inquiring minds

I have a lot of stuff to post about....our fun Thanksgiving week on SSI, Tate's transition to a "big boy bed", Bayer's nursery progress, and even the final descent of the infamous Mickey balloon (1 mo, 2 days)...but I haven't felt like uploading pictures...or thinking/writing in complete sentences for that matter. So, I'll leave you with my latest pregnancy quiz instead...

How far along are you? 22 weeks

How big is the baby? I don't know. But if I had to guess, I would say BIG!!!!

Maternity clothes? I may omit this question going forward, you know the answer.

Weight - Loss or Gain? I've gained somewhere between 15-18 lbs. With 18 weeks to go, I'm predicting that I'll land around the 40 lb mark. Not terrible, but enough to receive predictable lectures from Dr. Soufi between now and April about watching my weight. "But the baby neeeeds Chick-fil-a!" J/K. I do eat the occasional fast food meal, but we've been much better about eating at home. We have a toddler, we have no choice.

Stretch marks? Can we also eliminate this question? Otherwise, I can continue to remind you that yes, yes I got stretch marks the first time. I will probably get them this time, too. I promise never to wear a bikini again.

Sleep? Mostly normal, but here I am blogging after 1am while Keith's been asleep for hours.

Any movement? Feeling him move a lot more lately, all day long. This is the best part of being pregnant.

Food Cravings? Nothing specific. I require protein in the mornings- mainly in the form of eggs. That's about the extent of my quirkiness.

Food Aversions? Anything minty, particularly the taste of gum. Blech. Chocolate is still pretty gross, too.

Gender? Another unnecessary question. Boy, Boy, Boy. I'm taking this one out next time, also.

Belly Button in or out? In.

What do you miss? Full, deep breaths. There is already not room for my lungs to expand to their desired capacity.

What are you looking forward to? Finishing both boys' new rooms. I bought Tate the Ryder (train) bedding from PBKids and just need to 1) swap our queen bed for Lindsey's full, 2) move the dresser/hutch into the nursery and buy him a new bookcase (found one at Ikea), and 3) paint.

In Bayer's room, I need to 1) paint, 2) organize his closet, 3) and get the dresser/hutch set up. I ordered this really cute (I hope) tree decal that will go on one of the walls and I'm painting his room light blue, so even though I'm reusing Tate's bedding, it will still feel sort of new.

What was the BEST part of this week? Getting our carpets cleaned! We have a few stains that, unfortunately, seem to be permanent, but otherwise, they look as new as 15-year-old carpets can be. And, the timing could not have been better....during the initial walk-through with the cleaning guy, I spilled my entire cup of coffee all over our dining room carpets!

What was the WORST part of this week? Let's see...was it walking into the hair salon today and being asked by my hairdresser if I was having twins? Or, stabbing myself with a knife during an art project yesterday? Or, maybe not having heat in my car this week?

I pick the first one. I really try, but I just don't have patience for people and their comments this time around. Whereas I might have smiled and laughed it off before, I politely responded, "you know I'm not having twins. Are you calling me fat??" To which he replied, "um, no. I, um, just couldn't, um, remember...." Thus, a very long and silent 2-hour cut and color with a lot of pretend BlackBerrying.

Weekly Wisdom? I have a lot of wisdom this week:

1) If you come upon a pregnant person , only say positive things about her appearance. If she is fat or has gained a lot of weight, she probably already knows this. And by all means, do not make any comments unless you are 100% sure she is pregnant in the first place. I was a bystander to this awkward situation earlier this week.

2) Pregnant people can say things (even adamantly) and then completely change their minds and that's ok.

3) 9 months is not too long to endure the trials of pregnancy. Today's minor annoyances, will be tomorrow's funny memories. "ha, ha. Remember when you called me fat that one time??"

4) Don't rake the yard while there are still leaves on the trees. Those will fall, too.

5) Never underestimate the power of a toddler's hug and kiss to melt your heart and brighten your day.

6) Money is temporary. Diamond earrings are forever. (Keith? Are you reading this?)

