a few cute pics from the week

little cousin Amory met ashlyn for the first time! She calls her "the B"

Pat and i have gotten lots of cuddle time in with our little girl

and we took a couple of christmas pics..... but i need to decide what is going on the card before i post more.

hope you all had a fabulous Christmas!!

Ashlyn Elise O'Brien

Okay so it has been 9 days...but as you can imagine things have been pretty nuts!

The good news: Ashlyn is here and she is absolutely perfect.

She weighed in at 8lbs. 8oz and she was 22 inches long.

The labor and delivery was pretty much textbook and i feel so lucky that everything went as smoothly as it did. Basically, I started having contractions last friday at 10:30 while i was vacuuming the house. They were only like 7-10 minutes apart, but weren't that awful so i hesitated to call anyone and let them know - i totally thought that it might have just been some cramping because i was sort of over doing it for being 39 weeks and 6days pregnant :). I did call Pat at work to let him know, but i was sure that they would stop as soon as he got home and warned him many times not to be disappointed if that was the case. Right around noon they were getting much stronger and only 5 minutes apart - so it was officially go time. We ate lunch, i took a shower, changed into some comfy clothes and headed out the door. Lets just say five minute contractions hurt much more than 7 minute contractions.....and guess what? Contractions every 2 minutes hurt WAYYYY worse than both of those combined

I got to the hospital and the nicest old man wheeled me in the door while Pat parked the car. He kept his hand on my shoulder the whole ride back to labor and delivery and seemed so excited for us that we were about to have a baby. I got checked out in triage by a nice little resident that had a "pocket guide to obstetrics" in his pocket filled with post-it notes and earmarked pages. Luckily it looked like he had read it a lot, but soooo funny to see an instruction manual in the "doctors" pocket.

Ummm just as we suspected before going into triage i was actually in labor....so they moved me to the Labor and delivery area. I was in between contractions and feeling okay so i actually walked to my room. Up until that point everything seemed so manageable. I could deal with the pain and the anxiety hadn't really set in. It kind of felt like an out of body experience - like i still wasn't "really" having a baby. Once we got into Labor and Delivery things changed. I think that walk to the room really kicked my butt. The nurse talked me into trying "the ball" (umm eww) I swore afterwatching way too many episodes of a baby story that i would never use the exercise ball thing but i was in a lot of pain at that point so any option sounded like a good one. 2 contractions later i was fahhhhhreaking over it and opted for the epidural ( sidenote: I truly couldn't care less if you want to judge me for this...cough cough..... Emily).

Let me tell you - Epidurals are magical!!!!

I got my epidural and within a couple of hours i was fully dilated and ready to go. I simply watched the monitor so that i could tell when i was having a contraction but i had enough control to where i could still move my legs. pat and i just hung out and he would tell me when it looked ike my contractions were getting huge. i just chilled. Things moved along extremely quickly and i felt like i had a ton of energy saved up for when it actually came time to deliver. that was a great feeling and i dont think it would have been that way had i been in agonizing pain for hours beforehand.

That is just my experience though - if you go without - that is great for you. Everyone has there own reasons for making the decisions that they do....and i respect everyone for having a baby no matter how they go about it.

So anyways, Ashlyn was born after about an hour of pushing. The full Labor and delivery time was 7 hours total. She was alert and happy from the moment she was born and totally healthy.

Now that we are home, she loves to sleep...even at night...and she just gets sweeter every day.

I have loved nothing more than to see Pat with his little girl too. We are so lucky and feel so blessed to have had the experience we did. Two minutes after having her I said "wow that was easy...i could have 10 kids...lets do this again"

So anyways...stay tuned. I will have many more updates on this little peanut.

We love her so much :)

39 weeks 5 days

i am REALLY pregnant.....and i have been really bored....and now i think someone is trying to tell me something because BRAVO somehow disappeared from the channel lineup on my family room TV. Ummm how do you spend a lazy pre-baby maternity leave on the couch when there is no BRAVO available to entertain???

I know all i have to do is call in to Direct TVs customer service and have them re-send a signal, but dude......annoying!

