18 Weeks

Misunderstandings at Work

Apparently people around "the office" think I'm 18 and knocked up. I'm always dumbfounded initially at some of the comments, then they just strike me as funny.

The first one: "So, you decided to keep the baby." Um, duh.

Yesterday: "So, are you going to get married?" I gave him a quizzical look.

I know word gets around, faster than wildfire, because a new person every few days comes up and asks about the pregnancy. So how did they all miss the part that I'm married, have been for a few years, and this is a good thing?

Milestone

Tonight I felt the baby move for the first time. I was laying on the couch listening to my Ella Fitzgerald station on Pandora, with a little Edith Piaf and other fabulous French artists thrown in, when the baby started dancing. Or, at least that's what I'm calling it. It was the softest thump-thumping on my inside - not regular like my heartbeat, or like the beat of the music, but steady enough to know that it was the baby. I had a caramel tart in the oven that was about to burn, but I was so hesitant to get up for fear of not feeling the baby again for a few days. I know that I won't notice it most of the time for another few weeks, especially when I'm busy working, but tonight was such a special moment.

A Peek Into Our Home

So my Midwestern friend and my Northeastern friend were curious about our house. They probably think we're living in the middle of a cow field in a darling little ranch house. Kidding!

Here's just a peek at some of my favorite spots.







And finally, Luke, just home from work, explaining a funny story from the day. I was on the porch enjoying the nice weather when he surprised me by showing up from work early. I love when that happens!

Insomnia!

Can't sleep. So exhausted, but my mind won't turn off for the night. The day felt wasted. Woke up on the wrong side of the bed, wrestled with Molly at the vet and left there terribly embarrassed at her behavior and a couple hundred dollars poorer, and then was a lazy bum the rest of the day. Luke calls it my "recharge day", while I say I wasted it. Because I don't feel any more rested or recharged. So now I sit here lamenting over the fact that nothing got done and making a list mentally of all of the things I want to do during my insomniatic (new word?) hours. Luke will wake up to 1. a spotlessly clean house and/or 2. a tired and hormonal wife who still needs more sleep and has yet to clean the house. It could go either way at this point.

I keep waiting for the nesting tendencies to kick in. I guess mentally they have, but they aren't expressing themselves physically yet. My list of to-do grows longer by the minute, but my energy and desire to actually get started on the projects doesn't keep up. It's also hard because we have a roommate occupying what will be the nursery, so I can't do much until he moves out. We haven't started preparing for this baby at all. Luke is of the mindset that we should just wait to get everything after the baby is born. Panic! No way! He's right in that we don't have a space to put stuff for another 2 months, but it's killing me to sit around and do nothing. Part of it is time - which I have little of these days. Work has taken over my life...while I enjoy it very much, it leaves little room for getting stuff done around here. Also, we're headed into holiday season, which means overtime and gingerbread house construction off the clock. Sigh.

On a brighter note - Luke had a dream that our baby is a girl. Woke up absolutely convinced, and he is even saying "our daughter". I think it's the sweetest thing, and I really hope he is right. He used to lament that he was surrounded by too many women - he has two sisters, and me, and my two sisters, his two nieces, plus both of our moms, plus the dog. But after this dream of his, he's having the most fun trying to think of girl names, and saying how he can't wait to have all of his girls around him. Now what if we have a boy?! Watching his excitement over this baby makes me love him even more. He is going to be an amazing father. He's already the best husband, especially in dealing with my pregnancy moods.

Fun with Belly

Earlier today I learned that if I slouch just right, I can balance a yogurt cup on my belly now. I told Luke about it, and of course he thought it was the funniest thing ever. So he had a bit of fun at my expense, having me balance a plate of chocolate chip cookies on my belly.

Not quite big enough for that yet - it kept sliding off. Although from this angle, my stomach looks enormous!! It's really not that big yet. But it's funny to see how my body changes each week. We've been snapping pictures of me every week to put into a book later on. It'll be nice to look back on this during subsequent pregnancies and see how it differs.

Belly!

I take the worst pictures. I laugh, I smile, I grimace - doesn't matter - they all look dumb. But, Luke managed to catch a couple cute belly pictures. This is me at 16 weeks.


