19 Weeks

Today I'm 19 weeks along. It's hard to believe that next week will be the halfway point! It's definitely flying by already! This week a few coworkers said I'm starting to actually look pregnant. I haven't had any comments from strangers yet, so I know when that happens that I'm definitely looking pregnant! I do think I'm starting to "pop" though...what do you think?

Enough Snow Already!

Yep, another lovely snow storm hit us last night and today-I'm really done with the whole winter thing already! We had a few inches when I woke up this morning and it just snowed all day today. Luckily we had some patients cancel today so our day was lighter than expected-although I was still stuck there a half hour late! Then I had to unbury my car from the 6"+ of snow that fell during the day and drive home. They're saying a few more inches overnight-probably a foot or so total-yuck! Oh and did I mention that this is supposedly the coldest January in 30 years? That means the coldest one since I've been born-that's just crazy!! So please tell me---how many weeks until spring? I'm ready for it NOW!

Baby's Moving!

Last Sunday night after our trip to Buffalo, I swore I felt baby moving. Although I had my doubts because I was only 17 weeks and most people don't feel the baby that early. I figured the only way I'd know was if it were to keep happening. Well, I was correct-the baby has been moving several times everyday now which is so cool! It's hard to imagine what it's going to feel like when it happens, but it is truly an amazing thing! It started out feeling like bubbles popping in my stomach and each day it seems to get a little stronger. In fact, last night Gabe felt it move for the first time! We were watching a movie and it was moving pretty consistently so he put his hand on my stomach and sure enough it moved! I think it freaked him out a bit, but it was cool that he felt it already. I'm sure it'll just keep getting stronger in the next few weeks and will be kicking my butt anytime now :)

I also bought my first few items of maternity clothing! Last week in Buffalo I hit their Old Navy and found 2 shirts on clearance for $2.50 each (you know I love a deal). Yesterday I found a cute top at Target that was 75% off (I got it for $5) and I also bought a pair of jeans at Motherhood that were on sale. Everything is still a little big on me now, but it will come in handy eventually!

Time for Change

Inauguration day...a time for change. Today Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. I think this is the first time I actually watched the inauguration take place. Granted it was on my lunch break and on a computer, but I can at least say I saw it live. And it was pretty amazing to experience. The amount of people there was astounding-they stretched for about 2.5 miles from the podium he spoke from. Almost 2 million people! It's just incredible! (I just want to know where they all parked!) I'm usually not that into politics but this election was very interesting to me. I think it was because I remember seeing Obama on Oprah many years ago before he was really well known. She kept praising him as a wonderful speaker (which he is-his speech was awesome) and predicted he would be president someday----little did she know she was correct! I think seeing him then and seeing this outcome is just inspiring and of course history was made by him being sworn in. Unfortunately he has a lot to deal with right off the bat since our economy is in shambles, but hopefully he'll be able to turn this thing around! It's time for a change America!

6 Months

Today we have been married 6 months-yes folks, half of a year!! It's hard to believe at this time last year I couldn't wait for our wedding and 6 months seemed like forever to me (of course we know how fast that flew by). Now here we are and half of a year has already gone by! And to think in less than that time, we'll be welcoming a new addition to our family-it's just crazy! We did celebrate today by having some of our wedding cake-I was amazed at how yummy it was after being frozen for that long! Just a few more mini anniversaries before our big 1 year one!

Jessica's Baby Shower

Well today was baby shower #1 for me so far this year (I have 3 already-one is mine) and it's only January! My friend Jessica and her husband, Kevin, are expecting their first baby in about 4 weeks! They are having a boy and are very excited! We planned our trip to Buffalo this weekend so that I could attend her baby shower. It was very nice-about 25 people I'm guessing (all friends and coworkers) and lots of yummy food-chicken salad sandwiches, fruit salad, regular salad, tortellini salad and squash soup and of course cake for dessert! She got a lot of great gifts including this one cool idea someone had:
It's a clothesline full of cute little baby clothes! A very clever idea! One of her friends made her cake which was so darn cute:I wish I was that talented! So in just a few short weeks, they'll be welcoming their little bundle of joy!!
Jessica and Kevin:

