Baby Bump Update!

I will upload better pictures sometime soon, but for all of you who have been asking. Here is a 25/26 week update pic. There is definitely a bun in the oven:)

House Party!

This past weekend was a great one! Chad & I hosted a Calphalon & Williams Sonoma "sponsored" event at our house. If you haven't heard of www.houseparty.com, check it out. You might find yourself hosting a party!
This website/ organization connects consumers & brands & takes their relationships to the next level. In a nutshell, you submit information (demographics, interests, etc.) & brands (like Calphalon, Williams Sonoma, Betty Crocker, Kraft, etc.) outline to house party the type of consumer they are looking to target. After a TON of applicants, 1000 are chosen. Those thousand people will then host a party on the same night across the country featuring a specific brand or product.
I hosted my first house party back in December with Betty Crocker.




It was a fantastic girls day to celebrate the Christmas holiday & make cookies. Betty Crocker got much kudos for giving me some free cookie mix & some great recipes as well as a bit of swag for my guests.

After hearing alot about the success of house party, Calphalon decided to get in on the fun. Now- if you don't know already, you should know, that I am biased. I have worked for Calphalon for over 5 years & I love the brand, the people,the culture, and of course the product. That being said I wouldn't put my name on something I didn't believe in...whether it be a party or a product.
This time around, Calphalon & Williams Sonoma went all out. We sent out "party packs" to help the chosen hosts with their party (pans, ingredients, tips, etc.)& then cut the hosts loose to plan & execute their party. Our marketing communications team was on top of any host questions & did a fantastic job making sure each host was armed & ready with info & confidence to show off our brands in the most authentic way. Judging from the house party site, these parties were phenomonal!

Calphalon & Williams Sonoma teamed up to showcase our newest product line- Unison Slide & Sear. I was lucky enough to be a host. A chef has to try their own food, right? Anyway, a bunch of my coworkers along with their significant others helped to celebrate the beginning of summer at our house. We served Michael Symon recipes & I even got a non-Calphalon employee- thank you Scott Shannon- to experiment a bit in the kitchen. If the guests didn't know already, Unison Nonstick Sear produces a kick butt Sear & the Slide is more slippery than any nonstick I've ever tried. I can't forget to mention though, all are dishwasher safe! To sum it up- Professional Results with Nonstick Convenience. www.calphalon.com
The party was a hit. We were blessed with beautiful weather, superb conversation, and good food. What more can you ask for...well our youngest guest made it even better!

Thanks so much to Calphalon, Williams Sonoma, and of course, all of our amazing guests for making the party successful!

Update after a long absence!

Holy Cow. It has been awhile. For starters, I am a lot bigger than I was the last time I posted. Many of you have seen me during my time back in Ohio or around Atlanta. I have definitely "popped" & constantly remind myself that this too shall pass. I am not sick of being pregnant, I am sick of being fat.
Anyway, I am done complaining. I am going to use this blog post to get everyone caught up on the adventures of Chad, Mere, Davis, and the pups- and I vow to post more frequently from now on.
So, since we talked last, Chad & I took a trip back to Toledo & Columbus, some visitors have graced us with their presence, we had a doctor's appt, we got the baby furniture, and we are planning for a very vacation heavy summer that starts very soon!
Ohio was great! It was so nice to see family & friends after so long! I got alot of "how are you feelings", but I was just fine with that...after all, I don't get too see them enough. My cousins are growing up so quickly. I can't help but think about my aunts, their moms, & how they feel. I know it will be a few quick years (or even months) that I want to freeze time so Davis won't grow so quickly!

My parents came to visit us for the Memorial Day weekend. Their visit was fantastic! We ate great food, hung out at the botanical garden, and I even got to see the Sex & the City Sequel. Wonderful weekend that was capped off with a scrumptious Farm Burger & Nutella/Burnt Marshmallow milk shake from Flip...who could ask for more?! I love having my parents here & I am looking forward to the Fall when they will be back.

Doctor's appt went great! Davis is measuring a bit small but no worries at this point. I go back on June 23rd for the glucose test & from then on, I am back every two weeks. I will be in my 3rd trimester at that point! Is it just me, or has this pregnancy flown by? Ask me that in a couple of months, right?

Last, but not least, we are kicking off summer with a dinner party on Saturday. I have been prepping for the last couple of weeks & hope it will go well. All of my guests are from work & I know they will be gracious guests, so I am absolutely looking forward to a night filled with great friends & great food. We are using our Calphalon Unison cookware to make some Michael Symon recipes out of his cookbook, so the food will be good too. I am just crossing my fingers for good weather...I would love to kick off the summer outside. I will post pictures after the event.

