NHL Winter Classic 2011

On Thursday we headed out of town for the start of our whirlwind weekend.  My sister (who obviously has too much money to spend) had gotten tickets for the Winter Classic in Pittsburgh for us, my parents, and herself.

So we packed up our crap and put the dogs in the car and headed to Charlotte to drop them off so his parents could watch them while we were in the 'burgh.

Baxter and Boone patiently riding in the back

Friday morning we got up and cleaned out the Sequoia and waited for my parents and sister to get there. Once they arrived and we got everyone situated we were on the road by 11:09 AM.  One stop for gas and lunch and another bathroom break and we made it to the hotel around 6:30 PM.

We got cleaned up and decided to go out and grab a bite to eat. Now, it was NYE so I knew places would be crowded.  After driving around a bit we ended up at Primanti Brothers - not the original one downtown, but the one on Route 51 that was closer to the hotel.  Ordered up some fried pickles, wings, and pierogis for some apps and settled in to watch the USC/FSU bowl game.  We were cracking up about the fact that they gave us styrofoam plates and the water cups were paper. No hoity toity NYE dinner for us!

Chowing down on some Pittsburgh grub

Didn't realize my face looked so chubby  :(

Got back to the hotel a little after 10:00 and watched the rest of the game.  USC lost, making the state of SC 0-2 that day. I took a quick shower and when I got out my sister, the dog, and J were all asleep.  J woke up when he heard me and we just hung out and watched the ball drop and couldn't believe they had Dick Clark on tv since he had a stroke and is obviously kind of impaired from it.  Anyway, not a super exciting NYE.

Saturday we got up and had breakfast and then headed downtown to Station Square.  Since the hockey game had been delayed from a 1:00 start to an 8:00 start, we had time to go do a little shopping and watch my bowl game.  There are a TON of shops with Steelers and Pens gear and I found the cutest little onsie for our little guy.

Perfect for football season next fall

What makes it funny is that J is a huge Cowboys fan and I am a huge Steelers fan.  There was a big rivalry with the two teams back in the day so it's kind of funny when we get this Steelers stuff.

After some shopping we found a sports bar to watch my team in the Outback Bowl. I always forget that not everywhere is like Charleston where you are not allowed to smoke in restaurants and bars. I really wish that was a national law since the bar we found reeked of smoke. But I figured I could deal.  The game started good, but then our QB decided to set a school record and throw 5 INT's, so the stupid Gators won.

We headed back to the hotel to get ready for the game and hopped back in the Sequoia hoping any rain would hold off.

View of Heinz Field from the West End Bridge

After finally finding parking (for $40 - insane) we walked to the stadium and found our seats.  Smack dab in the middle of a bunch of Caps fans. Stellar.

During the 1st period I didn't even have my jacket on - I was fine with just my long sleeved shirts and sweater and scarf. 

J and me during the first intermission

With my sister who forked out a small fortune for the tickets



At the start of the 2nd period I put on my coat since it was getting a little cooler and started to drizzle a bit.  The Pens scored on a Malkin breakaway and Heinz Field was rockin'. Of course the jackass Caps fan behind us wouldn't shut up and was getting really irritating.

Unfortunately then the Caps tied it up and got the go ahead goal on a goalie mistake, which made the Caps fans even more obnoxious.  The Pens almost tied it up, but the goal was disallowed due to incidental contact with the goalie (total crock if you ask me).

During the 2nd intermission it started raining a bit more. It would start and stop - not really heavy rain, more like a heavy drizzle.  At the start of the 3rd it rained harder and we wondered if they would call the game.  They didn't and the Caps scored on a breakaway to pretty much put the game away.  They later had a goal disallowed for incidental contact, too, so the final score was 3-1 Crapitals.  I controlled myself and didn't punch the drunkass fan behind me in the face, but I was happy to get out of the stadium and out of the crowd.

View from our seats

When we got back to the hotel we found Mike, my sister's cat, curled up on our bed again. I swear he knew we didn't want him on there. Or he just couldn't get on Nic's bed since she had so much crap on it (love her to death but she is a complete slob).

