After making our name choice public to our families, we discovered some really neat connections with our families and the name Eli!
I said in the last post that Justin had an ancestor named Eli Tapp. Well, apparently I also have an ancestor on my dad's side whose name was Ely - different spelling, same pronunciation.
Even cooler than that, though, is what Justin's mom told him when she heard the news! She said that they had never told Justin this, but his middle name was almost Eli. They decided not to at the last minute because they didn't think Justin Eli sounded as good as they wanted, but they love the name and are thrilled with our choice.
I think those connections are so cool! And here we thought we were being so original with our choice... Of course, all of these connections are just plain Eli, so Elias is still quite original. Both traditional and unique - exactly what we wanted!!!
Justin also sent me this article from the New York Times about Eli Manning and his strong bond with his mother. While his older brothers Cooper and Peyton were with their dad at sporting events, Eli would go antiquing with his mom. Eli is 5 years younger than Peyton, so he had 5 years at home alone with his parents after Peyton moved out, and that gave him time to really bond with his mom when his dad was traveling for work. Read the article, it's nice. (Makes me want to root for him in the Super Bowl, even though I think he doesn't have a chance of winning...) So even though we're not naming our son after Eli Manning, I hope our Eli does take after him in this regard... Love your mama, boy!!!!!! :)
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
The Big Announcement
We've decided on a name for our sweet boy!
His name will be…
Elias John Tapp
How we settled upon this name:
The Arabic/Turkic name for Elijah is Ilias (EE-lee-ahs), and Justin has liked this name for several years. However, we knew that most Americans seeing “Ilias” would not pronounce it correctly. Elias is a Greek variation of Elijah, and Elias (ee-LYE-us) is a common English rendering of this name, so we decided it would work well. So, if we ever live in a different culture, it will be no problem to pronounce it “Ilias.”
He will likely be called Eli for short. The name Eli has historical significance for the Tapp family. Justin is descended from Eli Tapp, who moved to Kentucky from North Carolina in 1833. He and his brothers were the first Tapps to settle in Hopkins County, where Justin still has many relatives.
Plus, Justin has always really liked the song by one of his favorite bands of all-time Three Dog Night called “Eli’s Coming,” and so that will be our new theme song for this pregnancy, and maybe his life (“Eli’s coming, hide your heart girl!”) Here’s a clip of the song performed by the band on a late 1960’s comedy show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChJzR5see1k
John is the name of Joni’s father, who is also her hero. Joni has always wanted to honor her father by naming her first son after him in some fashion. Therefore, it was such a blessing that Justin’s father is also named John, as was his father’s father. That way we could honor three men in our families all with the same name! John is, of course, a Biblical name and many great men in history are also named John.
We wanted to go ahead and get this news out before the Super Bowl, to make sure that everyone knew we were not naming our child after Eli Manning. (Eli Manning’s name is actually Elisha, so ours is clearly not the same, but we expect Eli will be a popular baby name this year.) Regardless of who wins the Super Bowl, our child will still be Elias.
Thanks to all for your suggestions for a baby name – We hope you like our choice!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Preggo Shoes?!
Justin and I went to Pigeon Forge today to the massive outlet centers because we both needed new shoes... Neither of us have gotten new tennis shoes since before we got married, and they were literally falling off our feet! So we hit the Nike Outlet first, and I discovered 2 things. 1) Pregnancy has made my shoe size go up 1/2 size... I had to buy a dadgum 10 1/2 shoe!!! And 2) Pregnancy has also made me a little crazy in my taste! At least I think I'll blame it on the pregnancy... Check out these shoes I bought today!
Yes, I got shiny gold paisley Nikes. They're Air Max, and they are SOO comfy! Plus, the inside on the sole says "Dance Machine." And to top it all off, they were on clearance for $29.99. How could I not get these shoes?!
Yes, I got shiny gold paisley Nikes. They're Air Max, and they are SOO comfy! Plus, the inside on the sole says "Dance Machine." And to top it all off, they were on clearance for $29.99. How could I not get these shoes?!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Huckabee for President
I've never known much about politics, but my world has broadened dramatically since being married to Justin! I actually have an opinion about most of the major issues, and I have a favorite candidate for the upcoming presidential elections... MIKE HUCKABEE! (Even stranger is the fact that he is not Justin's favorite - I decided this on my own!) I'm not going to talk about his politics, though, because I honestly don't think that's the most important thing when choosing a candidate. Most of the things the candidates are debating over are irrelevant because the president won't have power to change those things. For example, I love Huckabee's Fair Tax plan, but there is zero chance he could get that through Congress. However, there are many things a president makes Executive Orders on that he never talked about before being elected. So, in my opinion, it's more important to choose a candidate whose character you believe in and who you personally trust to make good decisions in office. So let me tell you about the reasons I like Mike Huckabee as a person:
- He is 52 years old, by far the youngest Republican candidate. I like that he's not an old fogy.
- He is a former Southern Baptist minister, and still confesses his faith publicly.
- He plays the bass guitar, and he's good at it too. His band has played at the House of Blues and 2 presidential inauguration balls, and has opened for the likes of Willie Nelson and the Charlie Daniels Band.
