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I thought we were supposed to be living in a nice Southeast Hills neighborhood of Huntington, fairly close the “hood” (ie., the lower half of my street, Marcum Terrace, etc). I suppose I should be thankful I’m not complaining about gun shots, but this is almost as bad. My complaint is noisy rednecks and feeling like I live at the edge of Mingo County. We have these neighbors, who we and many other neighbors have called the police about several times due to domestic violence that spills out of their house into the yard & street way to frequently at the late late hours of the night. They are stereotypical “white trash”. They drive loud vehicles, squealling the tires when they pull out & revving the engine. They park their cars in the front yard. Their children never wear shoes or shirts and play unsupervised outside all the time on a half standing trampoline doing wrestling moves which terrify me. Once I was out with the dogs and watched one kick the other in the eye, which resulted in loud screaming & crying. I guess the kid is ok now. They have 2 dogs which they allow to run free all over the place. They never mow their grass or clean up outside. I could care less how people live inside their homes, how “country” they are, etc but this is not inside their home. This is outside, crammed in next to my very nice, quiet next door neighbor who is crammed in next to me. We live too close for this crap and frankly I feel my property value dropping every day they continue to live in that home.

Well now they have pushed me to me limits of niceness. I’ll be making a phone call to the city on Monday to find out if there are any laws or ordinances about ATV’s in town limits. At the very least I’ll make a complaint about the unmowed grass and illegally parked cars. Somehow they now have 3 additional cars which are parked in the city’s old alley way behind their house. They got a 4-wheeler a couple weeks ago and are driving me crazy with it. Last weekend the dad, with his kids on the thing with him, attempted about 250 times to drive the thing up the hill from the alley way into his overgrown back yard. You could barely see them because the weeds are so high. He would rev the engine, get partially up the hill, roll back down. Rev, pop semi-wheelie, get almost to the top, roll back down. I assumed he could make it up the hill if he wanted but was wearing out a path. This weekend he drove around the 3 parked cars for about an hour. Just circling those things like a vulture, going about 10 miles an hour with the occasional rev of the engine. He wore a helmet, which seemed very unnecessary. It was so noisy, so maybe his ears were protected. Then to top it off, he began doing donuts beside one of the cars. He was throwing weeds & dirt everywhere. The end result can be seen below…

Yes, the man is making himself a teeny-tiny dirt track that will allow him to drive up & down the hill and then do donuts at the bottom. As I commented on Facebook earlier, I can just see the Saturday night parties of mud bogging, lawn chairs, and Natural Light.

I thought I would update more often with pregnancy news, but not a whole lot going on right now. Wait, that is a total lie. I had an ultrasound last week and it was amazing. During the 4 weeks since the previous one, gBaby had transformed from an immobile blob to a dancing, flipping 2 inch mini-baby. There are pics on Flickr of course. The heart beat was very strong (174bpm) and everything with gBaby and myself is going great. No complications developing yet due to my 2 surgeries last year, but that is why I have ultrasounds every 4 weeks. I have the next ultrasound on July 17th and hope that we will learn the gender that day (I”ll be 15 weeks 2 days).

During the past 2-3 weeks I’ve napped less and been less hungry. I guess it was weeks 6-10 that were the worst for those symptoms. I still have my super sense of smell and back pain (actually tailbone pain & sciatica) is developing quickly. I guess with my history of back problems pregnancy is just going to make things really fun. I haven’t thrown up a single time, so I’m assuming I’m in the safe zone for not getting morning sickness. I’ve dramatically cut down on the fast food I eat, although the occasional chocolate or strawberry milk and donuts makes up for the lack of fast food. I discovered that aside from fast food, my diet is surprisingly healthy. Yogurt, whole grains, low-fast milk, cheese, eggs, peanut butter are all on the list of great pregnancy foods and that is what I consume the most. Every morning I have either organic, multi-grain cereal with organic 1% milk or yogurt with organic granola. Lunch is typically a frozen, all natural meal. Snacks are chips (tiny bags, a guilty non-organic pleasure), edamame, Nutri-grain bar, some leftover veggies, peanut butter & cracks, etc. We’ve been cooking way more dinners lately instead of eating toast (with melted cheese) or dining out. I’ve been walking at the park 2-3 days a week. Between the past 2 doctor appointments I only gained 1 pound despite growing out of more pants

Discussions about baby furniture options, carseat options, etc are growing more frequently lately and I am open to any tips you other mommies want to share.

I bought a tent to wear at the beach in September. Ok, I guess it is a semi-lovely maternity bathing suit.

