The Blue Toilet Seat Mystery

I thought long and hard about whether I was going to post this. I decided to, since I feel I must contribute to the other women who will one day google this and feel comforted by my story. At the very least, it will make for a good laugh for everyone else. Read on and you will understand....I will give you every detail so you fully see the picture.

About two weeks ago I decided to take a mini-bath and shave my legs (this is a rare occurance 9 mo preggo.) Then I stood up and took a shower. The bathroom had a good cleaning a few days before. No new cleaners. I also use soap while I shower, also not new. Not surprisingly I had to pee once I was finished showering. I dried off and went to the bathroom, then headed to my room to get dressed.

SO-- upon returning to the bathroom I noticed (I am very detail oriented so yes, I did notice right away) that suddenly my toilet had a light blue tinge to it. NOT there 10 min. prior. So I investigate. I look at the skylight for a possible shadow, I move the seat in different angles, I try to rub it off. I call in Steve. He looks at it, runs through all the things I just did and we are perplexed. Now a few minutes later, the seat is getting a darker and more noticeable blue. I bust out the Clorox wipes and scrub away. Nothing. Steve leaves and assumes we just have an old toilet seat and it must have been gradually fading. I however am not convinced. I then sit back down and notice that it is in the perfect shape of MY rear and thighs. GREAT. It is my fault and I dont know why!! You better believe I then went back to my room and looked in the mirror. There was no blue on my hiney. So obviously, my husband must have used something in the tub that I sat in that didnt come off with soap and reacted with the toilet seat. Negative. Now before you all make assumptions let me remind you. No new cleaners, no new soap, no new jeans or clothes, I had just got out of the shower! (and I have used the bathroom right out of the shower plenty of times!) I run through all possibilities for a couple hours (this doesnt just happen!) and then I decide to Google-it. Steve thinks Im nuts and says just leave it alone and we can go get a new one. Ignoring him I type in "toilet seat suddenly turned blue." THE FIRST HANDFUL OF HITS WERE ABOUT PREGNANT WOMEN TURNING THE TOILET SEATS BLUE!! Now I am in shock, and so is my husband! So I am a freak who is not a freak alone! What the heck is going on!??! Now I am captivated by my magical talent and afraid to use any other toilet ever again. Here is the concensus...it has no medical backing, it apparently happens to pregnant women past 30 weeks, there is no explanation, but considering there are multiple women that this has happened to, it is not a fluke! The only slight explanation I came across (again nothing scientific or medically proven) was a sudden surge or drop of hormones. (It also has been reported to change the seats a pinkish-purple too.)

I call the consulting nurse and first off tell her I am not giving her my name or ID number because I do not want my following question in my file. I prepped her that this was going to be the strangest thing she has ever been asked. She doubted me. Then I proceed. After she was finished laughing at me, she said it was the oddest question and she asked around the office, more laughter, and couldnt help me. I then called my mother in law to check her bathroom since I had been there the night before. Totally normal. And now two weeks later, I have had no other problems. It must have been (totally an assumption) a possible drop/surge in hormones, my damp skin and whatever hangs out on your toilet seat all reacting together. (I was praying it was a sign, but considering Im still pregnant, it wasnt.)

So if there is anyone else out there whom this may have happened to, please leave a comment! Or leave a comment of humor. (I have already heard all the smurf and blue baby jokes possible so you can leave those out.) Feel free to pass this link on/repost it so others may be informed of this phenomenon, or at the very least get a good laugh at a 9 month pregnant woman! :)

38 weeks Q & A

Here we are at 38 weeks! (2-17-11) I am SO ready to be done!

Here is a fun little pregnancy survey I came across... enjoy!

1. After we have this baby, Steve will surely have to... help change diapers!

                        2. the thing I am most worried about the delivery is... needing a C-section.

3. the food that i have been craving the most is... turkey sandwiches.

4. the best part of being pregnant has definitely been...feeling her move. And morning sickness suddenly made me find nail bitting gross. I have never had such beautiful hands!