Had my latest doc appointment this morning - everything is coming along well. Next month we find out if it's a boy or girl! Everyone keeps saying that we shouldn't find out what we're having, because "it's the last great surprise in life". Though that may be true, I'm too much of a planner to not know what I'm having. At least the first time around. Perhaps we'll keep the gender of the second baby a surprise. Besides, if you're in the camp of "don't find out", then don't ask what we're having. I won't tell you. It'll be a surprise to you.

Also, my cousin Talia just had her first baby - a beauty of a girl named Aubrina.Congrats Tal and Mark! You're going to be great parents. Can't wait to meet Aubrina!

A Day Well Spent

I had a Saturday off of work for the first time in months, so Luke and I were able to spend the entire day together. I haven't really seen him for more than an hour or two most days since starting this job. I woke up feeling quite sick, which was a bummer, but by the end of the day whatever it was started to pass. We went grocery shopping, had lunch while watching The Office premiere online, read a little, cleaned the house a little, washed the dog, cooked a fabulous dinner, and then settled down for the evening with a movie and dessert. Nothing too exciting, you may think, but to us it was the perfect day.

Curried Pumpkin Soup

Grape, Rosemary, and Asiago focaccia

Chocolate and Cherry Bread Pudding

Parenting

Luke and I have started our parenting philosophy discussions - these will be ongoing until the day God calls us home to him, since we'll never be done with the parenting process, but it's exciting to start them up. Of course, we had small discussions about parenting during our dating/engagement period, because who enters into marriage without talking about big stuff (ok, some people do, but those aren't the smart ones)? Now that we have a baby on the way, it has become real to us, and we'll actually have to put into practice soon what we are just discussing today.

So, we ran through a couple topics tonight, like discussing how our parents raised us and what we liked and/or didn't like about their methods, and how we can merge those ideas and bring in our own. My biggest fear has been discipline - specifically, being consistent in it. Kids are cuties and they can easily manipulate. A friend of mine gave me a great example tonight. She told the story of a little girl she knows who, whenever she's in the midst of her punishment or is about to be punished, turns to her dad and says, "Daddy, can we go talk about Jesus now?" That girl must win EVERY SINGLE TIME! Who can say no to that? And girls are smart - they learn early on how to work the system, while I'm not sure that boys every really figure it out. Granted, there are exceptions. Since I think we're having a girl, we're in for a whole heap of trouble here! Luke especially, because even our dog Molly knows how to push his buttons.

Thankfully I was reminded tonight by the same friend that though we may not always see it, God is working in us and through us, and we are free to enjoy relationships. So I'm trusting Him to work through us and in us as we take on this new role of parents. There is much grace extended, and though we will definitely make mistakes with our children, God is still working in their lives. Praise God for that!

On another parenting note, I found this fun website. It's a guy who posts a new rule every day or so, to his unborn son. It'd be fun to start a list like that for my son or daughter, with things that I've learned over my lifetime.

Look!

Luke helped me put this cute little countdown ticker on our blog page. Now you can see how far along I am.

Today felt like fall. I'm sure it's just a passing thing, but I was so excited when I stepped out of the house this morning. I immediately wished I had grabbed a sweatshirt to bring with me, but I'm not even sure where they are at this point! The forecast says it'll warm up by the end of the week, but at least we have some cooler evenings ahead.

On another note - Hurricane Ike has made it quite difficult for us to communicate with the family. Both sides are without power, for probably the next 3 weeks or so. Which means limited phone calls to preserve battery power. It's so annoying, since I'm used to talking to the family a few times a week, especially now that I'm pregnant, because Dave calls with the countdown most mornings.

I'm ready for a couple days off, which will thankfully come around mid-week. I'll actually make it to Bible study, although the way my schedule works, it might be the only time this year that I get to go. Sigh. I'm bringing Luke with me to my doctor's appointment this week so he can hear the heartbeat for the first time.

