flipping a coin.

chocolate milkshakes or fat-free tart yogurt?

that was our decision on monday night. we couldn't decide, mainly because we knew what we should get, but we really wanted the thick creamy milkshakes. so out came the iphone, googled the coin flip website, and...HEADS! yes! chocolate milkshakes!

victorious, we bought our milkshakes and walked home to enjoy our spoils. and wouldn't you know it, i took 3 sips, decided it wasn't hitting the spot and made a piece of toast with strawberry freezer jam instead.

sometimes, fate teaches you a lesson. go with your gut feeling, not the flip of a virtual coin. oh, life you are such a tease sometimes.

30 weeks.

belly grows. heartburn really sets in. head and feet and elbows moving around like a whirlwind tornado in my belly. 30 weeks pregnant is so different from anything my body has ever experienced.

i'm trying to stay positive because i don't have any other options right now, but when i see people jogging and spinning around i do feel a little jealous. when TH makes a flying leap onto the bed, i ask him - please do a flying leap for me, too. it's weird to think next time i'll be jogging and leaping and spinning, i'll have a baby.

i crave cinnamon rolls, indian food, and chocolate ice cream.

we spend nights planning for baby, watching dumb movies, and going for epic walks around the Hill.

i started knitting and working on some baby projects. i think i'm going to try and make them my labor projects. keep my mind off of it all, you know?

30 weeks pregnant. i feel more different than ever - physically of course, but also emotionally. it's a trip.

hurricane: the aftermath

i didn't take any pictures. but if i had...

{picture 1: me laying on the couch}

{picture 2: eating donuts and watching the weather channel}

{picture 3: quick drive to Giggle to check out baby stuff and Anthropologie for shoes, followed by sandwiches at Jettie's}

{picture 4: peeking out the window every hour, yep still raining and windy!}

{picture 5: chana masala for dinner!}

{picture 6: gorgeous pancakes c/o TH for breakfast}

{picture 7: knitting baby booties}

we survived! it was a relaxing weekend. i slept a lot and had a lot of fun going through all the baby stuff we have. as it turns out, we still need a lot of stuff. luckily we already have a car seat that sits in our little VW. it's so cute, every time i look at it, i want to die.

weekend and baby stuff.

the sky was a greenish gray last night as i came out of the metro after work. i had to take off my glasses. i'd never seen the sky that color.

impending disasters have a way of making everyone seem so calm and quiet. the city is sleepy today, 90 degrees and sunny, and we're just waiting for Irene to hit this weekend. stocked up on canned fruit and soups, granola bars, and of course the essential donuts and muffins (duh). we are ready.

but before the storm hits, we have a lot to take care of. we are t-minus 11 weeks until baby over here and have yet to sign up for a birth class or visit a baby store. i'm a little behind in that department. on monday, my doctor smiled when she saw i was still wearing my regular non-maternity jeans. "a little in denial, are we?" she laughed. so monday night i purchased my first pair of maternity pants and today i am swimming in comfortable luxurious pants room! in heaven! TH is super jealous of course that i get a stretchy band instead of zipper and button, and he's insisting on getting a pair for himself.

so it starts at maternity pants, and this weekend will kick off the rest of baby inundation. last night, TH looked at my belly and said "i can't wait for baby to get here" and i just laughed and said "baby is already HERE, just inside my belly!" i feel it moving every day and it's 15 inches long and weighs 3.5 lbs! this baby is so real to me, even though i haven't met it yet. i love feeling all the kicks and jabs and flips and spins and a couple episodes of the baby hiccups (which have to be the cutest thing in the world, i think?).

baby baby baby. have a great weekend, and stay safe and warm!

late night buns.

i've been craving a homemade cinnamon roll for a few weeks now, so i broke down yesterday after work and threw together some dough, let it rise, and finished the buns around 11pm. i ate no less than 3 in a row. they were easy to make, tasty, indeed, and hit the spot.
recipe from the infallible molly wizenberg aka orangette.

it sparked in me a desire to find the perfect cinnamon bun recipe. i think i'm not too far off, but i want to try a recipe that gets a little more gooey. any ideas? i just want to be the kind of mom that turns to her "trusty recipe for..." and mouths are happy. that's not too much to ask, is it?

prenatal yoga.

in my current state, there is nothing more fulfilling and really just plain hard than prenatal yoga. i love feeling my body lengthen and my muscles getting stronger. i love knowing i'm strengthening my body to prepare for the beautiful birth of my baby. but, gosh, it's tough on this old body! i just try to remember how it keeps me in shape and strong for delivery, and then i'm all for it.
happy healthy mamas = happy healthy babies.