5. The most ridiculous thing I cried over was...Steve not taking me to get a cheeseburger late one night.

6. How long I could wear regular clothes... about 20 weeks.

7. ...came up with the name Grace. Steve. I came up with Olivia.

8. I've been nesting by... I made a huge house to-do list for the month of February. And her room has been done since the weekend after my showers.

9. the strangest/worst thing anyone has said during my pregnancy has been...Person: " Oh you dont look like you've gained any weight." Me: happily, "oh really, I've gained about 30 pounds." Person: "Ohh, well nevermind that's not good!" Seriously!?!?! Thanks. Steve was told "Good luck with that." when another guy found out he was having a "kid." lol

10. the food that i really haven't been able to tolerate is... chicken. Couldnt eat it for 1st tri and 2nd tri and sometimes cant stand it now.

11. I had morning sickness for... weeks 6-14.

12. the worst part of this pregnancy has been... stretch marks. I would honestly trade 9 months of morning sickness to not have a single stretch mark.

13. after Grace is here, i'm most worried about... 1) the stretch marks going away by summer. 2) getting my pre baby body back.

14. the thing I miss being able to do most since being pregnant...I really wanted to go snowboarding this winter. And I miss tasting the batter of my cookies. (raw egg) And occasionally a glass of red wine would be so relaxing.

15. the 1st thing I bought for Grace was... as soon as I found out I was pregnant I bought baby a yellow duckie blanket. Steve bought Grace pink baby Carhartt overalls.

16. during my pregnancy, the thing that has surprised me the most has been...how everyone has advice. I have strangers telling me all sorts of "medical" information. People at Walmart are my favorite. Lol.

17. the one quality that i hope Grace gets from me is... my patience

18. the one quality that i hope Grace gets from her dad is... his sense of humor

19. The weirdest craving I had was... lemons.

20. I completely underestimated this about being pregnant... the 9th month discomfort. It doesnt help she is already hanging out at 0 station!



My Favorite - Tortellini Soup

 

The photo does not do it justice here! This is by far my new favorite soup! I watched as a friend made it and took the recipe hoping Steve would like it too. It is a win all aound! (Our whole family loves it too.) I have added/changed some things to her recipe. Play with what suits your family! Here is the recipe: (at the bottom I added my other variations)

1 lb Italian sausage

1 c. coarse chop onion

2 cloves minces garlic

5 1/2 c water

3 beef boullion cubes

1/2 c. dry white wine ( I use 3/4c. Sutter Home - Sauvignon Blanc)

1 28oz can diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1 1/2 c. chop zucchini

8oz package (or more!) of cheese tortellini

3 T parsley flakes

1 c. sliced carrots

1 med. green bell pepper

pepper (to taste)

1) In large 5 qt pot (at least) saute onion and garlic until tender. In another pan brown sauage and set aside.

2) Add water, boullion, wine, carrots, tomatoes, basil, oregano,pepper, tomato sauce and sausage to pot.

3) Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 20-30 min.

4) Stir in zucchini, tortellini, parsley and green peppers. Simmer another 30 min or until tortellini is tender.

** I do not measure anything but water and wine. I just chop to what looks right/tastes right. I love veggies and know that I put in way more - this is just a basis!

** I also add 4-5 chopped celery sticks (with step 2), and more zucchini.

** This freezes really well - but the tortellini doesnt. So I make sure to take it all out (or Steve eats it since it is his favorite part) and then freeze. When I reheat, I add fresh.

** I have also made this without the sausage and tortellini and used mini/small shells. Perfect Minestrone! (which was another hit!)

Now All We Need is a Baby

~Before & After~

I have to admit I am a little embarrassed to post the "before" pictures online. Yikes! This was our spare room/dog room/guitar room/throw all our extra crap room. We had some serious work to do when we found out a baby was on the way!

Notice all the old gross carpet. And the brown walls. And all the junk!