So, in a nutshell, that is what we have been doing for the last few weeks. Besides work & a bit of play (we saw Mary Poppins & have had some fun nights out), we have been busy bees! Our summer isn't slowing down, the fun is just beginning!
i promise to update more frequently & can't wait to post pics of Davis' room once we complete it. Until then- here's a sneak peek...we received the bedding from dwellstudio.com today. I LOVE IT. It is even cuter in person! Sans the giraffe of course.


Anyway, I better sign off now because this mama needs to stretch her aching back & get some Z's! I apologize for how scattered this post has been, but I just wanted to catch up. Take care all. Sweet Dreams.

We've Been Busy!

We have made it PAST half-way! Holy Cow- where did the time go? The baby in my belly finally feels real & we are well on our way to creating a home for the little guy. Speaking of that, we got our furniture for his room & are so pumped to pick it up this weekend. I will post pictures once we get it set up. We (or I guess I) have been obsessing over nursery color scheme/ theme as well. We starting the registry process too.
There is SO MUCH that we have no idea about. From breast pumps (TMI I know) to sheet savers to Dr. Brown's bottles vs. Born Free, we have finally surrendured to the fact that we have a ton to learn & we have taken the plunge. We read everything we can get our hands on but still know much of what we purchase or how we choose to parent & what kind of schedule the little rugrat will be on comes from preference & practice, but it doesn't hurt to read about it now, right?
I have read & watched things that I should have never even started... For example "The Business of Being Born". Great documentary & definitely a good film to watch if you haven't picked your docter or if you were at all open to a home birth, but I LOVE MY DR. & quite honestly, I am just fine with the sterile, cold hospital feel. The film did portray midwives in a more than complimentary fashion (which from everything I have read & seen, it is too bad the profession is dying slowly) & made me a little more confident that I could go through with a drug free birth (we'll see). Anyway, great flick- but be ready for some naked pregnant chicks.
Other than that, the whole vaccine debate is a hot topic in our household as well as the cloth diaper debate. I'll keep you posted on those two as we reach agreement.

The agreement that we have come to though, is our little boy's name. Many of you know it already, simply because I couldn't keep my mouth shut, but I am proud to let the little guy make his own announcement.

19 week Update

How are you feeling?
I imagine anyone who has EVER been pregnant knows that above all other questions that are asked in the 6 or so months after you announce that you are pregnant- that phrase is the most often asked. So, to answer...the 2nd trimester is 100% better than the 1st (you know this from a couple of posts ago), I have my bad days of course, but all in all, one word sums it up...BLESSED.

We are right smack dab in the middle of our 19th week and according to thebump.com & Whattoexpect.com (my holy grails), little guy is the size of a mango. I am starting to feel little flutters of my little Mango but am SO looking forward to a nice big kick...one that Chad can feel too. Until then, I am content with the little jabs I occasionally feel that let me know the little guy is practicing his back flips.


The 2nd trimester has come with an appetite & I am trying to eat healthy but still have an issue with chicken unless it is in some sort of nugget form or Chick-fil-A. I know, funny right? I have always loved Chick-Fil-A, but now I REALLY LOVE IT. I love everything about it- the people that work there, the sandwiches, the nuggets, the milkshakes, the fact that they are closed on Sundays & most of all, when they say "Thank you for choosing THIS Chick-Fil-A". If Chick-Fil-A was a person, Chad may have something to worry about.



I have started back on steak (sorry Chick Fil A cows)& actually can handle balanced meals now rather than all carbs. Things are looking up...and I am getting fat:) The belly is definitely growing. No joke- I feel like it grows by the minute. According to the dr., I am right on track & everything is great (as I eat an enormous service of rice for lunch (oops:)).

Next Steps- We have a dr's appt Friday. This is a big one. We get to see the little guy & they will take a bunch of measurements to chart his growth as well as confirm that everything is "normal". Following that, at 20 weeks we will celebrate our half way point! Nursery planning will begin & I am sure I will continue to grow.

To sum it up though, I am so blessed & thank God for this gift every day, even with the occasional mood swing & the bloated belly:)

A Wink and A Smile

A post from Dad...

From the time Meredith and I began sharing the great news that she had a bun in the oven, I began to notice a common theme among current parents. Their conveyance of congratulations was quickly followed with "it is the hardest but most rewarding thing you will ever do." This seemed to make sense, but then I detected a slight non-verbal que that made me think. The wry wink and the sly smile given as they uttered this logical statement made me think there was something illogical about the whole situation. I never try to kid myself into thinking something of this magnitude is exactly like I picture it, but I also pride myself on my reflective capacity. I feel that I am a good observer and am able to drawn upon the situations of others to narrow the gap between my mental perception and reality.