29 weeks. writing my maternity leave plan.

it's time to finally write that maternity leave plan. time to divide my projects like solomon, and figure out the best approach to being away for 16 weeks. i'm feeling very nervous about this, and haven't received much direction from my superiors. any tips on how to successfully leave a job for 4 months and make sure i's are dotted and t's are crossed? i'd really love to hear from you on this!

scenes from seaside.

the girls weekend trip to oregon 2 weekends ago seems like a dream. if i didn't still have all the laughter in my head from remembering how ridiculous we were in college (utah state university - go aggies!), i might think it was. we decided we wanted to make the girls getaway an annual thing. i really can't wait for the fun to come. there is just something irreplaceable about these girls who've known me from out of place virginia girl to hippy utah girl to the city politics obsessed girl i am now. love you girls! xoxo

whirlwind weekend.

you know those days you just want to lay in bed and the thought of being busy just makes you want to scream into your pillow? today was definitely one of those days.

we had a crazy weekend - it was really good, just really BUSY. and all the things i wanted to do, like signing up for baby classes, going to a baby stuffs store, formatting pictures from oregon, those things all got pushed to the side.

instead we:
1. went to jacksonville, florida for a quick pre-weekend work getaway. we have some interesting work opportunities that i can't really talk about yet, but hopefully i'll be able to share in another month or so.
2. drove up to northern maryland for the annual crabfest with our family. saw my brother rob and family who we haven't been able to catch up with in MONTHS. jodi is also pregnant and i'm so excited to have 2 new babies in the family, about 10 weeks apart. can't wait for the cousins to meet each other!
3. celebrated the new marriage of liz and dan at an intimate little shower in DC. they looked so happy, and it was a hoot talking about newlywed stuff with them. love them to pieces.
4. church and taught sunday school. i love our students so much.
5. took a 4 hour nap after church.
6. ate cupcakes with TH's family for cousin farewell to freshman year of college. so much reminiscing about going far away for school, and signing up for 7:30am classes (big mistake!)

and this morning we got to see baby again. it's getting quite crowded in there! we used to be able to see baby turn and flip and kick, but now we were just seeing big knees and tummies poking out. and it turns out baby is not that big after all, the doctor just had my due date wrong. oopsie. now moved up to the second week of november. excuse me while i go scream into my pillow. i'm not ready!!

3rd trimester. 28 weeks. last flight?

jetting off once again, this time just for an overnighter to join TH on a short work trip. beach, here i come!
i keep thinking i'm taking my last flight before baby, but so far that hasn't been the case. so, i think this is my last flight? i guess i still have 6 weeks or so to fly, but it's so uncomfortable these days i'm trying to keep it to a minimum. plus all that water i have to drink on the plane makes me use the airplane closet bathroom at least once every 1/2 hour. thank goodness for aisle seats.

have a fun weekend!

clothes conundrum.

i know that having a baby is a wonderful thing, but guys i am kind of vain and proud and i can't figure out most days how to wear clothes that are cute.

cue me last night, wandering through the mall for 2 hours looking for clothes that could be re-purposed after november. i walked by a few maternity stores and i was like "ew" so i just ended up frustrated in forever 21 with a Peanuts tshirt that i totally plan on wearing for the entire remainder of my pregnancy. so don't judge me if you see me in my charlie brown, it's all i can do to even wear clothes these days.

i guess i should just work on building up my shoe wardrobe since luckily my feet still love me.

this is the dumbest post ever.

seaside, oregon.

i had no idea how much i needed this past weekend in oregon. the oregon coast is so beautiful, the weather was perfect and refreshing, and the company was delightful. i feel refreshed, rejuvenated, and all those great things you are supposed to feel after a vacation! something about staying up late, laughing about the funniest old memories with your college girlfriends - just the dose of friendship i needed. thanks girls for an amazing weekend - here's to many more to come! xo

27 weeks. flying while i still can.

hey there lovers, i am jetting off for a long weekend to portland, oregon to catch up with some old college girlfriends. this is the first time we'll be reunited since our graduation over 5 years ago. i can't wait to see them! when i come back, guess who will be gone on his own trip? TH and i really need to learn to sync up our travel schedules a little better. No such thing as a quick 2 day trip - it always turns into at least a week apart.

This little bump of mine is not so little anymore. At our midwife appointment yesterday, my lovely midwife (and friend!) sneaked in a quick ultrasound so we could see little baby. oh my goodness, i am just falling in love with this kid so much! we can hardly wait 3 more months to see the baby for the first time. will it look like me or TH? will it be a boy or a girl? a maude or a claude? lucky for us we still have some time because we are not quite physically ready for baby yet. carseats, strollers, diapers have yet to be purchased. birth classes? not yet. but we're getting there. good thing we are not fruitflies with only 1 week gestation period. can you even imagine?

a few new things.

1. new stability ball at work to replace my office chair. my lower back and i are completely loving it. trying not to get caught bouncing around to my music.
2. attended first prenatal yoga class yesterday. hello perfect fit! there is just something about being in a room with 15 other pregnant ladies, hearing the instructor tell us to "stretch to make room for our babies to breathe" and "as your breathing deepens, the baby grows calm". it's really cool learning about ways to take care of your fetus that aren't just related to how much broccoli and kale you can ingest in one sitting.
3. these shoes. i've only dared to wear them 2x so far because they are tall and i am getting more pregnant every day.
4. my growing belly. yesterday i woke up for the first time feeling heavy. feeling a sense that this baby is getting bigger! we ran into a friend last night on our walk around the Hill and he couldn't help but touch my belly - i don't blame him, it's sticking out rather far these days.
5. my love for trader joe's black bean taquitos with a slice of avocado and salsa. yum!

working + parenting.

