Snowy Day and Belly Pic

This city is so funny (which is the nice way of saying nuts, psycho, crazy, disturbed) when there is a chance of snow.  For a WEEK now, the weather media has been talking about this "Significant Winter Storm" that would be moving through Friday and Saturday.  Supermarkets were packed, the news channels scheduled extra early morning broadcasts, etc...

I mean seriously, wouldn't we all be able to live for 24 hours without milk and bread in the house?  Maybe it's just me, but the only time I even got the least bit concerned about the food situation in our house during the winter was when Connor was on formula.... because you can't fake formula for a 3-month-old.  But other than that, COME ON! 

Anyway...

My theory on winter weather around here was always been that the more and further in advance it's talked about, the less likely it is that anything will actually happen.  I think I developed this theory in highschool when it seemed we were never on a snow day when they predicted we might be, but there would always be random little bursts of snow that they only predicted about 8 hours in advance that caused school closings, bad roads, etc...  Like clockwork - this is just the curse of the Ohio Valley and it's weather.

So....

Prepare yourself for this amazing picture of Mother Nature's great wrath...

OMG!! What destruction in our backyard! {tee hee}

It did snow a massive 1-4 inches around the area.... whew! (I'm hoping you can sense the sarcasm here!)  I think we probably have about 3 inches on our deck.  And, to just put me a little bit more over the edge about all this 'snow business', all my gym classes and daycare at the gym were canceled this morning!  Bummer!!  I'm still going to head there later, but I haven't been able to do my Urban Iron or Zumba for weeks and it's driving me crazy!!

Enough about that ... in most recent news, I think I'm going to have to transition to the maternity pants soon.... or live in the dreaded 'comfy pants' for the next few months.  Here is my most recent pic from 13 weeks exactly.  I think I'm approx. the same size now as I was with Connor at 16 weeks, which I hear is very normal for the second pregnancy.  I'm also obsessed with feeling the baby move for the first time, which happened very early (around 16 weeks) with Connor, so I'm expecting it any time now.  I keep thinking  I feel some little squiggles down there, but I just can't confirm it yet!  I'll keep you posted!

New York Trip, 2nd Ultrasound and Screening, Kobe Shoes!

So we're back home after visiting Jamie's extended family in New York.  Shweew!  Glad to be home!  The trip was quite enjoyable, and of course everyone fell in love with Connor and his cute personality and had a great time playing indoor basketball and baseball, cars, etc... for a full week!  Connor probably recieved more attention in that week than he has in the last year (and this kid is in no need of attention, let me tell ya) and averaged about an 11:30 PM bedtime, so what a relief it was to come home and get him back in school and back on schedule. (more about that below)

These are the new "Kobe" Nike tennis shoes we got him while in NY .... they are so cute and he calls them his "Kobe Shoes"!  Not sure they would be cute in a man's size, but very cute in a little-boy size!


It was good to get a little mommy-break (we stayed at a difference aunt's house than Connor and Jamie's parents) and we even made it into the city for a night on the town ... dinner, shopping, hotel and then breakfast in the morning.... nice!  On a sour note, I got extremely motion sick on the bus back out of the city and had to bail about 5 stops before where we were supposed to get off, leaving Jamie on the bus by himself with all our crap.  Luckily I made it off in time .... we'll leave it at that.  Gotta love making a spectacle of yourself in front of strangers... but isn't that what motherhood is all about like 75% of the time (starting with child birth) so I guess I'm used to it.

But, as nice as it is to have a little vacay from the norm, it's even better to be home to my own bed, bathroom, closet, kitchen, etc... (minus all the laundry, sorting mail, putting clothes away, and all the other crap you have to do when you get home)  Plus, I need to get back on the "eating right" train ... on-the-road and vacation eating will seriously do a number on your stomach and how you feel in general.

And we didn't have a second to breathe once we got home.  Monday morning was my early-pregnancy screening called a Nuchal Translucency (spelling... ahh, not sure about that one and too lazy to Google it).  It's a combo blood test/ ultrasound that checks the baby for Down's Syndrome and 2 or 3 other serious chromosonal abnormailities.  I went to a specialist, not my regular doctor, which was the same specialist we saw when I was prego with Connor. We received nothing but good news ... thank goodness. 

As a bonus, the ultrasound tech had some extra time to play around, so I got to see the baby for about 30 minutes.... unfortunately they didn't take a video this time like they did with Connor, which is a super-bummer because SOMEONE recorded over my ultrasound tape of Connor (which honestly makes me want to cry right now).  With all the extra ultrasound time, we spent a lot of time down south looking for any signs of a penis or otherwise.  They found maybe a penis, then a vagina, then a penis, then maybe a vagina (or the "three lines" as they call it) so basically we confirmed that the baby is DEFINITELY a boy OR a girl.  Ha!  It's just too early to tell for sure.  But now I'm even more anxious than before .. March 8th can't come fast enough!  It's just so amazing to see such a small creature living inside of your own body... there is nothing quite like experiencing an ultrasound of your baby.

So, as for today.... more exciting times.  Roads in the area were ice-covered all morning, making travel especially difficult and dangerous.  I never would have left the house this morning had I known the extent of how horribly bad the roads were.  There was basically no way out of my neighborhood, and even with an SUV with 4WD and even a "snow and ice" driving setting, I had NO control of the vehicle.  CRAZY!  It took me an hour and a half to get Connor to school (which doesn't even compare to how long many people were stuck out on the road) and saw many close-calls and scary situations.  Many men were out in their suits and dress shoes helping push cars up hills and back onto roads.... it made me proud to live in such a nice and helpful society .... and also scared to see how many dumb-ass people (such as myself) didn't bother to turn on the news this morning before heading out the door!!!


Coming soon.... belly pics (13 weeks pregnant and officially can't button my jeans now.... trying to hold out on the prego jeans as long as possible, because once I go the way of the comfort waistband, there's no going back!) and some great baby-finds on clearance at Target!  Happy Tuesday!