke up. The worst part is because of the pregnancy I couldn't take any real drugs. For the record, I don't consider Tylenol real. Not in the doses I could take anyway.

I am back at work today but I am so sore, sitting for this long makes my back feel like it's folded in half.

My heart goes out to any pregnant women who is suffering because of a pre-existing condition. Pain sucks.