Blessed.

This weekend Drew and I (and Rob!) were blessed time and time again by our friends and family.  This little man is going to come into the world very well-stocked!

My shower was hosted by my roommates from my sophomore year of college- the "317" ladies. Sara (left) lives in Houston and works for CenterPoint Energy.  Melanie (between me and Sara) lives in Boston and is a lawyer.  Liz (left) lives in DC and is getting her PhD is something I can't even explain.  Smart (and beautiful!) ladies!  I am so lucky that they wanted to do this and were willing to travel to Houston for me!  I think it helps that all their mommas live in Houston!

When we lived together we also had an unofficial 5th roommate, Priscilla.  She lived further of campus and spent a lot of time hanging out at our apartment, which we loved!  She and her husband live in Nebraska, so it was extra special that she came in, too.  She also has great shoes.

I was told that the black dress didn't accentuate the bump enough, so here- I really am pregnant.  Can you see it now?

It was a lovely shower full of blue hydrangeas, great food, petit fours with blue booties on top, and lots of friends and family.  And an embarrassingly huge pile of gifts.

The Spread

The Mountain

If there was a theme in gifts, it certainly had to fall to "UT."  Vicki won the award for most UT stuff (as she should have).  She also swears that she got it out of her system for awhile.  Along with the Longhorn bag, he got bottles, pacis, overalls, jackets, toys, blankets and a stuffed toy (I'm probably missing something too).  It took awhile to unwrap.  Peggy and Randy Markowski also provided a tailgate bag full of things Drew will need for early morning tailgates with Rob (does that mean that I'm going to get a few hours of sleep on Saturday mornings?!)  I'm thinking he won't get to use most of that until his SECOND football season, because I doubt my husband is going to take a 3-4 week old out alone.  Just a hunch.

I wish I could list each and every gift he got here, but it would take hours and I would bore you tears.  But he got tons of lovely and THOUGHTFUL gifts, everything from funny to cute to necessary.  And Rob and I greatly appreciate all of it.

Saturday night the 5 of us (Melanie, Sara, Liz, Priscilla and I) went out to dinner and then to a wine bar to meet Sara's new boyfriend. It was a lovely time and really reminded me that Houston/Austin/Boston/D.C/South Bend really is too far away.  I LOVED catching up face-to-face with you girls. Thank you for a great weekend!

Vacation

(This post is not about bathrooms.  At least I don't expect to talk about bathrooms when starting to write it.  You're welcome).

Now that I'm officially to the point in pregnancy where an airline could require a doctors note to let me on the plane, my mind is responding by overwhelming desires to travel.  Overseas.  Karma, I tell you.

Rob and I were lucky enough to get to spend two glorious weeks in Europe in January.  I tell you what, if you want to do London/Rome/Florence/Paris with 1/8th the normal amount of tourists, January is a great time to do it.  It was cold to two people from Texas, but not even close to miserable.  And I can't think of a single thing where we didn't just walk right in.  For those of you who have tried to go to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence in the summer, its almost unheard of.

The deal was our "once in a lifetime trip," then we start trying for a bebe.  Who knew that plan would work out so well?  So TECHNICALLY Rob lived up to his end of the bargain, but that hasn't stopped me from wanting to go somewhere else.  

So now I'm having "cravings" of particular locations.  Today it was of the street/park right outside of Buckingham Palace.  I was ready to BE there.  Yesterday it was an adorable restaurant in Paris where we had dinner one night.  A couple of weeks ago it was going back to Oxford. 

I keep trying to eat my way out of these travel cravings-- mostly though Nutella, which I ate on everything for 2 weeks.  Hot Belgian waffles?  Check.  Crepes?  Check.  Croissants?  Check.  It still tastes just as good, but isn't taking away the travel cravings.

I don't think our "once in a lifetime" trip can be so "once in a lifetime" after all.  Hopefully Drew will love to travel!

Bathrooms I have known

When my brother was young, the joke was that he was writing a book on bathrooms, because no matter WHERE we were, Travis needed to go to the bathroom.  I think he was too close to having just been potty trained to tell him to hold it, so off we went, to some of the most squalid bathrooms you ever saw.

Now that I am in my third trimester (and not my "I-just-made-it-official 3rd Trimester," but one all doctors agree with), I've noticed this amazing ability to need to pee.  Three times in an hour isn't unusual.  Maybe it's time for me to write a book.

This means I now get to/have to visit the restroom at establishments that I would otherwise try to AVOID- like the carwash/lube center this morning.  But Drew was using my bladder as a trampoline, and I knew I had to (it was much nicer than I expected).