Mike trying to make his escape



I took a shower and got into bed - this was around 1:00 and we wanted to be on the road at 8:00.  Well, I maybe got 1 or 2 hours of sleep because the damn cat was making noise all night. Scratching at his catnip pad, eating, crawling in and out of the window, and to top it he took a giant shit in his litter box and didn't cover it up.  I was livid.  In the morning I completely snapped at my sister about the cat and I knew that I upset her so I felt like crap.  She had just spent over $3K on the weekend and here I am bitching about her cat.  I apologized for being cranky and hoped she wasn't mad at me.

We got on the road at 8:30 and with a couple stops for gas (including the one where my dad yelled at the Canadian guy for leaving his car at the pump while going into the convenience store for 10 mins) and some restroom breaks for my pregnant bladder we were back to Charlotte at 4:00.  Grabbed a quick bite to eat and left his parents house at 5:00 getting back to Charleston just after 8:00.  I was so tired (I drove that last leg) that I just wanted to unpack, shower, and go to bed. So that's just what I did.

All in all a very cool experience and I can't thank my sister enough for the opportunity to go. I wish I could've showed J more of where I grew up, but there just wasn't time.  We had fun, though, and now he can say he has been to an NHL game.  Now hopefully we don't have to go anywhere for a few weeks since 3 weekends in a row of travel have wiped me out.

My final tally

Last week I was attention whoring the fact that I hit my annual mileage goal for running this year.  Well, this week I was feeling good so I did a little extra. 

So my final mileage for 2010 is now 612.3 miles in 86:43:56 and my December total ended up being 49.0 miles (so just under the monthly goal). Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

Of course I will not be mentioning this to my parents. When I was up in MB for Christmas last weekend my dad commented "So are you done with all the crazy running crap?".  They all just don't get that I am trying to stay in as good of shape as possible and that I am not stupid and am not doing anything to harm my baby.  I want to be healthy and happy for him, too.  As someone who has always been very weight conscious it has been very hard to see the number on the scale continually climb. This is the heaviest I have ever been in my entire life and it's not easy. 

Don't worry that I am being dumb and trying not to gain any weight. Trust me, it's coming on. And my doctor seems pleased with where I am so I don't question it.  I just want to stay fit so I will hopefully have an easier time with labor and delivery and it won't take forever to drop the baby weight.  I want to be healthy and fit to set a good example for my son.

That being said, this weekend is another weekend travelling out of town so there will be no working out (besides walking around Pittsburgh) and we'll be eating god knows what (Primanti Brothers here we come!).  I'll just have to get back on the horse next week with all of the new years resolution gym goers. Sigh.

Aced that test :)

This morning at 10:50 I had my glucose test to check me for gestational diabetes.  I wasn't allowed to eat in the two hours before so I got up at 7:30, had a light breakfast, and headed to the gym. I am determined to combat my recent cookie binges with some gym time.

As I was getting ready for my appt I took a minute to drink the fruit punch sugar drink the doctor's office gave me. I was expecting it to be much worse - it actually wasn't bad at all. Kinda tasted like gatorade.

I got to my appt and she did the finger stick to run my blood.  The nurse came back and said I passed with flying colors.  Hooray!  So glad I don't have to do the 3 hour test.

My BP was 100/68, I hadn't gained a pound since my last appt (totally shocked considering it's right after Christmas) and my fundal measurement was 26, which she said is slightly large, but she wasn't concerned. Oh, and the little guy's heartbeat was nice and strong right in the 150's. I love hearing that sound!

Next appt is on January 18th (in 3 weeks) and then we switch to every two weeks. Yikes!  That means we're getting close!

Anyway, all in all it was a good appointment and afterward I did a little shopping (still can't find any maternity jeans) and even went and got my flu shot so my sister can stop harassing me about it.

And here is this week's check in:

How far along? 25w2d - and I forgot to ask my doctor for an estimate of how big he is. Probably around 20 oz.

Weight gain/loss: +17 as of this morning. I am amazed it's not higher after all the cookies and other goodies I have been eating!

Maternity Clothes: Still haven't been able to find any maternity jeans so I am making do with what I have. I've worn a couple maternity shirts and some work pants, but that's about it.

Symptoms:  Cement bowel (as always) and an achy  back by the end of the day. It's worse on days I work out - clearly the giant boobs are causing that.

