Tidbits...

- Dr's appt this week - 2 lb weight gain - not so bad
-Craig and I took a long weekend and went to NYC w/ our friends Joe and Kelle
-we saw Phantom of the Opera - it was very good
-we ate many good meals including one at my fav place Rosa Mexicana
-I ate about 2 lbs of guacamole that was absolutely to die for YUM!
-I was finally able to go to Serendipity and try a frozen hot chocolate
-we waited in line for last minute 50% show tickets and saw Cirque du Soliel - Dreams
-everyone in NYC was much more conscious about me being pregnant and very nice
-overall it was a fabulous weekend of good eats and lots of laughing
-4th of July if quickly approaching -- where did our summer go?
-I will be heading back to my hometown for the 4th to celebrate and attend 10 yr reunion
-67 more days of pregnanthood, but who's counting
-I'm always hungry for cheese

Enjoying Summer in the Burgh

Craig and I took our dinner down to the Point Sunday night and sat by the fountain watching the boats, the incline, the people, and the weather. It was wonderful. I love living in the city.

I forgot to mention as well that I've reached the 7 month mark and no more bragging. I gained 7 lbs so now I am up to 10 lbs. YIKES! The person who weighed me at the doctor's office had to do it twice because she couldn't believe it. That made me feel real good.

Hot with a side of humidity!

Wow - its summer! Craig and I do not have central air in our old victorian and honestly if we did have it - I'm not so sure it would be able to cool the place down. There is just much house that goes up. We have 5 window units and when all 5 are on it cools the place down pretty good. It doesn't feel like an ice box, but it takes the moisture out of the air and definitely feels better than the sweltering madness outside. These past couple of days have been killer. 94 degrees is okay, but add 100% humidity to that and you feel like stabbing yourself in the eye with a pencil. Then lets remember that Greta is pregnant and going to be pregnant ALL summer long. I'm sure when I am my largest in August I'll be praying for relief.

I love da burgh!

I live in Pittsburgh and all too often I think I take it for granted. We got a lot of good things going on around here and most things I don't take enough advantage of. One of my favorite things to do on a Saturday morning is walk to "The Strip" were you can buy all of your produce, meats, cheeses, fresh hot homemade tortillas, and so much more. This picture if of Iris, my beautiful neice, trying on sombreros in the Mexican store. I know there is so much I have yet to explore in this city, but I just wanted to give a shout out to Pittsburgh. I think most people put the burgh down for it being small, landlocked, old, boring, etc. But there are not many places out there where you can still afford to buy a house.. where you have the best sports teams around and fans... where you can find culture, history, and fun. I'm not an official 'yinzer yet, but I love me some Pgh. Come visit!

Girls Girls Girls

Yesterday I found out that another one of my friends is having a girl. So the offical count is 2 girls, 1 boy, and 1 unknown. Its funny because the middle name for both girls is going to be Grace. Very popular. Craig and I still have not officially agreed on names. We both really liked a boy's name, but recently it has become very popular and I always wanted my kids to have some uniqueness to their name like I had growing up. I like a girl's name and so far I haven't heard of anyone naming their child that - so we'll see if it lasts until September 1st. Middle names are a whole other issue. I'd like to use family names for middle names, but some first names don't go with the middle names I want to use. Its all so complicated. I'm still getting mixed predictions as to the gender of our little bundle of joy. Craig is insisting it is a boy. My mom has flipped flopped between boy and girl. Iris is insisting it is a "guurrrrlll." I love the way she pronounces it. Wes used to say girl and now he is saying boy - I think just to keep Craig on his side. And I'm leaning towards girl - although I haven't had any strong feelings either way. As much as I would love to have a name picked out and the room decorated just so - I kind of like the mystery in not knowing. It gives a whole other element of suprise to relate to people when the baby is born. And I'm getting used to all the green in the baby's room. Its still so amazing that this little miracle is growing inside of me.

6 months and still 3 pounds...

