Thankful Thursday

Mackenzie, a student worker in my office, took this lovely picture on campus. Who doesn't love fall colors?

This week, I'm thankful for the changing leaves. I was driving last night under a canopy of color on the curvy road home, and I thought, "This looks like a car commercial," which is to say it was quite picturesque and could probably sell you a Lexus.

I'm also thankful for feeling the first little baby pops in my stomach last night. It felt like Pop Rocks or popcorn poking around in there. I like to think my little baby is trying to tell its first knock-knock joke, only it can't get past the knock-knocking on my stomach part. That's OK. There's plenty of time to learn the rest.

In our impatience, we've moved the ultrasound up one week so we can stop calling our baby "it." So I'm thankful that a week from Monday we'll know if our little one is a boy or a girl! (The votes in the right side bar are all tied up right now!)

Lastly, I'm thankful that I'm taking the day off tomorrow, making today my Friday! I hate for Scott to have those banking holidays off all by himself. We've got one last Fayetteville road trip this season, and we've decided to make the most of it!

What are you thankful for this week?

Fayetteville looks gorgeous during the fall as well. I love Old Main in the background. 

Week 15 and the cry baby

My red pre-pregnancy skirt's last hoorah. 

So, it's been a little while since I last did one of these. But now that I have a replacement camera charger, I hope there will be no more shenanigans from my camera for the duration of this pregnancy. Otherwise, it might meet its fate against a brick wall.

Anyway, between the last post and this one, I've entered the second trimester. I'm hoping there's less narcolepsy and nausea now. There's one thing that I know won't be going away soon, and that's my constant crying.

I've always been a crier. In happiness, sadness, tiredness, excitement, and sickness, weeping has always been what I lean on to convey my feelings. Needless to say, pregnancy has exponentially increased the number of my tears.

The best (and also most embarrassing) was in my Writing Non-Fiction class when I got choked up during a peer critiquing session. My classmate had written about the death of her uncle in such a moving way that it had caused me to cry while reading it, and then cry while talking about it in class. And then, to top it all off, I made her cry.

Add that to the growing list of other tear-jerking moments I've experienced, like "The X-Factor" auditions; an ESPN special on high school football in tornado ravaged Joplin, Mo.; the "Branden's Proposal" YouTube video (It's ridiculously sweet. Go watch it. Ignore the choreography at the end, though); Project Runway; anything and everything with a child on it; editing the deaths section for the magazine; a story about Kate Middleton visiting children with cancer; and the fervent, silent shaking of pompoms at the Ole Miss game. These are just some of the things that have me sniffling on the sofa. I think Scott has taken it as his personal mission to seek out things that will make me cry just to see what my limit is.

I'll take crying over heartburn any day, though.

Thankful Thursday

It's November, and before you know it Thanksgiving will be here, and we'll all be passed out in a turkey coma on our relatives couches. But before it's lights out and pass the gravy, I thought I'd record all the many blessings I have to be thankful for each Thursday leading up to Thanksgiving.

Today I'm thankful that God made Scott and I have different personalities, so that when he's fretting over something small, I can help him relax and see the big picture, and when I need a little motivational push, he's there to help me out.

I'm thankful for a healthy, growing baby as well as the fact there's a Taco Bell downstairs from my office for when burrito cravings strike — like today.

And I'm thankful for cold evenings with nothing to do other than curl up on the couch with Scott and some hot chocolate and watch TV.

What are you thankful for?

What's in a name?

I went to the doctor yesterday for a baby check up. Hearing my little one's heartbeat never gets old, but my main excitement in going to this appointment was getting to set the next one, which is our second ultrasound and gender reveal time!

My doctor asked if we were going to find out, and without hesitation I said yes. I mean, back in the day, Courtney and I would tell what Mom and Dad were getting the other for Christmas. We couldn't stand not knowing. (Incidentally, when Scott and I got married I was shocked that he wouldn't participate in this game and insisted on keeping gifts secret until Christmas day. Some people...) So of course, between my hatred of secrets and Scott's type A personality, we'll hopefully find out on Nov. 29.

