Sunday, October 31, 2010

Pain in the Back!

On the IPOD "Time Warp" Rocky Horror Show Soundtrack

Why oh Why have I been awake since 3 am...Ugh! This has been the longest week ever... I'm so excited to announce that I have just under 10 weeks to go. I'm definitely uncomfortable...don't worry I'm fully aware that it is going to get worse. To say that my back hurts is an understatement...it is like I can feel my insides moving around to make room for the little boy and I'm a tad bit over it! I have decided that there isn't a comfortable seat... well... anywhere!

To top it off I have a full day of cooking later today...

I have gained 13 pounds so far. I'm hoping to keep it at under 10 more, yet as I sit here eating a small bag of mini oreos at 4:30 am, I admit weight loss is not at the top of my list of "To do's" at the moment.

I can't believe I have to go to work right now...there are some days that I wish I had a sick line that I could just call and say I'm taking a personal day. See you would think because I work for myself that I could just take off whenever, but unfortunately that is just not how it works!

So after I make...
Chicken Drumettes
Seared Pork Chops
Miso glazed Salmon
Butternut Squash Soup
Chicken Fajitas
Hamburgers
Turkey Meatballs
Veggie Lomein
Shredded Chicken Tamales
and various side dishes

I will be taking a nice long afternoon nap.

If anyone has any miracle tricks to easing the 3rd trimester aches and pains please enlighten me, so far I have tried warm baths, heating pads, Tylenol (which I'm pretty sure is just a sugar pill!), and every pillow on the market!

Any new ideas would be lovely! I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween and at least got one bite of their favorite candy...Halloween candy doesnt have calories if you eat it standing up, right? I mean everyone knows that!

xoxo chef a

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Passed!

On the IPOD "Vole" By: Celine Dion

So I PASSED the annoying glucose test with flying colors!!!! Whoohoo! My bloodwork in general was great except for being a little anemic, oh well I guess I'll be eating lots of spinach and taking an iron supplement!

I worked all day today...
Crab Cakes with Creole Mustard Sauce
Garlic Herb Mussels
Veggie Fried Rice
Roasted Chicken
Four Cheese Mac and Cheese
Roasted Brisket with carrots and potatoes
Winter Chopped Salad
Pecan Crusted Tilapia
Butternut Squash Soup

After work I nested a little by completing the babies closet and I even worked on fixing up an antique dresser that I need a couple of knobs for... By the way If anyone out there knows where to get old skeleton keys, I would appreciate the info! I even worked on some thank you notes... Amazing!

I forgot to tell you that last week I showed up to our regular monthly chefs meeting and was surprised with a chef baby shower! It was wonderful. I can't even tell you how nice it is to have so many thoughtful friends!

I'm so excited to be going to nia tonight... Little bit is already dancing in my tummy so hopefully a dance around the room will lead to a nice little nap!

Nia was fantastic!
And now to sleep... Lately my favorite time of the day :) !!!

Xoxo chef a

Friday, October 22, 2010

Tests, Shots, and New Pants!

On the IPOD "Save Me From Myself" By: Christina Aguilera

Well today is the big doctors appointment... fasting blood work, sonogram, flu shot and the rhogam shot. For those of you who don't know when you have a negative blood type and you have a baby, you have to get a shot so that your body doesn't build up antibodies against the babies. Anyways there could be a hundred mornings where I'm never hungry but yet just the thought that I cant eat anything puts me into a tail spin. I even had a dream that I accidentally ate a carrot in my sleep and messed up the test... Oops! I'm gonna be late I'll write more later...

Ok I'm back, the test was terrible... Thank goodness I got through the blood draw but as soon as I got into the car after lunch let's just say food on a sugary empty stomach is a recipe for disaster! I got so sick that I not only threw up but I also peed my pants... Ah the joys of pregnancy! When I called the doctors office the nurse informed me that this happens alot especially when you take the one hour test on an empty stomach. I better pass because I refuse to take the three hour test... I would rather just go on a sugar free diet!

Today, Saturday, I'm helping my mom with a jelly show at J.J. Pearce high school in Richardson. If your around you should stop by , the only time I won't be there is between 11-2:30 because I'm going to a friends baby shower. It's also open tomorrow... There are a crazy amount of vendors with really good stuff so something tells me I'll be shopping too... Let's hope someone has some really cute baby boy stuff!