And - I have a project that I'll be starting on this week: a mobile for the baby's room.
(photo courtesy of Spool via Ohdeedoh)

Baby, Baby

I had my doctor's appointment today! I'm officially at 10 weeks and 1 day, due March 29. Time has flown by since we found out about the baby, and we are so excited about meeting our first child. I was also relieved to see that I'm not ginormously huge either according to the scale. Everything has shifted, so I feel quite large since the pants are fitting differently. I was able to hear the heartbeat - fast and strong, and the nurse practitioner had no problem finding it. Our baby is hanging out near the surface, probably waving "Hi, Mom!"

Mom - that word has so much new meaning to me these days. It's very strange, because I've been using that word for 25 years (well, less than that, since I didn't come into this world speaking). I've always had a mom, but now I will be a mom. No, really I feel like I already am one, even though my baby has yet to grace this world. I smile when I think about the baby growing, knowing that even though I can't feel him or her yet, she's safe inside of me. I panic when I think about juggling work and a new baby. I pray constantly for the safety of our child and that Luke and I would be good, Godly parents to him.

I've been blessed so far with a morning-sickness-free 1st trimester. I had a couple weeks where it was a little rough, but thankfully it faded so that I was able to keep up with work, and apart from eating all of the time and not having much energy, I feel pretty good! A friend of mine sent me an article stating that the sicker you are during your pregnancy, the greater your chances of having a girl. So, we must be having a boy. But - my grandmother never had morning sickness, and she had 3 girls, so I'm holding out for a girl still. 

And yes, I did have a craving for pickles for about 4 days. 

We're Still Around!

It's been so long since I've updated the blog...apologies!! No new pics this time around but we'll have some good ones really soon, I promise. We're settled into the new house, and Mom came up yesterday to help organize a bit, since I was stumped on how to fit all of our furniture into what has become a smaller space than I thought. I'm such a packrat, so I really need to get rid of a lot! We've already donated 15 boxes of items to Goodwill, and I'm sorting through everything again, trying to find more to let go of. It's just so hard! I find sentimental value in everything. My sister and Luke can detach themselves from anything (except shoes and electronics, respectively), so they really don't suffer from the paper-pile-up syndrome. I'm hoping to surprise Luke with a whole new load of things to take to Goodwill tonight when he gets home from work.

We decided to find a house closer into town this time, and we absolutely love the area. It's a very quick trip to downtown (yay!) and it's an easy drive back up north if we want to head that way, and Luke can pick up the bus and take it most of the way to work, where he can get a 3 mile bike ride in from there, which he's attempting for the first time today. I made him wear his helmet, as much as he hates the way it looks!

Exciting news...I just got a job with the Four Seasons Hotel! I start next week, with orientation, but not sure what my schedule will be like beyond that. I'm very excited about it!

Denning Family Reunion

My parents' new house

Our 100 foot slip-n-slide. I have an enormous bruise on my hip and I feel like I cracked my ribs.

4th of July celebration

My lemon meringue pie - delicious!

Funny shots of Molly - Luke always manages to catch the best moments.

The reunion was tons of fun - we slipped and slided (or slid, whatever....), ate tons of food, and set off fireworks. We had to hose one off of the roof but managed to not have any accidents. Remarkable, since the guys love to aim them at the trees and each other.

Also - Luke and I found a house! We're just renting for now, until we decide what area of town we want to buy in. The house is just so darn cute! We'll post pics once we get moved in.

Back in Texas

We made it back to Texas safely - no major delays, and Molly did well on the flight, as far as we know. She wasn't too freaked out when we picked her up upon landing, so I'm guessing it wasn't too frightening for her. We stayed with Luke's parents for a night, then my parents, and then off to Austin for...an interview!

I go back for more interviews next week, so I'll post details after I hear back about the job. But - I'm very excited about this one and I hope it works out! It's strange, because it's not quite what I thought I'd be doing. I mean, I'd always hoped for this one particular company, but it always seemed so out-of-reach for me. Not sure why...just one of those jobs that are hard to come by. And, I imagine some people might be confused because I've always talked about working in a small bakery or opening my own bakery. That's definitely the end goal, but before I get to that point, I really want to challenge myself and see what I can do. This job would definitely push me, and push me hard. I'm entirely capable of doing well at it, but it's a much larger scale than I've done before. Then, a few years from now, I'll explore opening my own business. Unless, of course, I'm totally rocking at this type of job. We shall see!

