WHW {#66}: Currently

Happy What's Hap-"Pinning" Wednesday, friends! 

Reading ...

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I'm back on the Diane Chamberlain train with one I recently downloaded, The Bay At Midnight. I only just started it yesterday, but if it's like her other books, I'll love it!

Watching ...

The new season of Vanderpump Rules (umm, what is up with Sandoval's goofy hair? and I'm so over James), the RHOC reunion (Kelly is a straight up nut job. I can't stand people who don't take responsibility for things they've done, and then just try and turn and point the finger back at the person they wronged), and Teen Mom (I really can't stand Farrah and how she talks to her parents. It makes me sick).

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Eating....

Other than Halloween candy??? :)
Monday I made my pesto foil packet salmon, yesterday I made election day chili (or just regular stovetop chili on election day haha), and tonight we're having tacos courtesy of MG. Love nights when he cooks :)

Looking forward to ... 

seeing our Minnesota friend this weekend who will be in town, getting to meet our friends' new baby, and going to the Skins/Vikings game on Sunday!

Wishing...

that I could fast forward to next Thursday so my contentious family meeting would be over. I'm not looking forward to this meeting and I know it's going to be intense, with a lot of focus on me and my recommendations. Trying my best not to stress about it because 1) it won't make a difference since these people are perpetually unhappy and 2) it's not good for the baby.

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Enjoying ...

work from home days on Monday and Tuesday. I'm so much happier doing work when I'm in my comfy clothes, with the tv on, and Cooper snuggling beside me!

Drinking...

tea during the weekday mornings, and coffee on the weekends. Trying to be good and not put too much caffeine into my body! Oh, and lots and lots of water to try and keep the headaches at bay!

Loving....

taking weekly bump photos (I'll share soon), but here's this past week's!

Wanting ... 

Cooper to get over his fear of the dark that he all of a sudden developed last week. I don't know what his deal is, but he won't go out when it's dark anymore and spends the whole time outside trying to get back to the house. Poor guy went 14+ hours without going pee the other day because he didn't go out before bed.

I don't get it. He's cute but he's weird sometimes lol

Wearing ...
I busted out my Ugg boots this past week because the morning temps were in the 30s and my tootsies were cold!

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Grateful For...

this growing baby, and making it through my first trimester. And for friends who have been wonderful with helping me figure out all of the essential stuff we need for our little one!

Now it's your turn to link up with Jessi and I and share what's hap-"pinning" with you!

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Bookin' through October

I slowed down a little bit on my reading this month since a lot of my reading was about pregnancy and other things, but I still managed to finish two books!

Memories of Heaven by Wayne Dyer

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My mom gave me this one when I was having a particularly sad time, thinking about how I wish my dad was around for us to tell him about our pregnancy. And then my mom shared that, although it's not in the way I'd thought about and hoped for, that she was sure my dad had already met MG's and my little one, and that this book might help me feel that too.

It's a bunch of stories about children who mention their time before being born either being with God, picking out their family, or being with relatives that were deceased before the child was even born. 

I know that not everyone is religious, or even spiritual, but I'm definitely spiritual and this book, especially the first half just made me feel comforted that although my dad might not be here in the physical form, to hold and love on my baby, that I'm sure he did at some point. I'll be curious to see if our baby has any of these same stories to share with us. 

I gave this one 3.5 stars because I loved the beginning, and by the end it felt like a lot of the same stories over and over again. 

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

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This one I got from my friend Christy and was immediately intrigued when she raved about how good it was. 

The brief synopsis is A.J. Fikry is a bookstore owner and has gone through some hard times, and is hardened by the world. Two events happen to him that change his life forever.

I won't say anymore because I don't want to ruin it. But this book is sweet. It's about life, love, and if you like books, it has a very unique way of tying in books throughout this one. 

I gave it 4.5 stars and definitely recommend it for a good read! I think I read this one in about 2 days because I couldn't put it down.

Tears may have been shed while reading both books. Blame it on the quality of the books or the pregnancy hormones. Either way, I liked them both!