I am going to take this as a sign that maybe i am "resting" too much.

i think i will spend this fine afternoon off the couch doing some baby yoga instead..... i love hanging out with "sunshine" the earth mother baby yoga instructor that graces me with her presence via DVD

Annnd in baby news: if i had to put a guess in I would say that Ashlyn is going to make her debut this Saturday. It is her actual due date...and it has been my guess all along.

Pat was born on his due date...he is a first born...naturally his daughter could do the same right?

I'll keep you all posted...the doctor sounded surprised that i have lasted this long so who knows it could be sooner (could be later).

:)

Winter Turkey Chili Recipe

I don't know if your outside looks anything like my outside right now....but if it is snowing sideways and freezing (or even if it is sunny and you are just in the mood for a nice wintery meal) ....you have to try this soup!

My friend Emily made it for Pat and I last week and it is beyond good. Pretty light, but filling all at the same time...... She got it off of the foodnetwork.com site (its Ellie Krieger) but I included it below for your convenience.

Bon Appetit!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 stalks celery, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 3 medium poblano peppers (about 4 ounces each), seeded and white ribs removed, finely diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more to taste
• 1 pound ground white meat turkey
• 2 (15.5-ounce) cans white beans such as cannelini, preferably low-sodium, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can hominy, drained and rinsed
• Salt
• 1/4 cup nonfat plain Greek-style yogurt
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• Lime wedges

Directions

Heat the oil in large pot or Dutch oven over moderate heat. Add the onion, celery, poblanos, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander and cayenne and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the ground turkey and cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until the meat is no longer pink about 2 minutes. Add the white beans, broth and oregano. Cook, partially covered, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes.

Add the hominy and salt and more cayenne pepper, to taste, and continue cooking, partially covered, 10 minutes longer. Ladle into individual bowls and top each serving with 1 tablespoon of yogurtand 1 1/2 teaspoons of cilantro. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Per Serving:

Calories 320; Total Fat 6 g; (Sat Fat 0.5 g, Mono Fat 2 g, Poly Fat 1 g) ; Protein 31 g; Carb 37 g; Fiber 9 g; Cholesterol 30 mg; Sodium 310 mg

Excellent source of: Protein, Fiber, Thiamin, Vitamin C, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus

Good source of: Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin K, Potassium, Zinc

37 weeks 2 days

There was a point last week where i would have paid 1 million dollars to induce labor.

Luckily, the discomfort and anxiousness that caused all of that has dissipated and as of today (at 11am) i am ready to stick it out for the long haul and make it to my due date on December 18th.

Much of that feeling has to do with the fact that I got sick over the weekend - Lots of coughing, lots of nose blowing, lots of laying around like a bum hoping to feel better soon and i realized how awful it would be to start my shift as "mom" with this awful cold. I need to be well rested and healthy...so i need at least a week more of being pregnant to accomplish this....oh yeah and i have a hair appointment scheduled on the 10th. It would be tragic if i had these roots in all of the pictures from my little girls first week of life!

So yeah i need highlights and good health.

lets just hope it doesn't take a week for these symptoms to disappear. Coughing your head off while being this humongous has a whole new set of ramifications that i don't intend to discuss but just know, it isn't fun.

In other news: we had a nice Thanksgiving. Pats brother was in town with his fiance from DC and it is always fun to have them here. We got lots of time in with family and friends -watching Notre Dame finally beat USC and eating like it was our job all weekend.

Pat and i did some holiday shopping on Black Friday. It was kind of worthless to get up early but it ended up working out. We got some good deals....but i have a feeling those same deals were available at 11am vs. 6am. Nonetheless, we are now the proud owners of a very very fancy new desktop Mac and an elliptical that BETTER allow me to morph back into a normal sized post-pregnant human being. I guess it stinks that there wont be any big surprises on Christmas morning, but Pat and i are all about the practicality and it made more sense to just get each other these things we needed ahead of the baby being here.

Hopefully the new comp will contribute to some renewed inspiration for blogging. Once every 2 weeks kind of sucks - i know.

So that's it for now. I am hopefully optimistic that i can make it to my due date ( i swear i am trying mom ;) )..... there has been a little bit of progress made towards having the baby though so we'll see how this all ends up. i guess i can't change what happens either way.

i definitely am beyond excited to meet little Ashlyn O'B though!!....whenever she decides to make her debut.

