"Our Kids Will Never..."

Fine.  I'll admit it.  David and I have had about two hundred "Our kids will never dothat!" conversations throughout the course of our marriage.  Imagine their increase in frequency since we found out that in just a few short months we're going to bring home a little person of our own.  I'm sure we've never said that about anything your kids do.  It's more the temper tantrum in the middle of the checkout line at Publix, pull your pants down in front of a crowd type of thing.  (Side note:  I wonder how many parents looked at me as a kid and said, "My kids will never do what that girl is doing"? Frightening thought.)

We've also had some of the "We'll never do that to our kids!"  talks, too.  

Are we normal? Does everyone do this? If so, what are the things you said you or your kids would "never do"?  Do you (or your kids) do them?  Did you find that your kids were more prone to do the things you said they'd "never" do (God does have a sense of humor, doesn't He?)?  I would love to hear your answers!  

All that being said, there were a few things my parents did that I said I would not emulate. Call me a liar, but I've changed my mind about many of those things.  The parents God blessed me with actually did have a little bit more wisdom than I gave them credit for... who would have guessed?

And for your daily laugh, here is a look back at David's and my childhood:

My Target Experience

I had to return something to Target today.  After "unshopping," I checked out the maternity section without high hopes.  There were a few cute things, so I went into the dressing room to try them on only to find that maternity dresses are ridiculously short and scandalously low-cut. I took three dresses in with me, and when I handed them back to the "attendant" on my way out, she said, "You don't want any of them?"  I just smiled politely and said that they didn't fit right. Well, then I got a little ways away and she said, "You do know these are maternity, right?  That might be why they didn't fit."  I told her that I was pregnant.  With this reply, I got this shocked look from the dear elderly lady that seemed to say, "You naughty girl." Apparently what some have told me is true:  When I'm not wearing makeup and my hair is in a ponytail I look like I'm in high school.  

Now, I'm glad this lady has morals.  If I were in high school, it would obviously be a lousy situation and one that wouldn't be pleasing to my Savior.  However, I'm not!  I've graduated from college, been married almost three years, and we were planning on having a baby.  

So, on top of the shirt that reminds people that my stomach is off limits, I guess I also need to have one that says, "I'm older than I look and I am happily married!"  just for those days where I didn't have time to fix my hair and put on makeup.  

16 Week Stats

On some pregnancy blogs that I like to read, the mothers-to-be fill out these "surveys" periodically (generally weekly or after appointments, I guess). I think it will be neat for me to keep a record of the pregnancy this way, so guess what! You get to enjoy the ride, too. I'll try to post weekly or every-other-weekly belly shots as well as an updated version of what's below.

How far along? 16 weeks, 4 days
Total weight gain: 2 lbs. I was actually down a pound at today's appointment!! Guess what, dear readers! That bump is all baby! I was so afraid that I was going to go in today and they were going to tell me I'd gained 7 lbs. (who knows where I came up with that number!).
Maternity clothes? a few tops and one or two skirts. My mom tells me that it's "time" to take the plunge and even took me shopping in honor of the occasion. I've been enjoying my new clothes.
Sleep: not too bad. It's definitely improved in the past couple weeks.
Best moment this week: scheduling our gender scan. November 16th. We're considering finding out sooner (yes, I know people used to have to wait 9 months, but we do have our reasons).
Movement: I'm feeling the "flutters."
Gender: we don't know yet. It seems the general consensus is "girl," which makes me think "BOY!"
Belly Button in or out? In. TMI, or what??
What I miss: Caffeine-free Diet Dr. Pepper! David's parents are coming down in a couple weeks and I think I'm going to have them bring me some caffeine-free Dr. Pepper. I don't know why it's available in AL and not in FL.
What I am looking forward to: Finding out the gender, deciding on a name (only if it's a boy), ordering bedding, getting started on the nursery. MEETING THIS BABY!
Weekly Wisdom: Unless you ask or are related, do not touch a pregnant woman's stomach! Just because it sticks out doesn't mean that it belongs in the petting zoo. I think the next time someone does this, I'm going to rub his or her stomach back.
Milestones: movement; David got to hear the heartbeat for the first time today. We both had pretty huge smiles on our faces when we left the doctor's office today!