The baby is measuring almost 3 pounds and he looks perfect. Unfortunately he is still breech! Here's to hoping that he turns around and gets into the right position!

So I hope to see you at the show this weekend and then you can see this baby bump up close and personal!

Xoxo chef a

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Attack Of The Maternity Pants

On the IPOD "Every Girl Like Me" By: Sugarland

Have you ever tried to put on a pair of maternity pants when you couldn't really see your feet? I'm going to go ahead and say that if you haven't been pregnant you haven't experienced this one...just a guess. Well let me try to set it up for you... Imagine a pair of really nice black maternity slacks... long regular pants with a strange 8 inch band of foreign stretchy material at the top that make them look like they are a size 0... At first you might even think, "Ya there is no way those are going to fit over this!" But oddly enough when you try them on in the store at about 6 months pregnant they work and have plenty of room for growing so you buy them and think these are gonna be great. You take them home and hang them up for your next big event and return to your $20 yoga pants that still fit. Now all of the sudden something happens when you hit your seventh month... one morning you just wake up and suddenly your view has changed from admiring your feet to instead stretching to see your toe nail polish color. But as far as your concerned nothing has really changed you're still your usual limber self just with a limited view.

Well let me explain the wake up call when you pull those beautiful expensive maternity slacks out for a spin... Lets just say they should have a warning on them saying "DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PUT THESE ON WHILE STANDING UP!" Because there is nothing cute about a really pregnant girl trying to find the leg holes in pants where the elastic top shrinks to a size 0 while not on your body! It could actually be a really funny youtube video, but probably not the best idea for you or your unborn child. And let me assure you if it was this hard to put on the pants today...I can't imagine what it will be like in a month or two. So in conclusion I have found yet another unexpected danger while carrying a child...It seems as if everything could harm your baby's health even getting dressed! Next time I will try to put the pants on while sitting down so that at least the hardest task will be lifting myself off of the couch instead of tripping over my own feet and landing on the floor!

Ah if only the house was rigged with cameras so that I could win a million dollars on "America's Funniest Home Videos" ...

Have a great day everyone!

xoxo chef a

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Work Work and More Work

On the IPOD "Raise Your Glass" By: Pink

I have been working to the max...I guess it has to do with my overwhelming need to put everything into place before the baby gets here and knowing that I am going to have to take off a little bit of time forces my ocd self to strike while the iron is hot. Unfortunately the downfall of this is that I haven't had a day of this week and I'm even working on Saturday as well...

I'm feeling pretty good just tired...I've had some Braxton Hicks contractions not terrible just a little nerve wracking. I swear this child is kicking me all night long which makes sleeping a luxury! I'm having a major craving for pumpkin bread so I hope to spend a little time this weekend trying to come up with a killer version, hopefully somewhat low in fat and sugar...I'll let you know how it goes... My Mother in law is hosting a tea for me with her closest girlfriends tomorrow afternoon and I'm looking forward to a fun relaxing afternoon. I was going to work a little in the morning but my mom stepped in and vetoed that decision, so instead I'm treating myself to a deluxe mani pedi.

Sorry I've been sort of absent lately but it is really difficult to write a lot since I feel like I'm just complaining about the state I'm in. I swear I'm just wondering where are the girls that think pregnancy is the best thing since sliced bread and why can't I catch a little of their positive attitude! Cause I feel like I'm in complete bitch mode and I'm pretty sure that everyone around me agrees!

xoxo chef a

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Is this kid ever full????

On the IPOD "Come On Get Higher" By: Matt Nathanson

First of all the blog is on a contest on the MoveStudio fan page on facebook. To vote you have to first like the MoveStudio page and then you can vote by commenting on the voting post. Please vote for #3 "The Special Place". Thanks xoxo

I can't explain to you how hungry I am... I'm trying to make good choices but I swear this kid is always hungry... I woke up at about 2:30am and tried and tried to go back to sleep but it just didn't work. Of course the second I got up you know who was starving. So I got a single serving of 2% cottage cheese and finished it off with my new favorite thing... an Archer Farms (Target brand) Cinnamon Home style chunky apple sauce cup. I finally fell back to sleep on the couch at about 6 and then was up again by 7 and hungry again by 7:15 this time I had about 2/3 cup of granola with milk. I'm thinking that I need to spend some time today grilling some chicken breasts so that maybe I can force down some protein instead of just eating carbs and dairy (my two favorite things!) I am fully aware that now that I am in my third trimester the little guy is growing faster and I will gain weight more quickly, but I would be lying if I said that I don't obsess somewhat over the scale.