I have yet to buy a single item for gBaby. At first, I didn’t want to jinx things by buying things too soon and then when I did go shopping I found it impossible to buy gender neutral things… so I wait. Which is very hard for an impulse shopper like me. Also difficult, I have resisted the urge to buy baby gear, gadgets, etc because I remind myself that I must leave something for everyone to bring to the baby shower. LOL. I can not believe neither Dan or myself hasn’t bought any books for gBaby, but then again we have a lot of children’s books already. Hopefully after July 17th we can have a mini-shopping spree.

Well here I am at week 11 of my pregnancy, and the early stages of a baby bump are beginning to show. To the untrained eye, I might look pudgy or like I had a big lunch… but I know that it is more likely that gBaby is causing the growth and not just some excessive eating lately (or so I tell myself). With the impending growth of my belly, comes the inevitable ruining & deforming of my first tattoo. When I was 18 and got the ugly thing (which I’ve never understood why I got roses & colored thorns - and if I don’t understand, who does?), one of the first things my Mom said (after a few weeks passed and she was able to look at it without getting sick) was “when you’re pregnant that rose is going to turn into a rose garden”. So let’s see if Mom is right, or if it turns into an unrecognizable blob. My plan is that after I’m done having children I will get it covered up with something less ugly.

So here is the tat way back in 2002, when it was only 6 years old…

Now horribly faded after almost 13 years and showing signs of stretching…

There are more belly bump pics on Flickr, and expect ultrasound pics on Monday =)

Ok, folks. The years of gnat eating chips & salsa for dinner and “cooking” equaling something like spaghetti or mac & cheese might be over. Not that I haven’t cooked at all in my adult life, just not often. Cooking for 1 is pointless, expensive, and wasteful. Cooking for 2 should be better, but I still don’t do it often enough. I say “I”, but really it is “we”. I strongly don’t believe that as the woman I should be doing all the cooking & cleaning. I work full-time, as does my husband, so we should share the domestic responsibilities. Anyway, we both admit to some frequent lethargic laziness after we get home from work and I have often been concerned about if I would have enough energy to be a Mom.

So… all that said, I have been determined to start changing our routine in advance of gBaby so we can adjust. I have a folder of good looking recipes I’ve snipped from various places over the years, some had been tried while others had not. I made a menu and a shopping list. I was amazed at how the grocery bill wasn’t that high. I’ve made a few new recipes this week, and we loved all of them. The Apple Chipotle Shrimp last night was awesome, as were the Spicy Zucchini Quesadillas and the bean recipe listed below. I also made my world famous potato salad for lunch/dinner with the family today. Umm, maybe its not world famous but it could be

I have added to the baby’s wish list a book of baby food recipes and baby food storage containers. My plan is to make the majority of his/her food, which is why I must get in the habit of cooking sometime soon. I can’t wait to see how wacky my family thinks I am when I’m making my own baby food, carrying the baby in a sling, using cloth diapers, and trying “elimination communication”. Google that.

Progress was made in getting the basement in usable condition. We added a pet door for Mina, and at first she pranced around like queen of basement. It was funny. She & Stewie played and chased each other all over. She has so many hiding spots & things to jump on, so he could never catch her. She was in heaven. Her food, water, and litter box were moved down. We re-organized some of the storage items to make more room in our “game” area. The old dining table, which I call a game table, and the chairs were moved down. A bit of paint was slathered on the walls and the dart board was hung with great care. We played darts for a long time Friday evening. Poor neurotic Lucy would not join the family fun, and when we called for her she just whined. So, dear Dan carried her down to the basement (she had never been down the stairs before), and then she went wild too. She loved it. She frolicked and jumped. I swear she looked like she was smiling. After playing and hanging out for a while, she ran upstairs and then back down… I suppose to prove to herself she could do it. Whatever, I love that dog despite how crazy she is. Hopefully in the very near future, we’ll get a new door coming out of the basement and the dogs will go in & out to the yard that way instead of dragging me down the stairs outside. AND they will no longer track dirt, leaves, etc into the rest of the house. Oh joy!!!

All that basement work means gBaby’s room is almost empty. How exciting! The twin bed, which is staying, is there along with some items on shelves. We’re ready to start filling it with baby goodies… only 216 days to go. Wow, that’s far away

Check out the cool baby widgets I added. Now you can see what gBaby should be looking like, how far along I am, how much longer, and even what changes should be happening with gBaby this week. Awesomeness!

