Baby 2011 UpdateAs it turns out, it's a ________.

Why even prolong this already extended wait?!

Here's a little how the visit went.

Lila, Craig and I were bubbling with anxiousness...

The doctor smiled... and said that he was 99.9% positive that Sweet Baby 2011 is really Sweet Baby GIRL 2011.

[Insert heavy, happy sigh.]

Sisters.

Lila and Sweet Baby Girl are going to be sisters.

My work here on earth is done.

Ok, all dramatic statements aside - I'm so pleased. I'm so pleased that I'm going to have two "ladies" who will [hopefully] grow up making pretty fantastic memories -- the stuff that Hallmark cards are made of.

They'll giggle.

And fight.

And at night, hopefully snuggle together while watching a movie.

Oh, I could go on and on...

I'll happily pay for two weddings so long as I can one day take a picture just like this one:

Oh, welcome to our family Baby Girl.

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P.S. We haven't settled on a name for Baby Girl just yet. We may (or may not) tell when we've figured it out. If it were completely up to me, I'd totally keep it under wraps for one very respectable reason: this sweet baby girl might be the culmination of our little family's growth... and the idea of keeping her name to ourselves for just a bit longer before sharing her with the rest of the world? Well, it's just really appealing.

She'll be the world's soon enough. Right now? She's ours.

And I can't tell you how much I love that.

Yep, I'd like to hold on to this period of time, this day, forever.

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Thank you to ALL of you who voted... it warms my heart to know that so many of your are excited about the birth of this little sweetie pie. THANK YOU.

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We're back from the doctor...

...and I'm working on my post right now...



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I tell you what, America DOESn't have talent.(It appears that the UK does, though.)

Now how lovely are these? I mean, really?

Check out Emma Lamb's photostream on flickr. 

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Baby Update 2011

Just to let you all know, my appointment isn't until 5 p.m. MT. (7 p.m. ET)

Keep your fingers crossed that this baby's legs aren't crossed. 


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Hot in less than a minute.

These travel hot rollers were my find of the century when we were back in Ohio this past July-ish.

They were on clearance at Target for something like $12 or $14 so I gave 'em a whirl. I like long, loose curls and wanted something to help me while I was in Ohio. (I traveled sans curling iron, blow dryer, etc.)

In this little travel pack, which is about the size of two Kraft Macaroni and Cheese boxes put together (yes, that is yet another food reference) -- are ten hot rollers. (Five "large" and five "extra large.") The little pack is lightweight and the hair roller pins are stored in the package ever-so-neatly.

Best of all, the rollers are hot in less than a minute. And, they get REALLY hot. I have thicker hair and I need my curling and straightening accouterments to be blazing hot, otherwise it ain't curling this mop.

These work well.

They were the surprise purchase of the summer, for sure.


Small. Fast. Efficient. Lightweight. Compact. Recommended.


They're everything you'd ever want in a travel pack-o-hot-rollers.


You can buy 'em here online.


(Nope, I still don't get subsidized for my product endorsements. But, I sort of wish I did.)



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Nope. I don't think so.

You can go ahead and put this, "Kids 6-Foot Chain Toy Organizer" on the list of child items that I will never purchase.

(Go ahead. Quote me on that.)

Nothing says, "I love you" and "You're safe here" more than having your child's collection of favorite stuffed friends swaying back and forth on a chain in a dark corner of her room.

Nope.
Pass.

But hey, it might be right for you and yours. In that case, you can buy it here for $10.95.


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Ferg

I wish I could say that I pose her...

Sent from BlackBerry® Wireless

Awesome lunch.

Caprese salad and cucumber sandwiches.

I love my husband.

Sent from BlackBerry® Wireless

Produce Report: 18 weeks

(This has got to be the grossest looking produce comparrison, if you ask me.)

18 weeks! 18 weeks! I'm two weeks from being "halfway there"! WAH-who!

The baby is apparently hiccuping and moving all about at this point. So cool.
 
Q. How am I feeling?
A. Me and pregnancy fit together pretty well. I'm feeling pretty fine. Fine as wine? No, not really. Since there's no wine currently involved...

Q. Am I getting BIGGER?
A. Why yes! I am! I am measuring the same as what I was when I was 22 weeks pregnant. (Reminder: I am EIGHTEEN weeks along.) So yes, dear friends, I just proved the theory: you DO show a LOT sooner with your second pregnancy.

Q. Are you ok with showing sooner?

A. YES! Last time it took FOREVER to show which made everyone just wonder if I was, and I quote, "getting fat." I still remember my favorite comment: "Oh... you're pregnant? I was wondering why you were getting so fat. I mean you were really starting to look fat." (From a co-worker. Awesome. AWESOME.)

