My Hobby....I Guess You Could Say That

I can't even remember what made Tessa & I decide to play around with baby onesies and try to make unique designs a couple of years ago...maybe the inspiration came from her kiddos...I don't know. But we did and I have just started back up this last week. I don't necessarily know who I'm making these for but I figure now that myself and [what feels like] the entire world is preggers, I'm sure I will have some gifts to give down the road. And, honestly, it's fun and relaxing and gives me something to do now that I live a life of not going out and partying on the weekends.

When we started, it was all about the dye, the fabric paints and the rhinestones - and I think poor little Aaysen was the child who got stuck wearing all of our creations.  I have to say that I was the tie dye queen....when would a kid actually wear that much tie dye?  It got to the point that Chris even built Tessa an area to make these in their basement, which I have to admit I'm pretty jealous of since I find myself performing my little experiments direct from my kitchen counter and being careful not to splash dye all over my countertops.

Now I'm a little less interested in the dyes, paints and bling and looking at using other materials to make these more fun. Here are a couple that I've just done:

Fabric black & white flower - sewn onto

a white Carter's onesie

Black lace/leopard print fabric sewn on

the back of a white Carter's onesie

Couldn't resist a little fabric dye - fuschia & kelly green

tie dye and yellow & royal blue tie dye

I'm also going to try and tackle hand making some fun tutus and leg warmers! A friend of mine put her little girl in leg warmers and onesies for the first few months and I just loved the look and think it's so fun, even for a little boy. I actually found the cutest little leg warmers online that would look great with a Hawkeye onesie during football season (Hawkeye Leg Warmers). My plan for the white onesie w/ the fabric flower would be to pair some fun leg warmers (maybe black & white stripes) with it when I gift it down the road, unless we find out we're having a little princess of our own.

Here are some of the first onesies I've ever messed around with a while back - all except the white are hand dyed. The bling: some is bought such as the fleur de lis on the first one (below) and some was done by hand - and that is a pain let me tell ya! I think I went a little crazy, but they were all fun to make.

Black dyed onesie - iron-on lettering & bling

Tie dye red & white onesie - red

rhinestone "N" applied by hand 

Hand painted w/ stencils and applied rhinestones

Hunter green tie dye & metallic pewter fabric paint w/ stencil guitar

Gray dyed onesie & stenciled "heart w/ wings" fabric

painted w/ rhinestones

Orange dyed onesie w/ brighter orange fleur de lis & rhinestones

Hunter Green dyed onesie w/ Old English iron-on letters

Purple dyed onesie w/ metallic silver fabric

painted cross & silver rhinestones

Yellow dyed onesie w/ iron-on letters

Black dyed onesie w/ hand applied rhinestones

Navy blue tie dyed onesie w/ fabric painted

skull & cross bones & rhinestones

Navy blue tie dyed onesie

Dark purple tie dyed onesie

16 Weeks: What's New...

Due Date: November 26th

Baby developments: Little Mango is the size of an avocado this week. Tiny bones are forming in his ears which means he can now pick up my voice. Eyebrows, eyelashes and hair are starting to fill in and taste buds are forming. Check out this illustration of a 16 week old fetus...crazy - 16 weeks.

Weight gain: I'm definitely hovering above pre-pregnancy weight this week - at about 1 or 2 lbs on any given morning. It looks like I should plan on gaining anywhere from 12-14 pounds this trimester - here we go!

Cravings: warm pretzel & cheese - had one at Brickhouse on Sunday and it was amazing! Sweets continue to tempt me day in and day out as well.

Aversions: I have never really been a meat person, but I definitely am not interested in much meat unless it comes in a BLT or on a sandwich.

Symptoms: I'm still throwing up a bit, but not all day long which is great. Guaranteed at least once or twice a night. My stylist said my hair is getting thicker which is supposed to happen, but I'm not 100% convinced it has as of yet. And I know this is weird, but every morning when I get up to use the ladies room, it feels as though my insides all shift lower as my bladder empties out - there is a lot of movement in there.

I am loving: obviously I'm waiting until we find out the sex of the baby to plan the nursery, but I've found some great creative sites that I've been wasting hours looking over and I'm getting some really fun ideas for either a boy or a girl. We are planning to put the nursery in the spare room upstairs and will be moving that bedroom furniture to the basement spare room, so yesterday we gave Nick's mom the furniture that is currently in the basement spare room and are ready to move the rest downstairs. AND I finally cleaned out the closet in the soon-to-be nursery! FINALLY. As well as organized my bedroom closet and the closet in the office. It feels good!

Sleep: Great - sleeping at least 8 hours each night and I can really tell if I miss my 8 hour mark or stay up past 10pm - the next day I'm a zombie.