It's Hot

If you look at the time stamp you'll see that it's about 4:00 am. It's hot in this apartment! I can't sleep, so I decided to develop a new blog. A food blog. Yes - those are all over the place these days, but it's more for me, and if you're interested you can read it. I'm working out some kinks and making it pretty, but when it's ready I'll post a link to it.

Did I mention it's HOT in here? Holy geez. How do people live like this? I should be asleep, since I have a full day of errands and cleaning before we fly back tomorrow evening (or tonight, really).

Coney Island!

For those of you who don't know yet, we're moving back to Texas. We'll be there in a week, where we will spend time with family in Houston for the month of July, and then back to Austin for good.

We are now trying to do as much as possible in the next week, so that we get the full experience before we go back home. Our first adventure was to Coney Island...which is way at the other end of Brooklyn. The Mermaid Parade was being held on this particular Saturday, and I felt like I was back in Austin, except with a beach in the background. We had a ton of fun, ate an original Nathan's hot dog, watched crazies in their mermaid get-up, and rode the Cyclone. Yes, I rode a roller coaster. I still hate them, but it was fun.

Waiting in line at Nathan's for legendary hotdogs, trying to decide between the regular, the chilidog, the chili-cheese dog, or the corn dog.

Before getting onto the Cyclone, when I still thought it was a good idea. Click here to see how the ride went.

Graduation

I managed to make it through my torturous (at times) 4 day final, finishing on time and with pleasing results. It was stressful, many a student had a nervous breakdown, but we all made it through. We had guest judges come in...these are various pastry chefs in the industry who volunteered their time to critique our final products. My experience was not nearly as nerve-racking as I thought it would be, because, after the disaster with my genoise (it deflated too much before I got it in the oven, and that was the second time to make it as well), the judge said it was "Perfect", and "light and fluffy...great flavor"...etc. I was floored. In utter shock. I positively hate this cake more than anything else in the program, and I managed to impress the judge. Yay! My chocolate bon-bons were well-tempered and delicious, my bourbon pecan cookies were "crispy, buttery, not greasy" and worthy of being put into his shop. I was so pleased with myself! Apparently he gave me the highest mark out of my group of 4 or 5 students that he was responsible for.

So, at the end of it all, I managed to graduate with honors. It was so fun to learn that, and to stand up there with Katie and Teresa as well. My friend Corn also graduated with honors and she got a perfect attendance award as well. We all did so well and I'm proud of everyone.

Mom and Dave flew up for graduation, and I'm so thankful that they could be here for it. It's been hard not being able to share my triumphs with the family, so to have them here for a few days was a treat.

Chef Jurgen passing out toques for us to try on and resize.

I've just received my toque from Chef Dianne, and I am receiving my diploma.

Some of the honors graduates, with the Chef-Instructors behind us.

With Chef Kir

The gang with our pal Steven

So, now I have to find a job. And decide what city we want to be in. I'll still post pictures of food once in awhile, especially when I come up with new creations. If anyone ever wants to order food, just let me know! I'd be happy to cater for you.

Thanks for keeping up with me the past 6 months and praying for me and encouraging me along the way!

Out to the West of Chester

Katie and I spent some of last weekend out in Westchester County with Teresa, visiting her cutie little hometown. It was so nice to get out of the city for the day, and we ended up staying the night due to the huge storm that blew through. We had a blast exploring the neighboring area. Here are some highlight from our trip:

Stone Barns - a huge, fully functional farm out on the Rockefeller property (or what was part of it). Beautiful greenhouses, animals everywhere, and a phenomenal restaurant that uses what the farm produces for its meals.

Inside the greenhouses

Katie in front of the pigpen
The poppa pig - he was almost twice the size of the other pigs.

We drove all around the area, looking at the homes, which are massive and gorgeous. We also saw the Clinton's house, Vanessa Williams' house, and a whole street with homes built by Frank Lloyd Wright.