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Reflections on the Second Trimester

Posted on May 8, 2012 by senseandnonsenseblog

Well, unlike the first trimester, there is no denying that I’m pregnant! Now that I’ve reached 30 weeks (yikes!) I figured it was time to look back at the second trimester.

The second trimester lived up to all of the hype. I had renewed energy, the very little nausea that I experienced all but disappeared and the pickle and cottage cheese obsession waned (a little).

Second trimester symptoms: I’m still struggling with keeping my acne under control. It’s really not that big of a deal, it’s just a little frustrating. If this is my worst pregnancy symptom, I’m really lucky! I’ve experienced a little bit more round ligament pain as I run and at the official end of the second tri, I said goodbye to running altogether and moved to low impact cardio. It was a wise decision.

What I’m eating: Nothing specific. I do still love Mexican food and pickles, but this is normal for me. As my dad was quick to remind me, I’m the girl who was drinking brine from the pickle jar as a child, it’s unfair to blame my baby for my love of pickles. It’s been a lifelong love affair. I have been trying to up my calcium consumption and this includes drinking milk. Don’t be fooled mom and dad, I still hate it plain, but chocolate milk is the jam! I did have a Doritos Locos taco and was a little disappointed. My two visits to Taco Bell weren’t as epic as I imagined them to be and I am happy to report that if I don’t go again for five years, I’ll be just fine.

What I’m reading: I’m still keeping up with my weekly emails from Babble, BabyCenter, What to Expect, etc. I also added a few birthing books to the rotation. I read the Husband-Coached Birth: The Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth and I am currently reading Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth and The Birth Partner. RP gets to read them when I’m finished – what a lucky guy! To be very honest, I’m pretty wrapped up in the Song of Ice and Fire series. This will not help me prepare for childbirth, but they’re a great (read: geeky) read. I’m also reading Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns) that I’m also loving.

What I look like: I’m rapidly expanding! Here’s my collection of pictures from weeks 16, 20, 24 and 28.

IMG_0047-1

I really thought I’d struggle with this, but now that I’m looking obviously pregnant, I’m doing ok. I am much happier to thank a stranger for their congratulations, rather than look like I’m on the Michael Phelps Subway party sub diet plan. Sure, there were plenty of weeks where I still just looked chubby, but my ego is handling this much better than I expected. I am saying this as if I’m still 28 weeks pregnant. After seeing pictures of myself at Gold Cup, I feel like I’m as big as a house and I never want another picture taken. The ego rears its ugly head.

What I’m doing: Same old stuff, working and running. I did have my first pregnancy fail. As I mentioned, I was registered for the Cherry Blossom 10-miler and had all intentions of running it. However, the week before the race, my runs became increasingly sluggish, I was getting side stitches that I couldn’t walk off and my confidence in my ability to run for about two hours was at an all-time low. I woke up on the morning of the race and made the game time decision to roll over and go back to sleep. I am a little disappointed in myself, but I think I made the right choice.

The best stuff: Our twenty week ultrasound was so much fun! I love that by twenty weeks, your baby actually looks like a baby. It was so interesting looking at each little body part and seeing the measurements. It was so cool to see the four chambers of the heart and you know that we were thrilled to find out that we’re having a little boy. I’m also feeling a ton of movement (which came on later – probably close to 24 weeks) and it’s very cool. It started out feeling like bubbles were popping inside my stomach to much more pronounced movements as the baby grows.

Ridiculousness that I’ve heard:

“I know you’re pregnant, but I’m so glad that you’re gaining weight so we have some more plus-sized women in the office.”

While I’m on a conference call, in my office, minding my own business “Stand up so that I can see your bump.”

“So, are you still working or are you on maternity leave now?”

I’m really blanking on some of the other fantastically silly things that people have said to me. As much as I’ve been surprised by the ridiculous things that people say to pregnant ladies, I’ve also been surprised by the kindness of strangers. A young cashier at Target was very kind to RP and me and reminded us of what a blessing babies are. He looked barely 18 years old and he was kinder than most women I run into. His mama raised him right.

Frequently asked questions:

Have you named that baby yet?
The very honest answer is, no. However, even if we had a name picked out, we wouldn’t share the name. You’re just going to meet our baby with his given name and then dissect our choice behind our backs. That’s the civilized way to do things.