NPR is having a series right now, The Baby Project. It's amazing and inspiring!! Nine expectant mothers have come together to discuss birth, parenting, and right now the topic is childcare.

Childcare. Ugh.

You guys, this is going to get a little more personal than I'm used to, but this has honestly been on my mind for about 15 years. And a little more so in the past 5 months. I never knew what I would do when I had a baby - continue working or stay home. I never made the decision because I think it's innately personal and requires a decision made at the point in your life you have children. I never knew the point I'd be at in my career when the babies came along. Now that the time is drawing near, I'm planning to continue working. And it's painful to even think about it. It's all so new to me and thinking about leaving my baby with someone else for 8 hours every day, not to mention learning how to work a breast pump and hoping baby takes a bottle, and all the worries that come along with that - gosh! it's so exhausting!

One of the most comforting things for me is to hear others experiences. Not that I'm clamoring for others advice on how to parent and juggle the work/life balance - but it's helpful to know that other people do it every day. If they can do it, I can do it, too. I'm really looking forward to the series today as it continues talking about childcare. Yesterday the Swedes talked about their parental leave - the parental unit combined gets 480 days per child (to take until they are 8 years old). Per Child. I get a fairly generous maternity leave (16 weeks), but that pales in comparison when you think you could stay at home with your baby the first year of its life.

Can you tell I'm conflicted about this? How do you working moms and dads out there handle the pressures of balancing work and family?

fleeting summer.

now that summer is almost over, i guess it's finally time to enjoy it right? this past weekend was one of the first we were both back in town, so we set out to soak up the last remaining hot sticky weekends.

sure, there was mostly cleaning and purging of unneeded furniture, and trips to fill up the house with baby stuff, but oh! those summer nights!

we had dinner al fresco with friends in arlington on friday and enjoyed the perfect summer night weather, complete with peaches and homemade ice cream. saturday we had friends over to make panini's and play music, not to mention talk all things baby. it's so nice having friends who can give some sound advice on being first time parents.

i still have so much on my list to do before summer is over. our last summer as just the two of us is filled with mixed emotion, but with all the little kicks and movements i feel from this little acrobat baby, i can't wait for it to be the three of us next summer.

cookbook obsession.

i mean, come on. i'm powerless most of the time in anthropologie as it is. put a scalloped page dessert cookbook in my hands and it's impossible to say no.

i've picked out a few recipes to try already, but i have to admit i kind of just want to make this my new coffee table book instead of a cookbook. it has completely gorgeous photography and is so beautifully designed.

and something about turning a scalloped edge page makes me feel like the kind of girl who doesn't have dish pan hands in the first place.

new music.

last night i bought the new buddy holly compilation. some of my favorite artists - julian casablancas, modest mouse (where have they been?), lou reed, and she and him sing old buddy holly songs. it is such a fun summer album! you can stream the album here.

lessons learned.

1. when attending a concert 6 months pregnant, it's important to call ahead to have someone reserve you a seat. (thanks TH!)
2. after concert is finished, it's important to celebrate your friends birthday at Ben's Chili Bowl, but not as important is eating a ton of cheese fries. which leads me to lesson #3.
3. never eat cheese fries after midnight while 6 months pregnant, especially when you have to be at work early the next morning (what was i thinking?!)

what we're now referring to as our potentially last carefree rock show, Bon Iver really delivered at the 9:30 club last night. the first 10-15 minutes he played, my mouth was kind of agape as i considered what it would be like if i were super talented + super dedicated. because that's what makes you a superstar, right? i'm only kind of in both of those categories. it makes me want to step it up and be really really great at something. just...what?

monday night.

we left work early yesterday to go pick up our new license plates for the Tiguan.
afterwards, a stop by Target for all the essentials.
then a trip to Harris Teeter to stock up on groceries.
finally, home to make dinner and do some laundry.

and there's nobody else i'd rather be with while doing all this boring life stuff. he makes me laugh so much my stomach hurts. i love being his family.

speaking of family, this morning i couldn't even get out of bed because baby was kicking and moving around so much. it was so cool to watch, and was totally worth being an hour late to work.

sunday night cookies.

apart from church yesterday, we didn't leave the house for one minute yesterday. what a lazy, lazy sunday. we bought a memory foam mattress topper and after 2 nights of blissful sleep, i can officially state that it has officially changed our lives. officially. it's divine. (and it was so affordable, too!)

after a day of laying around, we decided to make late night chocolate chip cookies. i tried a new recipe that included 2 types of vanilla and 3 types of chocolate. hello favorite cookies ever. plus TH helped and he never helps me bake, so i am going to say that making cookies with love always makes them better.

then i spent the evening watching that dumb bachelorette show - i cannot wait for it to be over so i'm not addicted anymore. total waste of time.

and i started the elegance of the hedgehog for the 3rd time. maybe 3rd times the charm?

hooray for sundays and hooray for houses being full of love.