Wedding Album

We went to Buffalo for the weekend and while we were there, we picked up our wedding album. It. is. AMAZING. That's all I can say! They emailed us awhile ago telling us it was online and to check it out. And we did and loved it. But in person, it's so much better. The colors just pop and it looks incredible! Everyone we have shown it to has never seen an album like this before. It's a coffee table type of book and the pictures are sort of collaged. It's not the standard album with one photo per page. It's more like an actual book than a photo album. And we love it!! If you want to see the online version of it just click here then go to "weddings" then "online weddings". Find "Nicole and Gabriel on 7/19"-this will take you to all of our wedding photos. If you go to the very last page, that's where the album pages are located. Take a look if you want!

17 Weeks

So today I'm 17 weeks along! I had an appt. earlier this week and all went well-only gained 2lbs since my last visit which is good. I'm feeling pretty good still-I still feel pretty tired at times though. I thought this trimester was supposed to be when you have your energy, but so far I'm not feeling a burst of that at all. My friend Katie sent me a huge box of maternity clothes this week (thanks girl!) so that was awesome-it'll save me quite a bit of money. I'm sure I'll still buy a few things to have for myself, but it will definitely come in handy. Here are my pics for this week:

Corn Pudding

Along with our pork last night, we made this dish as our side. I first had this at Gabe's parents house. They usually make this at Thanksgiving and it's one of my favorites!! I've never made it before and recently got the recipe from my mother-in-law. I've had everything here to make it for awhile, but just didn't make a really good meal to go with it. So I decided to make it along with our pork.

Corn Pudding

1 large can of whole corn, drained
1 large can of creamed corn
1 box of Jiffy corn bread mix
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 stick of butter melted
1 cup of sour cream

Grease a 9x13 pan. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and pour into pan. Bake at 350 for one hour.

Before being baked:

Fresh out of the oven:

The best way to describe this is a very creamy and sweet corn bread. It almost looks raw in the center, but it's not-I think the creamed corn makes it very moist and gives it that "not cooked" look.

Two things: 1) how easy can you get for a recipe?? 2) this is delicious!! Yes, probably a ton of calories, but I'm sure you could use egg whites, substitute margarine or a light spread instead of the butter, and use light sour cream. Me? I made the full fat version! Haha! We have a ton left over too so it'll be good leftovers for the week. YUM!

Parmesan Pork

Last night, Gabe and I made a really yummy dinner. Both things we made were new recipes for us and they both turned out excellent so I thought I'd share them (the other one I'll post tomorrow). We had 2 boneless pork chops in the fridge and had no idea what to do with them. The only times we've made them, we've grilled them with BBQ sauce (very good). Since it's the middle of winter, we're not about to bust out the grill so I was trying to think of something to do with them. I found this recipe that I copied down from a magazine at work (I want to say it was from Better Homes and Garden or something like that). The recipe is actually a chicken recipe, but I decided to try it out on the pork.

Parmesan Chicken (or pork!)
12 saltine crackers
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 tbsp parsley
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 lb. chicken (4 breasts)

Crush crackers. Add cheese and spices to the crackers and mix well. Dip chicken in milk, then coat in cracker mixture. Put it on a baking sheet and bake at 400 for 25-30min.
(Note: we used 2 boneless pork chops and cut the recipe in half and it was enough. We baked ours at 350 with another dish and had it in there roughly 50mins and it was cooked thoroughly.)
Fresh out of the oven:

We really liked how this came out. It was a little saltier than expected, but Gabe eyeballed the salt measurement, plus the crackers have salt on them and the cheese is a little salty as well. It wasn't overwhelming, just more on the salty side than I expected. But it was very, very good!

Nursery Furniture-Check!

