Ikea getaway

Last weekend, my dear cousin and friend Emily left her own two darling kiddos at home and came for a quick visit - one last girls' weekend before Baby comes! We decided to take a day trip to Pittsburgh, PA (about 2 hours away) to explore Ikea for the day. Note this is the only picture we have because we were way too busy shopping after that to think about pictures! We had a great time and did plenty of damage at Ikea, bringing home lots of great loot. Chad, rock star husband that he is, had supper made and ready when we got home! What a great day! Thanks for visiting Emily!

Take a Hike Old Man Winter!

Ok, I must vent a little. So we live in Cleveland. That means snow is expected, and long winters. I get that...this is my 3rd winter here. This January, however has been exceptionally snowy though and COLD! On the news the other night, the weather man (who is no Merril Teller, but he gets the job done) said that we have had snow/freezing rain 45 out of the last 51 days and we are already more than 20 inches over the January average of snowfall so far! Yikes! Don't get me wrong, some days I do enjoy the beauty of the snow, because it really does look quite lovely. And if I wasn't 8 going on 9 months pregnant, perhaps I'd have to go out and play in it or go sledding. But I am and have always been, a warm-weather lover, so Spring, anytime you are ready, so am I.

Guessing Game

32 weeks!!! As we are now approx. 8 weeks away from Baby Time, it seems to be a good time to start collecting your guesses on the gender/size/date of birth/hair-bald/whatever you want to guess. Unfortunately for me, my mothering/women's intuition has not seemed to kicked in, so I have no inclination one way or the other...boy, girl....your guess is as good as mine, so I may as well see what you all think. Chad thought he knew for a while, but now seems as unsure as I am. Anyway, please leave your guess under the comments and be sure to sign your name. Secret blog stalkers (you know you're out there :) are welcome to guess as well. Feel free to document (along with your guess) any supporting data for why you are guessing what you are guessing (i.e., heartbeat, family history, the way I'm carrying, whatever floats your boat). The winner will receive the gratification of being the winner (lame I know), unless I can think of an interesting prize by the time the baby comes. Really, this is all to amuse me and help pass the 8 grueling weeks to the finish line. Happy guessing!

As a refresher - Baby's heartbeat has been in the 150's until my last couple of visits and dropped into the 140's. Baby is pretty active, especially in the evening. I haven't had too much heartburn - only on occasion. What else? I had horrible morning sickness the first 14 weeks, and after that it's been smooth sailing. No food cravings, or really any other major changes other than I am carrying around a basketball in front. Good luck!