Lists: Daily Life, Christian Walk

Although I haven't mentioned it in a while, I'm a huge fan of lists.  While I don't always accomplish what's on my list, I'm totally sold that lists help me accomplish far more than I would have otherwise.  In fact, after I write this post, I'm going to go make out a detailed list for the rest of my day.  I know I can squeeze mopping the kitchen floor, folding a couple loads of laundry, and other things between piano lessons.  

Until Sunday, I'd never thought of making lists to make sure I'm meeting goals in my walk with the Lord.  In fact, I never really thought of setting goals other than reading my Bible through in a year (call me dense or stupid, I know...).  Then, David mentioned it on Sunday and I had the proverbial light bulb go off in my head.  Why had I never thought of that?  So I started thinking (stand back, everyone... it can be dangerous). Why not set a goal of how long I'll pray each day?  Why not set a goal of how many tracts I'll pass out in a week?  Why not set a goal to read my Bible more next week than I did this week?  It's really not deep, I know; but to me it was a real, "Why haven't I thought of this before?" moment!  

So, in case you're like me and don't carry good ideas over from your day-to-day life to your Christian walk, start thinking of ways you can do that.  If there's something that really helps you accomplish your daily goals, why not try to transfer that over to your walk with the Lord and see if it can help you meet those much more important goals!  

Clipart from fundraw.com

Belly Shot #2

I haven't gained any weight since my last picture at 14 weeks (this picture is from 16 weeks, 2 days), but I definitely feel like I look pregnant now! I had heard women started showing "overnight" and that's definitely been the case here. I went from a little pooch to looking pregnant (at least I hope so) very quickly.

Don't you love the top? My mom took me maternity clothes shopping on Saturday, and I got this cute shirt at Old Navy. Skirts are not easy to find; I suppose going to be searching online for those. I have found a khaki and a denim skirt, but I don't think two skirts are going to get me through until April.

I have an appointment on Wednesday morning, so, Lord willing, David will get to hear the heartbeat. At that appointment, we will be able to schedule the "big" ultrasound! I'm very excited about finding out what we're having. I've got bedding picked out, but I really can't order anything until I know what we're having.

Eating for 2?

Even though I'm more accurately eating for one and a thirtieth or something like that, I know my appetite is increasing.  During the first trimester, I didn't really notice a difference.  Honestly, until the past week or so, I hadn't really detected a change.  Last night at dinner, though, I was a pig... not even kidding.  

We rarely have time to grab dinner before church, so last night we came home to have sandwiches after the service.  I decided to have turkey (Boar's Head just in case any of you are shaking your head and saying, "Pregnant women are not supposed to eat deli meat!"  Just for the record, the woman I've been seeing says Boar's Head is perfectly fine for expectant mothers!) on a toasted bagel with baby spinach and onions.  Well, one mini bagel turned into two (I consoled myself with the fact that there are fewer calories in two mini bagels then there are in one regular sized bagel).  I also had some raspberries and a few baked lays (really, I promise I didn't go over the serving size!). Usually, I would have been stuffed at this point, but not yesterday... I went on to eat an apple and several dill pickles (how stereotypical, right?).  As we were cleaning up, I kept telling David, I can't believe I still want to eat (He replied, "I can't either!  You ate so much."  Thanks, babe.  I love you, too.)!!  So, I took a few bread and butter pickles out of the fridge and ate those (maybe I was craving salt??).  Then, I called it quits regardless of whether I wanted to or not.  It was crazy!  At this rate, I'm going to be huge by the end of this journey.  

I did walk on the treadmill for forty minutes yesterday.  That must have upped my appetite some, right?  I was doing so well with exercise before I got my Big Fat Positive (BFP)!  When I found out I was pregnant, I wanted to wait to check with the doctor before I kept up with my routine.  Then, during the first trimester I was so nauseous and worn out I didn't feel like exercising whatsoever.  Now that I've been cleared and I'm feeling better, I've gotta get back into a routine.  I found a prenatal walking schedule online that gives guidelines for each trimester, so I'm going to do my best to stick with that.  