Gabe and I ordered the furniture for the nursery today! We went to a local store, Simon's, a few weeks ago to start looking. We found a set we liked that was on sale until 1/24. I called a few stores in Buffalo about prices and their prices were cheaper than Simon's. So today we went back to Simon's and asked if they would price match the Buffalo stores and they did!! So we put down the deposit and the furniture is ordered! Since we got the deal, we're going to pick up the furniture ourselves, but that's not a big deal. You can click here to see the furniture. We ordered the crib, the dressing station (without the hutch), and a 5 drawer tall dresser which isn't shown in the picture. We ordered it in the color that's shown. They said it should take about 8 weeks to come in which is fine-we really don't want it until April or May anyways. We heard a few stories that Simon's takes longer than they say, so we decided to order early just in case something goes wrong!

Whoa-Working Out

So for the past few months (since before I found out I was pregnant), I've been taking all classes at the gym for something different-step aerobics, zumba, and weight lifting. I love it and don't dread going to the gym for classes. Well, I missed a class this week so last night I decided to just go to the gym and do my "old" cardio routine-stairmaster, elliptical, and treadmill. Let me tell you-I felt SO out of shape! I started on the stairmaster and after 5min I was so out of breath! It was ridiculous. It's been hard adjusting to working out while pregnant-they tell you to keep your heart rate and body temp down so you can't really exert yourself. Well, when I go to the gym, I sweat and work pretty hard. So it's hard to go there and not do that. Then yesterday I just felt like an 80 year old trying to workout! I swear, this baby is sucking the life out of me already! I can't imagine how hard it'll be when I actually start to get big. I guess going and doing something is better than sitting on my couch eating bon-bons!

FL Here We Come!

It's official-we are going to FL! Gabe's parents mentioned doing a family trip there for several months now and after all that time, the trip is officially booked! We're going to Hollywood Beach on March 9th for 6 nights-I can't wait! His parents found a house that we're renting for the week and it's pretty much right on the beach. It'll be our (mine and Gabe's) last vacation before the baby comes so it'll be nice to get away for a few days and just relax and enjoy some nice weather. Now I have to find some maternity summer clothes! I had no intentions of buying any since I'm due in June, but I know I'll need a bathing suit and some shorts to get me by on the trip. I guess I'll find something!

2008 Survey

I got this survery from my friend over at Heather Drive and decided to do it-why not?! So, here it goes!!

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before? Got hitched!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I usually don't make them!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes-my friend Sara had a daughter Madeline, my friend Julie had a girl Carly, and my friend Katie had a boy Roman!

4. Did anyone close to you die? my Great Aunt Anna (Papa Joe's sister) passed away mid-Dec. Man did she make some good cannolis!

5. What countries did you visit? I can't remember if I went to Canada at all or not. We did go to Aruba so that counts.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? More time in Buffalo-we used to go a lot more frequently than we have in the past few months-although with the baby coming in June, that might not happen!

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? July 19-our wedding day and Nov 2-our 5 year dating anniversary and the day we found out I'm pregnant!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Starting to work in the surgery room at work (and getting a raise), and planning our wedding.

9. What was your biggest failure? None I can think of-I'm not completely satisfied with work, but have no clue what I would be doing instead.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Just morning sickness!

11. What was the best thing you bought? Probably our new bed

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Our friends and family for making our wedding day (and shower and brunch) so special and memorable for us. They were all a wonderful support.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? A few coworkers along the way

14. Where did most of your money go? Haha! The wedding, of course. And the trip to Aruba

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? The wedding, honeymoon, and finding out we're going to be parents!

16. What song will always remind you of 2008? "Forever" by Chris Brown-we listened to it a lot before the wedding and it was a last minute "must play" song at our reception so every time we hear it, we think of the wedding.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? Happier. b) thinner or fatter? Fatter since I'm pregnant c) richer or poorer? pretty much the same.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Spend more time with my Grandfather when he was in town-he came in for 3 weeks but for most of it we were on our honeymoon. I only got to see him at the wedding festivities and 2 other times, which isn't much since I only see him once a year.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? I have no idea

20. How did you spend Christmas? We do the same thing every year-Xmas eve at my cousins in Buffalo, stay overnight, then back to Roc for dinner with my in-laws.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008? Nope, that was in 2003. :)

22. What was your favorite TV program? Criminal Minds, Amazing Race

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Hate is a strong word-dislike very much? Yes...

