favorite thing friday

As anyone who reads this blog will know by now, I'm pregnant! Of course this means that my favorite thing fridays will now include the plethora of products targeted towards pregnant women.

I haven't tried too many things just yet, but one winner I have found is the Bella Band.

This little gem is a newly pregnant girl's lifesaver!

The Bella band is basically a tube of stretchy material that fits over your unbuttoned pants to make the pre-pregnancy clothes go a little further.

My pants have been getting tighter these days, but I'm still way too small for maternity clothes. The Bella band goes right over my unbuttoned jeans, holds them up, and smooths the look (so no one knows my jeans are undone!)

It claims to be great later in pregnancy too for belly support, then after the baby's born to help transition back into pre-pregnancy clothes. Sounds good to me!

I'll let you know how things progress, but so far, so good!

10 weeks

I saw something like this on a pregnancy blog that I love to read and thought it was such a great idea!

I love having a way to look back over my pregnancy and see how I changed each week.

Big difference in my belly from 9 weeks to 10 weeks!

9 weeks:

10 weeks:

How far along: 10 weeks

Net weight gain/loss: -2 lbs

Maternity clothes: not yet, but I've started buying some!

Stretch marks: nope

Belly button: still an innie

Sleep: wonderful last night -- didn't even get up to use the bathroom, a first!

Baby movement: none yet

Food cravings: grilled cheese, yum

Food aversions: chicken in most forms -- this is strange because I pretty much only ate chicken before I got pregnant

What I miss: goat cheese

Looking forward to: painting the nursery with my in-laws this weekend

Best moment this week: Drew noticed my little baby bump for the first time and got a little teary. It's a real baby coming!

Milestones: Bean's elbows bend

the bean's a prune!

Over the weekend my bean reached 10 weeks! That's so exciting!

The bean has now officially passed the embryo stage and is a fetus. Only 1 more week before my next doctor's appointment and a chance to hear the heartbeat for the first time. I can't wait!

Once again, my favorite baby websites have some great options for baby size comparisons.

The Bump says that bean is about the size of a prune.

A prune!

They really couldn't think of anything more adorable than the fruit best known for moving the bowels of seniors? Really?

The other option this week is....a kumquat!

How random. I don't think I've ever seen a kumquat in person, so that comparison is a little lost on me.

Here's hoping that next week the bean grows into a cuter fruit.

In great news, bean is developed enough that his/her elbows bend. Isn't that amazing?!

I love it!

visit to Williamsport!

This weekend I went to visit my sister, Jennifer's family in my old hometown of Williamsport, PA!

We had a great time! Jenn gave me a ton of Owen's old baby things (score) and I got to watch my 5 year old nephew play T-ball.

Have you ever seen 5 & 6 year olds play T-ball? It's adorable. They all love to run after the ball and don't hesitate to pile up on each other to get at it. There are no outs, no strikes, and everyone runs the whole way around the diamond. Sports for pure fun -- just the way it should be when you're in kindergarden.

Owen was able to hit the ball when it was pitched (as opposed to on the T) each time and was so proud of himself!

How adorable is the catcher in his tiny gear. I couldn't get enough of this one!

The Berry family spends a lot of time at the ball field these days.

We also did a really fun project. Owen and I painted cookies! I found this great kit that includes shortbread cookie mix, Royal icing, cookie cutters, edible paint, and paintbrushes (all for $5!). Owen was...skeptical...of eating painted cookies. He loved the process, but when it came to enjoying our final product he said that he'd "rather not risk eating paint."

He's 5 going on 55.

Jenn didn't tell Owen about his new cousin until I got there. When I told him the exciting news he glanced at my belly and looked extremely doubtful until I assured him that the baby was still really small, but would get bigger.

After that he smiled huge and said, "I hope it's a girl!" I'm not totally sure why he feels so strongly, but I promised to do my best. :o) Too cute.

All in all, we had a wonderful weekend together!!

my little olive

I only have a few days before the bean graduates to 10 weeks, so I wanted to squeeze in this update!

At 9 weeks old the bean is about the size of a green olive! If this is true then why are my pants so tight?...



For those of you who know us in real life, you'll realize how hilarious unsettling this comparison is. Drew loves all foods, except olives. He hates them and won't like comparing our baby to one.

I searched around and found a different baby site that compares the 9 week stage to a grape. Much better! Who doesn't love grapes?



Keep growing little grape, I need you bigger and ready for snuggles!

ever nap in an elevator?

I have.

In fact, I do almost every day.

Since I got pregnant my #1 symptom has definitely been complete and utter exhaustion. It's been a struggle to get through the workday without falling asleep at my desk (especially after lunch).

Enter: the cat-nap elevator ride

Who knew that the 15 seconds it takes to ride from the 3rd to 10th floors could be so restorative?

Literally, I'll get in and the soft hum of the elevator instantly makes my head droop. The abrupt gentle jerk of stopping at the 10th floor is just what I need to snap back into conciousness.

Is it bad that I'm making up excuses to go upstairs these days?