Hoping I can make it through a few more next month, but I was glad I found two feel-good books this month! 

Friend Weekending

Happy Monday, friends! Mine was jam-packed with friend time and I loved it!

My weekend highlights included:

~Flannel Friday at work, and taking pics with some of my lady friends

~Getting home from work to a sweet package from Jessi! Love my blog friends!

~Had a double date with my friend Kelly and Alex in Old Town. We ended up being there for more than 3 hours, chatting and laughing! Love nights like that!

~Saturday Cooper went to the groomer and came out looking adorable and oh so fluffy. I can't get enough of his sweet little face!

~MG and I went to Buy Buy Baby to start to get an idea of things....and left completely overwhelmed haha. Thankfully I have friends like Brittany who talk me out of my overwhelmed-ness and give me lots of good recommendations!

~Went for a 3+ mile walk since the weather was nice, and realized that my bump doesn't look like a bump in my Zella leggings, but oh well. Gotta get that exercise in!

~Showered and got ready to have dinner with our other friends Kurt and Meres at Rustico (parmesan risotto tots and pizza!) before heading to see Doctor Strange!

It was good, but definitely not the standard Avengers-type movie.

~Went to bed and woke up the same time I normally would, but it was an hour earlier because of DST ending, but my body didn't realize that lol

~Ran errands and then headed back out to meet up with my two SLP girl friends for coffee. And just like that, another 2 hours flew by!

~Headed to our friends' house for the Giants/Eagles game and indulged in buffalo chicken dip and yummy meatballs. Not quite the same when accompanied by water instead of beer but it was fun to see everyone and hear all the congrats about our pregnancy.

~Sadly, it was already getting dark by the time the game ended around 4:45, so we hung out for a bit more and then headed home

~Spent the rest of the night relaxing and getting in some Cooper cuddles

~We had the doors open both days this weekend because the weather was so nice...and of course, we had our neighborhood watch dog on the look out :)

All in all, it really was a jam-packed friend weekend which was awesome! I didn't take a ton of pics, but I was also just enjoying the time we had with our people :)

Before I go, I wanted to give my bestie a shout out for her birthday which was yesterday! Love you to pieces, Genna!!! And I miss you bunches!!

Hope your weekend was a friend-filled as ours was!

Friday Faves

Happy Friday! We made it to the weekend! Soak up the sunshine while you can because next week we plunge into the darkness thanks to DST :(

But, on happier notes, I have some faves this week!

{1}Thoughtful Friends

I came home from work on Wednesday to a package from Amazon waiting for me. MG got home a few minutes after me and asked "what is it?" and I had to say "I don't know"...then wracked my brain to try and remember what I'd ordered, thinking pregnancy brain had struck again. But, once I opened it, I was so shocked to see a gift from one of our favorite couple friends with the absolute sweetest note inside. I may have teared up a bit:

{2}Morning Skies

The skies in the mornings have been insanely gorgeous! Every time I see one, it makes me think of my dad, which makes me smile. It's been nice to have these gorgeous "angel skies" to gaze at on my drive to work every morning. I'll definitely miss those next week in the dark.

{3}Babymoon is Booked!!

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Since my travel time is limited during the school year, MG and I are taking our babymoon around Christmas (since my other break is Spring break and Ill be in my 8th month...too late to fly)-we won't miss Christmas with our family though! We decided on San Diego and already have our flight and rental car booked. And my FIL got us his friends' vacation house on Coronado island to stay at! So glad we have this set, and am definitely looking forward to our trip together, just the two of us!

{4} Double Date Celebrations

Tonight MG and I have a double date set up with our friends Kelly and Alex. Kelly's going through chemo right now, but the girl is an absolute trooper (and one of my new-found heroes)-we decided to get together for dinner to celebrate her half-way point through chemo and me making it through my first trimester. I love when we get together, and spending time with my sweet friend, and celebrating her wins in this journey, is just the best! Plus, add in delicious food and it doesn't get much better!!!

