Belly Pics: Weeks 35 and 36

35 Weeks

36 Weeks

It's been a little bit of a rough week at our house this week. Darrell has been battling a pretty bad cold (he's on the mend, now, thankfully), and I've been, well, thirty-six weeks pregnant and everything that goes along with that. It is slightly entertaining, though; I want to do things for Darrell so he can relax and get to feeling better, but he wants to do things for me so I can relax and get off my feet. We've had fun trying to out-stubborn each other (although he usually ends up winning).

It also turns out that many of the things people say happen toward the end of a pregnancy do, in fact, happen. Swollen feet? Definitely. My doctor actually chuckled a little bit at the size of mine at our appointment on Monday. Maybe one of these days I'll get a picture; they don't get badly swollen every day, though (thankfully!). Difficulty sleeping? Yep, this one is catching up to me as well. I can still fall asleep without any issue, but once I get up to use the bathroom, it's totally a guessing game as to how much I'll toss and turn trying to get back to sleep. And let me tell you, it isn't easy to toss and turn with a massive belly. And general discomfort in the belly? Ugh, don't get me started. As if my bladder wasn't squished enough already, now that BOB is working on getting head down he presses up against it even more frequently. And that whole head-down thing means little baby feet kicking into my ribs--not necessarily painful, but kind of annoying at times. Oh, and speaking of annoying? Hiccups. Seriously. This kid gets them all the time, and he's big enough now that they aren't just cute little ripples of movement that you have to feel carefully for--they're practically massive shakes of the whole belly. Borderline ridiculous.


(Disclaimer: I'm really not complaining. About any of my "symptoms". For as fortunate as we have been in this pregnancy--and even that we were able to get pregnant as easily as we were--I will gladly take a few weeks of swollen feet, poor sleep, and belly-shaking hiccups. In fact, I'd even take months of those things if it meant the end result was a happy, healthy baby. So I'm really not complaining. At all. I've actually rather enjoyed being pregnant and am already looking forward to a "next time". Although that might change after the whole labor-and-delivery thing... But let's hope not.)

Spring?

Dear South Dakota:

Today is the first day of spring. That means temperatures should be higher than single-digits when I wake up in the morning. It also means that the high temperature for the day should be above freezing. Just wanted to make sure you were aware of that.

I do appreciate the sunshine though. Let's go ahead and keep that up. But can you please bring the temperature up to, oh, forty? And only light winds? I hope I'm not asking too much.

Love, Jess

St. Patrick's Day 2013

Despite being eight months pregnant, I made it my mission to still have a fun and enjoyable St. Patrick's Day--just, you know, with significantly less green beer than I would have otherwise consumed (and really, that's not such a terrible tradeoff--definitely healthier and no hangover the next day!). Part of the festivities that I was determined to take part in was the annual beer pong tournament that my brother organizes at the El Riad Shrine Mosque. His girlfriend Macy and I have been partners for the past three years, and I wasn't about to let a massive little baby bump split up team "Bigger Cups Please" for this year's tournament. Thankfully, my brother gave the official ruling that it was acceptable for a pregnant (and subsequently totally sober) person to participate--with the ruling that if my belly happened to knock any of the cups over that we wouldn't be allowed to set them back up. Which seemed fair enough.

For the second time in three years, Macy and I came out on top of our pool, securing our first-place finish with a win over a team that we were definite underdogs against. Darrell even managed to capture a picture of the winning shot!

Yes, my belly has gotten quite ginormous. And yes, I have a bow tied around it. And yes, I'm wearing a tank top even though it was only thirty degrees outside. Whatevs. 

And, for the second time in three years, Macy and I choked when we got to the first round of the tournament. According to my brother, it's my fault that we lost; apparently being sober prevented me from achieving the "ideal" state of lightly buzzed that optimizes a person's beer pong abilities. Of course, his team didn't even make it out of the pool play round, so I'm not so sure I can trust his logic.

Regardless, we had a blast (plus I got major props from a lot of the guys for being willing to play at eight months pregnant--one guy even offered to deliver the baby for me, although he was, shall we say, a little ways past "lightly buzzed"), and we're already looking forward to next year!