I could detail the great parental influence I had growing up and how I feel that will translate into my own style of parenthood, but instead I will turn to a more potent source of influence: TV. Yes, as a child of the late 80's and early 90's, I had two of the greatest fatherhood role models any boy could ask for: Cliff Huxtable and Al Bundy. Ok, maybe one is more what to do and the other is what not to do, but they are both influential nonetheless. The point is that if these two can do it, then why not me. No matter if the little guy turns out to be the fun-loving Theo or the, well, Bud, I will be sure to summon the knowledge I gained from staring absentmindly into the television set as the Huxtables and Bundys lived out their fictional lives.


Another source of inspiration to which I can use to hone my fatherhood skills is my limited exposure to real-life kids. From nephews and nieces to children and siblings of friends, I have gained a small amount of experience that should prove useful. Be it changing a diaper or two or witnessing the exuberence that a 5 year-old can display upon receiving his first bike, I know that there will be plenty of waves in parenthood. Relentless and unpredictable as the may be, I can only hope to surf the crest and avoid the undercurrent as much as possible.

As I continue to talk to parents, they can continue to give advice, and as B-Day approaches, I will increasinly realize parenthood is a club that you only really understand once you join. And I cannot wait to join. Perhaps someday I can look at some stary-eyed father-to-be and tell him it is the hardest thing he will do, but also the most rewarding; with a wry wink and a sly smile of course.

Pickles & Ice Cream- Hold the Pickles, Please

As I sail into my 18th week of pregnancy, I am loving the 2nd trimester. I remember reading "What To Expect" during those first few months thinking that the constant nausea, the bloat, and the feeling that I could fall asleep anywhere anytime, would never end.

It ended.

As I type those words, I have a permagrin. I have worn that permagrin for the last couple of weeks. What a gift this 2nd trimester is. The bloat of the belly, the first feelings of the little guy moving around, and while my worry hasn't halted, there are times when I feel better than I ever have, and it is then that I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Yes, this is ridiculously cheesy & cliche, but there is no greater miracle and the fact that I get to be a part of this grand story makes my heart pitter patter.

The other great thing about the 2nd trimester...the fact that I don't have the guilt that usually comes along with ice cream:)

Blast from the Past & Did I mention I'm pregnant?

So, In my first post I mentioned a "growing" family...If you have anything to do with Chad or myself, you know that "growing" means the little addition that we are expecting in September. We are so excited, nervous, and feel so blessed to have this little man in our lives already!!! Oh right, did I say we found out Baby is a BOY!!!

Anyway, the reason I am posting twice today is to share something that I had written with the intention of posting back when I was still questioning whether we blog or not. I wanted to get an early read on our feelings for the little tyke if he ever happens to come across this. Here it is. It's from late January when the little guy was still an it & I hadn't even been to the doctor yet.


1/30/10
Dear Baby,
We have known of you for about 15 days. Isn't that crazy? You are the size of a poppyseed, but our hearts are already full of love for you. We can't wait to see pictures of you, we can't wait to hold you in our arms, we can't wait for your giggles. In the meantime, you have some growing to do. So, for nostalgia's sake, here's the story of how you graduated from an idea to a real baby in my belly!

When you meet me (mom), you will probably find out that patience is not one of my strengths. This flows into every aspect of our lives, including you! Your dad & I found out we were pregnant for you on January 16 at around 6 am. This was a Saturday. We are not early risers. Again, your mother is impatient. This was the first day our tests would show the 99% accurate result. So, that being said, we didn't believe it after just one test. Four tests later, it began to sink in. We were going to be your mom & dad! I will never forget the feeling of the smile on my face & the smile on your dad's.
So, thank you so much for all of the joy you have already brought us. We will try our best to do the same for you.
With loads of love,
Mom

Deep Breath- Blog #1

Huge step, starting a blog. No Joke...
I seriously have had this on my to do list since BEFORE the 1st of the year. Pathetic, I know.
Well, in my opinion, my hesitation is responsible & it shows that I have thought this through. See, if you know me very well, you know there are two distinct sides of me. First side- extroverted, up for fun, spontaneous, maybe even a free spirit. On the other hand, I do have a side that leans to the more controlled & controlling. I will find myself making lists just to cross off jobs, planning our vacations and weekends to the minute, & pretty hesistant to try anything new until I have researched so much about it that it is no longer new. Yes, I know it sounds crazy.
What does this have to do with a blog, you ask? ALOT.
So, for my fun-loving, spontaneous side, I say why not...I've got a lot going on that I would love to share with the people I love. But then, my controlling, super duper list maker, scared of the thought of screwing up side says DON'T YOU DARE! When you start a blog, you put yourself out there. Even if it is just for your friends & family. It still is up for judging & that scares the CRAP out of me.

So, please be gentle. Feel free to judge, but know I am judging you too & take this for what its worth...a totally inexperienced, Type A (but sometimes B) personality trying to make the world a little bit better for my growing family & my fantastic friends (Not all of this is through a blog, but if you smile occasionally, I did my job).