I went back to Nia on Saturday and I got through about 45 minutes before the sciatica got unbearable and I had to sit on a ball in the back. The ball happened to be the best idea ever! So I will be heading back tonight with a big smile on my face that I can actually be there!

As much as I'm "enjoying" this pregnancy I have to say that I can't wait to be able to get back to regular weightloss blogs with I'm sure some funny tales of a first time mother. I hope you can't wait too!

xoxo chef a

Thursday, October 7, 2010

The last few days of my second trimester...

On the IPOD "Belong" By: Cary Brothers

I have been fighting with some major allergies/sinuses this week making it very difficult to get up in the mornings, hence the lack of blogs, but I'm hoping if I just take it easy this weekend that maybe by Monday I'll feel like myself again...

I had a doctors appointment this week, everything is looking good...no swelling, no massive weight gain (I gained 2 pounds this month for a grand total of almost 9), and baby is kicking up a storm lately so those are all good things. I have to go back in two weeks...I'm not really looking forward to it... I have to get an rh negative shot because my blood type is negative and I have the sugar test which I better frickin pass! By then I will be soaring into my 3rd trimester and I'm really really ready.

The doctor also said it is looking like we will most likely induce on January 8th if I don't go into labor before that... kinda weird and cool that it is the day after my Dad died... I guess we will just see what happens... It is slightly overwhelming to make all of these big decisions before the baby gets here like life insurance and writing our will, but I guess its just part of being a parent. We also just signed up for birthing classes next month which should lead to at least one hysterical blog.

Well today is an extremely full day at work, I have a regular client downtown and then a kosher shabbat dinner to cook on the other side of town. I will feel much more calm at about 5:30pm. I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday!!

xoxo chef a

Sunday, October 3, 2010

A Special Place

On the IPOD "The Scientist" By: Coldplay

Well what I thought were just allergies turned into a body aching, itchy eyes, sneezing fits kind of cold and to say that I'm over it is an understatement! The unfortunate thing is that I missed the Movestudio Anniversary event last night...

I decided to talk a little bit about how Movestudio helped me to change my life.
For years I drove by this dance studio close to my moms house...every once in a while I looked up the schedule and talked myself out of actually showing up to a class with excuses like; I don't have the right clothes, I'll never be able to keep up, I'll be too embarrassed. But a year ago that all changed... I decided to face my weight problems head on through this blog and without thinking twice I joined my mom for a chair yoga class. From the moment I walked in I felt extremely comfortable. That first class was really geared more towards my mom's age group, but not only did I feel great for actually getting through the hour class but I ended up with a funny tale to tell from the experience. When I left that day I decided to just dive right in and try more classes.

The next day I showed up for Jule's Nia class... I stood in the back row on the right side and had no idea what I was doing but I fell in love with being there. As the weeks went on I came back more and more and finally found my spot in the back row but on the other side of the room. The most amazing thing happened... I built relationships with the other dancers. They eventually became followers of my blog and more importantly became advocates in my life. They have made it possible for me to be strong in moments of weakness and to be present in the class when it felt like I was failing in the outside world. Being in Nia class gave me the strength to to try other classes like Zumba and eventually the Zensual classes which in the darkest moments of infertility helped me to feel like a woman even when it felt impossible. There is not a day that goes by that I don't feel like Movestudio has changed my life. It has not been all perfect, there are times when I dance in the wrong direction and even a moment when I fell to the floor in 7 inch platforms. But it made me realize that I would rather try something and have an embarrassing funny story to tell then to not have tried it at all...

In the last year I have lost 60 pounds, I have been through a grueling round of infertility, I have become a dancer, I have gained unmeasurable amounts of self esteem, and I am now 6 1/2 months pregnant with a baby boy! Although this pregnancy has been a tad bit difficult and I have missed more classes than I have wanted to. I know that my place remains. Knowing that my Nia girls and boys are waiting patiently for my return makes each pound I gain a little less painful. And knowing that I will be bringing my son up around such amazing and supportive friends makes Movestudio hold a very special place in my heart. I hope that those of you reading this blog are lucky enough to find a place like Movestudio, a place that helps you to change your life from the inside out.

To another 10 years...

xoxo chef a