                                                                              

And done! The bookcase is full of mine and my siblings childhood books. Steve's mom made Grace pretty pink curtains. Grandpa and Nana Corrigan bought Grace and I the glider. I see many late nights ahead there!

My husband was busy repainting the walls, installing hardwood and trim. So much more cheery for a baby!

My Dad bought us the crib as soon as he could! He wanted to make sure he was the one to give Grace her bed. :o)

I have a bit of an organization problem. All of her clothes (look at them all!!!) are sorted by size and labeled in bins. I was worried about how to make this little closet work and Steve creatively built in all the shelving for me. He is so handy! He makes all my visions come to life!

Toys that grandparents couldn't resist!

Less than a month until my due date! We will see if she lasts that long. Momma has a feeling she will surprise us all a bit early. :o)

35 weeks

35 wks 1 day ~ 1.28.1

So ready for Grace! I just got to that point. She can come early. The belly is getting in the way, I hurt, sleep is a memory and I waddle. I have apparently "dropped" which may explain all the discomfort and have a variety of other pre-labor symptoms. I would like for her to wait at least till 37 weeks, but by all means at that point I'll be praying her along! :)

I had one of my baby showers this past weekend too thrown by Grandma, Great-Grandma and Auntie to be! It was so special and fun to talk with other mommas. Grace was given so many goodies! We are so beyond blessed! God provides so much for us. Thank you everyone for coming and showering baby with so many gifts!

How did I get here?

This is a question I have reflected on a lot lately. How did I end up here in my life? There is a simple answer to that question. Gods plan is far greater than mine! Let me explain "my" plans for myself.

3 years ago: January 2008 - I was a junior in college, single, and absolutely loving life. I had no intention of "settling down" for a few years. I was going to graduate the following year, become a full-time teacher, buy a house myself (this is my favorite - on a teacher salary!), then maybe consider a husband. Children were not in the picture until I had accomplished all of these things and at least worked for a few years. Toss in a Master's degree and I was going to be set. (Not one of these played out.)

2 years ago: Student teaching is in full swing and I absolutely adored it! Teaching is my passion. I was also now engaged and going to be married in April. (so throw my plans from last year out the window!) My fiance already owned a house, so I still was becoming a homeowner, just not on my terms. We decided together to not even bring up the idea of children until our second anniversary (April 2011). I was still going to teach for those couple years and live my dream.

1 year ago: The September after we were married something was weighing heavy on my heart. I tried to ignore it for a while, but God doesn't let you ignore Him. I wanted a baby. When I finally sat down to talk to  Steve about it, I was not the only one God was working on. (This is 5 months after our wedding having this convo, definately not 2 years!) With budget cuts and layoffs, I was not teaching full time, but rather substituting. We prayed. And prayed. What did God want!?!?! Steve was set to leave for Japan in January and so we decided to take that time to really pray for understanding and re-evaluate "our plans."

Now: 8 months pregnant and just waiting for Baby Grace to get here. How I wouldn't want life any other way! She will be here just before our 2nd anniversary and I cant imagine just starting to have the conversation. How blessed I feel to have been obedient when God called upon our hearts! Life really isn't up to us. We make great plans and dreams and have discussions, but we forget that God needs to be remembered in those plans. He must think our plans our crazy! Surely He laughed at me 3 years ago as I told Him exactly how the next 5 years of my life were going to be. The beautiful things is, is that God is giving me the desires of my heart because I fully trusted Him and he changed my desires. He has far greater plans for me then I could have imagined for myself. I am married, I joyfully take care of my house and make sure it runs smoothly, I am having a beautiful baby.I am tremendously blessed! All these things were not in my plans, but each of them is precious in the sight of God - especially when He calls upon us and we listen!

When making plans our first thoughts should be: How can I glorify you best? What do you desire us to do? Show us wisdom and lead us in our decision making. We trust in you and want to follow your lead. Change the desires of my heart to match up with yours. All easier said than done! But by faith and obedience this is what we should do. Especially since it is abundantly clear that His plans are far greater than mine.