What is the theme of your nursery?
We don’t really have a theme, but it’s pretty preppy. That’s not much of a surprise, since I’m a wannabe prepster. We’ve got the Wee Baby a white seersucker bumper and crib skirt and blue crab sheets. We have ordered a number of prints that we put in white frames, but they don’t tie into the nautical theme, they’re just cute. Once we have everything together, I’ll give you a quick tour of the room re-do.

How much weight have you gained?
Oh yeah, strangers/co-workers love to ask this. I always smile sweetly and tell them that I haven’t gained any. Lying is the right thing to do.

Will you send me a baby bump picture?
No.

RP has had to remind a few of his friends that he’s going to have a baby move into his house in a few months and that’s why we have baby stuff in the house. It’s been pretty funny. It’s similar to when we first got married and his friends were shocked that there were chick flicks in the movie collection and female products in the bathroom. At the time, RP had to remind them that he lived with a girl.

All-in-all, the second trimester was a breeze! I can’t believe that I’m already at 30 weeks and we’ll be welcoming a little guy into our lives in no time! The last weekend in April, I was home for my baby shower and to host a baby shower for Lindsey. I need to get a few more pictures from my shower to put together a post, but I’ll do a recap of the double shower day. It was so fun to celebrate our little guys on the same day!

Posted in Chaaron, Pregnancy, Randomness | Tagged Pregnancy, Second Trimester | 9 Comments

87th Annual Virginia Gold Cup

Posted on May 7, 2012 by senseandnonsenseblog

And the fifth year for our tailgate (and Sense and (non)Sense’s 100th post)!

This year, preparations were very low key. RP and I were at a baseball game (that ended up being 11 innings long) on Friday night, so we did almost all of our preparations on Thursday night.

Our portion of the menu included chicken salad sandwiches, derby pie bars, tortilla roll ups and mint julep jello shots. First thing’s first – dessert!

I found the recipe at theKitchn and they turned out great! I have teased RP about getting the iPad, but I will admit, it’s fantastic for cooking. I loved having it to pull up my recipes. I’m certain that’s why the bars were so tasty. Recipe viewed on iPad = delicious baked goods. It’s science. I chose bars instead of my traditional Derby pie this year so that everyone could just grab a bar with their hands instead of worrying about a fork and a plate. I think that was the right call for the tailgate. Finger foods are eaten much more than anything that requires utensils. Casey told me that they tasted like happiness wrapped in a dream. I’ll call that recipe success.

I also made my niece’s mom’s signature tortilla roll-ups. These are my dad’s favorite appetizers and he is very protective of them when she brings over a platter. I have strict instructions not to make these in Nebraska, but out in Virginia, I claim this super simple recipe as my own.

Ingredients:

Package of tortillas
2 8oz blocks of cream cheese (softened)
1 can chopped black olives
1 cup cheese (I use the Mexican shredded cheese mix)
1 1/2 cups salsa

Mix the wet ingredients, spread on tortilla, roll and refrigerate until ready to serve. Trim off the tortilla ends and cut into slices. Be warned, they are highly addictive!

Deez made ham biscuits, pimento cheese and AMAZING mojito cupcakes to round out the lunch menu. Laurie brought a huge breakfast spread to start out the day.

It was an absolutely beautiful day for horse racing. It was a little warm at first, but the clouds rolled in later in the afternoon which made for a very comfortable day. No theme or tailgate competition entry for our group, but we had an equally wonderful time. D and I did discuss that next year might be the year to take things to the next level and really make a run at the tailgate competition. We better start planning now!

Enjoy some of our photos from the day.

Posted in Chaaron, Party, Sports | Tagged Derby Pie Bars, Gold Cup, Horse Racing, Tortilla Roll-ups, Virginia Gold Cup | 2 Comments

Making Progress

Posted on April 23, 2012 by senseandnonsenseblog

After all of our fun spent celebrating Opening Week at Nats Park last week, RP and I decided that it was time to start getting some work done at home. It didn’t hurt that all of my baby emails this week let us know that we’re now in the home stretch – the third trimester! Yikes!

Last weekend was absolutely beautiful and we used that opportunity to clean up our backyard and do some planting. This is what everything looked like before we got started.