Baby Katie - i'm 35 weeks now

My mom sent this picture to me this morning. We realized last night that when i was born my mom was 27 and my dad was 30....the exact ages that Pat and I are going to be when little Ashlyn (or the mystery 20% chance baby that happens to have a wiener) will be born.

I am just surprised to see how much hair i had. I was a total towhead blonde later on....and isn't my dads pink tie cute? No offense to my 2 older sisters but i was the only one that got a pink tie tribute :) ...love you dad!

SO anyways, my feelings at 35 weeks: it is getting so close....and we are ready to some extent but it still feels like there is just so much left to do. Anxiety has definitely set in, but overall I think i am confident that Pat and I are going to be great parents.

I am kind of in list mode with just 5 weeks left.

Yesterday i looked up hospital information - and made a phone list in my phone of numbers we might need.

I also sent my sister Kristen an email to find out what kind of things i would need to pack for my hospital bag. Thank god i did because the boppy pillow and big butt undies could have been forgotten. Ugggg - I hate those kind of underwear. I own like 2 and they are only worn as pajamas when no one is looking.... i guess times are a changing (temporarily at least)

This weekend we are tackling another list item- pat and i are going to finish out the practical baby purchases and head to babies r us for the pump the baby tub, a little bit of extra sheeting, and God only knows what else! I think we need more warm onesies, some cloth diapers (not for diaper business but for other stuff) pacifiers, a nursing cover.....ummm etc.

We'll see how that all goes. Pat "looooves" shopping.

As far as the "me" stuff goes -I am feeling pretty good, but this "pretty good" only comes after some hard work to get back to normal. A few days ago i was almost freaking crippled by a pinched nerve in my back. I have had sciatica on and off at different times, but this was the first time it didn't go away. The pain was constant and i was miserable. So for the first time this whole pregnancy I left work - for a non doctor appointment related issue. I got a prenatal massage, i took a bath, and i did baby yoga. That - my friends- is an unbelievable combination of greatness. I woke up the next day feeling like it was my second trimester again :)

All in all - things are good.

I am done decorating the nursery.

I am close to getting ready to leave work.

I am ready to decorate my house for Christmas.

I am excited for our baby basics class on the 29th.

I am ready to finish Christmas shopping on black Friday.

I am ready to pack a bag for the hospital.

...I just haven't finished or done any of that stuff yet.

Heres to hoping that some of these get crossed off my list now that they are in writing for the world to see.

Hope you all have an excellent friday! If you want....have a martini for me (one with a little champagne too). I really want/need one at this point but i am willing to live vicariously through you for at least 6 more weeks :)

32 weeks...and the nursery :)

Here is a 32 week update. Anyone else sick of seeing me with my hand on my hip in every single picture i take these days?? I am...but you should see what pictures look like without that elbow. Angles are good ladies. I may look like a dork, but something needs to balance out all of the roundness :)...so stay tuned because these next 8 weeks could get very interesting. I just hope you will still be able to see my elbows by December 18th!

And enough about me. In much bigger/better news- does anyone want to see the princess palace we created for the baby?
you do??? okay
and you want to know what we are naming her right???

well here you go...
this is Ashlyn's nursery :)

soft pinks....light grey.....a baby crystal chandelier....i die.

the bedding close up.

and one fabulous, overstuffed closet filled with gorgeous girl garb.

I bought this chair at a cute little baby boutique by my house. It has a really high back which is so nice for when i happen to fall asleep here. It also reclines.

I'm a little nervous about the white but i guess we will just have to wait and see how that goes - it was too pretty to pass up (ha ha)

and this little element is so much cuter in person. I bought some fabric that matched the changing pad and made this little hair bow board. For my shower, everyone brought me a headband or a hair bow for little Ashlyn. She pretty much has every single color and pattern a girl could imagine. And this doesn't even include her impressive collection of hats.Keep in mind that pat and i were both pretty bald for a good long time, but i do l really look forward to the day when Ashlyn can learn her colors by pointing out which bow she feels like wearing for the day.

All of this with only an 80% chance that this is a girl.

I will either feel like a total idiot...or very lucky that my intuition was correct.

i guess we will see in December.

How "funny" would it be if i have to post the total room remodel and renaming of Baby OB????