- He believes in taking responsibility for your own health, and he made an example of himself by losing 110 pounds through healthy eating and exercise when he was diagnosed with diabetes in 2003. This is what he looked like before:
- He is a marathon runner.
- He is an outdoorsman - hunting and fishing.
- He loves his dogs, pictured here with Jet. On his Facebook page, there is actually a picture of Mike & Janet Huckabee with President & Mrs. Bush, and they photoshopped the dog into the picture. Now that is funny.
- He has a sense of humor, evidenced by this commercial he made with Chuck Norris.
These are just the things I could think of off the top of my head, but I think it's a pretty good list! Part of the reason I like him so much is that you can add 2 years to his age, take out the bits about losing 110 pounds, hunting, his dog, and Chuck Norris, and you have a perfect description of my dad. How could I not support and trust a candidate who is practically the twin of my dad, who is my lifelong hero?!
Pictures from Mike's Facebook page, information from mikehuckabee.com.
- He is 52 years old, by far the youngest Republican candidate. I like that he's not an old fogy.
- He is a former Southern Baptist minister, and still confesses his faith publicly.
- He plays the bass guitar, and he's good at it too. His band has played at the House of Blues and 2 presidential inauguration balls, and has opened for the likes of Willie Nelson and the Charlie Daniels Band.
- He believes in taking responsibility for your own health, and he made an example of himself by losing 110 pounds through healthy eating and exercise when he was diagnosed with diabetes in 2003. This is what he looked like before:- He is a marathon runner.- He is an outdoorsman - hunting and fishing.
- He loves his dogs, pictured here with Jet. On his Facebook page, there is actually a picture of Mike & Janet Huckabee with President & Mrs. Bush, and they photoshopped the dog into the picture. Now that is funny.
- He has a sense of humor, evidenced by this commercial he made with Chuck Norris.These are just the things I could think of off the top of my head, but I think it's a pretty good list! Part of the reason I like him so much is that you can add 2 years to his age, take out the bits about losing 110 pounds, hunting, his dog, and Chuck Norris, and you have a perfect description of my dad. How could I not support and trust a candidate who is practically the twin of my dad, who is my lifelong hero?!
Pictures from Mike's Facebook page, information from mikehuckabee.com.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Gonna Be a Soccer Player!
I want to thank you all for all your awesome naming suggestions for Justin and I to consider!!! I was surprised at the response! We've pretty much settled on a middle name, but still working on the first name. We figure we have another 4 months before we HAVE to make a decision, so there's no need to rush it now. We'll let you know when we decide what his full name will be!
In the meantime, I am not kidding when I say I am SHOCKED at how much this child kicks me! It's like I'm his own personal practice dummy! Especially when I'm in bed at night trying to sleep. I call him "my little goober" when he's doing that and keeping me awake. I'm not sleeping well at night anyway, between getting up to pee every 4 hours, uncomfortable aching hips, and bizarre and vivid dreams. So I'm awake every hour or two anyways. Then last night every time I woke up, it was like he was having a Dance Dance Revolution party in there or something! So it would always take me a while to fall back asleep, since my little goober was scheming to keep me awake. :) It's also funny, though, how much joy there is in that. I LOVE waking up and feeling him alive in me, it's just such an encouraging knowledge and never ceases to make me smile. It's almost like he's communicating with me - "I'm here, Mom!"
He also really seems to like it when I eat sugar - or maybe it just gives him a sugar rush. I just finished a mug of Moose Tracks ice cream, so we'll see if it make him dance a bit in there. :)
My family is coming to visit us for the long weekend this weekend, and I am INCREDIBLY excited about that! They arrive tomorrow at lunch time, and I'm already counting the hours! (16 to go!) We're going to eat a lot of food, play some games, spend a day in Gatlinburg, and just have an all-around good time.
P.S. Yes, the Moose Tracks DID give him a sugar rush! :)
In the meantime, I am not kidding when I say I am SHOCKED at how much this child kicks me! It's like I'm his own personal practice dummy! Especially when I'm in bed at night trying to sleep. I call him "my little goober" when he's doing that and keeping me awake. I'm not sleeping well at night anyway, between getting up to pee every 4 hours, uncomfortable aching hips, and bizarre and vivid dreams. So I'm awake every hour or two anyways. Then last night every time I woke up, it was like he was having a Dance Dance Revolution party in there or something! So it would always take me a while to fall back asleep, since my little goober was scheming to keep me awake. :) It's also funny, though, how much joy there is in that. I LOVE waking up and feeling him alive in me, it's just such an encouraging knowledge and never ceases to make me smile. It's almost like he's communicating with me - "I'm here, Mom!"
He also really seems to like it when I eat sugar - or maybe it just gives him a sugar rush. I just finished a mug of Moose Tracks ice cream, so we'll see if it make him dance a bit in there. :)
My family is coming to visit us for the long weekend this weekend, and I am INCREDIBLY excited about that! They arrive tomorrow at lunch time, and I'm already counting the hours! (16 to go!) We're going to eat a lot of food, play some games, spend a day in Gatlinburg, and just have an all-around good time.
