Falafel

So I have been waiting for crazy cravings... they have yet to really present themselves on their own. I am have recently however, been very persuaded by advertisements, televisions shows and other people. For example, last nght I could not fall asleep becuase Robbie was snoring like a lunberjack. So I stayed in bed watching the Food Network (my new favorite). Last night's episode of "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" was about falafel. I have no idea when the last time was that I had falafel... or if I even liked it. But I went to bed dreaming about it. So this morning, when I woke up, I make sure to tell Robbie that we were having it for lunch.

He said he knew of a famous place right down the street where they had falafel. In fact it was a "Drive in." So after we handled a few errunds, we headed down the boulevard to the "Falafel Drive in." It was this whole in the wall place in the side of the road with a HUGE line out front. It was one of those places where you had to park and walk up to the counter and place your order. I had a falafel sandwich (no tomatoes) and Robbie had a gyro. Mine was AMAZING! So yummy I am already planning my next trip there. The other cool thing was there was a poster up in the window of the diner showing off that they were featured on my other Food Network favorite, "Diners, Drive Ins and Dives." Now I know I Have to go back... soon.

8 weeks!

Well, today I hit 8 weeks and 1 day. Not the best pictures but they are all you are going to get for now...Clearly you can all my "baby bloat". Yesterday I had to use hair ties to keep my jeans buttoned. Granted they were my skinny jeans. I guess I will be saying goodbye to those in the very near future. Today Robbie and I ventured out to do some shopping and I decided it was not worth being uncomfortable so I wore exactly what you see in the photos, plus a pink hoodie. I looked around all afternoon to make sure Stacy and Clinton were not lurking around the corner.

My froat hurts

I am sick.

Stuffy nose...sore froat (AKA throat) etc.

No fun since I cannot take any medicine. Just sitting around moping. Fun weekend!

6 weeks!!!

6 weeks is a benchmark in all the books and on all of the websites that signifies the start of morning sickness. Everywhere I could read it was a warning... weeks 6-10 are not fun. Luckily, there has been no ssite (knock on wood) of it. I have some strange heartburn/overly tired feelings recently, but nothing that would induce vomiting etc. Neither my mom or Robbie's had morning sickness, so hopefully, I will follow the "tradition." On the other had, I kind of wish I would get it (just for a bit) so that I can have some evidence of being pregnant. I mean got the positive tests, still have no period and am definitely sporting some baby bloat in my tummy area...but nothing substantial. I am sure it will come sooner than later. I am very much looking forward to my first OB appointment on December 31 to make things for real!

I was excited to come home on Thursday night from work to a gift on my porch. It was survival kit that my friend Charlotte put together. So fun! Thanks Charlotte!

More "window shopping"

So the site won't let me copy and past the picture so you will have to visit yourself. But this is CUTE!

http://www.cribs.com/cribs/convertible-cribs/gracoashleigh4in1convertiblecrib.cfm

and this:

http://www.cribs.com/crib-bedding/traditional-crib-bedding/bubblegum4piececribset.cfm

I know it is too early...oh well

I know it is too early to discuss the baby's room etc. but when I need to destress, and think about things other than work etc... I search for things online.


Isn't this cute?

Nothing exciting to report...

Last night, the colorguard I teach was in a holiday parade. It is a community tradition, and lots of other local marching bands and colorguards are in it. I of course had to ( I mean get to) tag along.

It was the first time all fall I got to bundle up in many layers. Here are some photos Robbie took before I headed out the door.

We told my parents

Today Robbie and I told my parents!! We met for breakfast at 10 AM. Robbie and discussed on the way over there when it would be best to break the news. We decided to wait until we had our food and settled at the table. No one was particularly enjoying their meal (mom's eggs were too runny, Robbie quiche just tasted funny and I was not feeling too well so I just picked at mine). My cousin Shanthi was with us this morning too. I think she may have been the only one with a decent meal... but how cvan you mess up a waffle? Anways, mom was done eating so I asked her if she wanted to see a weird piece of mail we got the other day. I handed her an opened envelope with my "Pregnant" pregnancy stick and the letter the Stanford lab sent me showing my test was indeed positive. 1st she pulled out the stick. She did not have her glasses on wo she looked at kind of funny not initially knowing what is was. Then she made some weird face and asked of that was what she thought it was. So I told her to hand it to dad. He opened the letter and ready it out loud. Mom screamed and clapped. Luckily, not drawing too much attention to us. We all laughed. I shed more tears than anyone.

The plan for the day was to see a movie after we had breakfast. I was never too excited about that but needed a way to get everyone in the same spot. I assumed that once I broke the news, mom would at least want to go shopping and chit chat, rather than sit in a quiet movie theatre. I was right. Robbie and dad ended up going to see a movie while mom, Shanthi and I window shopped at Old Navy, Barnes and Noble and of course, Babies R Us. I had fun looking at the nursery furniture but really enjoyed test driving the gliders. They were sooo comfortable. I can see myself sitting in one before and after feeding time. Here were some of my favorites (or so what I remember).