(don't worry - there are plans to reverse all of this if we are surprised with a little boy)

Baby Shower

This past Saturday was the baby shower! I can't believe that i am actually far enough along to be at this point (32 weeks on Thursday) but seeing all of the awesome baby gear and hearing all of the awesome mom advice"really made this whole "Katie you really are having a baby" thing seem real.

My Mom and Mother-in-law hosted the shower with lots of help from my sister and sister in law.... and they did a really great job with everything. The cookies above were favors that my friend Mary's mom decorated/designed.
They were so darn cute!

all of the decor was done in soft pinks and silvery grays to match the baby's nursery. We did a big brunch with Quiche and spinach salad and pineapple bread and fruit and trifles and cake balls and all the other delicious stuff you should be eating at 11 in the morning

We did the shower at my house because my in-laws house was under construction and my mom lives in Florida......so it just made sense. I was worried that everyone wouldn't fit but surprisingly we made room and it was actually pretty cosy :)

This is Megan - my fab sister-in-law. She was in charge of mimosas and being fabulous :) (wish i could have had one...they are my fave)

and contrary to their lack of representation on past blog posts - i do in fact have unbelievable friends in Ohio. I just never take pictures :(......so anyways this is Kelly, Carley and Lisa

Ali and Anna

Amanda and Amory

and my mom and both of my grandmas.

My shower outfit kind of sucked. I ran out of shopping time so i just went for comfort. Hmmmm, i should have tried harder.

These are my Bank's cousins (minus Brandy) and the rest of my side of the family that came to Ohio.

Look at this cute little ducky travel tub! All of my friends have these and they are seriously awesome. You can take them on vacation or use it in your house if you want. The beak even makes a quacking noise!

We got a little O'Brien Cavs onesie and something tells me this little girl will have that on a lot when her Dad is picking out the outfits. You should see the matching shoes too!

I had tons of help with getting all of these presents unwrapped.

my sister Kristen looking very festive :)

and sorry for all the present shots...but seriously - How lucky is this little baby?

(notice my super cute Quinny?????thanks mom and grandma....cant wait to bring that down to Florida for some beach walks)!!!

It was so nice to have everyone over and get together with just the girls. I am so lucky to be surrounded by the people that i have in my life.

Can't wait to join the mommy club!!!

Fall update....

So what do you do when it is this gorgeous outside?

you call your fam (this is my mom and grandma S).....

You get outside........

and you borrow the cutest darn baby you can find (if yours is still cooking)

and you head to the nearest farm/pumpkin patch for a lovely walk outdoors and some pumpkin picking :)

....then you take lots of cute pics of Amory in one of her many Halloween outfits because she is just so darn cute!

and you take some pictures of your lovely sister Kristen with her little pumpkin

and you take more pictures....

.....and then you stick the cute baby in the middle of the giant pile of pumpkins so that we can all go nuts about how cute she is

then you ( okay "me") stand in front of the pumpkins to compare them in size to the big old belly i am carrying around these days.

and this is 3 of the 4 generations present that day - my mom had to take the pic.

but anyways, this was an awesome little fall day that i got to spend with a good little chunk of my family that was in town for my baby shower.

more on that coming soon :)

Dry Cleaning...cleaning me out!

So in preparation for another weekend wedding i brought one of Pats suits, my dress, 2 pairs of pants and 2 shirts to the dry cleaners so that everything would be crisp and clean for the festivities.
Much to my surprise when i went to go pick up my 6 pieces they charged me $70.
$70 for that?
were they kidding?
I thought that the suit would be a little expensive and maybe even my dress but seriously - the dress is like knee length cotton jersey. it wasn't an actual "wedding dress" that i was planning on wearing to this wedding.
So anyways i asked for a price list just so i could see what i was really in for.
They "don't have one"
Okay well then can i get a receipt?
"sure"....but when i got the reciept it wasn't itemized.
Still trying to keep my cool i asked how much did the suit cost? she said 12 dollars.
which in my mind is reasonable - "fine....okay so how much was the dress"
she said "$35"
i said....Ummm excuse me are you kidding?
she said well the manager marked it as "fancy"and she also marked it as "floor length."
I laughed and reminded her that it is knee length and not really that fancy and her response was:
"well look at how tall you are"

BITCH. You are kidding right?my knee length= your floor length so double charge me because you are an effing pygmy??

you mean to tell me that i am obligated to pay more because i happen to be tall?
I would love to see this chick tell the fat lady that her giant blouse will cost the same as a king size duvet cover because she had too many cheeseburgers.
somehow i doubt that will happen.