24. What was the best book you read? "Breaking Dawn" by Stephenie Meyer

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? That I'm not all that great at Guitar Hero!

26. What did you want and get? an amazing husband, a relaxing honeymoon, a baby on the way, a new bed

27. What did you want and not get? a million dollars?

28. What was your favorite film of this year? I have no idea! I'm awful at remembering movies!

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? The night before we went to my fave Buffalo restaurant, Left Bank with my Mom and Aunt. The day of, I went for coffee with my friend Renee, then Gabe and I went to Fat Bob's with my Dad for dinner, then my friend Megan stopped over for a bit.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? I don't know. Everything that matters was fantastic-I couldn't be happier!

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? What the heck does this mean?

32. What kept you sane? Being able to vent to my hubby, family, and friends, and working out

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Again, no idea

34. What political issue stirred you the most? The election of course-it was a big year for that!

35. Who did you miss? I missed some of the friends and family members who were unable to make it to our wedding....some of whom we haven't seen in many, many years.

36. Who was the best new person you met? Wow, it's hard to think of someone that I just met in 2008. Maybe my friends' new babies? :)

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. That time is precious and to be thankful for what you have

15 Weeks

Well, today I'm 15 weeks along in my pregnancy! I have to say I've been feeling a lot better than I was before. I still get my days and moments when I feel nauseous, but it has decreased a lot in the past week or two which is nice! I'm still keeping up with my exercise, although this week I barely went (shame on me I know!). I'm modifying things here and there, but am doing most things the same as I was before with my exercise routine. I'm still wearing my regular clothes at this point. I have definitely one pair of dress pants I grew out of and a few more are very close to not fitting. The rest of my pants are just getting tighter-I'm sure in a matter of weeks I'll be grown out of those too! My friend Katie was nice enough to give me a few pairs of maternity pants to borrow which is great-at least I won't have to rush out and get stuff. I know I'll have to, but I don't feel as pressured now! Overall things are going well-can't complain that's for sure! We went looking at nursery furniture last weekend-that'll be a chore! I never saw so many cribs in my life! We'll have to make a decision at some point!
Here's my 15 week belly pic taken in my dress pants that probably won't fit much longer (sorry for the blurriness-I couldn't use my flash and this camera setting stinks!):

Goodbye 2008! Hello 2009!

Happy New Year everyone! It's hard to believe it's now 2009! I remember when it was turning the year 2000 and there was so much buzz going on about Y2K, etc. And to think that was 9 years ago! Wow!

Gabe and I rang in the new year by having some people over. My Mom came in from Buffalo, Gabe's parents came, Molly, Mark and the kids, Gabe's old coworker and his wife (Jeff and Mandy), our neighbors (Dan and Kate), and a few of his friends stopped by earlier for a bit (Randy and Josh). We had a good time! Jeff brought over Rock Band to play on our xbox so that was fun seeing everyone play around with that.
Mom, Gabe, Molly, Mark, and Jeff all watching Rock Band:
Mom jammin' on the guitar:Gabe and Jeff playing away:We turned on the TV with 5mins to spare and caught Dick Clark doing the countdown to ring in the new year. Everyone left by 1am and we just did a little cleaning up before going to bed (our first night in our NEW bed!). All in all, it was a nice evening!

Oh, and our cat, Jerri was very naughty with our company. Since we've had her, we haven't had a ton of people over at once-the most was probably Gabe's parents and sister's family. So needless to say, she was not happy that there were a lot of people invading her space. She's normally a pretty friendly cat-she has her moments where she doesn't want to be petted and she'll bite (she is still a youngin'). But this night, she was not having it. She actually hissed at our neighbor, my Mom and our nephew and even took a few swings at Gabe and I. I think she was a little over stimualted by everything going on. This is her watching Rock Band from her "safe place" before the hissing took place: