It's a GIRL!!!!! We think!

We are now into week 22 of our pregnancy and I think that after 21 weeks of sickness, I may finally be moving past that point. Just in time for the waddling and body aches and pains to really kick in. Work has really been hard on my body. It is amazing how much pressure a 9 pound baby bump can have on your back and legs. Add my boobs to the mix and I am ready to fall flat on my face. I'm grateful that I have only gained 9 pounds, but it sure feels like I am carrying around a whole lot more. Not to mention my baby bump looks like a extra large watermelon. I enjoy my baby bump, but I am not enjoying the looks of my feet. I figure since my feet are so long that I will be able to see them throughout the duration of my pregnancy, but I would rather not be able to see them at this point. 


We had a very exciting week last week. My mom came to town for our ultrasound. We kept real busy on Monday and all day Tuesday to make the time fly until our 4pm appointment. Patrick, my mom and I piled into the tiny ultrasound room with my fantastic ultrasound tech. I was so afraid that the baby was not going to be in a position that we could tell if she is a boy or a girl, and I was right. What I didn't know was the entertainment that she was going to be providing for us. I had been feeling her movements for about 3 weeks now, and the week before our ultrasound they were getting much more intense. As soon as she came up on the screen, we could see her entire body sprawled out, with her legs completely crossed and her hands resting behind her head. Ummmm is she sunbathing. She certainly looks comfortable. Oh and she has found herself a nice comfy pillow on my bladder which is a whole lot of fun for me. She was awake, and she was having a whole lot of fun with us. 


She would tease us and open her legs just the slightest and then slam them shut again. I have to say, she has great legs. The tech had to keep jabbing me with the ultrasound wand which really hurt, and made me super nervous. I had to stand up, bounce around, do some stretches, empty my bladder and roll from side to side. While waiting for her to find a new pose, we had a great tour of her entire anatomy. I was amazed at everything you can see during an ultrasound like the four chambers of the heart and the sections of the brain. About 30 minuets in, our tech said "I just cant even give you a guess". Then the baby gave her a quick glimpse and she said, I'm thinking it's a girl. Patrick replies "Maybe its a boy and he's a grower not a shower" He will say anything to embarrass me. We were approaching an hour, which was making me nervous to have the machine on me and the baby for so long, and the tech said "She has those legs shut so tight" Patrick replies "and they will stay that way until she is 35". For the grand finale, she did a complete somersault and put her hand over her face as though she had enough and wanted to be left alone. 

The ultrasound tech felt 90% confident that we are having a baby GIRL!!!!!! I have felt since day one that our baby is a girl so 90% is enough for me. She has such a personality already, I'm sure that we are going to have our hands full. 

One night can change your life!

Three years ago on a very special day, Molly & Johnny's Wedding Day, I met my husband! I think that it is a pretty great story, and definitely a night that I will never forget. Not just because it was the night that Patrick & I met, but it was also a very beautiful day. Over the past 3 years, we met, we moved in together, we got engaged, we adopted Ellie-Mae, we got married and now we are expecting our 1st baby on December 31st. These past 3 years have been incredible! 

Me & Molly

At the time of Molly & Johnny's wedding I was single. I had never attended a wedding without a date, and I was not thrilled about the idea. A few weeks before the wedding when I had to make the decision to go alone or with a +1, Molly said "come alone, you can dance with the Best Man." 

Finding out that the Best Man was 6'7 and knowing that I would definitely be wearing 4 inch heals, that didn't sound like such a bad idea. So the decision was made, I would go solo. 

Johnny & Patrick

At the wedding ceremony, I got to get a good look at this Best Man.  I really wasn't trying to check him out, well maybe just a little, but he's kinda hard to miss. During the ceremony Molly started to feel a little faint, and the Best Man rushed to find her a glass of water. Guess who just won his first dance. 

Patrick giving his Best Man Speech

Dance #2 was easily won during Patrick's Best Man speech. It was the best speech given by a Best Man that I have ever heard. He was very funny, very charming and most importantly, very sincere. You could definitely tell how much he loved Molly & Johnny. 


Very quickly after dinner, Patrick found his way over to me. He asked me to dance and I suddenly was terrified. I told him that I needed to have a drink first, and he was quick to head over to the bar to get me one even though I had one in my hand already, and anyone who knows me well knows that one drink will last me an entire night. 