P.S. Yes, the Moose Tracks DID give him a sugar rush! :)
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Name That Baby! Contest
Justin and I are kind of beating our heads against brick walls when it comes to trying to agree on a name for our little boy. I like traditional names, he wants something unique. So we decided to appeal to our blogging friends out there for some inspiration! We KNOW that there is a name out there we're both going to love, we just haven't thought of it yet! Can anybody offer us any suggestions? It would be awesome if you could suggest a first & middle name combo, and please think about whether it sounds good with our last name. It does not have to start with a J, but it can.
And if you suggest the name that we end up naming our baby, we'll give you... um... the satisfaction of knowing that you helped us name our son! :)
And if you suggest the name that we end up naming our baby, we'll give you... um... the satisfaction of knowing that you helped us name our son! :)
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
The Bump at 5 Months
Alrighty, here's my long-awaited first belly shot! Me and the bump at almost 5 months.
This was taken just after we took the sweet boy to his first UK basketball game! He is definitely a future Wildcat fan, although he was pretty disappointed with the Wildcats' pathetic showing against Louisville on Saturday.
This was also my first time wearing a maternity shirt. This one was a Christmas gift from my mom and dad - I LOVE IT! Maternity clothes are so comfortable! :)
After the game, we drove to Western Kentucky to spend a few days enjoying Justin's parents' lake house and visiting some family. We haven't seen some of this family since our wedding more than 2 years ago! So it was nice to catch up with these great people.
Being in Middle-of-Nowhere-ville, KY meant that we didn't have the ability to hook our computer up to the internet, which is why I'm not posting these pics until today. I'm sure you all somehow managed to survive the 4 day wait. We're back in Tennessee now, where I believe we will stay until we find out where we'll be moving to permanently! Any prayers you'd like to offer up for us on that subject would be greatly appreciated! :)
This was taken just after we took the sweet boy to his first UK basketball game! He is definitely a future Wildcat fan, although he was pretty disappointed with the Wildcats' pathetic showing against Louisville on Saturday.
This was also my first time wearing a maternity shirt. This one was a Christmas gift from my mom and dad - I LOVE IT! Maternity clothes are so comfortable! :)After the game, we drove to Western Kentucky to spend a few days enjoying Justin's parents' lake house and visiting some family. We haven't seen some of this family since our wedding more than 2 years ago! So it was nice to catch up with these great people.
Being in Middle-of-Nowhere-ville, KY meant that we didn't have the ability to hook our computer up to the internet, which is why I'm not posting these pics until today. I'm sure you all somehow managed to survive the 4 day wait. We're back in Tennessee now, where I believe we will stay until we find out where we'll be moving to permanently! Any prayers you'd like to offer up for us on that subject would be greatly appreciated! :)
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Christmas Loot
Our little bean is yet 4+ months unborn, but he's already racking up some serious loot from the families! Look at what they got him for Christmas:
Nana & Grand-Dad Tapp got him a sweet book called "Pat the Bunny."
Grandma & Grandpa Strimple got him a soft "My First Rattle," and Grandma embroidered the onesie for him that says "I'm a Moldovan Baby." There's a story behind this, because one day while we were still in Moldova, Justin found this onesie that for some random reason is being sold on Amazon. So we sent the link to our parents thinking it was cute. (Our baby, after all, WAS made in Moldova!) So Mom used her amazing embroidery machine skills to make him his own personalized one, complete with Moldova's new logo in the top corner.
Santa (aka Grandma) even got in on the action by filling him a stocking with a CD of lullabies, a cow-spotted rubber ducky that lets Mommy & Daddy know when his bathwater is too hot, a pair of adorable UK booties that he will inevitably wear home from the hospital, and a gift card for DQ since he has been craving a chicken strip basket for the past 5 months. It's HIM, not his mommy that needs the chicken strips. :)
I also included in the photo the "mommy-purse" that was a gift from Aunt Jessica (my sister). She said it's the perfect size for all the stuff mommies need to carry around with their babies - bigger than a purse but not as big as a diaper bag. Then Grandma and I designed the monogram to go on it, and she embroidered it for me. I LOVE IT!
So thank you to everyone for making our little bean's first Christmas so special!
Nana & Grand-Dad Tapp got him a sweet book called "Pat the Bunny."Grandma & Grandpa Strimple got him a soft "My First Rattle," and Grandma embroidered the onesie for him that says "I'm a Moldovan Baby." There's a story behind this, because one day while we were still in Moldova, Justin found this onesie that for some random reason is being sold on Amazon. So we sent the link to our parents thinking it was cute. (Our baby, after all, WAS made in Moldova!) So Mom used her amazing embroidery machine skills to make him his own personalized one, complete with Moldova's new logo in the top corner.
Santa (aka Grandma) even got in on the action by filling him a stocking with a CD of lullabies, a cow-spotted rubber ducky that lets Mommy & Daddy know when his bathwater is too hot, a pair of adorable UK booties that he will inevitably wear home from the hospital, and a gift card for DQ since he has been craving a chicken strip basket for the past 5 months. It's HIM, not his mommy that needs the chicken strips. :)
I also included in the photo the "mommy-purse" that was a gift from Aunt Jessica (my sister). She said it's the perfect size for all the stuff mommies need to carry around with their babies - bigger than a purse but not as big as a diaper bag. Then Grandma and I designed the monogram to go on it, and she embroidered it for me. I LOVE IT!
So thank you to everyone for making our little bean's first Christmas so special!
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Happy 2008!
Happy New Year, everybody! This promises to be an exciting year full of big changes for us, and I'm excited to get it started! An exciting development for us this week was that we passed 20 weeks, which puts us over the halfway mark! Apparently the little bean decided that this occasion meant he needed to start making my belly as big as possible. I feel like I've noticeably grown in just the past 4 days! In fact, he's already starting to press up on my stomach so that I get full faster. I'm kind of a slow learner these days, so I didn't do well with all the big holiday dinners. I didn't realize how full I was getting and thought that I could just eat as much as I wanted the way I always have in the past! That was bad news for me after the meals when I had made myself SO SICK from overeating! So moderation is the key for me, and thankfully all the big family holiday meals are done. Now I just need to concentrate on eating more often instead of eating big portions. My body is slowly recovering from the abuse I gave it with all that food, and I'm learning how to do this pregnancy thing. :)
We're going to be taking the little bean to his first UK basketball game this weekend, and I'll post pictures from that. I feel like my belly is finally big enough that I look pregnant and not just fat, so I'm not ashamed to post a pic anymore. Plus, I have some awesome new maternity clothes that I can't wait to show off! (Huge thanks to Mom, Jess, and Nicole!) So check back for that next week.
May your 2008 be blessed and filled with the joy and hope of the Lord!
We're going to be taking the little bean to his first UK basketball game this weekend, and I'll post pictures from that. I feel like my belly is finally big enough that I look pregnant and not just fat, so I'm not ashamed to post a pic anymore. Plus, I have some awesome new maternity clothes that I can't wait to show off! (Huge thanks to Mom, Jess, and Nicole!) So check back for that next week.
May your 2008 be blessed and filled with the joy and hope of the Lord!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
It's A Boy!
We were very sneaky and snuck in one last $4 ultrasound before we left Moldova to see if we could tell what the gender of the baby is. We kept it a secret, though, because we wanted to be able to tell our families the big news in person! But now they all know, and the news is out! Baby Tapp is a BOY! We saw the evidence ourselves, and it seemed pretty clear to us that there was no room for error. So we are very excited - we both wanted our first one to be a boy! With all the packing, moving, and celebrating Christmas, we haven't had time for a naming discussion yet, so we're not incredibly close on making a decision there... We'll let you know when we come up with something!
Here's a couple good pictures from our ultrasound. Below you can see his spine and legs - cool!
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and that you're all praising God for His greatest Gift to us - HIS Son. :)
Here's a couple good pictures from our ultrasound. Below you can see his spine and legs - cool!
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and that you're all praising God for His greatest Gift to us - HIS Son. :)
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Oh, My Achin' Hips!
I definitely have a new pregnancy symptom... My hips hurt! Thankfully, I had already read that this happens in pregnancy, or else I would've been really concerned because they hurt a LOT! Yesterday morning I woke up and could barely walk because of it - I limped around the house like an old lady all day! I've read that sleeping with a pillow between your legs helps keep them aligned while sleeping and eases the pain. So I tried that last night and it did help a lot. Still a little achy, but nothing like yesterday. I'm just surprised that it's happening so soon - I expected it once my belly got big, but I'm not all that big yet! Oh well. When we get home I may invest in one of those pregnancy pillows that curls around your whole body and keeps everything where it should be. Did anybody use one of those, and did it help? Do you have any other suggestions?
Friday, December 14, 2007
Christmas Favorites
My sister did this on her blog, and I liked her idea so much I thought I'd steal it for mine. I'll expand a little on her idea, though, because there's no way I can pick just ONE favorite Christmas movie! I've narrowed it down to my top four, which follow in no particular order.
Timeless Classic: White Christmas
This movie is unbelievable, especially considering it was made in 1954! It combines the amazing vocal talents of Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney with the stunning dancing ability of Danny Kaye and Vera-Ellen. It's not exceptionally about Christmas, although most of it happens around that time of year. But the plot is enjoyable and the talent showcased in this movie makes it one to watch every year.
Cartoon Classic: A Charlie Brown Christmas
I love this one for the fact that it's on network TV every year, and yet it remains the same timeless story about the REAL meaning of Christmas. It never fails to move me when Linus is on stage sharing the "glad tidings of great joy." Imagine, a Christmas show that actually honors Christ! Charles Schultz is my hero.
Comedy Classic: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
And then for the other end of the spectrum, this is pretty much the opposite of the real meaning of Christmas. But it is dang hilarious. I can't even pick one part of the movie that is my favorite because they are ALL funny! Cousin Eddie, Aunt Bethany, the dog Snot - so many characters that we can all identify with from our own families. This is another must-watch every year for me.
New Favorite: The Nativity Story
I just saw this movie for the first time a couple weeks ago, and I was very pleased with how well-made it was and how much it really did stick with the biblical account. I love that this was a mainstream movie that showed in theaters, but it really does tell exactly what happened and what Christmas is all about. I will definitely add this to my collection.
