Week in Review | August 25-29

How was your week? Mine flew by in a haze of hormones. A particularly busy week at work paired with the end of our birthing class and a million minor annoyances had me wanting to burst into tears at any moment. In fact, the restroom at work has echoed with my pregnant sniffles more times than I care to admit this week.

Trust me, the rational side of my brain is delighted with all of the joys and blessings that I am currently experiencing and will experience in the coming year. It’s just the irrational pregnant side of my brain that turns a stolen parking spot at the grocery store by a skinny bitch in a Mercedes into “why does the universe hate me?!” It’s all pretty comical looking back, really.

Although I am feeling legitimate sadness over the end of our birthing class at MIT. Since day one of the class, I felt a strong connection to all of the women and our doula instructor. It was wonderful to share the experience with Jared and for him to hear other Dad’s stories in the class. Every Wednesday night I felt a true and sincere acceptance, empathy, and overwhelming sense of being nurtured and taken care of. I would go from just another pregnant person in the sea of procreation to being praised for enduring the incessant symptoms and celebrated for taking care of my body the best I knew how and the little body cooking within.

Although many of the couples in the class are MIT graduate students moving on to great academic and professional adventures around the world, there were a few fellow MIT employees in the class- two of whom live in Winthrop! I love that we were able to connect with this couple and will be able to share pregnancy stories, baby stories, and drop our kids off at the same school one day.

So needless to say, I was a distracted mess this week and did not delight in my favorite blogs. Instead of a blogosphere week in review, I hope you enjoyed my hormonal week in review above. Happy Labor Day weekend- which by the way, takes on a whole new meaning when you’re preparing to give birth.

CS Lewis Quote


Week in Review | August 18-22

Happy Friday! What will you be doing this weekend? Relishing in the final days of Summer at the beach? Or considering this cool week our first peek at Fall and baking up some apple crisp? You know I can’t wait for Fall! Bring on the pumpkins! It doesn’t get any better than this! Fall always makes me feel lucky to live in New England. And perhaps it’s the smell of school supplies in the aisles of Target or my September birthday that always makes me feel like new beginnings rather than the near year-end.

Either way, I promise not to jump right into the pumpkin-filled Week in Reviews. I’ll do my best to hold out until after Labor Day… but it won’t be easy!

Here’s a look at what happened this week in the blogsphere- pumpkins excluded.

Week in Review

  1. Life on Virginia Street recapped some fabulous posts from around the web. This minty desk makeover definitely caught my eye! Isn’t it darling?
  2. The gals at the Glitter Guide are saying so long to Summer with a Rose’ Garden Party. Oh wine, how I miss thee…
  3. Brittany Makes made her own CB2-style woven wrap bench this week. What a great DIY!
  4. Dana at House Tweaking tweaked an unused room to create this lovely nursery for her little one. Mixing quality wooden toys and natural elements with IKEA and Target finds- a woman after my own heart!
  5. Before the summer blooms fade, Cottage and Vine foraged some beautiful blossoms and assembled this wildly wonderful centerpiece. Check out her step by step instructions here.

Bumpdate | 23 Weeks

photo


HOW FAR ALONG: 23 weeks

BABY SIZE: Fruit and vegetable comparisons have been really odd lately. Like a carrot or bok choy could be a lot of different sizes! This week they’re saying he’s as big as a bunch of grapes. Again, very misleading so for you technical types- he’s 1.25 lbs and over a foot tall.

GENDER: Boy

WEIGHT GAIN: 16 lbs – hit a milestone on the scale. I’ve never in my life weighed this much and I’ve never been more excited to put on the pounds! Just means the little man’s growing!

WHAT TO WEAR: Almost exclusively maternity clothes at this point. And my bra size could make a porn star blush.

STRETCH MARKS: Um, yeah. Yeah, they’re there.

BELLY BUTTON: Interesting…

WEDDING RINGS: On

SLEEP: Still loving every minute of sleep although exclusively side sleeping takes a toll on my hips even with the ridiculous pillow formations perched between my knees or behind my back.