Q. How do you feel... emotionally?
A.GOOD. STABLE. I'm in a good place. As recently as a couple of weeks ago the whole idea that I would be the mommy to ANOTHER human being was just... well, a lot. It's a reality that is happening a bit sooner than I could have ever dreamed of. The idea that Lila wouldn't be my one and only has been daunting. And, the idea that we are having these two bebes so close together has taken some time to get used to, as well.

But now? I'm ready. (As I can be.)

I'm excited.

BRING IT ON, sweet, wittle baby.

Q. Am I excited to know the gender?
A. YES. And, I'm actually READY to know. I absolutely was NOT ready to know on our last visit. It took me some time to get my bearings regarding having a baby boy OR a baby girl. Now? I'm ready. I'm ready to find out what it is. I'm ready to begin planning. I'm ready to begin calling him by his name. Or if it's a girl, I'm ready to buckle down and figure out a name.

(We've had our baby boy's name since before Lila was born.)

We found out TOMORROW at 5 p.m. (Hopefully the legs are uncrossed this time...)

Q. Do Ferg and Lila know that I'm pregnant?
A. I don't think so. Ferg ABSOLUTELY knew with Lila. She wouldn't leave my side. I'm not so sure that she's caught on this time.

Q. Have I been feeling the baby move?
A. I type this with such a smile on my face: YES! I'm feeling very subtle flutters. And I love it. I love knowing that there is a little living human being within me. Incredibly cool.

Q. How is C. feeling about the birth of Baby 2011?
A. I just asked him, this is what he said:

"I'm excited."

(I love him.)

Ok, and that's it!
Here's me... looking all fancy in my watching-the-emmy's outfit.

Stay tuned for the gender announcement tomorrow! WAHHHHH-who!

kb


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The 2010 Emmy'sMy "official" fashion Recap

Random Emmy Thoughts:

• Am I bigger than Ryan Seacrest? (When I'm non-pregnant?) He seems awfully petite.
• I would like for Neil Patrick Harris  to host next year. He's better than Jimmy.
• [insert gasp] Jon Hamm didn't win. Sad.
• I am pleased that Mad Men took home an emmy.
• Best comedy series: that category was TOUGH. Modern Family is pretty great...
• If I were a man, I would own ALL Tom Ford clothing. Or, at least as much as I could.

And now, on to the fashion...
My favorite dress of the evening:
I really liked Claire Danes little dress. Here's why: it fit her like a glove and well, I'm a girl. I like sparkle. If I were at the emmy's, I'd more than likely show a little sparkle, too. Well done.

 
Ok, I surprise myself with this one... But I really liked Kyra Sedgewick's dress. Here's why: I'm a sucker for that color. I like her hair. (Plain and easy!) On t.v., she looked great.

Your source for syrup.

I hate Log Cabin syrup. It's just... blah.

Unfortunately, it's pretty much the only easily-accessible pancake syrup this side of the border and I've been stuck buying it for four years now.

You can imagine my SHEER DELIGHT when I stumbled across these two JUGS of Mrs. Butterworth's syrup (my favorite!) at Costco tonight for a total of about $90.00 pesos. (About $7.)

Here's why I'm so pleased.

A.) I'm pregnant. And I love food.
B.) I LOVE, love, LOVE IT when my favorites from the States make their way down here. (I understand it's always only for a brief moment... but still, I appreciate it.)
C.) Looks like we'll be eating breakfast for dinner for the next 129 days.

:)

Suh-weet.



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OMG. (Project Runway thought)

Gretchen is wretched.

Tim Gunn is so fabulous.


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Mariah Carey told me.

Alright, I'll do it.

I'll confirm it.

Mariah Carey has got to be pregnant because AIN'T NOBODY choosing to wear maternity clothes when they don't have to. (At least in my world.)

She's wearing a dress from A Pea in a Pod.

So there.

Yeah.

She's pregnant.

Now media? Leave her alone. No one likes to gain weight with the world watching.

P.S. I'm absolutely NOT a Mariah Carey fan, aside from her version of the Christmas classic, "O Holy Night" - which is outstanding. I just feel for women, celebrities or not, who would like to remain as private as possible about their family-planning choices.

Another P.S. I really hope she stops dressing like an 18-year-old. Enough with the butterflies, already.

Word.


