34 weeks - it's go time

Now now, don't get excited. What I mean is that, when we had our 34 week check-up this week (which was actually 33w6d because Ben & I took Monday off to recover from our California trip), the doctor we saw (Dr. Munro, who is back after having her baby just 6 weeks ago, looks amazing, and is awesome - we'd be totally comfortable having her deliver us) said that 34 weeks is the landmark where "they" say it's safer to let labor happen naturally rather than medically intervene to stop it. Babies born at 34 weeks have the same survival rates as those born at 40 weeks, and it's more dangerous for me and the baby to try to stop labor than it would be to let my body do it's thing, so there's no turning back now - whenever she decides she's ready, she's coming! Everyone keeps asking me if that's scary, but it's actually super exciting ... I cannot wait to meet this kid. And selfishly, I can't wait to not be pregnant anymore but that's just a bonus. Anyway, it's not really a huge deal because there is no indication she's coming anytime soon, but just something to think about over the next 6-8 weeks.

So, what does it mean to be 34 weeks?

1. How far along? Well, technically, 34 weeks and 2 days. Just over 85% done.

2. How big is baby? According to What to Expect, she's the size of a large cantaloupe - yum! Baby is anywhere from 19-22 inches long (still thinking she is on the long side of that) and weighs about 5.5 lbs (thinking she's probably on the smaller side of that one). She's like a real baby, y'all!

This is creepy
But it's the best I could find of someone holding a cantaloupe

3. Weight gain? 16 lbs, up one pound since my last appointment two weeks ago (despite the California vacation!). Looks like, pending any ridiculous water retention or extreme last-month-weight-gain, I'll be staying under 25 lbs total and I feel really good about.
4. Stretch marks? Still none that I can tell! Of course my butt and thighs are currently in a state that is less than desirable, but I think it's just cellulite - not actual stretch marks. Heyyyy fattyyyyy.

5. Maternity clothes? Even my maternity pants are starting to get tight! I am wearing a maternity top and skinny jeans from Old Navy today - yesterday I was wearing all "regular" clothes so I decided to balance it out. I think I did surprisingly well making it through all the bridesmaid festivities this past weekend with appropriate attire despite being SO pregnant - everyone loved my maternity bridesmaid dress!

The groomsman I walked with, at the rehearsal

Jenny & all her bridesmaids on the beach

6. Sleep? AWFUL, though not my fault or baby's. Ben came down with a cold on our trip (which he blames on me running the A/C in the hotel room) and he has been coughing all night. In my face. Awesome. I've been begging him to call our doctor because the Nyquil is just not cutting it.

7. Best moment last week? We had a wonderful trip to California, and I was so thrilled and honored to be a part of Jenny's wedding. She was such a lovely, laid-back bride and I had a really nice time being with her and the rest of the bridesmaids. Lots of giggling, girly time, etc. One of my favorite moments was having lunch at George's in La Jolla with the girls I went to high school with - yummy shrimp tacos, sunshine, a beautiful view and girl talk - nothing better! Another great moment - baby related - was getting her bathtub from our good friend Cristian. I've been using the Sprout app and they have a "newborn essentials" checklist - this was one of the things still missing from that list, and if you know me then you know how much I love to check things off a list!

Our view from lunch.
Can you say gorgeous?
Also, can you say sunburn?

8. Food cravings? Candy - chocolate chocolate and more chocolate. I had a peanut butter snickers AND a coconut three musketeers while we were waiting at the airport on Sunday. Ice cream. Cherry coke (finally indulged this morning - yum!). Oh, this is a great - Friday, we were at the grocery store near our hotel, and I was waiting for Ben to get some beer for the room, and then ... I spotted the bakery section. And there was this delicious-looking yellow cake with chocolate icing (my favorite these days). But it was only a half-cake, so that's ok right? Anyway, big surprise, I bought the cake, and I ended up bringing it to the hotel the day of the wedding and the bride had part of it for breakfast - so my pregnancy indulgences worked for good, not evil! Everyone deserves to have cake and champagne for breakfast on their wedding day, right?!
9. Symptoms? OMG y'all. I know I'm well past the point of apologizing for TMI, but ... this is a wild one. I have started lactating. I mean, just a little bit, and mostly just at night, but still. SO WEIRD. In more positive news, I've started using an exercise ball instead of my desk chair and it's making a world of difference for my ribs. Still pain / pressure, but way better than it was. So a big THANK YOU to Jesse for loaning it to me.
10. Exercise? Yoga 1x week. I NEED to start walking more ... and I am, some, but I need to do more. And I've been trying to stand up during meetings to help with the rib pain, so that counts for something, right? I want her to be able to drop into position whenever she's ready, and me sitting in a chair all day isn't going to do her any favors.
11. Movement? Still pretty solid, hiccups are becoming slightly less frequent but I'd say at least every other day. More braxton hicks these days, which aren't uncomfortable - just weird.
12. Belly button? It's disappearing day by day. And I've noticed that it actually shows through my clothes in 3D, so I'm trying to wear a tank or belly band underneath to prevent everyone from being grossed out.
13. What I miss? Sleep. Sushi. All the normal pregnancy stuff. I had a delicious half-glass of sangria at Jenny's wedding so I guess I'm not missing alcohol as much now. I did find out that there are no food restrictions during breast-feeding, so somebody better be bringing mama a big ol' thing of sushi grade tuna to the hospital room. There's a sushi place right next door ... just sayin'.
14. Labor signs? None - minus the fact that she's still head-down. Next appointment they'll do a cervical check hopefully, and let me know if I'm starting to efface or dilate. Not that it necessarily means much if I am, but I'd love to have a little progress.
15. What I'm looking forward to? Getting some of our little last minute details taken care of this weekend. I've been putting off things like getting the car seat installed and packing our hospital bags (mostly out of fear / denial) but it's time. And I'm thrilled to be DONE with traveling - no more out of town trips planned until August!