My office has also take this time to decide to re-do the bathrooms on my floor.  So yesterday I get up from my desk, walk down the hall only to see a "closed" sign on the only bathroom on our floor.  So yesterday I spent a good amount of time on the stairs walking to the 8th or 10th floor to use the bathroom.  I'm counting that as "exercise."

I have also noticed that Target's bathroom is a haven for pregnant women.  Every time I have EVER been in there, the only other patrons are also pregnant women.  This leads me to believe that a disproportionate number of pregnant women shop at Target, but I guess that isn't surprising.

Should I run out of things to write about on this blog, perhaps I'll just start profiling bathrooms in Austin.... you'd still read, right?

Childhood Diseases

I have an amazing ability to get diseases most common in the PK-5th grade set.  I have been tremendously lucky not to have any major medical issues EVER, but it does crack me up that even at 27 I still get strep throat and pink eye with some regularity.

I got them so frequently when I was a kid that I could tell my mom I had either of these two issues, she could call my "pediatrician" (in quotes because I'm pretty sure if I still lived in Houston I might still be seeing him), Dr. Thaller, and without even seeing me he would call in a prescription to the pharmacy.  It was an ideal set up for someone who got strep or pink eye at least 6 times a year.

How I wished for Dr. Thaller when I woke up this morning with my left eye glued shut.  It would have made life so easy to not have to go to the doctor and just get the medicine, but Dr. O'Brien doesn't know me as well as I knew myself.  Even once I was in her office she told me there was a good chance it could be allergies.  Ha.  One quick look had her scrubbing her hands and prescribing an antibiotic ointment.

Now I'm stuck in glasses for the next several days-- the glasses that were never to be seen outside of my house.  If I didn't think I could do significant damage driving sans glasses, I might let vanity take over.  But for now, it's glasses for me.

That's It- Third Trimester

Early on in this pregnancy I decided I was NOT allowed to google anything.  "Does my big toe on my right foot throbbing twice every other Tuesday mean that I'm pregnant?"  I swear, you can find someone who tells you yes, indeed, that happened to her, and she was PREGNANT!  Then, once you find out you are pregnant, things work in reverse.  "Does having no morning sickness mean something is wrong?"  Yep, page after page of people saying they had no morning sickness and something was wrong.  After my first ever panic attack, I stopped using The Google.

But recently I started using it for a pretty benign question- "When does the third trimester start?"  And yet again, I got a variety of different answers.  Some say 25 weeks (37 weeks is full term, minus 12 weeks).  Some say  28 weeks (40 weeks minus 12 weeks).  Today I am 26 weeks and 6 days pregnant, and I am declaring myself to be in the third trimester.  Here's why:

1. It appears my feet have begun to swell.  I WILL NOT let my feet grow, so I'm taking a cue from old Chinese bandaging techniques and wearing pumps every day.  I figure if I don't give them space to grow, they won't.  I might be defeated in that one.
2. It occasionally takes me more than one attempt to get off the couch.
3. Food that is dropped in my lap now finds a nice place to settle on the top of my stomach.
4. I no longer sleep like a baby.  Instead I wake up because I'm being kicked, or my arm is asleep, or my leg cramps up, or I have acid reflux and need to sit up for a bit.  
5. The doctor keeps asking me if I have signed up for babycare/birthing classes.
6. Random strangers, who used to just gawk and wonder if I was pregnant or just fat, now just come out and ask me when I'm due.  (Huge shout out to the lady at Chuy's who told me I was the "cutest pregnant woman she has seen in a long time."  If you are going out on a limb to guess if someone is pregnant, might I suggest that one).

So there, if that doesn't make 3rd trimester, what does?  And Drew is officially due 3 months from today.  Wild.  Can't wait to meet this kid! :)

I DO have a life outside of the baby and the house!

Sometimes I still get out and do some cool stuff.... it's rare, but certainly worth mentioning on the blog when it happens.

Last Friday, the lovely Ashley Gladden accompanied me to the 6th annual Young Women's Alliance fashion show, "Fashion Evolution."  My dear, sweet husband came with me last year when the event was held in a bar on dirty 6th and the models did somersaults down the runway, but since this year it was held at the Driskill and Wilhelminia models were wearing the clothes, I figured it was a better girls night out.  I was so right.

The event raises money for the Young Women's Alliance Foundation, for which I am the VP of Foundation Giving.  Which means the money that Maren Curtis brought in with the event, I get to give away.  Tough gig, but someone has to do it!

I was truly amazed at caliber of this event.  Passed appetizers!  Signature cocktail!  Shopping!  Designers!  It was a great night.  The highlight (for me) was that one of our scholarship recipients for the year was featured and brought on stage after having been dressed by the amazing Rachelle Briton.

Isn't she lovely?  And smart.  And just an all around great girl.  And her name is Lindsey.  But I didn't pick her alone, so there was no naming discrimination here!