Hmmm.... I made it through an entire month without gaining anything, but my stomach is noticeable bigger. Weird. I measure where I am supposed to measure and everything on the ultrasound coincides with the due date, so I am just going to remain happy that I'll hopefully have less to lose after the baby is born.
Back from Vegas and not adjusting to the time change that well. Sleeping isn't all that fun when you are pregnant anyway. Learning how to sleep on your side with multiple pillows jammed everywhere just isn't all that fun. Anywho - I was up late last night and now I'm paying for it at work today. Its hard to concentrate.
Vegas was a blast. I arrived Tuesday night and Wednesday morning Craig, Craig's mom, and I decide to drive to California. We stayed in La Jolla and saw the seals on the beach. Very cool how close you can get, but definitely very smelly. La Jolla/Del Mar is a very cute area with lots of fun places to eat. The weather was fabulous and we saw Dolphins jumping around in the water twice! I had heard a rumor that you can dig a hole in the sand at the beach for your belly and actually be able to lay on your stomach for sun bathing. FYI - it didn't work in fact I looked quite silly.
Saturday we were back in Vegas for Chayse's birthday party. It was so nice to finally meet her and be able to celebrate her 2 year birthday with her. She is the most adorable thing I have ever seen. Hopefully, I'll get some pictures up.
Sunday we swam and went to the movies. We saw "What happens in Vegas" - cute movie.
Monday I got sick - blah! I barfed all over the bathroom in the Treasure Island casino. The two old ladies thought it was quite the sight to see me bounding for the toliet only to make it within 5 ft of it, slip in it and practically fall into the stall. I'm sure it was quite the sight. They also stuck around to watch me clean it up. I'm not sure what the thrill in that was.
Tuesday was fly home day - depression day. I just needed one more day of vaca. I wasn't ready to come back.
And here I am on Wednesday - sitting at work, dreaming about the pool and warm weather. I just wasn't feeling the almost 200 emails sitting in my inbox and the stack of paperwork sitting on my desk. Back to the real world in a snap!

Pregnancy + Swimsuit = Not a Good Thing

So... in my head I have this cute little baby bump that is just dying to be shown off and I think when you are pregnant that you focus all so much on that cute little baby bump that you forget that other areas of the body may be expanding as well.

Craig and I are heading off to Vegas next week and I realized that I no longer fit into any of my clothes which means swimsuits too and what is one thing that I love to do while I am in Vegas... go to the pool. Craig's mom lives in a golfing community and it has a couple of pools. I typically am the first one up in the mornings so I take my book and read by the pool.

Well, last night I decide to venture to the mall and find a swimsuit... that fits. I head straight to Motherhood maternity because they have to have something that hides everything. I tried on the suit and it was okay, but it did weird things to my chest and they didn't have any that came w/ skirts or shorts and I really wanted something to hide the upper thighs. They weren't pretty before pregnancy and they are even worse during pregnancy. So, bummed, I head off to JCPenney - knowing they have no maternity swimsuits I thought I would just try a bigger size. Not realizing that bigger size meant several sizes up bigger size. Yikes. I found a cute suit that came with shorts that almost covered everything, but they didn't have a size big enough in the shorts. Bummer. I tried on soooo many swimsuits and I was hot and I had to pee. So after a potty break and many stores later I end up in Sears - nothing grabs my eye until I head to the ultra-expensive Lands End section. The suits are beautiful and they have big sizes. So I try on all sorts of variations and actually like most of them. I ended up with the skirt bottom because I thought it would give me the most room to grow and this really long top that covered all of my growing belly. I look like I'm wearing a complete dress - in fact I could probably wear this out on the town and no one would ever know its a swimsuit. So I feel a little ridiculous wearing a swimsuit that covers move than most clothes do, but I'm comfortable and it hides most of my trouble spots. I tried it on for Craig this morning and didn't appreciate the response, but how do you respond to someone who says they are trying on a swimsuit and come out in a snowsuit.

I really didn't think swimsuit shopping was going to be that frustrating and time consuming. A word to all the maternity clothes makers out there - make some maternity swimsuits w/ shorts and actually have stores carry the product. I guess there isn't a big market for maternity swimsuits -- that should be your first clue. Don't swim while pregnant.