Belly Pics - 4 weeks

I realized that the only way I will be able to compare my soon to be huge belly with my once less huge belly is to have a photo of where I started.

Here are a couple pics of me at 4 weeks and 5 days. Keep in mind this is the day after Thanksgiving.

Post Turkey Day

What an exhausting day! Tillee (our 1 year old puppy for those of you new to my world) kept my hands full the entire day. Who knew how hard it would be to keep a dog distracted when there were so many smells coming out of the kitchen?? The first half of the day was frustrating but bearable. I was in the kitchen helping prepare the stuffing while Robbie worked outside on his smoked turkey. This year, we purchased a smoker. We have already used it to prepare ribs, trout, salmon and tri-tip. So Robbie thought we should attempt a turkey this year. But since we were habing Thanksgiving at Aunt Colleen's, with 20+ people, we thought there should also be a traditional turkey too... just in case. So Tille went back in forth between being outside with Robbie and the smoker, and inside with me... so she could clean up after anything we dropped on the floor. She got a little hard to manage as she decided that that would be the day she demonstrated her "counter-surfing" skills. She continually jumped up so her little paws and head were right at counter height and sniffed away. At home when this happens, we yell at her, push her down and spray her with a sparay bottle of water. But nothing has really done the trick thus she was not at all intimidated to try this at someone else's home. Eventually it got out of control and we had to put up a baracade of chair blocking her off from the kitchen. So what did she do next? Whine... and cry...it got really old but there was little we could do. Finally, my dad, who was in town for the holiday took her for a long walk (over an hour). Thinking that that would wear her out and she would nap when they returned home. Nope! SHe was so restless and could not sit down for a minute. At some point my Aunt Colleen saw her fall into their pool. Luckily TIllee knows how to swim and made her way to the side of the poll. She could not find the steps so I had to lift her out. I got soaking wet. That was sure fun.

The night continued when all of Uncle Siva's family started to arrive. They were not all familiar or comfortable with dogs so I put Tillee's leash on to keep her with me. She is so friendly that she has the tendecny to want to be in everyones' faces kissing and loving. That was not going to work so the leash was the plan. Well once all 20+ were gathered in the living room, Uncle Siva tols me to take her off the leash. It wouls be OK. I knew that was not a good idea but it was his family and his home. So I removed the leash and what did Tillee do? Whe jumped right on the sofa, on top of Siva's eight-something year old father, knocking her drink over. I ran over to get her, took her outside, and that is where we stayed in the freezing cold (it was like 50 degrees but tha tis cold here in Cali) for the next hour or so. All I could do was pray for dinner time so that everyone would be in the other room. I could set up the puppy (aka baby gate) and lock her in the living room with a treat we had been saving for her.

Dinner time finally arrived and the "pizzle stick" (Tillee's magic treat) occupied her for enough time so that Robbie and I could enjoy a good (but quick) Thanksgiving meal. After that things slowed down. Tillee, who typically sleep the entire day while we were are at work, realized that she had no more energy and pooped out on the sofa. This bought us a few more monutes to eat some dessert. The dessert by the way, was great! The two things that got gobble up the quickest were my pumpkin cheesecake and pumpkin pie. I was a proud baker.

Then it finally became a reasonable time for us to say our goodbyes and make the hour and a half drive back home. All in all it was a good day. I felt good, except for a few moments here and there of a little nausea. I think though, that it was becuase I was not hungry enough to each all morning and around 2 or 3, I started to get overly hungry. The harder part of the day was not telling my family (including both my parents) about our little "jelly bean." FYI- jelly bean is what Robbie and I decided to call our bun in the oven. We decided that we wanted to ell them after Thanksgiving becuase there were too many extended family members there and that was not the environment we wanted.

So today (the day after Thanksgiving), Robbie called his parents to tell them. He decided to tell his mom that I had not been feeling well lately and went in for some blood work. That the blood work came back showing high level of HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) and asked if she knew what that was. RObbie knoew all too well that she would turn around and ask Gary (who is an MD) what HCG was.... expecting that he would know, and fill SHeer in on the surprise. But it did not go quite as planned. Dad answered, and Robbie told Gary about the HCG... Gary did not immediately know what it was and turned the phone over to Sherry. She did not know either but byt then Gary had figured it out and told her. It was still cute and funny but in a more convoluted way than we initially expected.

Tomorrow is the day I will tell my parents/ The plan is for us to meet for lunch and somewhere during the meal, I will break the news. Hopefully, this works out. My mom just called to say she was so tired from a day of shopping and she thinks they might have to pass. I told her that was not an option as it is not often that my dad is in town so I think we have it all set. Tomorrow at 10 in the morning, we will meet for breakfast and Robbie and I will reveal the big news.