People are so stupid!!!!!
obviously i will never go to this place again. I hate to be cheap, but i also hate getting swindled by some idiot who is trying to sell me some ridiculous illogical excuse for an overcharge.
i am not 9 feet tall.
I do not wear circus tents (well i didn't until i was pregnant).
I do shop at normal stores.
my clothes are no different than yours.....so give me a break.

i HATE the dry cleaners!!!!

(oh and by the way- if you are lucky enough to live in California - never stop appreciating the dirt cheap dry cleaning and mani/pedis.....they don't exist elsewhere. Dry cleaning and getting your nails done costs more than college tuition here. i wish i knew how lucky i was when i still lived there )

ummm yeah

Dude - i have been at work for 25 minutes and i already want to pull my hair out.

I have this one rep that calls into me all the time and is always like giddy laughing.....except it isn't a nice/fun laugh - it is a "you are so stupid Katie, let me tell you why" kind of laugh.

And in reality he is always wrong.

I can't help it if he is a big freaking idiot and doesn't scroll down to page 2 of his attachments.

I can't help it either that I want to cringe every time i say his name.

It is Grayfeather.

That is his name.

Nothing against american indians either. I hate this guy and i hate his name because I don't even think this guy is an indian.

I get the feeling that he was maybe in Indian guides (like a girl scout) or something and that Grayfeather is just a nickname. His email address is doug@______

I want to kill myself every time he calls.

8:15 is way too early for a "you are stupid Katie" call.

just felt like venting.

Young Forever?

You know that one Katie Perry song that goes something like:

"you cant put your hands on me

...in my skin tight jeans

I can be your teenage dream

tonightttttt"

well this "one guy I know" changed the lines to that song.....and all the changes were inspired by my hot tamale-ness these days. You have to love being serenaded with words like:

"you can put your hands on me in

...in my ELASTIC JEANS"

la la la la......

Catchy right???

I definitely laughed but ummmmm Yep- Its official. It has been confirmed that i am the polar opposite of Katie Perry's inspiration for that song.

"Young forever" my ass. I am waiting for the 2 year follow up where Katie Perry tells me how "teenage dreamy" she feels in her 10 inch elastic waisted maternity jeans. THAT would be a hit in my books....maybe "that guy i know" could help her out with the lyrics?

So anyways for all of you young bishes that love that song (and in all seriousness I really do like it too)You need to know that despite the fact that you may look something like this now:

This is "teenage" Katie circa 2001 in a reject model photo.

You might also look more like the picture below once you decide that growing up is fun and that you want to start a family of really cute little babies....The hip bones - okay all of your bones - at least temporarily get traded in for this puff pastry:

That is the truth.

You will not feel young. You probably wont feel super hot.

But it is fun.....

I promise.

And you can still sing songs about people your babysitters age and act like it is still about you and your young hotness. Just don't do it out loud, or the people around you might call you out.

oh yeah - and don't think for one second that i think the skinny picture is some hot shot of me - my face looks ridic. I just wanted to reminisce with myself and remember the times when my body fat was less than 40% and i still ate in-n-out like 13 times a week.

wedding season

do you want to know what is "sweet" about being pregnant?

Umm every effing dress made to fit your body looks like this fug creation above.

EVERY SINGLE ONE.

is it so much to ask that i want to look glamorous and put together at the upcoming nuptials of my friends??? Just becasue i am pregnant doesn't mean that i am boring. I want something fabulous and unless I find something stretchy (in a big big size) that was meant to fit a human shaped person (that i can manage to stretch over the bump) I am sentenced to looking like an amish secretary at all 3 weddings i have coming up.

And dont try to comfort me with the cute shoes/cute accessories bit. I hate accessories. Big earings will only make me feel more ridiculous.

UGGGGG.

I swear i have checked everywhere. Even the seemingly talented designers who happen to have maternity lines completely disappoint and insist that you wear a round neck, knee length, fugtastic, run of the mill, church dress.

there is only one length and one neckline available....and that length.....and that neckline..... is suck!!!!!!

don't count on seeing a lot of pictures of these weddings i will be attending....unless of course one of you happens to know someone at BCBG that wants to make me a drapey, sexy, pregnant godess dress :)

you might have heard....