{5} Funnies

When you get a meeting invite for a meeting that's scheduled when you're at another site...for the FOURTH TIME (and then are told they took the whole team's schedule into consideration)

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When you've gone over pronouns (he/she/it/they) with a kid multiple times and when you get to an "it" picture they still say "none".....again.

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When I see crocodile tears

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When I'm told I have to cover someone's lunch duty, but no one ever comes to tell me when

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How you feel when you make it to the end of the work week

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Have a great weekend, friends!

Thursday Randoms

I'm brain-dumping a bunch of random thoughts and confessions today so here goes! (Plus, please enjoy the 90s throwback gifs I've included as a little walk down memory lane! :)

~I almost made the light out of my complex the other morning, and then this little Asian guy decided to cross the street at the last minute, when his crossing sign was off, causing me to slam on my brakes, miss the light and wait through the 3 minute cycle again. Said Asian man got the glare and curse from me that morning (and again when I saw him yesterday morning too) #damnyoumisterasianman

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~I don't get why people work out in jeans or khakis. Honestly the thought of it makes me feel gross.  #getsomesweats

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~I don't like the fact that it's already dark out when I go to work. And it's just going to get WAY worse next week after Daylight Saving Time (aka Dark Depression) kicks in this weekend. Waking up to dark, and coming home to dark....no thank you. I'm already depressed about it. #justsaynotoDST

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~I've eaten my weight in sugar this week with cupcakes and candy all around. Mama needs to get herself in check! #checkyoself

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~I'm craving this turkey sandwich from a deli nearby and I know you're not supposed to eat deli meat when you're pregnant but it's like the rule where you can't have it, so you obsess over it #cravings

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~the heat in my office at work still isn't on. It's freaking November--what gives??? #lettherebeheat

{via} inappropriate, but funny :)

~when I see people do live videos on Facebook and they're driving, I want to scream at them!! Do you know how dangerous that is??? And if you got into an accident, would that live video have really been worth it?? No. No it wouldn't. 

Watch this video if you're a culprit of this. You don't want to be responsible for someone else's death or injury.

And on that PSA soapbox note, I'm out! :) Have a happy Friday-eve!

WHW {#65}: How We Found Out/Announced Our Pregnancy

It's Wednesday, which means it's time for What's Hap-"Pinning" Wednesday!

Now that the cat's out of the bag, I thought I'd share the background details about how we found out about being pregnant, etc since several of you have asked me!

I had my embryo transfer on August 21st, and my blood work wasn't scheduled until September 2nd. Knowing myself all too well, I stocked up on at-home pregnancy tests, even though MG didn't want me to test (sorry, honey!.....not that sorry!).

We were away the weekend of the 26-28th with MG's family at the shore, and I didn't feel like I could take a pregnancy test there. So I waited until the first morning we were back home, which also happened to be my first day back at work for the new school year. After a night of 3 separate dreams about taking a test and it being positive, I knew I had to test that morning.

I snuck into our guest bathroom to pee, and then proceeded to hyperventilate and stress over whether or not there was a line. I put the test in the drawer, and then promptly took it back out (and repeated this like 3 times), and one of the times I saw a faint double line. A line I'd NEVER seen before! It got a little darker and darker...

So I kept this info to myself (somehow...I dont know how), and went off to work that day. Everyone was talking about their Summers, and I was bursting at the seams inside thinking "OMG, I'm pregnant!"

That day I got home from work and put the pregnancy test into a long black box, and put a note on the inside of the lid that said "You're going to be a Dad!" and when MG got home I told him I had ordered him something small that I found online as a little "just because" gift. He opened it and literally was floored. He couldn't believe it. There were tears and hugs...it was so fun to have that moment of "surprise" when the IVF process kind of takes away a lot of that from you.

The next morning I took another test and stared at the line as it appeared again, and then obsessed over whether it was darker than the day before or not. It looked about the same to us, but after that I decided that that was enough to convince me, and I only had to wait 2 more days for my blood test. No more stressing!