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Random Thursday Thoughts

• There is no such thing as a sippy-cup that doesn't leak. Give it time. They ALL leak.
• Cheese, potatoes, noodles, butter and onion are what my heaven looks like. (Tonight is Pieroggi Casserole for dinner. Recipe here.)
• I really like Summer Sander's Prenatal Workout. It's actually not ridiculously easy. And, her big 'ole 7-month pregnant belly is out and proud and I love that.
• Lila is wearing crocs and sunglasses today. All she needs is a camera and she'd be the perfect Cabo tourist.

• I love Ferg.
• The baby gender appointment has been moved back a day. (Sorry! I have spanish class. :) The BIG day is TUESDAY, AUGUST 31st! (Hopefully we'll get a peek.) Looks like the gap is closing in between boy and girl... Hmm.... (My vote is boy.)

 (If you haven't voted yet, you can vote in the upper-right hand corner of the 'ole blog.)

Dispelling the mythsLatisse works.

You've seen the commercials with Brooke Shields and Claire Danes purporting that the prescription latisse grows their lashes, right?

Here's the deal: it works.

For a brief window of time prior to the conception of Baby 2011 I used latisse. (It's called lumigan down Mexico-way. And it's sold over the counter. For about $420.00 pesos --$32 USD.)

My eyelashes got SO long. And so thick.
And nope. I didn't get any under-eye circles or experience any darkening of my already brown eyes.

It works.

Only bummer? It is temporary. As it turns out, when you stop using latisse/lumigan - shortly thereafter those newly grown lashes do exit your eyelid. (Sad.)

But seriously, you should have seen how incredible my sister's eyelashes are, too. INCREDIBLE.

So, I'm here to tell you - it works. Really well.

Precious.

 "It's a moment a million mothers will recognize as an orangutan mum displays human-like affection kissing her male baby's hurt finger. Mother orangutan Deedee and her baby Randee live at Lowry Park Zoo, Fla."

From MSNBC.com photos.

(I'm such a sucker for mommy/baby animals pictures.)

...We're getting closer!

We just might possibly find out the gender of our baby in a matter of days! WAH-WHO!

The appointment is tentatively scheduled for Monday 8/30, but I have Spanish class so I just might have to move it to Tuesday. (I know, I know)

We'll see what I can do. :)

Still, we're getting closer! WAH-WHO.

P.S. I'm really, really showing. (I measured myself and my stomach is as big as it was when I was 22 weeks. I'm 17 weeks and some change. Yep. This pregnancy is clearly different.) And I really, really miss wine and beer. And mojitos. And margaritas.

ProtocolFacebook Relationships

So when a "friend's" facebook relationship status changes from "in a relationship" to "single" or even more uncomfortably from, "engaged" or "married" to "single"...is it really appropriate to leave a comment?

I've seen people "like" or thumbs up these relationship status changes.

I find that weird. Well, unless of course you don't like the ex. That would make more sense.

Oh and another thing... you know those married couples who share a facebook account [insert giant eye roll...]?

OY.

First off, I'm always confused by married couples' ambiguous status updates. WHO IS WRITING THIS? And, if I went to high school with you and don't know your wife, WHY WOULD I WANT TO READ HER STATUS UPDATE?

And, the bigger question: what happens when/if the married couple separates or divorces?

First they have to figure out who gets the house, the dog, child custody... and most importantly WHO GETS THE FACEBOOK account?

I mean, really.

Lesson: Don't thumbs up people's relationship status changes OR write ridiculous comments like, "OMG. What happened?" or "I totally saw that coming"or, "He was such a liar, anyway." That, my friends will come back to bite you.

And all of you who SHARE a facebook account. Come on. Separate. It's just weird. Be your own person.

If I had HALF of this creativity...

I sort of thing this idea is great.

Old wagon = cool "new" tray/decorative element.

See here.

Care to be semi-introspective with me? Come along...

I've never been one to go with the grain... Nor have I ever been willing to set the grain on fire in a show of my uniqueness.

It's true.

I don't subscribe to widely accepted life standards. Not because I don't respect them, but well... because I've never thought they really applied to me.

For example, the notion that one has to wait approximately 30 minutes after finishing a meal before re-entering a swimming pool (so as to avoid cramps and potential accidental drowning) has always seemed absurd to me... yet made complete sense for my swimming-pool-owning Grandma.

Also, as a child I was a staunch opponent of the theory that sugar caused hyperactivity. However, it was a widely accepted theory that encouraged many well-intentioned parents to diminish the intake of refined sugars to their children. And those same parents may or may not have substituted sugar with the less-satisfying and much more uncool alternative: equal. Not until many years later was I validated by a group of scientists who reported that sugar does not indeed cause hyperactivity. (I emailed that article to my Mom.)

All this to say, as I get older widely accepted life standards and statistics have meant less and less to me.