Maybe i mentioned it on here before, but ummmm Pat and I are having a baby.

Its a girl (we think - ummmmm 70% girl according to the doctors if you will remember)

According to my baby ticker (that scared the crap out of me today)she is set to arrive in only 101 days (that is if she is a planner, like her dad, and she decides that being born on her due date is a good idea).

I know that there is no way to plan, but one thing i do know is that we are going to meet this baby in a maximum of 107 days.

She will be born by Christmas.
Holy Heart Attack.

that is really soon.

I do have a crib, i do have a changing table, I do have baby skinny jeans but ummm everything else????

Nope.

That's what the future is for. Right?

So how the heck is the "future" coming up so quickly?

I need to buy the essentials: a car seat, a boppy, diapers, wipes, a giant dairy milking cow pump...the list goes on and on. This REALLY is happening.

whoa.

Help me out - clearly anyone that buys skinny jeans for a baby is nuts. I need to know - what are the essentials?? what is something i seriously cant live without??? Really, if you wouldn't mind, leave me a little comment. I need to cross check my registry and cover all my bases. It would be greatly appreciated :)

*Sidenote on the skinny jeans: I realize there is probably a 0% chance that i will be able to get these on and/or off of my baby...they are kinda just for show....if you saw the tiny little butt on these jeans you sooooo would have bought them too!!!....oh and you should also know that i bought turquoise flats to go with these baby jeans. I die.

**2nd sidenote: Do you realize....that there is a 30% chance that my baby girl is really a boy? do you also realize that i wont have another ultrasound until the week after my baby shower? Just imagine the blog post when i find out at 30+ weeks that the crystal chandelier, pink bedding, rug, drapes, and every single piece of clothing has to be returned or packed away. I would(seriously) DIE if that turns out to be the cse.....not becasue it is a boy.....that would be equally as amazing. I would die knowing that i have to re-plan EVERYTHING. lol....can you imagine? that would happen to me.

as of late....

the wonderful fabulous, genius, beautiful baby Amory and my sister Kristen came to visit.

And if only i didn't look like such a complete loser shlumpadinka who has given up on life these days...there would be more pictures of all of us.

Its getting rough people. I think that "cute pregnant lady" thing ended a few weeks back.
I am starting to really look BAD.

In my defense, i did have a pretty rough couple of days last week.
Some time on thursday at work i started to get this stabbing pain in my back. It kind of wrapped around to my front and ran along side the baby bump all the way to my hip. It hurt, but it wasn't horrible so i chalked it up to growing pains. We went to Pats parents house after work for a little bit and i started to feel nauseasous as it got worse. A few more hours passed by and it was still there and still getting worse so i called the doctor at like 9:30. We scheduled an appointment for the next morning but since i didn't have a fever and i wasn't technically doubled over in pain (yet) i just stayed put at home.

That night I didn't sleep and at one point after a trip to the bathroom I couldn't stop crying i was in so much pain. I went into the doctors frst thing on friday and they were convinced i have a kidney stone. The sent me for a renal ultrasound and did some other tests......my doctor also gave me this reassuring anectdote: "the good news is, you don't have to worry about having a baby now - lots of people say a kidney stone is worse"

wow. thank you?......that really isn't good news. Especially since apparently now i am faced with both situations.

She said that there was no way to tell when this would happen (passing the stone that is). It could happen in an hour, it could happen in a month. i just have to wait

But here is the weird part.... i waited and I really do feel better now. The pain has gone away. I don't know if that just happens or if the whole kidney stone thing is still waiting to happen and i am just getting a break ? My theory is that maybe i just passed a small stone on thursday and/or i have a super human tolerance for pain and i am done with this fiasco? orrrr the scaredy cat part of me thinks that maybe this is just the calm before the storm where i will supposedly be puking all over myself screaming for someone to kill me???

I t is all very unnerving. And yes that is a real description descriptionof the circumstances most people find themselves in when they have a kidney stone)

SO which one is it going to be?
I am scared, but at the same time I am cautiously optimistic that i am out of the woods.