I miss:  it's summer time and I really would love a cocktail. With baseball games, CWS, BBQs and the 4th of July Okoboji trip coming up, I am really missing a nice, ice cold beer!

I am looking forward to: finding out the sex of the baby! We have an ultrasound on 6/29 and as long as Little Mango cooperates, we should find out!

Best moment this week: I am pretty sure I felt fluttering in my belly on Friday. I was sitting at my desk at work and my right side of my belly was going crazy. It didn't feel like normal body movements and was pretty cool! I looked it up to see if it could be right and realize that they call it "quickening" in doctor's terms and it can happen as early as 12 weeks for some mamas. Of course when I was on the phone with my dad later that day, he dashed my hopes and had to blurt out, "it's probably just gas, Kate." Thanks, dad.

Milestones: I've never been a fan of using "weeks" rather than "months" and "years," but that of course is the rule of the road in baby talk. So, brainiac that I am, finally figured out that 16 weeks is FOUR MONTHS. I've been complaining that the time is going sooooo sllooooww, but when I think that I'm already at four months it really doesn't seem that bad - not too long and we will be over the halfway mark!

Movement: see "best moment this week" - I think I felt my first bit of fluttering on Friday!

It's a ...: not sure. What do you guys think?

Exercise: has been pretty good. I started going back to Lifetime this week. I know, don't get excited because it's only been a couple of days, but I have really preferred using the elliptical to running outside every day and there are a lot of weights and room for me to tone my arms and legs as well. Hopefully I can keep it up.

Diet: a lot of Subway sandwiches, apples, Baked Lays and probably too much Diet Pepsi. I'm trying to stay within the 200mg allowed / day, but I tell you that sometimes you just need some caffeine.

Goals for the upcoming week: limit my caffeine intake to at most one Diet Pepsi every other day if not better.

Belly shot: One of my employees walked into my office today as I was leaning back in my chair and blurts out "whoa - look at that belly!" Really? Thanks for calling out what I've been staring at all week long with a mix of awe and horror.  I swear this baby has grown leaps & bounds this week.  But even with the growth, I'm still in that awkward phase where with my everyday clothes on and the wind blowing just right, it's hard to tell if I've just gained some weight or if I'm preggo. Not ideal to get the "looks" from strangers - and you better believe I notice them.

16 week ripe belly shot

Really??

Do you ever have one of those days where nothing goes right? Well I have definitely had one of those days and it wasn't just ONE thing - it was multiple...

First off as I'm driving into work this morning, I ran my tongue over my teeth and realize that I FORGOT to brush them. How do you forget to brush your teeth - it's normally a natural part of my morning routine and I just forgot?? Ugh....and I didn't even have a Wisp or anything else in my bag to make due, so I tried to cover it up with gum all day. Gross.

Then as I was driving home from work trying to figure out what I was going to make for dinner, I decided that I wanted to try the new Vine Ripened Salsa I had just got in the mail from Tastefully Simple. I stopped at the store to get tortilla chips and of course my stomach was near growling at this point - and you all know what happens when you go into a grocery store hungry....yep....I bought a Hostess Pudding Pie. It was staring me down next to the aisle so at the last possible minute I decided it would be a good idea to throw it in with my pile of groceries. Seriously, I haven't had one of these since living back at home, when we would stop at Mike's Foodtown after church and get a treat.

And this is what is left of that Hostess pie....

After letting that digest a bit, I was regretting the fact that I ate the entire thing (or at all) and decided I should take Maya for a run. One, to get Maya out of the house since she's been couped up while I'm at work all day and with Nick traveling, but also to try and reverse some of the damage I had done by eating that calorie-laden snack. So, I put on some running clothes and dig in my drawer for some socks, only there aren't any clean SO.....this is what you get. Black dress socks. Hot.

So Maya and I went on our run and I had a route mapped out and if I was feeling good after the first lap around the neighborhood I had every intention to run it again, however, my effort to exercise was quickly halted as I realized that the Hostess pie hadn't sat well in my stomach and I was going to be sick. Needless to say, I didn't make it home and may have thrown up in someone's yard (not intentionally, I swear!) Let's look on the bright side, it made me brush my teeth again so now they are definitely clean.

Seriously, its just been one of those days. I think I need to retire for the night to ensure I don't do anything else that could harm me or someone else.

15 Weeks: What's New...

Due date: November 26th - it seems so far away but became more realistic when I was going through a Manager on Duty schedule at work and they had me schedule to be MOD on 11/26. I actually had to write back that I wouldn't be able to help out that night because it's my due date.....my due date!! It seems so foreign, but I know it's going to sneak up on us quick!

Baby developments: Little Mango is the size of an apple or a navel orange this week, depending on what site you read. Baby's legs now out-measure his arms and all four limbs have functional joints. Although his eyelids are still fused shut, he can still sense light and if I shined a flashlight at my tummy, he would likely move away from the beam.