Now I found myself with two drinks and a very charming and persistent boy who was trying to pull me onto the dance floor. Somehow he got me out onto the floor and kept me there all night. I should tell you that I have absolutely no skills in dancing at weddings. I can get by during a slow song, but speed things up and I don't know what to do with myself other than 1 or 2 moves that have been my go to moves my entire life. Let's also throw in the fact that Patrick was a stranger, and something about him was making me very nervous. Oh and he's an AMAZING dancer. So what was I to do, I stood in the middle of the dance floor and laughed hysterically while Patrick danced around me and spun me around in circles. I would have rethought the 4 inch heals if I would have know the extreme dancing the night was going to bring me. 

2 months after we met, dancing at a bar after another wedding.

The final song was playing and the night was coming to an end. After our last dance we separated and I grabbed my purse. Patrick came running over and said "are you leaving" I told him that I was. I rode with a group of friends and we were on our way out. Then Patrick offered to give me a ride home which made no sense at all since the wedding was in Lemont, Patrick lived in Orland Park, my car was in Palos Park and I was lived in LaGrange. What I found out later was that Patrick loved that it didn't make any sense. His plan was to take me to Orland, which did not happen. He did however manage to get my phone number and a very innocent goodnight kiss. 

I had no idea at the time that my life had just been blessed and changed forever. 

Patrick & I grew up in the same town 1 mile apart. We attended the same schools although at different times due to a 5 year age gap. Patrick & my brother graduated Jr. High and High School together. Patrick used to ride his bike over to our house to hang out with my brother when I was younger. We even have videos from 20 years ago of Chris and Pat at our house. We both swam for POSA throughout our childhood years. Patrick worked at The Plush horse and I'm certain that he served me ice cream more than once. As adults we both frequented the same bar, with many of the same crowds, but somehow our paths didn't really collide until my childhood best friend and his best friend married. I truly believe that our paths didn't truly cross until then because we just went ready for each other until the day we danced. 

The last dance at our wedding

Happy Dating anniversary Patrick!

I Love you!

Happy Anniversary Molly & Johnny!

We love you very much, and we will be forever grateful to you both for bringing us together.

This week in Pregnancy

This week has been a much better week to me. To start, I only threw up once and that was only because I choked on my gigantic prenatal vitamin, again. My allergies are still an everyday issue and battle, but the awful sinus headaches have given me a bit of a break since Monday. Sleeping is still difficult, mainly because I just cant seem to get comfortable. I flip from hip to hip all night long, and my hips have been feeling the abuse. We went for a walk on Friday night and I woke up Saturday morning with an awful pain/cramp in the back of my right leg. It caused me great concern all of Saturday, but I'm pretty sure that my new pregnancy stride has something to do with it. I have been seeing the chiropractor twice a week and I'm not sure what I would do without him, Thank You Tim you are the very best. I was able to eat and enjoy food all week. Unfortunately my husband has been indulging in daddy cravings and stocked the house with junk food that I lectured him about and then ate. My baby bump has had a major growth spurt, but the number on the scale has not. At 18 weeks I have only gained 7 pounds which as of this morning dropped to 6. I'm not sure how that happened, especially since I had my share of junk food this week. Here is a side by side of weeks 14 & 18.

I think that I look like two different people in these photos. It is amazing what a difference 4 weeks can bring. My bump has clearly grown, and apparently the rest of me is shrinking. I'm not sure if my face was just bloated at 14 weeks, or if I am just loosing weight in my face. I think it's a combo of both. When I first started telling my friends that I was pregnant, I had started showing right way. All of my girlfriends that have had children said that it was just bloat and it would go down. Well the only directions that my baby bump has moved is up and out. Now my girlfriends are convinced that I am having twins due to the size of my growing bump. I was very open about the fact that I was on fertility treatment during our struggle to conceive, but I only took two cycles of treatment and then went off due to sickness. I was off the treatment for three months when we conceived naturally. I had an ultrasound at 8 weeks and there looks to be only one baby in there. Maybe the other is just hiding :)

On August 16th we will be having our 2nd ultrasound. I can't wait to see how much the baby has grow, and to find out if we are having a boy or a girl. I still constantly refer to the baby as she, but maybe that is only because most of the babies I'm around are girls. It seems like now most people think that the baby is a boy. I'm still leaning toward it being a girl. Which ever sex the baby may be, I'm thrilled either way. There will be many more babies to come. I think that we have agreed on a girls name. We are still working on a boys name. I also think that we will keep the name to ourselves until the baby is born. It amazes me how many people have such strong opinions on what you want to name your baby. I know that my name choices are a bit whimsical, comical and uncommon, but it's my baby. My friends know that they can tell me how ridiculous that they think a name like Topanga or Sparrow is and I wont be offended but that doesn't go for everyone. It is hard enough for Patrick and I to agree on the name. Once it is set in stone, I do not need anyone trying to change our mind. 

Building our Baby's Nursery

Since the moment that I found out that I was pregnant, I have been dreaming up ideas for our baby's nursery. 16 more days until we find out the baby's gender, and I am ready to get this room designed. I want to build and elegant room with a vintage style. My eye is drawn to white cribs with some sort of beautiful detail. Today we spent the day in Naperville shopping around for baby furniture. Of course the furniture that I fell in love with was the most expensive in the showroom, but aren't these sets beautiful?

The baby's room is going to be the room that I am currently sitting at my desk in typing this. This room in our house is currently a guest room/office/home of my orchids room. This room is also what Ellie believes is her private bedroom, and my moms favorite room to stay in when she visits. I'm pretty sure that my mom will be happy to give this room over to the baby, but Ellie may be a different story. 

I have been googling elegant nursery's for inspiration, and these are some of my favorites. 

We have wood floors throughout most of our house, but not currently in the bedrooms. Our garage is full of a large stack of wood that Patrick has been planning on putting into the bedrooms. This pile of hardwood has been sitting in our garage for 3 years. I think today that I have finally convinced Patrick to install the wood floors into the baby's room. I know that most people think carpet is better suited for a baby's room, and Patrick is one of those people, but I truly hate carpet. I don't care if its the cleanest carpet in the world, or brand new, I cant stand it. After much debate, I think that I have won this battle. Now I just wonder if he will install it in time for the baby's arrival :) 

Grilled Chicken Summer Salad

This salad is so refreshing and so delicious, I could eat it everyday. It is so simple to make. The ingredients are very similar to my summer chicken salad. I wanted to come up with another meal that incorporated similar ingredients since they are already in the house.


1- Lettuce of your choice
2- Pecans
3- Blueberry Craisins
4- Mozzarella Cheese
5- Grilled Chicken Breast
6- Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing 


Tonight we are making Turkey Taco's. I've been thinking about them all day and I can't wait for Patrick to get home so we can start cooking. As you can tell, I've been on a streak with being able to eat and enjoy my food :) Maybe the baby was getting tired of starving. 

Fruity Chicken Salad

I do not do much of the cooking in our house. My husband is a fantastic cook, and I really think that he enjoys doing it on most days. My dad is also a fantastic cook, and growing up he always made me wonderful meals, even in my difficult vegetarian days. Now I eat chicken, fish and occasionally turkey, which makes things a bit easier for my husband, but he still asks me on a regular basis to expand my meat options, no thank you.  He did mention recently that it would probably be a good idea for me to pick up some skills so that I could cook for and feed our children. It is very important to me that our children have a healthy and well rounded diet full of fresh organic fruits & veggies and delicious homemade meals. Thankfully I still have some time before baby #1 is born and even more time before he/she starts eating solid foods. 


Finally in week 17 of my pregnancy I developed an appetite, and am somewhat confident that I can eat without getting sick, hopefully this will last. Last week out of the blue I started to think about a fruity chicken salad recipe that my mom has made for me a few times while visiting her. I instantly had to have it. I called my mom to go over a few things and I ran to the store at 6:30 pm to get my ingredients. I have made it twice now over the past 2 weeks and last night I took some pictures to share the recipe for you. It is a nice, light, refreshing summertime meal great for lunch or dinner time. I think it is also very appealing to children to eat and make. 


            Ingredients I used (without proper measurements) and instructions - 2 adult servings

2 Chicken Breasts, about 4 oz each - I boil the chicken breasts on the stove, well actually this part I do have Patrick do. I have come a long way, but I'm still not a fan of handling raw chicken. This process takes about 15 min. depending on the size of your chicken. Another easy option is to put the chicken breast in the crock pot in the morning and let it cook all day. 


After the chicken is fully cooked, let it cool before pulling it to shreds, unless you want to burn your hands like I did. If you are in a hurry, or starving, pop it in the fridge for 5 minuets. Once your chicken is cool, pull it apart into shreds. I cut the breast into a few sections and then pull it apart. Now toss your shredded chicken into a large bowl. 

Now that your shredded chicken is in a large bowl, the next step I like to do is to go ahead and add in your mayo, miracle whip or my preference vegenaise (we were all out so I settled for mayo). I prefer a light coating, but add as you please. I also believe that fresh lemon, or lemon juice belongs in every good meal. After I add my mayo, I add a few squirts of fresh lemon, or in today's case, a few squirts from the real lemon bottle. 

Now that your chicken is nicely coated with your mayo and lemon juice, next I like to add in some pecans and blueberry craisins. These were whole pecans that I cracked into pieces. I'd say that this was about 1/2 cup pecans and 1/2 cup blueberry  craisins. 

And for the final touch, I added in some fresh blueberries and grapes. Again I used about 1/2 cup of grapes and 1/2 cup of blueberries. I don't think measuring is necessary for this recipe. Add as much or little as you please. 




And now you have yourself a delicious and refreshing summertime meal. Enjoy!

Ellie-Mae & Pregnancy

In the beginning of my pregnancy Ellie-Mae was a little unsure about how she felt about the whole thing. She is a hound dog and her sense of smell is very impressive to say the least. I'm pretty sure that she knew that I was pregnant before I did. She started acting out like a toddler who just got the news that her parents were having a new baby. I was really concerned that we were going to have a difficult 9 months together.


 I had/have no doubt that she is going to be amazing with the baby. Claire, our neighbor and friends 2 year old daughter is Ellie's very best friend. They love to play together. Claire is fearless and has always gone right in for kisses and hugs. Claire goes right for Ellie's mouth sharing her outdoor toys and feeding her sticks. Ellie patrols the neighborhood and is always on guard around Claire's house. If anyone that Ellie doesn't recognize pulls in their driveway, Ellie goes crazy. Not always the reaction that we are looking for considering that all of the guests are wanted, but it's nice to know that Ellie is looking out for her. It may be different when the baby is ours and is living in the house full time and receiving a lot of our attention, but I anticipate Ellie being a wonderful big sister. 


When I was born my parents had 2 doberman who had 14 puppies. Greta, was the momma, and my protector. She stayed on guard at my bedroom door and under my crib. If you wanted to get to me, you had to get through her first. I loved her puppies and I thought that I was one of them. 


Things quickly turned around with Ellie and my pregnancy once I started to get really sick, which happened pretty fast and has not gone away. Ellie has been so loving and supportive. I have had to spend many days in bed, and Ellie is right there with me taking care of me. At night she falls asleep in my arms spooning the other side of my pregnancy pillow. She eventually makes her way down to the end of the bed, but always keeps constant contact with me. Most nights she places her paws against my feet. When Patrick goes to work in the morning, she moves into his spot in bed. We enjoy a couple of more hours of sleep and then she rolls over into my arms for a belly rub. After her belly rub, she rests her head on my baby bump. 

Ellie-Mae laying between my legs resting against my baby bump

On the days that I am sick in bed, she stays there with me and gives me constant comfort. The many times that I have had to run to the bathroom to throw up, she has run with me and been there to soothe me. When I'm feeling overwhelmed and so terribly sick that I start to cry, she licks the tears from my face and snuggles me until I start to laugh. 

On a very sick day. Don't I look pretty! Ellie was literally hugging me in bed for hours.

I feel very blessed and grateful that we have Ellie-Mae in our life. Dogs are a true blessing and it amazes me every day at how much they truly enrich our life. 


On a sad note, My friend April lost her amazing dog today. Anyone who has lost a dog knows how difficult and sad it is to lose such an important member of the family. My thoughts are with April and her family today as they say goodbye to Chance.