Honorable Mention: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (both the Dr. Suess and the Jim Carrey versions!), The Holiday, Prancer, A Christmas Story
On my Do-Not-Watch List: Any of the creepy claymation classics shown on TV - Frosty, Rudolph, Santa Claus is Coming to Town (What the heck is a Burgermeister anyways?!), It's a Wonderful Life (It may be the effect of my husband, who doesn't like Christmas movies, but this movie is more depressing to me than uplifting these days.)
Timeless Classic: White Christmas
This movie is unbelievable, especially considering it was made in 1954! It combines the amazing vocal talents of Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney with the stunning dancing ability of Danny Kaye and Vera-Ellen. It's not exceptionally about Christmas, although most of it happens around that time of year. But the plot is enjoyable and the talent showcased in this movie makes it one to watch every year.Cartoon Classic: A Charlie Brown Christmas
I love this one for the fact that it's on network TV every year, and yet it remains the same timeless story about the REAL meaning of Christmas. It never fails to move me when Linus is on stage sharing the "glad tidings of great joy." Imagine, a Christmas show that actually honors Christ! Charles Schultz is my hero.
Comedy Classic: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
And then for the other end of the spectrum, this is pretty much the opposite of the real meaning of Christmas. But it is dang hilarious. I can't even pick one part of the movie that is my favorite because they are ALL funny! Cousin Eddie, Aunt Bethany, the dog Snot - so many characters that we can all identify with from our own families. This is another must-watch every year for me.New Favorite: The Nativity Story
I just saw this movie for the first time a couple weeks ago, and I was very pleased with how well-made it was and how much it really did stick with the biblical account. I love that this was a mainstream movie that showed in theaters, but it really does tell exactly what happened and what Christmas is all about. I will definitely add this to my collection.
Honorable Mention: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (both the Dr. Suess and the Jim Carrey versions!), The Holiday, Prancer, A Christmas Story
On my Do-Not-Watch List: Any of the creepy claymation classics shown on TV - Frosty, Rudolph, Santa Claus is Coming to Town (What the heck is a Burgermeister anyways?!), It's a Wonderful Life (It may be the effect of my husband, who doesn't like Christmas movies, but this movie is more depressing to me than uplifting these days.)
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
4 Months!
I can't believe that I'm 4 months pregnant already! That is both exciting and a little scary... We're almost halfway! Also exciting is that I think I felt the baby move for the first time last night when I was lying in bed! It just felt like somebody lightly tapping their fingers on my lower abdomen. And then I felt it again just now while I was checking email... Wow! So I'm not sure if that is the baby moving or if it's just gas or something, but I'm excited thinking that it is! :) I think the baby is just getting excited about going back to America and "meeting" its extended family. Less than 2 weeks! Yay!
I haven't posted in a while because everything seems to be going great, and there's not much to say! My nausea is completely gone, and my skin is even starting to clear up! I'm very glad because I didn't want to go home and think that people were lying when they say "You look radiant!" (Yeah, radiant red like Rudolph's nose, maybe!) Hopefully I WILL look radiant for Christmas with my family. :) Now all I've got going on is some serious cravings for potatoes. This baby loves it some starches. So I'm eating potatoes! Yeah! And they're yummy!
I haven't posted in a while because everything seems to be going great, and there's not much to say! My nausea is completely gone, and my skin is even starting to clear up! I'm very glad because I didn't want to go home and think that people were lying when they say "You look radiant!" (Yeah, radiant red like Rudolph's nose, maybe!) Hopefully I WILL look radiant for Christmas with my family. :) Now all I've got going on is some serious cravings for potatoes. This baby loves it some starches. So I'm eating potatoes! Yeah! And they're yummy!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Insomnia and Fine Motor Skills
So apparently now that I'm in my second trimester, my body has decided it just doesn't need to sleep anymore. I lay in bed at night and just don't go to sleep. And it's not that I'm not tired - I just can't sleep. Normally if I can't sleep, I'll get up and read or something until I get tired. But these days my body, especially my eyes, are so tired that I don't want to get up. I want to sleep! I just can't. I have read that insomnia can be a symptom of the hormone changes in pregnancy, so I'm hoping that it will adjust itself soon. I've cut out taking my afternoon naps in an effort to make myself sleep at night. It hasn't worked yet, but surely it will soon!!!
Another strange side effect of pregnancy that has surprised me is that suddenly my typing has gotten really bad! I'm usually a fast and accurate typist. But ever since I got pregnant, my speed is still the same, but my accuracy is terrible! It takes me twice as long to type anything because I just can't seem to make my fingers hit the right keys! And then trying to backspace and type the right one... Sometimes I have to actually stop and do the chicken-peck method to get the right letter on the screen! For somebody who's pretty obsessive about spelling, grammar, and punctuation, this is not a fun thing.