Suite Francaise

From the synopsis on the back of the book, the storyline seemed captivating enough: Parisians fleeing the city in advance of the inevitable German occupation, transitioning to a look at how life in a small village is affected by the presence of German soldiers. After reading the translator's note at the beginning of the novel, I further understood that these two stories were only part of a larger whole, a whole that was not completed due to the untimely death of the author in Auschwitz. In spite of that, I still was definitely not prepared for the content of the two stories, especially the transition (or lack there of) between the two. I've since read the appendices (which include some of the author's original notes on her plans for the whole five-part novel) and some additional information online, and I now have a much better understanding of the two stories. An understanding that I wish I would have had prior to reading.

The biggest issue for me was the fact that the two stories had very little connection. They could almost stand alone as individual novels, which is not something I was prepared for. I kept waiting for familiar characters to show up in the second story, which kept me from getting into it as much as I could have. Once I was able to let that issue go, I rather enjoyed the second story. It reminded me of Resistance with it's discussions of how the presence of the German soldiers affected life in the village, but with more development on how the occupation affected the Germans as well. And despite the fact that it was only the second story in what was intended to be a five-part novel, it had a good amount of closure and wrap-up to the main plot line.

The first story, however, was definitely lacking some of that sense of closure (which is probably why I expected the stories of those characters to be continued in the second story). It wasn't all bad, though; I didn't mind terribly that there were lots of characters to keep track of (a little similar to the movie Love Actually with it's network of characters and plots that overlap in random places), and I actually rather enjoyed reading about how a wide variety of people dealt with with impending German occupation of Paris (as well as the issues they ran into in their attempts to flee). But at the time, I just couldn't get over the feeling that I was left hanging (which, I suppose I should have expected to happen since technically the entire novel is unfinished).

As I was finishing the book, I probably would have told you that I would not recommend it. It definitely wasn't one of those "can't put it down" kind of books, and I actually considered not finishing it at all. However, now that I've done some research (and read through it once already), I think at some point I might actually be interested in going back and reading it a second time. Since I know what is going to happen, I won't be tempted to "wait" for the re-introduction of some character that isn't going to happen (and thus allow myself to actually get involved in the story that is evolving). And I would probably even read the first story differently; since I know that many of those characters don't reappear, I would probably read a little deeper into them and seek out the closure that exists instead of waiting for it to come later.

If you do decide to read this book, hopefully my notes will keep you from making some of the same mistakes that I made and you'll be able to enjoy it for what it is: two (mostly separate) stories of an unfinished whole, written as the author herself was facing some pretty harrowing circumstances.

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

As you may recall, one of the items on our "101 in 1001" list was to go out once a month for a date night. We've been really good about this, and have really enjoyed our nights out, but through the months we've definitely learned something about our dining out preferences. Namely, we prefer small, local restaurants to the big chains. We've found that at local restaurants, the food is often better (and fresher!), the atmosphere is cozier, and the staff is more knowledgeable (I won't mention this one time we tried to get a wine recommendation from a server at a big-name Italian restaurant--it didn't go so well).

However, that isn't to say that the chain restaurants do everything poorly. In fact, most chain restaurants do at least a few things well--after all, there has to be something that contributes to their long-standing (and nationwide) success. And sometimes, without reason, I get a craving for one of those "feature" items at a big chain restaurant.

Thankfully, there are people who have made it their mission to re-create such popular items, making it possible to satisfy the craving without dropping any cash at the restaurant. And for this copy-cat recipe, you don't even have to put in very much work! Definitely a win-win in my book.

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits
(yields 12 biscuits)

2 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup shredded cheese
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 450*. Mix Bisquick, cheese, and milk until a soft dough forms. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown, approximately ten minutes. Mix butter and garlic powder. Brush over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet. Best served warm.

Looking for another copy-cat recipe? Check out this one for a Jack Daniel's Grill Glaze!

Happy Pi Day!

Math nerds of the world rejoice! Although I wish I had plans to bake and share a new pie recipe today, that just wasn't in the cards for this week because I've been busy with some other baking for a family event tomorrow night and Darrell would not have approved of chocolate cake, cheesecake, AND pie sitting around our house. I suppose he has a point. But, if a pie is in the cards for you, here are a few recipes you can celebrate with!

