Welcome to Hollewood

June 4, 2014

What the Kale?

The last few weeks have been crazy with the end of the school year and the beginning of summer, i.e. Cookout Season. I can’t even remember the last time I really made dinner, what with constantly meeting up with friends and being out of town. When we are home, we throw something on the grill. I must have had some kind of dinner aspirations last week, however, because there was a lovely, leafy bunch of kale in my refrigerator eyeing me every time I opened the door to refill my water (tanning in the backyard is quite dehydrating.) So, we threw the cheddar brats on the grill and I wondered what to do with nature’s superfood giving me the stinkeye from behind the fridge door.

I poked around and found half an onion, 6 mushrooms, half of a lemon, and an open Manager’s Special package of bacon (which means it’s the organic center cut good stuff we ~~don’t usually~~ absolutely never spend money on!) I sauteed the onions and mushrooms, tossed in the kale to wilt, doused it all in fresh lemon juice and salt & pepper, and crumbled some hot, crunchy bacon on top. Incredibly tasty. And satisfying, knowing that apparently kale is so good for you it can singlehandedly stop fracking, cure melanoma, and save baby seals.

May 29, 2014

April Showers Bring May Showers

Eric and I have been extremely fortunate and undoubtedly grateful for the love our family and friends have shown us these last few weeks. We have had three (!) baby showers, and counting. It is truly unbelievable how many people have showered us with kind thoughts and generous gifts. In April, we traveled to Cleveland where my mom threw us our first baby shower. I sadly don’t have any photos from this event, but I think my sister-in-law does and so I will track them down in order to give that party its proper, full-detail, blog post dues. All I’ll say right now is WOW…THANK YOU, MOM.

In May, my lovely girlfriends from Vail hosted a baby shower for me in downtown Denver. We had a delicious brunch and we all got to catch up after being apart for way too long. And we missed those of you that couldn’t make it! Thank you, ladies!

Later in May, my amazing coworkers hosted a baby shower for me after school. I had no idea how wonderfully crafty they are and how adorably cute the shower would turn out! As we don’t know if we’re having a boy or a girl, they decorated the party in a gender-neutral black-and-yellow bumblebee theme. Since donuts have been my favorite part of being pregnant, they made sure to get Krispy Kremes, striped in black and yellow, with chocolate covered pretzels pushed in to look like bumblebee wings!

We played some fun games and enjoyed all of the delicious food. I really couldn’t believe the generosity of our staff, either. The pile of gifts was almost embarrassing (almost!) Perhaps the cutest gift came from the almost-all-male Social Studies department. In what appeared to be a cupcake box, I found onesie “cupcakes” rolled up with teeny-tiny sock “icing!” Genius.

Of course, this shower would not have been possible without these beautiful colleagues:

Thank you, thank you, thank you to my awesome special education team for putting this together. Chandler thanks you, too!

May 11, 2014

Happy Mother’s Day!

Mom pregnant with me, 1981. Lakewood, OH.

Mother’s Day is a holiday that I haven’t spent in person with my mom since, oh, probably 1998. In the middle of May, I would have been in college, at OU, and then I moved to Colorado. It’s possible I might have been home in Cleveland during mud season, but I can’t recall for sure. So Mom, I’m sorry I haven’t been there with you for sixteen years on Mother’s Day. (And I won’t be there this year, either.) I just hope that next year we’ll be together–you, me, and Chandler, for Mother’s Day. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!

Mother's Day 2014. It's snowing, Chandler. — Mother’s Day 2014.

April 23, 2014April 23, 2014

I Swear We’re Not Having Twins

I’ve been getting pretty consistent feedback that I’m big.

“You’re not due until August? Really?!”
“Are you sure there’s only one in there?”
“You’re waddling! Must be getting close!” (there will be a follow up post on this one…)

My doctor is on the other end of the spectrum, claiming that since I’m “so tall and skinny it just makes me look big.” She gets bonus points for her bedside manner, by the way. At our 22 week ultrasound the technician mentioned Chandler has large feet, but in all other ways our baby is normally sized. Here are a few photos of my belly!

April 11 was College Tee Day at school. This is what I look like in normal clothes. — April 11 was College Day at school. This is what I look like in normal clothes.

We had another doctor’s appointment today. Chandler is growing and all is well!

April 23, 2014

Meet Chandler

We didn’t find out the sex of the baby. We like to call the baby Chandler, because it’s one of those names that could go either way. I should be very clear here that although we like the name Chandler and encourage others to use it, WE ARE NOT NAMING THE BABY CHANDLER. Here are a few of the early shots of Chandler!

December 18 we heard the heartbeat for the first time.

December 26 and shim is growing! — December 26 and Chandler is growing!

January 8 Chandler was so active we couldn't find a heartbeat on the doppler, so we had another ultrasound. All is well! — January 8 Chandler was so active we couldn’t find a heartbeat on the Doppler, so we had another ultrasound. All is well!

I have been very fortunate to feel 100% awesome this entire pregnancy. No pain, no exhaustion, no extra trips to the doctor for anything worrisome. We postponed our “20 week” ultrasound (in quotes because you can get them as early as 18) so that my mom could come with us when she visited over Spring Break. These shots show Chandler at just shy of 22 weeks.

Chandler would not stop moving around. We might have the world's blurriest ultrasound photos. — Chandler would not stop moving around. We might have the world’s blurriest ultrasound photos.

It’s crazy to think the next time we see this miniature person she or he will be in our arms. Until then we’ll enjoy the frequent flips and spins as Chandler hardly ever rests!