Grace in 3D

Not as good as the real thing, but close enough for now!

We had a 3/4D ultrasound done at 34 weeks to get a glimpse of Baby Grace. What a personality she has! Here is the visual story:

She started the ultrasound with her hands in her face. Great picture of both hands up close! But really hard to see what she looked like.

 After some poking by the sonographer, she was forced to move her hands down, and she was NOT happy about that! This is when she decided to get ulrtra serious and pout!

This was a full on tantrum! Obviously her frustration shows in her face. We just laughed at how cute she was! She also would whip her head back, smashing her nose against my uterus (so that's what that is!) and the back of her head hits my bladder (so that is what that is!) You can still see her hand, but now she is hanging on to the cord.

 After we were done laughing at her fit, Steve started talking. As soon as she heard his voice, we watched her face soften and relax. That was amazing! She actually started to smile and calm down. So he just continued to talk about nothing so we could get some cool shots! She is smiling.

Side shot of her smiling. You can really see her chubby cheeks and little double chin here. (that is from her father! lol)

Eventually she was tired and starting to sleep again. These last two were her most "relaxed" face pictures.

We are so happy we had a chance to do this and take our family along with us! She had such a huge personality! We keep looking at both our newborn pictures and comparing facial features. She has a little of both of us for sure! A little less than 6 weeks until my due date!!



32 weeks & 3 days

I think I am definately ready to STOP growing. She can continue as long as I dont have to, haha. About 7 or so weeks to go!

* I am definately a lot more tired lately again.

* Putting on my shoes, socks, or even touching my feet is now an aerobic workout. I live in flip flops. Solves all problems.

* We toured the hospital and birthing area this week. Getting pretty realistic!

* I am SO excited for upcoming baby showers. I cant wait to celebrate her with other family, friends and mommas! (Some of my random pregger facts may be good to know....) :o)

* Pregnancy cravings have pretty much subsided for now. The thing I craved most while pregnant was definately sandwiches. The weirdest thing was lemons.

* I dont want to even talk about weight gain. Or stretch marks. Ever. Im ready to hop back on the treadmill and run.

*One of my favorite parts of pregnancy is feeling her move around. And shopping for her little itty bitty things. Babies R Us is my new favorite store.

* We have anywhere form 5-8 weeks until she is here. That is crazy and exciting all at once!

Our Year in Review

We have had such a wonderful and extremely blessed year of 2010! We are so excited for 2011, but here's a recap of our busy year.

January, February, March - Steve left for Japan right after the new year. He was away January to the beginining of May. I found many ways to occupy my time. I substituted a lot, created our wedding scrapbook, redecorated our house, started a garden, took both puppies to obedience classes and hung out with family.

April - We celebrated our First Wedding Anniversary. It just happend to be half a world away from each other. Time flies so fast!

May - My hubby came home! Memorial Day weekend we were busy replacing our roof. We had a lot of fun doing it ourselves and happily saved so much money! I love my handy-man!

June - My 23rd birthday and we found out were expecting! Life changed from this month on! We prayed a lot for God's timing and were so excited to share the news with everyone!

July, August - Morning sickness in full force. Suddenly being pregnant wasnt so "glowing." Steve drug me out one night to buy an AC unit. I swear that saved my stomach! He turned 26 in August and spent the summer building a deck in our backyard and playing on his new favorite kayak. We did manage to have one family day at the ocean with our pups.

September - busy wondering what Baby was. Steve had another away work trip to Everett for a couple weeks. I was just getting over my morning sickness so it was okay he was away for that time. By the time he came home though I was healthy, starting my 2nd trimester and getting a little bigger!

October - It's a Girl!! Baby Grace Olivia was officially named and the shopping for her began!