It, deceptively, looks a lot nicer bathed in sunlight, but it was in serious need of repair!

As you can see, we don’t have a lot of space to work with. We also have a very sweet hound dog that will eat (or step on) nearly everything that we plant. The past couple of years have taught us that hearty flowers (read: impatients), peppers and herbs can withstand constant beagle abuse. Strawberries will be stolen – little red lips are not cute on a beagle!

So, after a couple hours of work, things were looking up!

We also re-installed our birdfeeder which has given Fosse and Elly many hours of kitty t.v.

RP and I rewarded ourselves with Pioneer Woman’s meatloaf and mashed potatoes. We ate meatloaf all week for lunches. It has huge!

It was awesome, but it really needed about double the cooking time that Ree recommended. After one hour, it was obvious that only the ends were done. So, if you decide to make it, count on at least doubling the estimated cook time.

The work week seemed especially long and suddenly it was time to pull out the to-do list again (with a baseball game on Saturday afternoon for a little break). This weekend, it was time to tackle the Wee Baby P’s room.

RP and I had to get handy! It was time to frame prints, create a peg board, stain the growth chart, put together the crib and rearrange the guest room to make room for everything new. Gracious. I could use at least one more weekend day!

We made some serious progress! Peg board – just needs about one more coat of paint (still looking a little splotchy and it needs more accessories). Full tutorial to come.

Pictures framed (still missing one print), crib assembled and bed moved.

Growth chart stained.

Closet organized. It is true, I have a door decoration problem.

Hubby’s very funny angry kitten baby blanket. Have you seen such aggravated cat faces captured on fabric before? I laugh every time I see it! RP is growling too!

So after all of that (and a few breaks to watch the Caps game), we decided that ordering in Thai food and watching our Sunday night shows (Game of Thrones, The Killing and Mad Men) was all we had the energy to do. We need a weekend from our weekend. But that would mean even more chores!

At least we’re making progress!

Second trimester recap and peg board how-to to come!

Posted in Chaaron, Crafts, Pregnancy | Tagged crafts, Gardening, Nursery Decor, Pioneer Woman Meatloaf | 6 Comments

Eleven by Eleven

Posted on April 12, 2012 by senseandnonsenseblog

I was going to do a photo post about opening day at the ballpark, but my pictures all look the same and my camera spent most of its time in my purse. It was a little chilly and my hands stayed in my pockets. It was a beautiful day for baseball – so imagine that I took a ton more pictures that don’t all look like this:

Instead I’ll take this opportunity to share the link to one of the more touching articles that I’ve read in a while. I think I’ve written before that RP and I are big fans of Drew Magary (of Deadspin and Kissing Suzy Kolber). Today he posted an article about the pain and fear as he experienced his wife’s premature labor and very early arrival of his third child. It’s beautifully written and as you know, when I love something, I have to share. So here’s the link. Read it. You’ll thank me. But maybe don’t read it on the metro – you might tear up in front of strangers.

While I’m thinking about it, I read another beautiful article by a sports writer last week. Everyday Should Be Saturday’s Spencer Hall’s Great Dane, Isis, recently passed away and he wrote a very beautiful tribute to her. Don’t make the same mistake that I did and read this at work.

Gee, I’m a real downer. Sorry about that. To turn this post around, I’ll participate in the eleven by eleven game that Barefoot Daydreams tagged me in. She did an adorable v-log of her answers, but I have a pixie voice so I’ll spare you and just type my answers. But check hers out – you’ll like it!

Eleven questions to answer:

1} Are you a freakmorning person or a night owl?

If I had to choose, I’d guess that I’m a morning person. Truthfully, I just like to sleep. I’d prefer not to get up too early or stay up too late.

2} What’s the best road trip you’ve ever taken?

Driving home for Christmas the first year that RP and I lived in Alexandria. We packed up our hound dog, a trunk full of presents and luggage and hit the open road for 20+ hours straight to Nebraska. We were totally wiped out by the time we rolled into Lincoln, but we had a ball.

3} What was your first car?

I had a black 1990 Chevy Cavalier that I adored! Personalized “5 6 7 8” license plates and pom poms in my back window. I LOVED that little car.