April 13, 2014April 23, 2014

Soy Pollo

I had a package of chicken thighs in the freezer, with which I usually make Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup. I don’t particularly love chicken thighs, but I do love that soup. The problem? It contains not only (evil) beans but also (devil) corn and corn tortillas. In other words, NOT paleo-friendly. So I looked for another recipe for chicken thighs in the crockpot (sans beans, corn, and other foods that make meals taste delicious) and came across this Crockpot Honey Sesame Chicken.

Green onions and sesame seeds make food pretty. — Scallions & sesame seeds make food pretty.

The recipe is simple, and I even substituted cornstarch for coconut flour to thicken the sauce. Eric loved it. As it’s an Asian-inspired dish, it contains a significant amount of soy sauce. And, since Eric is paleo, he omitted the bed of rice and just went for a giant pile of chicken. Which led to Eric joking, “Soy Pollo!”

April 4, 2014April 23, 2014

Italian Paleo Surprise

It’s Friday night. The refrigerator is doing a great job keeping the milk and soy sauce cold. We’re on a mission to eat in as much as possible. I did take a pound of ground turkey out of the freezer earlier this week, so there’s that.

What else? Half of a red bell pepper, an onion, 2 garlic cloves, a jar of marinara sauce. Some parm for garnish. Wait! What’s that behind the pickles? A container of Manager’s Special mozzarella balls, only half-gone. Score!

I always shop for Manager's Specials. I'd never pay full price for treats like balls of cheese. — I always shop for Manager’s Specials. I’d never pay full price for treats like balls of cheese.

Eric went Paleo in January, but didn’t really get strict about it until March. I am not on the Paleo bandwagon. Pregnant or not, I’m not giving up Panera bread or cereal. Or oatmeal. Or pasta. But, I try to be a good wife, and I’m the resident cook, so I try to make sure Eric has a Paleo option at every meal. Mostly he subsists on salads and leftover dinner meats, and he cooks himself bacon and eggs every day for breakfast.

Occasionally I really want macaroni and cheese (Horizon beats Annie’s), and he gets what he can find. But usually I pull through and on nights like tonight we eat something resembling a meal.

Meat and cheese in a bowl. It makes Eric happy.

Yes, I know we’re really just eating spaghetti sauce in a bowl, but I made it sound fancier than that, right?

March 27, 2014

Visiting Jess

I just got back from Washington, where I was celebrating Jess’ upcoming June nuptials at perhaps the most untraditional bachelorette party of all time. We shopped Seattle on Sunday, and boarded a water taxi bound for Blakely Island on Monday, just the two of us.

Blakely Island is pure Northwestern bliss. Damp, chilly, scenic, rustic. We stayed in a friend’s cabin and hiked in the sun, cooked gourmet meals, and caught up on life, love, and the latest issues of Country Living.

Sidenote: Do not mock the Country Living. For all you people that like the way our house is decorated…Country Living is my guide!

The baby thoroughly enjoyed the trip. We’re both getting bigger day by day, and we both feel superb. I hope it stays this way so I can shop for a maternity matron of honor dress and heave myself down the aisle at 35 weeks at Gilbert Cellars in Yakima, WA.

February 24, 2014

An Alarming Rate

I started showing a couple of weeks ago, right before my birthday. Fortunately, it’s winter, so it’s been easy to hide underneath sweaters. And God Bless leggings. Fashion is on my side. Here is a picture from Saturday, February 22nd.

That there is a bump under those maternity jeans.

On Sunday, I could have sworn I was bigger than the day before. Katie remarked, “Wow! You’re really carrying low!” And today, Monday, it became completely obvious to complete strangers that I am totally and completely pregnant.

Could also be the box of Samoas a Girl Scout made me buy.

February 13, 2014

The Difference Between Our Last Hike and the Next Hike

A lot can happen between two birthdays. On Eric’s birthday, November 10^th, we got the green light for IUI. On my birthday, today, February 13^th, we’re announcing that we’re just about 16 weeks pregnant.

YAY! That means a due date (or as I like to think of it, 20 day window) of August 4^th.

I’m sure many people have figured this out, seeing as how we posted our story and then followed up with pretty much nothing. Sorry about that! We have known since November 22^nd that the IUI was successful. But we felt that we couldn’t be too careful, so we kept our secret as long as we could. We did tell our families over Christmas at 8 weeks, which I was nervous about because 8 weeks is early to share for someone with a history of miscarriage. But there was no way I could pretend to drink that much holiday wine, beer, and booze for so many days without someone catching on.

The weeks went by, and I never felt sick, never felt tired, never had to miss work. I also didn’t look pregnant (ok, maybe a little, but that also could have been Christmas cookies and my new love for doughnuts). Having already established that I drink gin & tonics, it was easy to drink soda water with lime when out with friends. I kept on going to yoga and I kept on skiing.

I also had to take Crinone, Estrace, Folgard, Levothyroxine, and a prenatal to support our pregnancy. I’ve since weaned off the progesterone and estrogen, but will remain on the Folgard (for MTHFR) and Levothyroxine (for thyroid), and of course, prenatal vitamins, for the duration of pregnancy.

We’ve had several appointments and everything about the baby is right on track. We’ve had 4 or 5 ultrasounds (side benefit of fertility clinics!) and seen our bean waving at us, doing backflips, and beating his or her miniscule heart. The doctor has assured us we have no reason to worry.

So now, finally, we can write our baby blog. Eric and I are absolutely thrilled. We think Lilly knows, too. She lays her head on my belly sometimes and I can tell she is protective and maybe a bit nervous. We are looking forward to the next few months of preparation, adventure, and rest. I promise I’ll be better about writing now that I’m not keeping any secrets!