Weight gain: holding steady at a pound below pre-pregnancy weight. While I'm concerned and will make sure to address this in my doctor's appointment, I also believe that I can attribute this to the fact that I'm not drinking alcohol and eating as crappy as I did before pregnancy - I think I had a couple pounds to lose anyway.

Cravings:  BWW boneless wings in Spicy Garlic (definitely do not taste as good coming back up), red apples, bagels w/ cream cheese, decaf Starbucks Skinny Vanilla Lattes, warm pretzels w/ cheese and, of course, candy (I'm sucking on a Carmel Apple sucker as I type). Why, oh why, can't I choose a banana over a sucker???

Aversions: I can't even think about Chik-fil-a without feeling like I could throw up....still. I know this because everyone (and I mean everyone) text or emailed me last week because there is word that Chik-fil-a bought land in Council Bluffs and will be building soon. Under normal circumstances - this would be AMAZING news. Under my current condition, I could care less and I'm actually kind of mad that it could be coming now that I can't fathom eating it and I'm going to miss out...

Symptoms: the vomiting has slowed down tremendously and only occurs after dinner now. However, my boobs are still so sore. Running the other night I thought I was going to have to hold onto them - they were bouncing everywhere! I'm also spilling out of my bras, which actually isn't as hot as I would've thought it would be prior to it happening. It just looks weird.

I also read "your gums may be red and swollen (thanks, hormones) this week" and the crazy thing is that mine are! I was just complaining to Nick that I needed to hit the dentist because my gums seemed larger and were bleeding in some places when I brushed....and then I read this and realize Little Mango is to blame!

I am loving: everything baby. I enjoy talking about the baby, looking at my check list, thinking about what we are going to buy the baby - everything. I'm excited to have dinner with my friend Heidi tonight who is also expecting - it will be fun to have mama talk.

Sleep: I'm definitely getting enough sleep. My only complaint would be that I can't get my butt out of bed - I've been trying to work out in the mornings this week and that is not happening.

I miss: beer. I really wanted an ice cold beer this weekend at Sicily's birthday party. I actually had a drink of Nick's - this was the first drink of alcohol that I've had since finding out I was pregnant and I think it did worse for me because that is all I want right now. It was soooo good! It's especially been hard while golfing since beer and golf always went so well together!

I'm looking forward to: my doctor's appointment on Monday - I've got a lot of questions and it's just been so long since I've had a check up that I'm ready to get an update and make sure all is well with baby. Non-baby related, I'm excited for Nick to get back from Vegas on Saturday night. We are planning a little date night and, honestly, I just don't like having him gone.

Movement: none yet, but I should be able to start feeling Little Mango any time between 16 weeks and 22 weeks - definitely hope it's sooner rather than later!

It's a...: I'm getting super excited....I think we will find out at our 18 week ultrasound. That is two weeks from Monday and is quite possibly the most exciting thing in my life right now!

Exercise: The usual, hit Zorinsky for what is becoming more of a walk/run, not a run/walk these days. I just don't have the energy I used to in order to finish the five miles, plus it's HOT out! Nick & I took Maya for a run the other night (after the sun went down of course) and I was dying after that. I was actually asking Nick when it was time to walk!

Diet: A perfect mix of good & bad - I've been getting fruit and drinking lots of water, but I definitely could improve on what I'm eating. Story of my life....

Goals for the upcoming week: bottom line....cleaning out the closet of the soon-to-be nursery. It has to happen and I just need to do it already! Plus I want to make a couple of onesies - for myself and for some of my friends who have babies on the way.

Belly shot:

There is definitely a belly there!

Childcare Deliberation

This seems to be the angst in every pregnant woman's life as I'm talking with friends and it's no different for Nick & I (well maybe more me than Nick). What are we going to do when the baby has been here for a couple weeks and I eventually have to go back to work?? Some days I think I would love to be a stay at home mom, but then I realize that I would quickly lose interest with that (not in a bad way!) and want to be back at work, doing what I know best. Plus, I have the insurance through my job and I know from Tessa's standpoint that insurance is WAY too expensive on your own.

The difficult part is that Nick's schedule isn't very reliable either and who knows what's to come with that in the near future. I jokingly told him earlier this week, after having brunch w/ some friends & talking about daycare costs, that we could save the money we would spend on child care and he could stay at home full-time with our child AND take up Extreme Couponing to save loads of money on diapers, formula and every day groceries! I think it's a fantastic idea....he, on the other hand, did not. I do know that I don't want him having to travel all of the time after the baby's here. I would miss him terribly and I wouldn't want him to miss out on time with the baby and all of the special moments!