The bean is zapping my energy, but I don't really mind. Only 3 weeks until the first trimester (and elevator napping) is behind me!

big news -- i'm pregnant!

I decided to take the plunge and start blogging about the most important thing in my life -- I'm pregnant!

Here's the first proof I saw a couple weeks ago!






(that's right, I took about 6 tests over 2 days)

My first completely unnecessary baby purchase -- the digital test! Totally worth it for the satisfaction of seeing that 1 little word. :o)





Much more baby news to come.

favorite thing friday

For as long as I can remember I've fought with my hair.

To look at me, you probably think I'm exaggerating. My hair isn't completely unruly or falling out or losing its pigment. I really shouldn't complain.

The problem is that it has an identity crisis. My hair wants to be curly, but isn't. It wants to be straight, but isn't. Do you know what the results are when hair wants to be both curly and straight? You might guess beautiful beach-y waves.

You would be wrong.

Do you remember in Harry Potter when they were learning to apparate and the teacher warned them that if they didn't concentrate really well then they would splinch themselves? That's right, their bodies would divide and pieces would be left both where they were and where they were headed.

That's what happens to my hair.

It's trying to curl, but fighting itself by trying to stay straight at the same time. Arggh...poof, frizz.

If splinching was a real thing, than frizz would certainly be the hair equivalent.

I've tried every anti-frizz product known to man. Like I said earlier, my hair isn't that bad, so you'd think it would be an easy task to calm it down and leave the house with smooth strands.

If only.

I own a whole basket-ful of headbands, hairwraps, and ponytail holders. Why? Because I can't wear my hair down without a lot of effort.

Until now.

That's right. I've found something new. Of course, I had my doubts, but I heard great things about this product and just had to try it.

Living Proof, Frizz (No Frizz)

It doesn't use silicone or serums (a-la Frizz Ease) and works like a charm!

In fact I might even call it a magic potion.

So far I'm pretty impressed, but I'll keep you updated. Of course, it's not all good news -- it's pretty expensive. I'm probably going to keep the ponytail as my go-to hairstyle and just bust this out every once in awhile.

Have you ever found something that works on your frizzies?

I'll post some before and after photos of myself later!

idol chatter - results

Woo - hooooo!!!!

I'm so excited for Kris!

I think it's fabulous that a lot of America agreed with me that his performance on Tuesday night was really amazing. Can you believe there were less than a million votes separating Kris and Adam?? Next week's finale is going to be a much closer shave than a lot of people were predicting.

I love how surprised he looks every week when Ryan announces that he's still in the competition. I'm right there with him! For how much I like Kris, I'm never very confident in his ability to get votes and move on.

Who knows, maybe next week he'll throw another surprise at us and win the whole thing!

idol chatter

I really enjoyed American Idol last night. It seemed to me like the show had a lot less chatting and a lot more singing!

Every year I look forward to hearing what songs the judges pick for the contestants. After months of hearing "I wouldn't have picked that song, but..." it's refreshing to know they have to like the song. Except that they didn't! I should have figured that the judges would criticize each others choices. Is it just me or are the judges fighting amongst themselves a lot this year? It's kind of distracting away from the guys who are competing!

Anyway, I thought they all did really well. I know that Adam is favored to win, but he just isn't my favorite. I can recognize his talent, but his screeching rocker style just doesn't sit well with me.



Kris is much more up my alley!



I like Danny well enough, but to be perfectly honest, he kind of bores me sometimes.




I loved Kris' rendition of Heartless. Did that come out of left field or what? He really pulled it off, though.

Cold Blooded @ Yahoo! Video

As much as I spout my opinion here, I shouldn't really talk because I never vote. Years and years of watching American Idol and I've never cast so much as 1 vote. That's right -- no calls, no texts. Oh well.

I'm rooting for Kris! We'll see what happens tonight...

bought!

I saw this sign on my drive home the other day. For some reason it caught my eye and I couldn't stop thinking about it. It's just so strange!

I mean, really, have you ever seen a real estate sign that says "BOUGHT" instead of "SOLD"?

It intrigued me enough that I put my camera in the glove box of my car so that I could take a photo of it to post here. Sure, I felt a little bit like a stalker taking photos of someone's house from my car, but the blog demanded it. What could I do?

Seriously, though, what kind of real estate agent brags that a house was "bought" rather than "sold"? I know that, technically, it means the same thing, but the implication is very different. It sounds like the buyer just wandered up to the house and asked if they could buy it. Doesn't the agent want to sound proactive? Doesn't she want to be a great sales person? From what I can tell, this agent is simply someone who facilitates sales, not someone who gets your house sold no matter what! C'mon Susanne, you're more than that!

This has been a weird rant, but I feel good about it. My eyes are peeled for more "bought" signs around Cleveland. And the camera will stay in my glove box in case I ever get this lucky again.

Have you ever seen one??

meat anyone?

For those of you who don't know, I work in a biomedical research lab.