Even though I've spent the entirety of this post so far complaining about my symptoms, I'm definitely enjoying pregnancy at this point! I love my baby so much, and I can't wait to meet it! I spend a lot of each day home alone, so I talk to the baby and sing to it. We have a good time! (It tells me that it's ok to eat that piece of chocolate after lunch! We're going to be good friends.) So I just want to affirm that even though I have some symptoms that are surprising and not entirely pleasant, I'm thrilled to be in this situation. :)
Another strange side effect of pregnancy that has surprised me is that suddenly my typing has gotten really bad! I'm usually a fast and accurate typist. But ever since I got pregnant, my speed is still the same, but my accuracy is terrible! It takes me twice as long to type anything because I just can't seem to make my fingers hit the right keys! And then trying to backspace and type the right one... Sometimes I have to actually stop and do the chicken-peck method to get the right letter on the screen! For somebody who's pretty obsessive about spelling, grammar, and punctuation, this is not a fun thing.
Even though I've spent the entirety of this post so far complaining about my symptoms, I'm definitely enjoying pregnancy at this point! I love my baby so much, and I can't wait to meet it! I spend a lot of each day home alone, so I talk to the baby and sing to it. We have a good time! (It tells me that it's ok to eat that piece of chocolate after lunch! We're going to be good friends.) So I just want to affirm that even though I have some symptoms that are surprising and not entirely pleasant, I'm thrilled to be in this situation. :)
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Finger-Lickin' Good
I've discovered another reason I'm VERY glad to be in Moldova for the first half of my pregnancy. First of all, let me start by explaining that my absolute favorite fast-food meal of all time is Dairy Queen's Chicken Strip Basket. 
Four batter-dipped chicken strips, hot crispy fries, Texas toast, and gravy. Oh my, I'm salivating just thinking about it. I haven't eaten one in years because, according to the DQ website, the meal tops out at a whopping 950 calories, and that is WITHOUT the gravy, which I don't eat. And of course, it wouldn't be complete without a medium Chocolate X-treme blizzard, which DOUBLES that calorie total. Sooooooo, needless to say, I don't splurge on that treat much. However, not even the knowledge of how devastating this meal is for one's health can stop me from craving it pretty much night and day. And now that I'm pregnant, it is seriously my #1 craving. I'm not kidding - I'm actually having dreams about going to DQ and getting one of these. Thankfully, however, we don't have Dairy Queens in Moldova, and so I'm not having to try to resist that temptation. I must say, however, that upon returning to the States, I'm going to have one as soon as I can. Oh my. I'm getting a little emotional just thinking about it. Hopefully I'll have enough willpower to limit them to maybe once a month for the remainder of my pregnancy... We'll see.
Anyways, all the talk on my last post about cravings determining whether it's a boy or a girl made me think about this being my number one craving. Supposedly, craving salty means it's a boy and craving sweet means it's a girl. Well, seeing as I'm craving both the chicken strips AND the blizzard, I don't know if this helps me much. But I do think that considering my biggest craving is fried chicken, this tells me that our child will most definitely be a Baptist... :)
Four batter-dipped chicken strips, hot crispy fries, Texas toast, and gravy. Oh my, I'm salivating just thinking about it. I haven't eaten one in years because, according to the DQ website, the meal tops out at a whopping 950 calories, and that is WITHOUT the gravy, which I don't eat. And of course, it wouldn't be complete without a medium Chocolate X-treme blizzard, which DOUBLES that calorie total. Sooooooo, needless to say, I don't splurge on that treat much. However, not even the knowledge of how devastating this meal is for one's health can stop me from craving it pretty much night and day. And now that I'm pregnant, it is seriously my #1 craving. I'm not kidding - I'm actually having dreams about going to DQ and getting one of these. Thankfully, however, we don't have Dairy Queens in Moldova, and so I'm not having to try to resist that temptation. I must say, however, that upon returning to the States, I'm going to have one as soon as I can. Oh my. I'm getting a little emotional just thinking about it. Hopefully I'll have enough willpower to limit them to maybe once a month for the remainder of my pregnancy... We'll see.Anyways, all the talk on my last post about cravings determining whether it's a boy or a girl made me think about this being my number one craving. Supposedly, craving salty means it's a boy and craving sweet means it's a girl. Well, seeing as I'm craving both the chicken strips AND the blizzard, I don't know if this helps me much. But I do think that considering my biggest craving is fried chicken, this tells me that our child will most definitely be a Baptist... :)
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Goodbye, Nausea! Hello, Energy!
At least that's what I'm hoping will happen now that I'm officially in my second trimester! Yippeeee! The nausea is mostly gone already - I just have my moments, usually when I get too hungry right before bed. The energy, though, is definitely dawdling in making a comeback. I'm STILL taking a nap every day! Geez! Of course, if I had a lot to do, I'm sure I'd be able to make it without the naps.
So I was reading on AmericanBaby.com about finding out the gender of your baby (which we do plan to do at our next sonogram in the beginning of January). I noticed a little link on the side that said something like "Don't want to wait to find out the gender? Check the Ancient Chinese Birth Chart that will predict with 93% accuracy what you'll be having!" So out of curiosity, I clicked on it. It took me to this page, where the introduction says:
Great! It says that 27-year-olds who conceive in the month of August will be having a GIRL! So it'll be interesting to see if that's right. But THEN, if you scroll down, it says "Based on your age, here is the likelihood that you're having a boy or a girl," and then it has this graphic:
Um, wow. So it's telling me that it's 93% likely that my chances are 50/50 of having a boy or a girl. Gee, thanks. How did they even pick Girl for the first chart if the chances are only 50/50 on the second chart? I'm confused.