So I’m sitting here with a nicely full belly after a wonderful dinner I made (hehe). Yes, I actually cooked a dinner… which has turned into a rare thing in recent months. The dinner consisted of New York Strip Steak (yes, I eat beef again after a 7 year break), Two-Bean Tomato Bake, multi-grain baguette, and an “Arnold Palmer” (half tea, half lemonade) to drink. The bean tomato bake was awesome, a new recipe I tried and am now going to share =)

1.5 lbs fresh green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
1.5 lbs fresh wax beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
5 medium tomatoes, peeled & cubed
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
10 tablespoons butter or margarine
1.5 teaspoons minced garlic
1.5 teaspoons dried basil
1.5 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1.5 cups soft bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Place beans in large saucepan and cover with water, bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered for 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain; add the tomatoes and set aside. In a skillet, saute mushrooms & onion in 4 tablespoons butter. Add 1 teaspoon garlic, 1 teaspoon basil, 1 teaspoon oregano and salt. Add to the bean mixture; toss to coat. Spoon into a greased 3 qt baking dish. Melt the remaining butter; toss with bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and remaining garlic, basil, & oregano. Sprinkle over bean mixture. Cover and bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer or until golden brown. Yield: 14-16 servings.

So that is the actual recipe, and here is how I modified it. First, there were no wax beans to be found and I didn’t have time to deal with washing & stringing fresh green beans SO I used frozen cut green beans. Only 1 bag, because I cut the recipe down a tad to fit in my 2-quart dish. I used 2 tomatoes, 1 of which was rather large. I used about 4oz of mushrooms (but I think I would’ve liked more) and about half a large onion, which I sauteed in only about 1 or 2 tablespoons of butter. I just used the spices I had on hand, so garlic powder & ground oregano. I bought the Italian Great Value brand bread crumbs, so I didn’t add additional spices … just the cheese and only 1-2 tablespoons of butter. I didn’t grease the dish and definitely don’t see the need for so much butter. Next time I might even use olive oil for the saute to make it healthier.

Bon Appétit!

PS - when I searched to find an image, I found the recipe online (I actually had clipped it out of a magazine or book a few years ago). So click here if you want to view it, have a more printable version, etc

PSS - I’m sure if you’re one of my aunts who needs this to be gluten-free, it would be just as good without the bread crumbs or with some made from gluten-free bread. Then you probably would want to add those spices & cheese.

At the beginning of May I thought I was pregnant, but the tests said no. Then mid-May I felt I should test again, and it said yes. The assumption was that my hormones levels had just been low, so both I and the doctor’s office declared me at 10 weeks. Today, they put the goop on my belly expecting to see the tiny baby of what is now supposed to be my 12th week. There was a baby alright, sorta. LOL. It was a little tiny bean, but a bean with a strong heart beat we could easily hear and see. Our little gBaby is only 5 weeks old (making it my 7th week of pregnancy instead of 12th). It is only 1cm long, and probably so early that I would not have even announced it to anyone yet. Too late for that, but it’s all good. I still can’t believe I’m pregnant, but seeing that little blob with it’s pounding heart today was a wonderful feeling. Growing life, how crazy. I’m also happy, because it is an extra month of eating the right things, taking vitamins, etc that I hadn’t been doing before. We were a little shocked and upset at first, assuming the small size meant there must be something wrong because we had it in our heads that I was 12 weeks. The doctor assured us that the crown-to-rump measurement is the most accurate way to determine the age of the fetus and that if I were 12 weeks with that tiny of a baby that it would not have developed enough to have such a healthy heart beat. So 7 weeks 2 days it is! Keep those fingers crossed, send the good thoughts and prayers, rub Buddah’s belly, whatever. 5 more weeks to get to the wonderful less-stressful time of 12 weeks.

Oh, and my new due date is Jan 9th instead of Dec 6th. I should look really hot for family Christmas pics

So as I was browsing through baby stuff on Amazon.com today, I came across an interesting picture. First, I was looking at baby bath tubs because we have a bit of a problem around here. We have no bath tub, only a double shower. So things will be cool until the kid is old enough to want to play in the water and too big for a tub that fits over the kitchen sink. Anyway, so among baths and bath toys there was a random item. A belly band, which I’ve seen before, but check this out…

So after looking at this picture, I’m waiting for the pregnancy breeze to start blowing around me making me look like a rock star at all times. No one has told me about it, so I’m assuming its a pregnancy secret. As for the pose, I can’t think of any reason I would need to stand like that unless trying to shift underwear out of a wedgie without using my hands OR if the baby is actually falling out at that moment, in which case I would think I would put my hands down to catch it and stop playing with my rock star belly band.

Anyway, as for baby growing life all continues to go well. My ultrasound is tomorrow so expect a post if things go well. Also, expect that this blog will turn into a “mommy” blog. That’s actually the only reason I’ve kept my webpage during the past year or so when I’ve thought about ending the gnatalie reign.

Today is the start of my 12th week, so after this week and the ultrasound I’ll start allowing myself to feel more excited. In the past few days we’ve been looking through a baby name book and I’ve been reading reviews of baby products on Amazon and adding promising items to a new “Baby” wish list. I used to have a link to my wish list on here, I’ll have to figure out a way to add it back.

Just a side note, I originally typed “promosing” in that last line instead of “promising” =)