4} What’s your favorite day of the week, and why?

I love Saturdays. I love having the day off work (naturally) but I mostly love it because of RP and my little rituals. We like to go to the farmer’s market, run errands, lay around the house and read, take Manny for long walks and either have a date night or make plans with friends at night. We usually save chores for Sunday, so it’s just a day of fun.

5} What bad habit of other people’s is most annoying to you?

Oh, yikes, I’m the worst person to answer this to right now. Everything annoys me (I’m blaming my hormones). I’d say checking your voicemail on speaker phone when your office doesn’t have full walls or a door. OR when people talk on the phone while in a public restroom.

6} If someone made a movie of your life, who would play present-day you?

This is hard! Maybe Mandy Moore? I’ve always thought that she and I could be friends in real life.

7} What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?

I’ve been really lucky. I’ve liked every job that I’ve had. The hardest job I ever had was probably at Gallup. It’s hard to get hung up on for hours every day!

8} Obama or Romney? Just kidding—don’t answer that. Answer this: Team Gale or Team Peeta?

I’m Team Peeta.

9} What would you consider the most important event in your life so far?

Definitely marrying RP! The lucky man is stuck with me FOR.EV.ER. Bwa ha ha ha.

10} Do you have any phobias?

Nothing that I can’t talk myself out of, but I do have to give myself pep talks to climb ladders or deal with spiders.

11} Would you rather…always have a popcorn kernel stuck in your throat OR have Cheeto fingers forever?

Cheeto fingers! It would be torture to have a popcorn kernel stuck forever!

Ok – the rules of the game:

*You must post the rules.
*Answer the 11 questions that the tagger posted for you; then create 11 questions to ask the people you will tag.
*Tag 11 people and link to them in your post.
*Let them know you have tagged them.

Here are my questions:

1. What was your favorite Halloween costume?

2. What is your dream vacation?

3. If you could wave a magic wand and solve one problem (be it pollution or frizzy hair), what would it be?

4. If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to?

5. What is your favorite veggie?

6. What is your favorite “guilty pleasure” t.v. show?

7. If someone wrote a book about your college years, what would the title be?

8. If you had to choose only one dessert to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?

9. Are you a cat person or a dog person? Neither? Both? Other animal?

10. If you could go back in time for one day, what era would you visit and why?

11. If you could give your 16 year old self one piece of advice – what would it be?

And I tag:

Kristin – Anywhere There is an Airport

Lyndsey – Tattletale Scandalmonger

Ashli – Baby on the Brehm

and anyone else who wants to participate! Tag yourself in the comments so that I can see your answers.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Posted in Chaaron, Randomness, Sports | Tagged Drew Magary, Eleven by Eleven, Nationals, Opening Day, Spencer Hall | 3 Comments

I’m baaaaacccckkkk!

Posted on April 10, 2012 by senseandnonsenseblog

I thought the best way to celebrate Sense and (non)Sense’s blog-iversary was to drop off the face of the earth and take a month long blogging hiatus. Whoops.

All is well in the P household and we’re getting geared up for a very busy spring. Like most of the country, the beautiful weather started early and we had full cherry blossom blooms in the middle of March.

Swoon. Aren’t they beautiful?

I experienced my first big pregnancy fail. Remember how I talked a big game about running the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler? Well, that didn’t happen. My training runs had become pretty sluggish and I started getting side stitches that I couldn’t walk off. I decided that I’d sleep in instead of shuffling for 10 miles. Best decision ever. I really wish I could have said that I did a 10 miler at 6 months pregnant, but I’m much happier that I listened to my body and wasn’t miserable for about two hours. I know RP couldn’t have been more pleased that he didn’t have to wake up early to cheer me on.

I’m definitely getting bigger (weeks 16, 20 and 24), though I think the red shirt is a little deceptive – some maternity clothing couldn’t be less flattering. Yes, it’s cool to take pictures in the bathroom – I totally agree!

I’m trying my hardest to get RP to write a guest blog recapping TBW’s Dirty 30 DadBoner-palooza, but I might need help convincing him that it’s the right thing to do. And then I’ll have to heavily edit it to make sure it is safe for all audiences. If he won’t do it, I’ll do a recap because it was hilarious. It also gave me an excuse to etch some glasses. Powercats are time intensive to cut out, but I was really happy with the way that they turned out. Hopefully TBW and Laurie like them too!