Milestones: More than half-way there!! And, Tate's move to a big boy bed is another significant milestone in the Golden household! 5 successful nights so far of no whining or getting up. (knock on wood that it continues!)

yard work

A perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon...sitting in a lawn chair and watching my boys work in the yard... (really liking this child labor thing)

the great balloon watch of 2010

On October 17, Tate was given a helium Mickey Mouse balloon. On October 18, that Mickey Mouse balloon wound up on the 2-story ceiling of our living room. As of November 10, there it remains....taunting Tate from 20 feet above. If you are looking for the longest-lasting, most industrial strength helium balloon ever to provide your kids with weeks of torture enjoyment, let me suggest Publix. Watch for riveting updates as the great balloon watch of 2010 continues....

the twinkie diet

Who says that dieting means giving up the foods that you love? Keith recently stumbled upon this diet plan and thinks he might give it a try. His only two worries? Giving up hamburgers and having to forego a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Both logical concerns.

I think he's joking about actually doing this, but if I've learned anything in 11 years, it's never to assume.....

night-night

While Keith was in Birmingham this weekend, Tate and I spent the night with my friend Allison, whose husband was also out of town. Tate is usually pretty easy when it comes to bedtime, but he was understandably a little apprehensive about sleeping somewhere new. After several attempts to get him to sleep in the pack-n-play, I finally relented and allowed him to get into bed with me....albeit, with just a diaper and no pajama pants due to an earlier incident. (this is important later.)

He was so happy to snuggle with me, but tossed and turned and asked for "more bottle" twice (water) and babbled and babbled and babbled. At one point, I turned to him and said, "Tate, you need to go to sleep. It's time for night-night", and then kissed him on the forehead. He responded with "mommy...you night-night!" and kissed my forehead. My sweet boy. Even the fact that we woke up just a few short hours later both soaked in baby urine couldn't wipe the smile from my face.

The end.

survey says...

How far along are you? 18 weeks (17 weeks, 6 days to be exact)

How big is the baby? Had an ultrasound this week and they estimated 9 oz. A quick check on babycenter.com reveals that 5-7 oz is average at this point in the pregnancy. I might as well get used to the idea that I'm having another 9lb baby...

Maternity clothes? Every day.

Weight - Loss or Gain? Up to 10 lbs so far. Doing better this time around on the weight gain, but still look bigger than I should be. I had a tennis match on Tuesday and I think the other team thought I was going to give birth on the court.

Stretch marks? Nothing new.

Sleep? Still pretty normal. Getting at least 8 hrs at night and sometimes a short nap during the day when my workload allows. (A nice benefit of working from home!)

Any movement? Yep! The movements are still pretty subtle and I only feel them at night.

Food Cravings? Lots of juice (lately I've been drinking Tate's Capri-Sun juice boxes) and fruit....particularly Gala apples, clementines and little fruit cups. Oh, and Sour Patch Kids.

Food Aversions? I wouldn't say it's an aversion, but chocolate doesn't taste good to me right now. I still eat it from time to time to see if anything's changed, but it hasn't so far. Same for graham crackers. I guess I won't be making s'mores this winter.

Gender? Blue!

Belly Button in or out? In.

What do you miss? Champagne. The fake stuff isn't cutting it.

What are you looking forward to? I'm taking a half day off work tomorrow and meeting my friend Keri for lunch and then treating myself to a mani/pedi/ pre-natal massage.

What was the BEST part of this week? Halloween with Tate was a blast, but I also enjoyed seeing the ultrasounds of Bayer this week.

What was the WORST part of this week? Nothing comes to mind. I've been frustrated in general with trying to keep the house clean, but that's nothing new.

Weekly Wisdom? My words of advice this week are to turn the tv off and spend quality time with your kids. Keith and I are both guilty of having the tv on in the background almost all the time, so it's a reminder for me as much as anyone.

Milestones: Hmmm....nothing in terms of the pregnancy, but Tate reached a new milestone of bringing home 3 "boo-boo reports" in one week. Carpet burn on his face and not 1, but 2 bite marks on his back!

comparing profiles

See any resemblance??

Bayer - 18 weeks

Tate - 22 weeks

In this picture, Bayer has his head tilted back, so it's hard to tell whether he has the same chin/ mouth/ jaw shape as Tate, but I see the similarity in their noses. We go back on November 30 for our 22-week ultrasound - hoping we can get another picture to compare!

Getting excited about Bayer's arrival in less than 5 months. Having a name and a now a "face" makes it seem more real...