So I just wanted to know if any of my readers have ever heard of this before. For those of you that have kids, out of curiosity, will you go to the site and see what the chart predicted you would have based on the month you conceived and your age at conception? I'm interested to see if it's ever right.
So I was reading on AmericanBaby.com about finding out the gender of your baby (which we do plan to do at our next sonogram in the beginning of January). I noticed a little link on the side that said something like "Don't want to wait to find out the gender? Check the Ancient Chinese Birth Chart that will predict with 93% accuracy what you'll be having!" So out of curiosity, I clicked on it. It took me to this page, where the introduction says:
"Legend says that a Chinese birth chart (supposedly predicting the gender of a baby with 93 percent accuracy!) was buried in a tomb near Beijing for almost 700 years. The original is now at the Beijing Institute of Science."You click on how old you were at the time of conception, then the month you conceived, and it tells you what, according to the Ancient Chinese Birth Chart, you'll be having. So I clicked that my age was 25-31, then on the month of August. It came up with this little chart:
Great! It says that 27-year-olds who conceive in the month of August will be having a GIRL! So it'll be interesting to see if that's right. But THEN, if you scroll down, it says "Based on your age, here is the likelihood that you're having a boy or a girl," and then it has this graphic:
Um, wow. So it's telling me that it's 93% likely that my chances are 50/50 of having a boy or a girl. Gee, thanks. How did they even pick Girl for the first chart if the chances are only 50/50 on the second chart? I'm confused.
So I just wanted to know if any of my readers have ever heard of this before. For those of you that have kids, out of curiosity, will you go to the site and see what the chart predicted you would have based on the month you conceived and your age at conception? I'm interested to see if it's ever right.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
12 WEEKS!!!!!
Yippee!!! Today makes 12 weeks, and I am THRILLED to have reached this milestone! We went to the doctor on Wednesday for another sonogram, and the baby is beautiful and wonderful and perfect so far!
We got to see its little hands, its perfectly-formed little skull, and its graceful dance moves! I'm shocked at how much it's already moving in there, when I can't feel a thing! I hope it calms down once I can start to feel it... Yeah, right.
When I sent an email to my family with the update on Wednesday, I told them that I was starting to feel better as far as nausea and fatigue go. Well, the baby must've just been faking me out, because I've felt really cruddy the last couple of days! I think the nausea is worst when I get hungry, but I feel like a person can only eat so much! I mean, come on! So I try to keep myself feeling good without making a gigantic pig of myself. It's a fine line to walk. :) And I'm still taking 1-2 hour naps every day... Have I mentioned how glad I am to be in Moldova where that is possible in my life?! I didn't get a nap yesterday, and I was a beast by dinnertime! Poor Justin didn't know what to do with me. Hopefully this will all get better soon! Second trimester, here I come!
We got to see its little hands, its perfectly-formed little skull, and its graceful dance moves! I'm shocked at how much it's already moving in there, when I can't feel a thing! I hope it calms down once I can start to feel it... Yeah, right.When I sent an email to my family with the update on Wednesday, I told them that I was starting to feel better as far as nausea and fatigue go. Well, the baby must've just been faking me out, because I've felt really cruddy the last couple of days! I think the nausea is worst when I get hungry, but I feel like a person can only eat so much! I mean, come on! So I try to keep myself feeling good without making a gigantic pig of myself. It's a fine line to walk. :) And I'm still taking 1-2 hour naps every day... Have I mentioned how glad I am to be in Moldova where that is possible in my life?! I didn't get a nap yesterday, and I was a beast by dinnertime! Poor Justin didn't know what to do with me. Hopefully this will all get better soon! Second trimester, here I come!
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Bizarre, but I'm glad!
I had a VERY interesting thing happen to me yesterday. After 
dinner, Justin and I were watching a movie. We took an intermission break, in which I went into the kitchen to take my empty hot chocolate mug to the sink. When I turned on the kitchen light, the first thing I saw was the bag of carrots I had bought at the market earlier in the day. Seeing the carrots, my first thought was, "Man, a carrot sounds GREAT right now!" So I washed it and ate it whole. It was delicious.
This is bizarre for two reasons: First of all, as many of you know from one of my previous posts, I've been having an aversion to raw vegetables since I found out I was pregnant. This is seriously the first raw vegetable I've eaten in 5 weeks. Why in the world did I suddenly see the carrot and want it? No idea.