It is official

I know that after 2 positive home pregnancy tests, I should have "belieived" that I was pregnant. But hearing the doctor confirm it makes it truly official. Today I had a doctors appointment in the morning. It was not with my normal MD as she was on vacation all week. Instead it was with another doctor who I actuall really liked! SHe was young and kind of funky/hippy like. None of tha treally matters I guess, but I have had my share of yucky docotrs so I was glad to not have someone I did not like for an appointment that should be exciting.

So the doctor started off by asking me how I knew I was pregnant. I told her I had 2 positive HPTs and that my period was due Saturday, and it was still not here. She smiled... then said, "And you were trying right." I thought that was a given but you never know. She told me a few little facts about not taking any new medication without calling my docotr first and just about the only thing I could take without calling was Tylenol (Ibuprofen is a big no no). She stepped out of the exam room for am oment to go grab some paperwork and then came right back. She said to me, "I would be a bad doctor if I did not warn you that miscarraige is a pssibility. 1 in 4 pregancies lead to one... not that your will." At that exact moment, I bursted out into tears. The poor doctor was looking around for tissue and could not find any. She finally opened up one of the cabinets and pulled out a clean patient gown for me to use to wipe my eyes etc. She then said, "Well I think there is no need for the pregnancy test. You are definitely pregnant."

Well at least that made the tears stop. I cleaned up and walked do to the phlebotomist to have my blood drawn. As a side note, if you are not a patient at the Stanford Medical Center, you should be, just to meet this guy. He is different. His little phlebotomy office is all desked out in posters and other fun stuff. He has music blasting and the air conditioning (it was coooold in there). So anyway, I have had my blood drawn by him before so I knew what to expect. He is great! (Practically) no pain at all and I was in and out of there in 30 seconds. No exaggeration.

Once I was driving back to work, I realized I never asked how I would receive the test results. I assumed someone would call me in a day or so and if I did not hear anything, I would call them.

Hours later, I left work for the day to get my hair cut. This appointment was originally for a cut AND color but one of the first things I read was that you should not color your hair in your first trimester. Too may chemicals in that hair dye and I do not want to risk the proper development of my baby all due to vanity. So my greys will have to be a more permanent fixture in the days to come. I arrived a little bit early for the appointment and say in the lobby waiting. My phone rang, showing a blocked called. If you do not already know, I rarely answer calls where the number is blocked... so I just let it ring. Once the voicemail came, I caleld to listen to it. It was the doctor! She left the funniest message saying, "Hi Leslee. I am calling to let you know that the test results are positive. (long pause) I will give more details as I am not sure who else hears these messages. But positive is good news."

I thought that was so cute! She did not want to give any info away so instead she left a partial message. It is humerous because usually when a test comes back positive, it is not good news. SO she had to go back and clarify by saying it was good news.

So that's it! It is official. I am pregnant.

The next steps were to find an OB. THe docotor I met with in the morning gave me some recommendations. I did my research on line and decided to call one office for an appointment. It is crazy that they do not see pregnant women until 9 weeks. I guess this is standard practice but goodness...can't a lot happen in 9 week? Regardless, I have my 1st appointment on New Year's Eve (of all times) at 8:30 AM. I am so excited to hear what she has to say and learn all about this little creature inside me.

Week 4... really?

The whole concept of calculating "how far along you are" is very confusing. After doing some research, I have come to find out that you are really 2 weeks PLUS the time since conception. So for me, that means that I am already in my 4th week. Weird! Today at work, I analyzed every feeling I had in my body. Have I always been this aware of things. Also, I found it odd that I did not have much of an appetite. When offered a yummy treat from a co-worker (becuase they are every where during this time of year), I declined. In the moment I just did not feel like eating the cookie but I wonder if instincts are kicking in warning me to not pass on that sugar (and other stuff) on to my little one.

Right now this is what little Adler looks like. It is hard to belieive in just a few weeks, crutial organs will begin to form.

Well I am off to a fun-filled night of baking. We are in charge of desserts for Thanksgiving and we are going all out. We will be making (from scratch thank you very much) a pumpkin pie, a pumpkin cheesecake and a dutch apple pie... Wish me luck.

See for Yourself

According to "Mr. Clear Blue Easy", we are pregnant! For a while here, I thought it would never happen. Robbie says I am not patient... I like think of it as eager. This was our 3rd cycle trying. According to http://www.fertilityfriend.com/, the medical profession, for the purpose of calculating my pregnancy development, counts the beginning of pregnancy as the first day of your Last Menstrual Period which is why it says I am already in my fourth week of pregnancy, even though conception only occurred a couple of weeks ago. WHo would of thought?? I am sure the jargon, dates and times soon all make more sense.

The very first thing I did when Robbie proposed (after calling my parents and best friends) was to run to the book store a load up on wedding magazines and books. So you can imagine what I did today. I drove right over to Barnes and Noble and bought two new books. I'm Pregnant and What to Expect When you are Expecting.

Robbie and I look forward to using this blog to keep out family and friends up to date on the staus of our "little one." We look forward to sharing the news with all of you shortly.