On September 2nd, I went in for my blood work (probably the most giddy I've been to have someone stick me with a needle), and then went off to work. I went home early that afternoon since we had an early out and right around lunch time I got a call from the fertility doctor's office and my nurse was on the phone. She asked me how I was doing and I told her I was super nervous and she said "well don't be nervous, because you're pregnant!" and then I started bawling. She said that they usually have their lunch break between 12 and 1 at the office, but as soon as she saw the news, she couldn't wait to call and tell me (one of the many reasons I loved my nurse!). I was over the moon!

I got off the phone and knew that MG was heading home early that day too and would be home any minute. So I debated, "Do I call him or wait?" I waited, but I literally sat by the front window until I saw him pull in and when I did, I ran outside to his car, pulled open his door after he had parked and told him "we're pregnant!" We were both so excited and relieved!

After a bit of tears, more hugs, and some "oh my gosh is this real?", we decided to call our parents since we had told white lies and said we wouldn't be finding out until the following week (again, we wanted some element of surprise in this process). 

My MIL cried. My Mom was over the moon excited (I had told her about the positive test earlier that week, so she was already expecting the good news).

We called my one SIL and I said to her "Hey I have a question...do you think that a crib will fit in the shore house next Summer?" and she literally screamed so loud that my two nieces came running up to see what happened. Needless to say, she was pumped!

We played the same line on my other SIL and she said "Oh my gosh!!!!!" and then said "yes, you can definitely fit a crib in there" (ever so practical lol). 

It was SO fun getting to surprise them and hear their reactions, and just reinforced how exciting and REAL it all was.

And then we took our first photo as a family of 4...

our perfect little embryo baby at the very cellular level...how crazy is that??

So, that's how we found out, and told our family!

Now, a question for you guys...do you want me to do a post on the ins and outs of IVF? I know there are lots of you out there who have wondered, or are thinking about going through it, scared to go through it, in the process of it...I always found it helpful to hear from others who had been there. Plus, my protocol was a bit different than what some other IVF protocols are (mainly being less shots, different medications). So, let me know if that would interest you all, either in comments, or shoot me an email and I'll gladly put together a post for you on our IVF process and what it entailed!

Ok, now it's your turn to link up and share what's hap-"pinning" with you!

{Recipe Files}: One Pot Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

I know some of you are intrigued already just by the two words "one pot" and you should be, because this soup is SO SO SO SO SO SO good. Did I emphasize enough how good it is? Because it is!! And since it's officially Fall (nevermind the fact that we have two 78 degree days ahead this week), this is the perfect time to try out a new, delicious soup recipe!

What You Need:

~1/2 of a large onion, diced

~1.5 tsp minced garlic (or 3 fresh, chopped)

~1 tsp olive oil

~1/2 tsp dried rosemary

~28 oz can diced tomatoes

~15 oz can tomato sauce (does not have to be pasta sauce)

~1/2 tsp dried oregano

~1/2 tsp dried basil

~1/2 tsp salt

~1/4 tsp pepper

~4 Cups chicken stock

~1/2 C heavy cream

~20 oz cheese tortellini

~shredded Parmesan cheese

The recipe list looks a bit long, but the majority of it is spices. 

Helpful hint for your wallet: buy all of the canned goods, chicken stock and the tortellini at Target. It's usually cheaper than at a regular grocery store by a few dollars and it's the exact same thing! In fact, minus the spices, I got everything else for this meal at Target.

What You Do:

1. Using a large soup pot, add in the onion, garlic, rosemary and olive oil and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes (until the onion is translucent).

2. Add in the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, chicken stock and heavy cream. Stir to combine and simmer for about 20 minutes.

3. Add the tortellini to the pot and cook for about 12-15 minutes, until the tortellini are cooked through. 

4. When it's done, garnish with Parmesan cheese (and extra basil if you'd like). And get ready for the most mouth-wateringly delicious soup that took very minimal effort to prepare!

This recipe made 5-6 servings for us, so plenty of leftovers (and the leftovers were GREAT the next day!)

Happy Eating!