Now that the day is set, though, I'm feeling the crunch of figuring out the name situation for boy and girl. How do you even go about giving a kid a name? I mean, so what if Scott and I like it; our child is the one who will have to answer to it, learn to spell it, bubble it in on a Scantron, and so much more. It's a daunting task.

While we have our front runners, there's still a little indecision lurking there. It's a pretty permanent thing.

For those who have named a child, how did you go about it? Did both of you love the name equally going about it, or was it ultimately decided in a grand rock/paper/scissors battle? Let me know in the comments!

P.S. You now have 27 days to cast your vote in the right sidebar as to what you think Baby Hannigan's gender is. Get to it!

Nursery brainstorming

While we're still a month or more away from finding out the gender of the baby, I have been planning nursery possibilities from the beginning. I've never been a fan of the cartoon sheets and over the top primary colors of most nurseries and want this room to be a welcome and soothing space for baby as well as be appealing to mom and dad. I've been pinning a lot of ideas and have recently landed on the top two contenders.

For a little boy ...

The theme title Scott and I have decided on for a boy is "The Dapper Gentleman." The room has a preppy vibe to it, but he's still a boy's boy. I wanted to steer away from baby blues and pastels because that doesn't seem boyish to me. But I didn't want dump trucks or an all out football motif, either. (I mean, I'm an Arkansas fan, but this is just too much!) This nursery takes that English hunting lodge feel and adds a bookish spin to it. 

For a little girl ...

For a girl, the theme has been harder to pinpoint. I wasn't a big pink girl growing up, and I'm not looking to swathe my daughter in cotton candy, rainbows and unicorns. The overall vibe I'm going for is vintage girly. It's warm and friendly but not SPARKLES and BARBIE!!! I want it to have handmade, crafty touches as well as lots of older, weathered looking pieces. I didn't run completely away from pink, but it's definitely not an 80s hot pink-a-palooza. 

Now that Scott and I are united on a nursery theme, we've got larger hurdles to jump — like agreeing on a name. 

Week 11 and ironies

Week 11 belly

Cravings. In my nearly three months of pregnancy, I've had a few that really stuck out. Number one being carbs. I've always loved them, but in the depths of morning sickness, carbs were the one thing I could eat and not feel ill afterward. Lemon and tomato cravings surfaced around this time too, and I made a giant portion of Pioneer Woman's lemon pasta bake to feed this need with a side of baby tomatoes. I lived off that for a week.

One Saturday early on, I found myself in need of a Coke — badly. I had been doing really well and not having any caffeine, but I figured half a Coke was nowhere near my daily limit, and I was going to treat myself. The bubbles popped and fizzed like fireworks as I poured my drink over ice. My taste buds were eager for its sweet, refreshing jolt. Three big gulps later, and I felt it. Nausea. Again. I spent the rest of my day curled up on the couch angry at the Coke and my body for craving something that made it sick. Scott felt bad for me and finished my Coke for me. He's all about sacrifice.

This week, I've been all about a cheeseburger. It's all I want. Friday Scott took me out to get my fix. Let me tell you, that was the most delicious cheeseburger I've ever eaten. It was perfect. However, on the way home I turned into a fire breathing dragon as the heartburn kicked in. A couple of Tums and a glass of milk later, the blaze had yet to subside. But did I learn? No. While in Fayetteville for the game, I gave in to the siren call of a cheeseburger again, with the same results. I still don't regret the cheeseburger, though.

P.S. Don't forget you can vote on Baby Hannigan's gender in the right side bar!

Dealing with distractions

This week is midterm week — the first midterm week I've had in three years that actually brought stress upon me. I have a take-home test due tomorrow night, my nonfiction essay due tomorrow (with full class critique on Thursday — eep!) and school law annotated bibilography due next week.

I think this is the only way I'll get it all done.



Happy Monday!