So now it's a matter of deciding what makes the most sense for us - daycare or a nanny. I personally love the idea of having a nanny, who would focus all of their time on our child and help develop Little Mango each and every day. However, I haven't even looked at the cost of hiring a nanny (not one that would live with us full-time, of course) and I don't know the expectations. I also know there are a lot of great daycares in the Omaha area, but I've heard nightmarish stories about the wait lists, the costs and the fact that they are tyrants about parents who are late - and with my schedule it's very hard to leave work by a certain time, plus it could be a little bit that I'm generally late.

Obviously, I haven't answered any questions here and will contiue to talk through what makes sense for Nick & I....hopefully this is something we can nail down for good and get started in the right direction soon.

So as is my nature....I didn't make a decision and now will show you a few of my favorite nannies... :)

"A spoonful of sugar's" Mary Poppins

Julie Andrews in "The Sound of Music"

Scarlett Johansen in "The Nanny Diaries"

Last but not least - Erin from "Sex & the City 2"

Celebrations and Family Get-Togethers

I have to say that Nick & I are extrememly lucky to have such a great family network. Everyone gets along well and when we get together we always have such a good time. Last night was no exception when we got together at Nick's dad John & stepmom Janice's house to celebrate Sicily's 6th birthday.

Nanu John took orders earlier in the week and manned the grill - fixing up burgers, chicken breast and sausage & peppers. Everyone brought a couple dishes and we ate, and ate, and ate. Everything was so good. Of course, last minute I had to figure out what we were bringing (weird) and thought I'd probably just hit Hy-Vee for one of their pre-made creations after work. Instead, Jill and I ran to Sam's during lunch for some ideas and we both love Caprese, so she recommended me bringing that and putting it on cocktail toothpicks instead of in salad form. As soon as I got home, Nick & I threw everything together and it actually turned out great and was very yummy! Plus I had a reason to use the cute Peggy Karr summer cocktail platter that the Beasleys had given Nick & I for our engagement party back in 2008!

Caprese: BBQ-style

(Cherry tomatoes, arugula, mozzarella pearls on cocktail

toothpicks drizzled with balsamic vinegar)

After dinner it was time for the women and men to part ways. The guys stayed in the house watching sports - baseball, horseracing, you name it, while we headed to the patio for a competitive game of Left, Right, Center. As usual there were a lot of laughs as we tried to see who was going to win the $27 pot each game!

Around 11:30pm, we left and I dropped Nick & Kyle off at Lit so they could continue drinking and I headed home because it was WAY past my bedtime.  Just as I was in a deep sleep, I was awakened by the phone and Nick asking if I could give him a ride. I have to give it to him, since the cabs were going to take forever, I'm glad he called - plus I'm much cheaper than a cab anyway. However, I have to admit that initially I was a bit peturbed to be woken up and having to go back out at 2am, but I got over it. I just realized that my pregnancy money-making scheme may not go ahead as planned. I definitely couldn't be an on-call DD for our friends - it sounds like a great idea when you are wide awake, but it is definitely annoying to be pulled out of a deep sleep and, honestly, the money isn't worth the sleep I would be missing out on!

14 Weeks: What's New....

Due date:  November 26th

Baby developments:  Little Mango is the size of a lemon this week. He is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, making urine and breathing amniotic fluid. The liver, kidneys and spleen continue to develop this week and thin hair is developing all over his body for warmth.

Weight gain: I've been at my pre-pregnancy weight all week.

Cravings: Brueggers bagels toasted with cream cheese, laffy taffy, red delicious apples

Symptoms:  the vomiting has slowed down tremendously after Monday this week which is GREAT news and even though it still happens, it's definitely not as often which is such a great feeling!

I am loving:  feeling a little bump, but it's also got me a bit nervous too!

Sleep: Ahhhh so amazing. I love sleeping these days - I feel so rested throughout the day and become exhausted around 8pm each night.

I am looking forward to:  my 16 week check up - it's been almost 3 weeks since my last appointment and I just want to know that all is well. Then, of course, the 18 week ultrasound!

I am spazzing about: a little bit of everything. I think I'm getting on Nick's nerves a bit and being a little of a nag this week. I need to make a cognizant effort to lay off and keep things to myself. 

Best moment this week: (see Belly Shot)

It's a...: too soon to tell! Dayvaney swears it's a boy and Kayden & Sohpie think it's a girl!

Exercise: Nil this week - need to get back on the saddle this week for sure.

Diet: Sandwiches - chicken salad, Subway, you name it.

Belly shot: Well there is no shot this week (definitely will have one next week), but new development here was Friday morning when I woke up and was laying on my back my stomach was sticking out and it definitely felt harder than normal. I'm feeling more of a bump coming along every day....