Just because you pierced your tongue back in 1999 when you were 19-years-old doesn't mean that you weren't working 40 hours a week and going to college full-time. 

Or, just because you grew up without a present Dad (for whatever reason!) doesn't mean you're actually going to crave the attention of every man you meet and be a hooker.

Or, just because you're a product of a "broken home" (I prefer to say, "single-parent family") doesn't mean that you can't be involved in a solid, awesome relationship.

Go ahead, fill in the sentence, "Just because _______________ doesn't mean that ______________."

I suppose what I'm trying to say is this: thus far in my 31 years I've learned that it's so very important to never allow the expectations of others shape who you are and what you become

When it feels as if the world is judging you... or if you feel that you're not where you're supposed to be right now... or you just feel off, just take a step back... and calmly remember that you're who you're supposed to be. And, if you don't like who you are or where you're going... the coolest thing about this life is that we can change our direction at any time... and nothing is bigger than we are so long as we have some good 'ole fashioned faith.

That's all.

My dream for all of humankind:That everyone can meet their Craig.Happy Birthday C.!

If necessary, I would tattoo my love for you on my forehead, dear husband.

Here's why:

You're great. You're kind. Your thoughtful. You're intelligent. You're hot. You're funny. You're sooo many things to me, but mostly you're my everything.

The Ferginator, Lila Ross, Baby 2011 and I love you far more than we could ever express, even on this silly little blog. (Seriously, even our unborn child loves you a ton already. Smart kid.)

You juggle your roles well and you excel at all of them.
As a Daddy? You're incredible.
As a friend? You're the best.
As a husband? Well, in all honesty - I wish everyone could have their own Craig.

I love you. Of all of the people that were ever born, I am most happy you were.

Love you. Happy, happy Birthday, my C.

love
me

Lila Lunes:14 months young

 The many faces (within seconds) of Lila.

My Lila Ross is a small person. It's true. And, it's pretty entertaining to watch her become more vocal and more decisive. (Sometimes "more vocal" means she's REALLY, REALLY loud.)

Q. What's new with Lila?
A. Interraction and conversation. It seems as if we can truly have teeny-tiny interractions with Lila that really, well... make sense. When we ask her questions, she answers. She finds whatever we ask her to find. When we say, "Hand that to Daddy or Mommy..." She does! She asks for more (food), goes to the cupboard to even SHOW us what she wants. And yesterday, she walked over to me, grabbed me and took me to what she needed help with. (WHAT?! )

When did this little person move into our house? When did we get a roommate?!
Q. Most impressive this past couple of weeks?
A. Each night we take Ferg's collar off of her. A couple of days ago, she picked up Ferg's collar and took it to her, then proceeded to put it around her neck. She all but clipped it closed. I was shocked.

Q. What are Lila's favorite things?
A. Her sunglasses. Sweet potato puffs. Swimming. The hose. Quesadillas.

Q. Is Lila running yet?
A. Let's just say that she walks at a VERY quick clip.

Q. How old is Miss Lila?
A. She turned 14 months old on Saturday. (Holy wow.)

And now, on to a boat-load of pictures.

Sunglasses. In the house. All.of.the.time.

Topless, with sunglasses, on her laptop.

Like mother like daughter.

(KIDDING.)

All ready to swim. 

How cute are those stems?

Looking at her "family" photobook. 

(It's full of our relatives that live in the States.)

A brief moment of stillness.

I'm telling you, August is a great birthday month.

It's true.
There are people in our lives that make us smile just upon the mere thought or mention of them. My friend, Written Permission, is one of those people.

Oh - she's who-larious, selfless, an advocate for all things good and appropriate (including, but not limited to, everything from animal rights to the usage of proper grammar), she's kind, and witty, and so intelligent... and did I mention funny? And she's totally and completely a friend at all times.

I'm thankful for our memories, I'm thankful for our daily emails. I'm thankful for you...
Love you, friend.
And I'm so happy you were born.
Happy Birthday!

Let's talk eyeliner.

Traditionally, during my everyday life I don't line my lower lid with eyeliner. (I may have written this post before. I'm experiencing de ja vu.)

Why?

Because traditionally, I've found that I end up with far more eyeliner UNDER my eye than ON my lower lid thus giving the allusion that I've a.) been in a brawl or b.) been sleeping in my makeup for 3+ days.

I've recently changed that. A couple days ago I wore lower-lid-eye-liner and I'll tell you what - I liked it.

It was a bit of a change for me. And I may or may not have asked my sister if I looked slutty. (Because slutty pregnant lady ain't the look I'm going for.)

But I liked it.

What do you do?

--

P.S. That's not my eye, but it's a nice one, no?