The even stranger thing, though, is that I don't even LIKE carrots! I don't know if I've EVER just eaten a whole carrot like that. I can most of the time eat baby carrots, which are peeled and sweeter, but I prefer even those dipped in ranch to mask the taste. Justin doesn't like carrots either, so I usually don't even buy them. I'm just making a pot of beef vegetable soup tomorrow, and that definitely needs the carrots in it. Of course, just writing this post is making me want another carrot, so I may end up having to go BACK to the market to buy more carrots for my soup!!! :)
I am VERY glad to have suddenly desired a vegetable again, because I've started gaining more weight that I want to this early in the game. So hopefully I'll be able to start eating a little healthier and stop those pounds from packing on quite so fast! Yay for carrots!!
dinner, Justin and I were watching a movie. We took an intermission break, in which I went into the kitchen to take my empty hot chocolate mug to the sink. When I turned on the kitchen light, the first thing I saw was the bag of carrots I had bought at the market earlier in the day. Seeing the carrots, my first thought was, "Man, a carrot sounds GREAT right now!" So I washed it and ate it whole. It was delicious.This is bizarre for two reasons: First of all, as many of you know from one of my previous posts, I've been having an aversion to raw vegetables since I found out I was pregnant. This is seriously the first raw vegetable I've eaten in 5 weeks. Why in the world did I suddenly see the carrot and want it? No idea.
The even stranger thing, though, is that I don't even LIKE carrots! I don't know if I've EVER just eaten a whole carrot like that. I can most of the time eat baby carrots, which are peeled and sweeter, but I prefer even those dipped in ranch to mask the taste. Justin doesn't like carrots either, so I usually don't even buy them. I'm just making a pot of beef vegetable soup tomorrow, and that definitely needs the carrots in it. Of course, just writing this post is making me want another carrot, so I may end up having to go BACK to the market to buy more carrots for my soup!!! :)
I am VERY glad to have suddenly desired a vegetable again, because I've started gaining more weight that I want to this early in the game. So hopefully I'll be able to start eating a little healthier and stop those pounds from packing on quite so fast! Yay for carrots!!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
"How's the Baby?"
Do we ask this in America? To somebody who's only 10 weeks pregnant? People keep asking me that here, and I'm stumped at how to answer them. I know, I'm supposed to say "Fine, thank you." But really, how am I supposed to know how the baby is? I haven't seen it or talked to it. It's not big enough for me to feel it move yet. So I finally told one of my Moldovan friends that we don't ask that in America. We ask a pregnant woman how SHE is, because that is something she knows very well and would more than likely be happy to tell you about. Am I wrong in thinking that's a strange question? I won't actually know how the baby is until it's born, when I can see it and hold it in my hands. Until then, we're all just guessing, aren't we?
I'm also already getting friends wanting to touch my belly. Talk about feeling violated! I know to expect that when you're further along and your belly is big - I've heard you'll have complete strangers want to come up and put their hands all over you. Um, no thanks. However, at this point, all they're getting is a big handful of my fat roll, which I had long before I was pregnant, thank you very much. I'm not saying anything to my Moldovan friends about it, because I don't know how that would translate and I don't want to offend them. But I fully expect to ask Americans to please not touch me without asking first. Here, there is no such thing as personal space, so I guess this is just part of it. And since I'm clearly not showing, it's only my friends who already know I'm pregnant who are touching me, so I'll just live with it. But goodness gracious! Nobody would walk up and grab my stomach before I was pregnant, so why is it ok to do it now?! Alas, the things you just can't prepare for... :)
I'm also already getting friends wanting to touch my belly. Talk about feeling violated! I know to expect that when you're further along and your belly is big - I've heard you'll have complete strangers want to come up and put their hands all over you. Um, no thanks. However, at this point, all they're getting is a big handful of my fat roll, which I had long before I was pregnant, thank you very much. I'm not saying anything to my Moldovan friends about it, because I don't know how that would translate and I don't want to offend them. But I fully expect to ask Americans to please not touch me without asking first. Here, there is no such thing as personal space, so I guess this is just part of it. And since I'm clearly not showing, it's only my friends who already know I'm pregnant who are touching me, so I'll just live with it. But goodness gracious! Nobody would walk up and grab my stomach before I was pregnant, so why is it ok to do it now?! Alas, the things you just can't prepare for... :)
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Already?!
OK, so I knew that most people don't really start to show their pregnancy until 4-5 months. What I did not know, however, is how soon I would start to FEEL a difference in my clothes! I'm sure I don't look any different, but my belly is already getting bigger! Last week, I even started having to unbutton my jeans when I'm sitting down because they're just tight! What?! This soon?! I was only at 9 weeks when this started! So I'm starting to get a little concerned about being able to keep wearing these clothes for the next 2+ months that we're in Moldova.
When I'm standing up/walking around, my jeans still fit fine, but when I'm sitting, they're starting to get pretty snug. So this will be an interesting adventure. I do know about the rubber-band-through-the-buttonhole trick for wearing jeans that are a little snug. So hopefully that will last me! If not, I may need to recruit somebody to send me a couple of those belly band thingys. We'll see! Regardless of how my clothes are fitting, though, it sure is making it a lot more real to me that there's a baby growing in there, since I can clearly tell I'm growing!!!!! :)
When I'm standing up/walking around, my jeans still fit fine, but when I'm sitting, they're starting to get pretty snug. So this will be an interesting adventure. I do know about the rubber-band-through-the-buttonhole trick for wearing jeans that are a little snug. So hopefully that will last me! If not, I may need to recruit somebody to send me a couple of those belly band thingys. We'll see! Regardless of how my clothes are fitting, though, it sure is making it a lot more real to me that there's a baby growing in there, since I can clearly tell I'm growing!!!!! :)
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