sleepy eyes - thanks to Ben

Craft Corner: Aubrey's Wedding Gift

I started to post this last week, then remembered that Other Aubrey follows me and I didn't want to ruin the surprise! I made this invitation ornament based on an idea from - you guessed it - pinterest.

The photo was originally pinned by ...from glitter to gumdrops and there's a lot of sweet ideas on there. And they're simple. Y'all know how I need love simple.

So here you have it:

What You'll Need

• Round, Glass Ornaments that have a removable top (available at Michael's in a 4-pack)
• The Invitation in question (could be wedding, baby shower, anything!)
• Scissors
• Coordinating Ribbon
• Round Straight Pen

What You'll Do

1. Remove the top of the Ornament
2. Cut the invitation into strips; I used each line of the invite as a strip
3. Curl each strip around the pen
4. Gently "shove" them into the small hole in the ornament, taking care for special words (their names, the date, etc) to show on the outside glass; you can use the pen to move them around if necessary
5. Replace the top
6. Tie a coordinating ribbon through the top of the ornament to hang it and include coordinating charms on ribbon (optional)

Ta Da!

Craft Corner: Tressa's Wedding Gift

We spent our 4th anniversary in beautiful Savannah, GA and then headed up north to Hilton Head, SC for my dear friend Tressa's wedding. The whole thing was a blast, but unfortunately my camera was dead when we got there, so photos are limited. Luckily, Tressa hired an amazing photographer (also, our friend Abby's husband) and here's one of my favorite shots that he's posted so far:

More to come on the trip & the wedding, but I wanted to share this gift, as I'm very proud of it and I'm just certain Tressa will love it. She's a travel guru and when I found these prints on pinterest, I just had to do something with them.

So, 3 antique-y ribbon frames + 3 Michael's 40% off coupons later ... here's the result. Ignore the poor picture quality from my sad little iPhone 3G.

Kelly Getting Married

My best friend from high school, Kelly Michele Urso Soon-To-Be-Cloyd is getting married soon. 15 days to be exact. She got engaged only 6 months ago (while I was in Italy, which resulted in a full blown freak-out in the middle of a street in downtown Florence ... I'm the reason they call us Stupid Americans), so we have crammed quite a lot of celebrating into a very short amount of time, the most important of which was the bachelorette party. So, last Friday, I hopped on the megabus and headed to Charlotte for a wknd of debutantes and debauchery. We began the weekend with a "PJs & Pearls" Sleepover, which I co-hosted in the form of providing drinks and decorations.

Decorations included the newly famous tissue paper pom-poms, in hot pink and white glitter and an adorable banner I made in Microsoft Publisher (let me know if you want the template).

The drink menu included 4 movie-themed cocktails, complete with modified movie posters to incorporate the recipe & Kelly's name, fiance and wedding date. Again, let me know if you'd like me to send you the files. I think it was a toss-up for the favorite cocktail, but here they are ... all are delicious!

• Pretty in Pink Lemonade
  Serving: Pitcher
  12 oz frozen pink lemonade concentrate, 12 oz light beer, 3/4 cup vodka
• Breakfast at Tiffany's Blue Martini
  Serving: Glass
  2 parts vodka, 1 part blue curacao, 1 part pineapple juice
  (may need to supplement the pineapple juice a bit, these were strong!)
• Carrie's Cosmopolitan
  Serving: glass
  1.5 oz vodka, 1 oz triple sec, 1/2 oz lime juice, 1/4 oz cranberry juice
• I Carried a Watermelon Martini
  Serving: Glass
  1 shot vodka, 3 shot cranberry juice, 1 part 7-Up

Saturday included a lingerie shower and brunch at Abby's beautiful home. I won't steal all her glory, but let me just say that she is a FANTASTIC hostess, and I certainly hope she shares some of the beautiful ideas & recipes on her blog. Something about mini egg fritatas, spinach stratta, things I've never heard of that were SO GOOD!

Stuffed and stomachs hurting from our giggles, we headed downtown to get situated in our hotel rooms and primp, then had a delicious dinner at Dandelion Market. YUM! The rest of the night gets a little hazy for most of us, and everyone knows secrets from a bachelorette party can't be shared, but I think it's safe to say Kelly's last big night of "singlehood" sent her out with a bang. CONGRATULATIONS KELLY!!