Gender:  It's a boy!!!

Sleep? Sleeping pretty well - I get up once or twice a night to go to the bathroom.

Best moment this week? Seeing my family for Christmas and getting some cute little gifts for our little guy.

Movement: Oh yeah, especially in the evenings. J felt one kick this past weekend. I need to get him to just sit here and be patient at night and he will feel a heckuva lot more!

Food cravings/aversions: None - just ate too many cookies.

Belly button in or out? Still pretty far in. It makes a bit of a crater in my shirts which looks odd.

What I miss? Regularity and feeling cute.  I just feel bulky all the time.

What I am looking forward to? Making any sort of progress on the nursery. Still hasn't happened and we will be out of town again this weekend.

Milestones: Hitting 25 weeks.

What I'm nervous about: At the moment I am nervous about just how big my boobs are going to get. I feel like they are already huge and I know it's gonna get worse. Eeek!

And this week's bump pic - taken before the gym yesterday so please excuse the outfit:

No, I'm not naming my baby that

My sister inexplicably loves Brett Favre.  I personally think he is a diva and after the whole sending naked pictures to a woman who is not his wife thing I pretty much think he is an ass.

Anyway, my sister has convinced my niece that I am naming our baby Brett Favre.  Any time someone asks her "What is K's baby's name?" she smiles and says "Brett Favre!".

Umm, sorry kiddo - but no way in hell am I naming my baby after that jerk.  Not that we've picked a name yet (Andrew and Wesley are in the lead), but he is definitely not going to be baby Brett.  No matter how cute Kayleigh is when she says it.

I guess our New Year's plans have been made for us :)

Yesterday my sister gave us tickets to the Winter Classic - the hockey game being played outdoors at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh between the Penguins and Capitals.  I grew up in Pittsburgh and my whole family is HUGE Pens fans.  So on Friday me, J, my parents, and my sister will head north.  She got us some hotel rooms and we should get up there around 8:00 PM (she works til 7:00 AM and we won't get on the road until 11:00 or so).

So there is no need to come up with NYE plans this year.  Not that I would be partying it up anyway.  Plus at least I know I won't be hungover for the game  :)

So excited for the game!  Now I need to go watch the 24/7: Road to the Winter Classic episodes that we have recorded.  Go Pens!!!

Happy Holidays!!

J and I are about to head up to Myrtle Beach to spend Christmas with my family.  Honestly to me it still doesn't really feel like Christmas and I'm not sure why.  But it will be nice to see everyone and hang out with the kiddos.

J is currently in the back room wrapping all of my presents. Nothing like waiting til the last minute! I still need to figure out how to wrap the gift to my niece - a toy shopping cart with play food. Very odd shape and I don't have a box big enough.

Anyway - I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and that all of your Christmas wishes come true.  This will be the last Christmas for us as a family of two - soooooo weird to think about!

Cheers!

Met my goal... now can I quit?

34:00 run and 1:00 walk

I'm proud to say that last night at the gym I ran 3.7 miles, and with that mileage I surpassed the goal that I set for myself at the beginning of the year.  And with 10 days to spare.  I wanted to average 50 miles/month for an annual total of 600 miles.  I am now at 601.

600 miles would have been a piece of cake had I not gone and gotten myself knocked up.  My little running partner has made it a little more of a challenge the last few months.  But I say that completely jokingly - I wouldn't trade this little guy for all the easy runs in the world - or anything else for that matter.

Of course now that I reached my goal I keep hearing from everyone that I need to quit running. It's starting to kind of get on my nerves.  I want to say "Quit telling me what to do!", but I don't.  I know they mean well, but I know my body and I will know when it's time to stop doing what I am doing. 

Some of the people that are giving me this "advice" are people who were completely inactive during pregnancy and used being pregnant as an excuse to eat everything in sight.  I am not doing that.  I don't want to be like my friend who has a daughter that will turn 2 next week and is just now getting back into her pre-pregnancy jeans.  No thanks.  Plus, a healthier and more fit me will (hopefully) lead to an easier labor and delivery and recovery.  Fingers crossed.