Has anyone else had this problem - where you were told you have a kidney stone but the pain just magically disappears on its one without any monumental torturous experience??

please say yes. please say yes.

the stress of worrying is bad for me.

It also makes me feel like a crazy lunatic when i am at work becasue i just cant seem to stay focused. That whole "pregnancy brain" thing....that is not a myth.

I am having such a hard time keeping all of the details in my life straight. I can't remember so many things that used to be a lot easier tasks to tackle. i would say that i hope that things get easier and i can get back into the swing of things in a few months but that seems pretty unlikely once you add a baby into the mix.

soooo this post could ramble on all day if i don't put a lid on it. I need to close this up and start trying to remember all fo the things that i know i am forgetting to do...and hopefully i can also work on the part where i forget that an imminent attack is coming where my kidney basically explodes and knifes my insides.

happy Tuesday!

Cravings

I literally woke up this morning and the first thing that came to mind was "mmmm Meghan's carmel apple Salad" - weird right? You wont think so once you try this. My cousin sent me the recipe today and honest to God, it might be the least healthy recipe i ever post on this here blog.

Regardless.....I can gaurantee you that the calories do in fact translate to full blown deliciousness.....and the main ingredient isn't bad at all - Apples- so really i think you will survive if you do decide to indulge:

Crazy Caramel Apple Salad
-1/2 C Butter/Margarine Melted
-1 C Powdered Sugar
-1 Large Tub Cool Whip...
-1 C Peanuts (I used honey roasted peanuts)
-6 Full-size Snickers Bars - chopped
-6-8 Granny Smith Apples
-1 Can crushed pineapple, drained

Melt 1/2 cup butter in large mixing bowl. Add 1 C powdered sugar and stir. Fold in the Cool Whip and whisk until smooth.

Meanwhile combine peanuts, Snicker's pieces, apples and pineapple in large bowl. Pour the Cool Whip mixture over and stir until evenly coated.Refrigerate overnight and serve. Enjoy :)

it tastes so much better than it even sounds........I might have to stop by the grocery store later.
Oh and please, if you are reading this and feel like commenting, leave me a suggestion for a great workout or a healthier recipe that i can enjoy while preggggggggnant ( i obvi need it).

yeah thanks.

Big Belly....Big Closet

2 Big things going on at Casa de O'Brien:

Huge Katie

&

Huge waste of a closet.

Yep. Its true.

I have a cribs-worthy ridiculous closet (see it in the background?).....cool right? nope.- it is a total waste of space these days. it bums me out.

The racks are filled with clothing that does not fit me and it is kinda sorta big time depressing.

kinda not though too. The bump is endlessly entertaining. I am turning into more of an alien giant as we speak!

I do like the shelf with all of the cute maternity clothes my sister gave me and I can still wear all of the comfy pajamas and yoga pants that i used to wear too. The bathing suits work also, but HOLY GOD do they look "different"....the rest of it - ummmm useless - anyone need extra storage space in Ohio?

so anyways...i only took this picture in this mirror with the closet in the background because this is a "skinny" mirror in my house (convenient that it is located in my closet huh?) and the lighting tends to be favorable as well ( i need all the help i can get). oh and reason #2 for this shot - i figured i should have one more belly photo on this blog seeing as how this is the only place i am recording them. So here you go - 21 weeks :)

oh and I wasn't trying to brag about the closet. I am not a big enough diva to deserve this space (2 rooms, shoe storage for about 200 pairs of shoes, an island...so not me - i struggle to fill it with my losery clothes) BUT one day, i do plan to add a chandelier, paint the walls, and actually wear some of the clothes contained inside of it without looking like a stuffed sausage....and at that point, i might actually brag.

Sorry.

You have a long time before that can happen though.

20 weeks - 14 vs. 2

14-2. That is the count for girls vs. boys born in the last 31 years on my side of the family . We have Lauren, Kristen, Katie(me), Brandy, Kelly, Meghan, Amy, Allison, Jillian, Jackie, Shayla, Jennifer.......Amory and now ?????????

BABY GIRL OB!!!!!

(Marty and Finn are still going to have to wait it out as the only boys)!!