MOVEMENT: Tons! He definitely makes his presence known whether flipping around and around or with his tiny kicks that get more powerful by the day.

MISSING: Never thought I’d say it but… renovating! Our nursery revamp is well underway thanks to Jared and my Dad but some nights I’d just love to be able to just grab a paint brush and take matters into my own hands!

CRAVINGS: Still loving fruit every day and lots of water. Lately I’ve had one odd craving for gummy things- starbursts, sour gummies, fruit chews. I try to not indulge too much because of all the sugar but man! Sometimes Momma needs a Blue Razmatazz Sour Straw in the worst way! Seriously salivating just thinking about it!

SYMPTOMS: Not much. Feeling pretty good lately! Though large. Good but large.

HUSBAND: The best ever. In one night alone the man had to run back to the Mexican restaurant because I burst into tears when my vegetarian enchilada had meat in it and then he had to console me as I sobbed uncontrollably over the death of a fictional character on a TV show. Yeah, he’s a good egg.

FAVORITE MOMENT THIS WEEK: Our vacation at the lake was pretty fabulous and I loved spending hours in the sun rubbing and watching my belly. But I’d have to say seeing Jared feel our baby kick for the first time was pretty thrilling. He gave him a good couple whacks to say, “hey hello there Dad!”

 


Unplugging

Hello.

I’m signing off for a little while. Not long. Just enough time to truly unplug and enjoy some real summertime.

I’ve been spinning for a couple weeks busy at work, prepping for my baby shower, shopping for the nursery, and overall being exhausted at how much there is to do before the little man arrives. I’m very much looking forward to shutting it all down, soaking in the sun by the most serene little lake, spending time with family, and most importantly being still and calm and rested for this bump of mine.

He’s making his presence known everyday. Moving and kicking about. Sometimes I feel like he’s watching over me- bringing me back to reality with a little kick when I’m stressing over something trivial. It’s a little “everything’s fine momma. I’m in here cooking and that’s all that matters.”

So farewell for now. I hope you take some time to unplug as well. Enjoy this summer!

Unplugging


Week in Review | July 28-August 1

It’s August! Wow! Hope everyone is enjoying their summer.

We’ll be fitting in one last relaxing vacation BB (before baby) this month. I’m super excited to spend a week on a lake, swimming and sunning, not caring how round I am in a bathing suit because I’ll be with my fabulous family.

And speaking of family, today is going to be another different kind of ‘Week in Review’ because I’m dedicating it to my superstar cousin Rachel who is one week away from completing a cross country bike tour with the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults. Rachel’s been blogging too and I’ve spent my summer forgoing design blogs to read Rachel’s adventures every morning. You can check out her adventures here: http://rachelrides4k.wordpress.com/ or take a look at some of my favorite photos of hers below.

Finish strong Rachie!

Rachel 4K

  1. Day one of the 70-day trek started with a send-off ceremony in Baltimore, Maryland. Rachel along with the four other teams that will make their way to the Pacific Ocean dipped their back tires into the Atlantic Ocean. They’ll dip the front tire in the Pacific next week!
  2. Riding up to 100 miles a day, many bikers dedicate their days to a loved one. On day one, Rachel dedicated her ride to her Dad, John DeFronzo.
  3. Niagara Falls, Mount Rushmore, National & State Parks, and even the Corn Palace in South Dakota! Rachel and her team biked through 13 states and saw some of the countries finest landmarks and vistas.
  4. There were rest days, sick days, and “the hunt for food donations” days but my favorite pics were ones like these of Rachel (the gorgeous redhead) being silly with her teammates. I think we all have life changing experiences that bond us with people and teach us more than we could ever read in a book – and I know that this summer is one that Rachel will never forget. Life is like a bike pedal, they can push you down but you’ll always come back up! We’re so so proud of you Rachie! See you soon!