Chunky Pecan Pie Bars--technically not a "pie", but close enough to count in my book!

Peanut Butter Brownie Pie

Toasted Coconut, Pecan, and Caramel Pie

Turns out I don't have much for options in the pie department... Guess I'll have to work on improving that for next year!

Wedding Wednesday: Wrap-Up

Today's post is going to conclude my series of Wedding Wednesdays. Of course, that doesn't mean I'll be done talking about weddings--safe to say there will be at least a post or two about my sister's big day (coming up in July!), plus we have at least two other weddings on tap for the summer. Not to mention my sister's bridal shower--not totally wedding related, but if things come together like I've been planning I'll have lots of fun details to share from that (Darrell thinks I'm biting off more than I can chew since the shower is scheduled for a month and a half after baby is due... But what does he know).

I just have a few last tips to share today; things that didn't really constitute getting their own post, but are still worthwhile to consider (at least in my opinion).

Do your best to have accommodations for little ones
If you are not going to limit your guest list to attendees eighteen and over (which I know some people do), it isn't a bad idea to have some accommodations available for families with little ones. While most parents will plan ahead and bring toys or other items their child likes, it's a nice gesture as the bride and groom to have something available as well. Some suggestions? If you are decorating with balloons, leave some scattered loose for kids to play with (and make sure parents know that it's okay). This can be great for keeping them occupied during down-time at the reception (and if the parents are lucky, it'll wear them out). Consider having a small kids table at the reception site with coloring books and other kid-friendly items. You could even have coloring pages of wedding-themed items. If you have the space (and are expecting lots of little ones), offering a staffed nursery can be a huge blessing for parents. They'll have the piece of mind knowing their child is being looked after (at no cost to them), and the kids can enjoy toys and games and possibly even movies instead of getting bored listening to speeches and watching people dance.

Utilize your personal attendant
Your wedding day is going to be crazy. No matter how well you've planned it, things are going to come up at the last minute. You will want someone by your side who is calm, level-headed, and a good problem solver. While your Maid of Honor (or wedding planner, if you have one), may fit this description, chances are she will have other commitments tying her down during the wedding day. Having a personal attendant whose sole job is to focus on you and what you need can be a lifesaver. And since that person's responsibility is to be there for you, don't be afraid to lean on them. Because trust me, you will forget stuff. You might forget to eat; ask them to periodically bring you snacks and water during the day to keep you energized. You might forget to get a picture with some favorite cousins at the reception; give them a list of people you want pictures with and have them remind you periodically throughout the evening (especially useful if your photographer is not scheduled to be there for the duration of the reception). You may even find that it's hard to get away from people to use the bathroom; have your attendant agree to "interrupt" you every so often to give you an opportunity to duck to the ladies room if necessary (added bonus--your attendant is now available to help you manage using the restroom if your dress necessitates an extra hand or two). And the best way to utilize your personal attendant? Make sure people know to go to her first with issues. Most last-minute issues can by fixed by anyone willing to step up and take charge, and trust me when I say you'll have enough on your mind that you won't want to deal with some of the problems. Besides--you probably won't even notice if the flower petals lining the aisle have to get switched from real ones to fake ones at the last minute (true story: happened at my wedding. I wasn't even aware that there had been an issue with the flower petals until my personal attendant told me the next day).

Most importantly, relax and enjoy the day!
This is definitely one of those "easier said than done" statements, but it still needs to be said. Just remember that ultimately, the purpose of the day is to marry your significant other; everything else is just a detail. So enjoy the excitement, laugh about the things that don't goes as planned (because trust me, there will be things that don't go as planned), and cherish the time with your loved ones who are there to celebrate with you. An added bonus of staying relaxed and having a good time? You'll get much better pictures. Not only will the candid shots turn out better, but even in the staged shots the camera will be able to pick up the difference between a forced "I may be smiling but I'm actually worried about whether or not people are having a good time" smile and a genuine "I'm so happy and in love" smile.