We do a lot of work with stuff that smells weird. There are all kinds of chemicals, mice (+their bedding, +their food), buffers, cell culture media, and so on.



One thing that we don't have much of is anything edible. The lab isn't a very safe place to eat, so there are some pretty strict "no food" "no drinks" rule. We use microwaves and refrigerators in the experiments, but they are all clearly labeled "NOT FOR HUMAN FOOD."



It doesn't take a genius.

Well, the other week we had 4 men who used to work on the floor above us join the lab. I work with all men, so I thought I had "working with guys" pretty much figured out.

Oh, naive one.

Apparently guys from the 4th floor are a whole different story.

Ever since they moved in the floor has smelled increasingly like meat. That's right, meat.

The sweet, smoky smell of ham and bacon is constantly wafting through the lab and hallways.

It became consistent enough that I finally asked about it. As it turns out 1 of the guys really loves meat and smokes his own.



Then he heats it up in the microwave to enjoy throughout the day.

I wish I was making this up.

Oh well, it's better than eau de Mouse.



The funniest part? My boss is a vegetarian.

idol chatter

Wow.

Just wow.

I can't believe Kris is still on the show -- I'm so excited!

When Ryan said that he was the first "safe" contestant you could see the shock on his face. I was right there with him. As much as I like Kris, I thought that after last night he'd be out.

I'm so glad that he survived!

I know that Kris didn't do great at "Rock Night" but that's because rock isn't his genre. You shouldn't have to be good at everything to be the American Idol. Kris is a great singer and with the right song he's up there with all of the other contestants.

It was so sad to see Allison go (I would have voted for Danny), but at this point they're all good and nobody really deserves to get the boot. It's all part of the show, I guess.

Good luck Allison!

wordless wednesday

Gotta love a self-monogram!

giveaway for babies!

If you have a baby or know someone who does you need to check out the awesome giveaway being offered by Babies & Mommies and the maternal lens.

Take a peek at the products sold by Babies & Mommies by clicking their new button on my sidebar!

It's super easy to enter the giveaway and you have the chance to win a $25 gift certificate to use on anything at babiesandmommies.com -- you can't beat it!

I know that I've bragged about them before, but this is where I got the adorable birth keepsakes for my nephews. Babies & Mommies also has lots of great books, backpacks, pacifier keepers, and more!






I don't know about you, but I love free stuff -- it doesn't get any easier than a giveaway!

happy birthday to...me!

Today is my 27th birthday!

Drew made me a wonderful chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting.

Yum...

He did such a great job making the whole thing by himself. As a surprise to me, he even made the frosting pink. Yay!

Do you see that he wrote "Em" in chocolate sprinkles on top? :o)

27 isn't necessarily the most exciting birthday, but I had a great one!

favorite thing friday

Did you know that tomorrow marks the 1 year anniversary of my LASIK procedure?

1 year ago I was a little nervous and very excited to have my eyes fixed. I blogged about this awhile back, but thought that this momentous day desired some repeat business.

I can honestly say that the little bit of discomfort I went through during the procedure was completely worth it! I love not having the hassle of glasses or contacts.

Of course, I am still making payments for it, but we'll celebrate the end of that part of things on the 2 year anniversary!

This week's Favorite Thing Friday is undeniably,

LASIK

For those of you who don't know, LASIK (or Laser Assisted In Sutu Keratomileusis), is an eye surgery that corrects vision problems.

How did I end up getting LASIK? Well, here's my story.

Starting in high school (1998) I noticed that the blackboard and road signs were becoming more and more difficult to read. Once I got to college (2000) it became a real problem and I went to get glasses. At first I just used them for classes, movies, and driving. But...then I realized there was a lot in life I was missing by not wearing them all the time.

This brings me to 2006. Drew and I were living in Pittsburgh and I decided that I should really wear my glasses all of the time. Except that I hate wearing glasses. Maybe it stemmed from the fact that I didn't grow up wearing them, but it bothered me to have weird vision around the edges of the lenses.

So, I decided to start wearing contacts.

[Enter Imperial March music now]

It turns out that contacts are my kryptonite.

I had more irritating contacts than anyone else I've ever talked to. I gave our relationship a good 2 years of my life, but in the end, contacts and I had to part ways.

Spring 2008.

Drew and I talked (and talked) about it and decided that LASIK is something that we could invest in for my eyes. I wasn't (too) afraid of the surgery itself and, although the cost is high, we were offered a great interest-free payment plan, which made it relatively affordable.

I decided to go through with it and on the day before my birthday, May 2, 2008, I got my corneas zapped back into shape.

The next day I drove myself to the medical center for a check-up.

Without glasses. Or contacts. Or a chauffeur.

Here's a little diagram of what actually happens during LASIK.



I don't recommend the at home version.



Here is the laser that did my correction. Dr. Thomas was there too.



It wasn't painless, but it wasn't agonizing either. After experiencing the results, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

My vision today is 20/15 (better than average!) and I don't have any halos, glare issues, or dry eye.

My laser vision rocks.