November - Steve went on his annual hunting trip to Montana and had a great time with friends and family. I was eagerly awaiting the fresh meat and excited to not have to buy meat at the store anymore! We had a wonderful winter storm that knocked out our power for four days, but thankfully returned just in time for Thanksgiving!



December - absolutely flew by! I joined a mom's group at our church and am starting to meet other momma's. Grace got lots of presents for Christmas. We envisioned our Christmas mornings from next year out. I was 30 weeks pregnant at Christmas so we kept things low key. We rang in the new year at home, I was sleeping!

We cant wait for 2011 and to meet our little girl in two months or so!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Love came down at Christmas,

Love all lovely, Love Divine;

Love was born at Christmas;

Star and angels gave the sign.

~Christina Rossetti

First off, Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday Jesus! This Christmas means so much more to me than years past. Each Christmas my love for Christ becomes stronger (since becoming a Christian) but this year is different. Maybe because we are having a baby and I have a new understanding of how I cant even begin to fathom God's love for us. There is no one on earth I love enough to sacrifice my daughter, yet that is exactly what God did for us. He gave us the most unbelievable gift on this special day. May we always have Christ in our hearts and praise God for this glorious day!



 30 weeks & 1 day - 12.24.10

So excited to be on the downhill stretch! 10 or so weeks left to go before we get to meet our little girl.

 My Christmas puppies - Reagan & Riley

Our last Christmas just us two.

Crinkle-top Chocolate Cookies

These cookies are moist and fudgy. Super simple to make and absolutely delicious! I have to limit Steve and freeze most to last until my Christmas gift baskets.

* 2 c (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
* 2 T softened butter
* 1 c sugar
* 2 egg whites
* 1.5 tsp vanilla
*1.5 c flour
*1.5 tsp baking powder
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1/4 c water
* 1/2 c powdered sugar

1. Microwave 1 c of chocolate chips until melted. Stir until smooth, set aside. In med bowl, beat butter and sugar until lumpy. Add egg whites and vanilla, beat well. Add melted choclate.
2. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to butter mix, alternating with water. Stir in remaining 1 c chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
3. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in powdered sugar. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 350* for 10-12 min. Let cool on wire racks.

*** I recently recieved a "Tast of Home - Best Loved Cookies and Candies 2010" cooking magazine, which is where I found this recipe. Thought I would give a shoutout since this isnt an original recipe. :) Many more to come!

Delicious Lemon Bread

I finally perfected the icing! (Inspired by Starbucks Lemon Loaf  icing that I LOVE!) And since it is that time of year, get ready for lots of new recipes!

LEMON BREAD:

* 1 3/4 c flour

* 3/4 c sugar

* 2 tsp baking powder

* 1/4 tsp salt

* 1 egg

* 1 c. milk

* 1/4 c. cooking oil

* 2 tsp fine lemon peel shredded

* 1 T lemon juice

1. Grease 8x4x2 bread pan. Set aside. In medium bowl stir flour, sugar, baking poweder and salt.

2. In another medium bowl (or kitchenaid mixer) combine egg, milk, oil, lemon peel and juice. Either add to flour mix or add flour mix to kitchenaid mixer on low speed. Stir/mix until moist but still slightly lumpy. Pour into pan.

3. Bake 350* for 50-55 min. Let cool in pan on wire rack 10 min, then on wire rack. **Let cool completely before adding icing.\

ICING:

1c. & 1T powdered suger

2 T milk

1/2 tsp lemon extract (or 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice)

Winter Storm 2010 & 26 weeks pregnant

We had quite the week this last week. On Monday morning we woke up to snow. Sweet! We never get snow so it is always a mini-holiday! That is until about 4pm and it became windy. And not just a little wind,  we thought we were in a blizzard-hurricane!! The wind was spinning the trees in circles. About 7 pm we lost power. And then the snow stopped, it is became COLD. Like 15 degrees cold. 55 long hours later (early Thanksgiving morning) power returned. We bacame acutely aware of how little we have control of anything in our lives and reflected on how much we forget to thank God for the simplest of blessings. Power, hot water, heat. We spent 3 days talking and sitting around staring at each other, that was a blessing too -  enjoying the quiet, technology free time we had together. We have been warned this will be a rough long winter, so we know this is just the start!

 Of course being 26 weeks pregnant helped keep me a warm for a while, baby Grace is getting big! (approx 2 lbs now!) There is no where for this baby to go but out when you are 5 feet tall! When I look in the mirror, I see a little bump, when I see this in a picture I look huge! 13 weeks to go!! ( this was 11.28.10 - 26wks, 3 days)

Our lovely little home during the storm. The warmest place to be is in the living room near the fireplace (off to the left) so we camped out right here for 3 1/2 days. Lots and lots of layers of clothes and blankets, we all survived just fine. (Actually I was only home for the first 40 hours and Steve took me to my dads with power, we determined it wasnt safe being cold and pregnant - my family loves me and Grace!)

She Already has a Personality

I'm learning more and more about little Grace's personality. At first I thought some of these things were coincidence, but since observing her for a few weeks now, I'd say they are not by chance, they are indeed a glimpse of who she is...
* When it is just me and quiet, or Steve and I she will move and kick all around, especially when I am eating!
* If there is a lot of noise in the background or a lot of people talking at once she is very still. Even if I am eating she doesn't budge. (which is interesting because at home she violently kicks at mealtimes!) Now as soon as I leave the noisy atmosphere, she wiggles all about again. Its like she just hangs out and listens.
* The exception is music. She goes crazy when music is on, especially at chuch when the worship band is going. Sunday morning worship is the loudest area of my week and it is definately her favorite. My little one loves the Lord! Or if I have music on in the house or car she dances around, but not nearly as much as church. I cant help but get teary eyed on Sundays, it is so precious!
* At night when I lay down for bed I can just watch my stomach move about. So I  "play" with her by poking her and she will kick back. I call it playing, but Im sure it is more annoying to her than fun to be pushed.
* Steve has been able to feel her kick a couple of times. Here soon he should be able to feel it more often.

Today I am 24 weeks & 4 days. I will post a new belly pic when Steve brings the camera home.

Current thoughts - Being Pregnant Completely Changes You

I can only imagine how much my life is going to change once my daughter is actually here. For all my non-pregnant/non-momma friends you have no idea what is up ahead of you in the future. It is beautiful, it is scary, it is emotional and dramatic. And I cant imagine not being in this position. I am so in love with a 1 lb. kicking little baby.


* I woke up early every morning that week in June and anxiously stared at that little stick praying it would show me two lines. It took 3 days before that happened. The moment it happened I panicked. I was terrified, I changed my mind, I take it back! My life was forever going to be different and I was no longer sure I was ready! I laugh now at that day and I also know I am not alone. All moms go through a moment of fear. My husband brought me back and reminded me that we trusted God and prayed for His timing and that magic urine was not by chance. Since that day I have been nothing but excited!


* You look at life completely differently. Actually you look at life as if you were a small child. I wonder what bad decisions our country is making that my baby is going to have to deal with. Suddenly issues on politics, safety and education have a new light. It isnt about what is best for me and my generation, it's about the generation coming up. I just voted for an election with a whole new perspective.


* Every child looks different. Especially since finding out baby is a girl. When I see a little baby girl or waddling toddler or little girl dancing around the grocery store I tear up. I imagine little dresses and hair bows and princesses. All children look different. They are more precious, more special and more beautiful than I ever thought before. (and I am a teacher at heart!)


* I love my husband in a whole new way. I cant wait to see him be a father. I see him stronger yet more gentle than before - even with that burley beard he refuses to shave. Watching him create the baby room - paint, install flooring, build the crib - was just as romanitc as the proposal. This is a little person, a little mix of both of us that will physically bind us forever. She is the result of love in a marriage between a husband and wife. You cant possibly understand this feeling unless you are married and expecting a baby. I only fathomed it before, and it was nothing I imagined.


* Your body transforms into one you no longer recognize. I cant name one area of my body not changed. Everything. Sometimes I am sinfully vain and hate my new body. Sometimes I feel liberated that I dont need to feel pressure to conform to societies standards. I'm beginning to view my new shiny stretch marks as badges of honor, a right of passage into motherhood, something to be proud of. And it always seems that in a moment when I am down, when I look in the mirror and see anything but a "glow", I get a kick, a precious little reminder that it doesnt matter anymore. She does. Growing this miracle is more joyous than a size 2 body.

* Most importantly my love for God has grown. I am being given a gift that I do not deserve. I get to be the mother of this child of God and can only hope that we can raise her to love Him as he truely desires. I pray continually for strength in this pregnancy, for both our health, and for wisdom to raise a daughter of the Lord. I am so thankful and blessed! We are so excited to meet this little person God is preparing for us, and so excited to see what is in store for the rest of our future!

20 down, 20 to go!

We are halfway there!

20 weeks 4 days~ 10.18.10

So excited to be at the halfway mark (or so...)! I can definately feel Grace getting bigger, or at least her kicks are getting stronger! She is very active in the middle of the night and Momma is not too excited about that, I guess it's practice for the future!

My belly is growing super fast now, it's hard to believe. (Even harder to imagine what it possibly will look like 20 weeks from now!)

Other than the normal aches and pains all is well and healthy with the Martinsen family.

I think she looks like you

Finally uploaded pictures from Wednesday's ultrasound. Grace held still enough in these to get a couple side profile shots. She moves around a lot! (and I love it!)

18 weeks 6 days - October 6, 2010

It's a...

We are having a GIRL!!!

Baby Grace Olivia Martinsen

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:13-16

18 weeks down!

The baby bump is officially here! Here I am 18 weeks & 1 day (10.01.10)
This is was at 13 weeks. There is a BIG difference that's only going to get bigger! :O
Some of my crazy pregnancy symptoms so far:
* This burger is an example of a specific craving. I had to have a giant, greasy, bar burger. Steve made this for me and it was delicious! I ate the WHOLE THING! He was surprised. An hour later I was back in the kitchen looking for a snack...haha the last couple weeks my appetite has really increased!
* My weirdest craving so far would have to be lemons. For a while just having them in my water was enough, then I started eating them...I couldnt get enough of the sour taste! :o)
* Aside from lemons I need something strong flavored with my meals. Pickles, onion, vinegar, italian dressing, spices, etc.
* I have been feeling the little one kick around the last couple of weeks. What an amazing experience! It makes all the not-so-pleasant side effects totally worth it! (I'll have to actually hold the little one to admit the stretch marks are worth it though...haha)
** We find out Wednesday the 6th if Baby is a Boy or a Girl**

Oh Baby!!

Here is our little blessing!

10 weeks & 4 days Baby's arms/hands are up by the face (on the left) and you can see the tops of the knees - the feet are tucked under. We also heard the heart beat today! That was the most beautiful sound I have ever heard! I still cant believe there is a little person inside me! Baby was jumping and wiggling all around on the ultrasound...already an active little thing.

Updates so far:
*I did end up having some morning sickness (nausea only thank goodness!) from weeks 6-9. Now it is pretty much gone, I am just SO tired all the time.
*No belly bump yet, just a few extra pounds from how much momma is eating!
*My official due date is March 3, 2011

A Hot Summer Day at the Beach!

The first day of summer has finally arrived (and hit 90 degrees!) so we took a trip to the coast with the pups. Hopefully there is a few more this year like this!Reagan LOVED the water. Riley, not so much.

I got bored, and Riley didn't care at all that I was covering him in sand. HAHA!

Beach Bums!

Steve out in his kayak. He had a blast!

So tired after a long, hot day at the beach. I came home with some sand dollars and a sweet tan!