And now, without further ado, I must go fold the mounds and mounds of laundry sitting in our living room!

Photo from Designed to a T

Pregnancy Milestone

I've hit a milestone on this pregnancy journey:  I'm outgrowing my clothes!  It's still too early to fully sport maternity garb, but I'm getting there.  A woman at the bank actually asked me when I was due!!  I thought about saying, "I'm not," just to make her sweat it a little bit; but I took pity on her and gave her the real date.  

Hopefully we'll be scheduling the gender scan next week!  We have some people saying "definitely a girl!" and others saying "oh you're so having a boy."  I hate to break it to you people, but someone's got to be wrong here because we've seen we're only having one baby.  So stay tuned for the gender declaration and announcement of the name (we're 100% on our girl name and about 97% sure on a boy name). 

Countdown to Our Fall Vacation

In a little over two weeks, David and I will be traveling to North Carolina to meet up with my mom and dad.  We're very excited to get away (though we've traveled a lot this summer, all but two days worth has been fun, but not "rest."), and enjoy a place that actually has "fall weather."

Also, it looks like we've sold my car!  We're looking at a "new to us" Grand Cherokee (it's really nice and fully loaded).  People have tried to talk us into a "babymobile" (aka, minivan), but we're really not ready for that just yet.  It will be nice to have a little extra room for the baby, though.  So, please pray that the sale goes through and that we'll be able to get the vehicle we're looking at.  

Belly Shot # 1

I can't believe I'm doing this. In order to keep a "record" of this pregnancy, I'm going to attempt to take semi-regular shots of the growing belly. So, enjoy the ride. You'll get to watch it grow into the beast I'm sure it will become. Here's the first, taken at 14 weeks and 1 day. Since my first visit at 5 weeks, I'm up 3 pounds.

To be honest, I really don't mind the idea of having a baby belly at all. I just don't want to keep getting the looks that seem to ask, "Is Lauren putting on weight or is there some announcement that we've missed?"

We're getting very excited about our next ultrasound. Hopefully Baby Brown will cooperate and allow us to see his or her gender. It will be so nice to be able to start shopping and fixing up the baby's room. Also, I've been told that the time starts to go by more quickly after the 20 week mark. I'm hoping that's true... it's not that time's dragging exactly, it's just not speeding by like it has the tendency to do when you're not constantly looking forward to something.

Please continue to pray for us. I got to hear the heartbeat while David was in Guyana. He was disappointed that he didn't get to go with me, but he wanted me to keep my appointment. My mom went with me, and proved to the ARNP and me that her last pregnancy was almost two decades ago. When we were taken into the examination room, my mom said, "They won't be able to hear the heartbeat in here! The machine isn't even in here." I told her that's why I was there, so I'm sure they would be listening to it. Perhaps she would just bring it with her. She said it was too big to just carry around like that. Well, when she walked in with the "big machine," it turned out to be just a tad larger than my cell phone. All three of us had a good laugh over that.

We were able to hear a nice, strong heartbeat as well as movement. What a happy sound!

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Here's a recipe that goes along well with my favorite season (even though the weather doesn't!!)

Ingredients:

• 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 1/2 c. applesauce (I used cinnamon)
• 3 c. white sugar (I cut this down to 1.5. 3/4 white and 3/4 brown)
• 3 1/2 c. all purpose flour
• 2 t. baking soda
• 1 1/2 t. salt
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 1/4 t. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 t. nutmeg
• 1/2 t. ground cloves
• 1/4 t. ginger

Streusel Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. sugar
  
• 1/4 c. flour
  
• 2 t. cinnamon
  
• 4 T butter
  

1. Preheat oven to 350˚; grease and flour three 7x3 in. loaf pans.

2. Combine pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, applesauce, and sugar. Whisk dry ingredients together. Stir dry ingredients into wet until just blended.

3. Mix 1/2 c. sugar, 1/4 c. flour, and 2 t. cinnamon. Cut in butter.

4. Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle with streusel.

5. Bake until toothpick comes out clean.

Modification: You could also make 12 muffins and one loaf or use a tube pan.

Let me just tell you, this smells amazing while baking! If the top begins to brown too much, cover with aluminum foil until it has finished baking.