I’ve also been busy trying to organize my kitchen and moving pantry basics to mason jars. I’ve only had these sitting around for about a year and I finally got them washed and in circulation. Baby steps. I put labels on the lids, but I think I need to make some for the jars so I don’t have to pull them all off the shelf to find what I need.

Wee Baby P has been receiving a ton of packages lately – here are some of his goods! Every baby needs a hipster onesie and white seersucker and crab bedding!

So that’s what’s going on with the Ps. I’ll try to do better to document crafts and food as I put the Wee Baby’s room together and work on the Gold Cup menu (though it will be much more scaled down this year – no competition entry).

As of Thursday, baseball is in full swing in the nation’s capital. We’re really excited for this season to start. The Nats are actually looking good! So, that’s where you’ll find me until the Wee Baby P joins the world!

Happy spring! I hope you get out and enjoy the azaleas!

I’m off to watch the season finale of Justified. I’m not ready for the season to end, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t antsy to find out what’s going to happen. And then I’ll never get to sleep. I love that show.

Posted in Chaaron, Pregnancy, Randomness | 8 Comments

Rock and Roll and a Baby Shower

Posted on March 11, 2012 by senseandnonsenseblog

On Friday, RP and I raced home from work, walked the hound and headed into the city. We met TBW, Laurie, Rob and Jaimee for dinner and then headed into the Verizon Center to the Black Keys concert. RP and I saw the Black Keys last year at DAR and were thrilled that they were back in the area.

The six of us loved the concert. The Black Keys put on a fantastic show.

We posted a few pictures on Facebook, much to Brad’s dismay. Apparently having updates from six people’s news feeds from the same concert was too much to handle. So he posted a black keys picture of his own. What a joker.

RP and I were thrilled to find out that the Keys will be back in the area in May. I’m pretty sure we’ll be getting tickets when they go on sale on Tuesday. Don’t worry Brad, I’ll be sure to let you know how great that concert is too!

On Saturday, I got to spend the day in Bethesda celebrating my beautiful sorority sister Adrienne and her soon-to-arrive daughter, Flora. Her friends Katie, Kelly and Jamie put together a beautiful shower! The food was amazing and instead of playing games, we decorated onesies. It was so fun and creative.

I also met Barefoot Daydreams, who I’ve been reading for a couple of years now (I always recreate her crafts – see burlap banner and monogrammed mason jars). She took better pictures of the shower than I did and wrote a great recap that you should check out. I couldn’t agree with her more – there is no way that Adrienne is giving birth in five weeks. She looks amazing!

The hubs was out with the guys by the time I got home, so the animals and I settled in for a serious night of t.v. show catching up (Smash, Once Upon a Time and Pioneer Woman – my usual Saturday morning DVR shows) and serious movie watching. I fell in love with Billy Elliott and thought The Romantics and Brief Interviews with Hideous Men were okay. A couple loads of laundry and then RP was home for the night. For the second night in a row, we were up until after 2 a.m. just chatting. It was great, but made for a second sleepy day!

We forced ourselves out of the house today. We made it to Michael’s and the grocery store. All kinds of excitement! We had to make it home to watch the NCAA tournament selection show and we’ve caught up on our Sunday shows. I keep trying to quit the Walking Dead, but every episode has an amazing last 5-10 minutes at the end of the episode that keeps me coming back for more. I also watch so that I can follow the Video Gum recaps.

We are also sucked into Awake. It’s only episode two, but it seems to be a fantastic new show. I really like Jason Issacs as a husband/father/detective – and not as Lucius Malfoy.

I hope that you had a wonderful weekend too! Are you watching any great shows? Community comes back this week – I haven’t seen an episode, but I know that a lot of people are looking forward to its return.

Posted in Chaaron, Concert, DC Night Out, Party | Tagged baby shower, Black Keys, concert | 4 Comments

February Photo-a-Day Recap

Posted on March 1, 2012 by senseandnonsenseblog

For February, I decided to participate in FatMumSlim’s PhotoADay challenge. Here’s my recap (minus Day 4 – I couldn’t bring myself to take a picture of a stranger):