Pat and I went for our ultrasound yesterday to get the good news on our baby's gender. It was my first ever which seems nuts because i am officially 20 weeks as of Thursday but the really good news is everything looks healthy and on-track - which is such an unbelievable relief. We are soo excited to have a little girl! and kind of surprised too. I think 90% of the guesses ahead of time were for a boy.

Funny story about the ultrasound....Pat and i and lots of other people have been dying to find out for sure what this little baby was going to be. I, of course, just had this feeling that the baby wasn't going to be in a great position to show us his/her business. I guess i was joking when i thought about it and i didn't really think it would happen, but then when we got to the appointment it seemed like my anxiety might have been more intuition.When the appointment first started we asked the nurse what the likelihood of finding out the gender would be. She said that they almost always find out....unless of course the baby is breech and has its legs crossed.

Ummm guess who was breech with their legs crossed? yup. baby O'B!

the nurse gathered all of the normal measurements and we had to laugh when she measured the femurs.....They are 2 weeks ahead on the development schedule. There is no doubt this baby is going to have some long legs! ...wonder where those came from?? :)

So anyways, those legs did do a little twist right as the nurse was finishing up - and we did get a little sneak peak of what looked like a very girly baby. She said that she was pretty sure but that she would let the doctor take a look without telling him what we thought.

He only spent like 5 minutes in the room but said "yeah she looks pretty girly - i'll say 70% chance its a girl"

Ummmmmm 70% huh? that is enough to get me very excited about little princess dresses but it is also enough to lump me in to that poor category of girls that decorates a whole pink palace, has a girl themed baby shower and then ends up with a little boy at birth!!!

this could be interesting. I am really hoping to get some more "concrete" numbers at a follow up ultrasound that i am going to insisit my doctor schedules again for the near future.

for now - I still really think "it" is a she.....We might even have a name picked out but we didin't want to really make any names official until we knew the gender. We still really like the name we picked but i think we want to use it for a while just to make sure it feels right before we announce it to the world. it's a great name though. Cute, Irish, and not too common but not weird either.

Ummmmmm - as far as her first picture (posted above) check out those cheekbones! Holy supermodel....and i am pretty sure she has her dads big full lips

:) this one is going to be a little cutie!

cant wait to meet her!!!!!

baby ticker

is it just me or does the floating baby in my baby ticker look like an avatar?
i don't think babies (even my baby) are typically that lanky and tall.
Hmmmm????

Bump pictures are awkward.....

So in addition to a nice little 5 inch long baby (crown to rump as they say)I have been filling my belly with a wonderful assortment of other fabulous things.....all thanks to the little farm down the street from my house (okay down the street a ways but still).

I am seriously obsessed with this place. It is called Szalay's and i think i have been about 5 different times in the last 2 weeks. All of their produce is beyond delicious and the atmosphere is just so fun. It is basically a big barn that feels like an open air grocery store. It is surrounded by corn fields and walking trails and in the front of the barn there are huge outdoor swings made so that entire families can sit on them while they enjoy the ice cream, frozen lemonade and grilled corn that they make right out front.

In the fall, there is a corn "maze" that kids can run through before they get their pumpkins at the pumpkin patch and i am pretty sure they do hey rides from here too.

It is so idyllic. I really do think that this might be my favorite place in all of Ohio.

So anyways, here is a small sampling of what i have been putting on the menu for Baby O'B.
lucky baby!

delicious, juicy, non grainy, unbelievably good peaches!!! i would say i eat 1-2 of these a days.

strawberries! Most of the time I eat them plain, but sometimes i get them all dressed up like this with heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar. It is beyond good and so easy. If you wanted to make this for guests just put the strawberries in a martini glass to add a little jooj. This really is the perfect light summer dessert and it works well with raspberries too (my dad's favorite)

Holy GOD this salad is also my favorite!! Caprese salad with basil cut from my own garden. Even if it didn't taste as delicious as it does, i would still love it just for the simple fact that i feel like a freaking Martha Stewart rockstar every time I incorporate a home grown ingredient into something i am eating. Salt, pepper, olive oil, good balsamic, basil, fresh mozzarella and Farmy delish tomatoes = perfection.

and these cherries...I don't even like cherries but seriously (again) i love these ones! They are pricey at $6/lb, but so worth it.

So what has all of this (plus a baby) done to my physique? Ummmmmmmm, let me show you.

...yeah there are some chips and french fries in there too.