Here is a breakdown of my annual mileage:

Jan - 38.9 miles in 5:50:38

Feb- 23.6 miles in 3:20:19  (had a stress fracture in my foot and had to take a few weeks off)

March - 60.9 miles in 8:24:28 (to make up for slacking in Feb)

April - 46.9 miles in 6:33:32

May - 57.7 miles in 7:53:23

June - 76.0 miles in 10:23:19  (my most impressive month)

July -  57.0 miles in 7:36:49  (BFP was July 30th)

Aug - 65.2 miles in 9:09:00

Sept - 49.3 miles in 7:14:00

Oct -  45.3 miles in 6:33:00

Nov - 42.5 miles in 6:17:28

Dec - 37.7 miles in 5:44:00

Grand total of 601 miles in 84:59:56  (3 days and 12 hours worth of running).  Yay me!

It's cookie time!

Last night I finally got started on some Christmas baking.  It's just not Christmas without some cookies.  Of course I wasn't about to make a bunch of cookies from scratch being that I am big and puffy and achy and really would have rather have been laying on the couch on my heating pad.

So I hit BiLo on the way home from the gym armed with some coupons and picked up some cookie mix and some break-and-bake cookies (yes, I've gotten THAT lazy).

While dinner was cooking I started on the Peanut Blossoms (peanut butter cookies rolled in sugar and then topped with a Hershey Kiss once they are done baking).  After dinner was the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and then I moved on to the easy break and bake ones.  All in all I finished four different kinds of cookies and was able to bring some to work to share with people so I don't pack on even more pounds.

My Peanut Blossoms

Cookie tin for work

Anyway, that was my contribution to the Christmas spirit for the day. Now time for my weekly check-in:

How far along? 24w2d - he's somewhere between 15 and 20 oz I think.

Weight gain/loss: +16 as of this morning. Based on the horrible aching in my back these last few days it seems that the recent weight has settled in my boobs.

Maternity Clothes: I've worn one maternity shirt (because it was cute) and I wear a pair of work pants every so often.  I ordered some jeans from Old Navy and they sucked so I had to send them back. Good thing I still have 3 pairs of normal jeans I can wear.

Symptoms: Cement bowel and excruciating rib pain.  Either a tear in the connective tissue or a hairline fracture.  Awesome.

Gender:  It's a boy!!!

Sleep? Sleeping ok.  The heating pad it helping a bit.

Best moment this week? All the little kicks and punches this little man is dishing out. I love feeling him in there  :)

Movement: Yep - he's an active little bugger in the evenings. Still waiting to be able to get J to feel it. He's never quick enough.

Food cravings/aversions: None.

Belly button in or out? Still nicely in, but the top fold feels weird. I hope that doesn't mean it's making it's way out.

What I miss? Pooping and not being so achy.

What I am looking forward to? Getting started on the nursery - hopefully during our time off for the holidays.

Milestones: Hitting V-Day this past Sunday!

What I'm nervous about: I have my glucose test next Tuesday and I'm afraid that I'll fail it and have to do the 3 hour test.  Ugh.

And this week's bump pic. I had a different one, but I look kind of rough in that one. It's not been a great morning...



Made it past V-Day!

Yesterday I hit the 24 week mark, which people consider 'viability day'.  Meaning if this little guy decided to make an early appearance he would at least now have a chance to make it.  Having a pediatrician in the family I know that 24 weeks is still way too early and I'm praying he stays in much much longer, but at least I know the doctor's would try to save him now.

This past weekend we were up in Charlotte to spend some time with J's family since we will be with my family for Christmas.  It was a pleasant weekend, except after having the dogs in the house and the car the whole time my allergies kicked in to high gear. I am still sneezing and congested. Ugh.

We hung out with his parents, did a little last minute Christmas shopping for ourselves, went to visit some friends, and for the most part just relaxed.  The drive up was kind of uncomfortable (between my ribs, back, and bladder I do not enjoy long car trips at the moment), but it wasn't awful.  We got stuck in traffic for an hour on the way back yesterday, which my pregnant bladder was not amused by.

Oh, and when we got home last night our front door was wide open. Not just unlocked, but open about a foot and a half. And the packages that I had been hoping to get before we left were sitting in the foyer. What the hell?!?  If the UPS guy put them in there, then why the hell didn't he shut the door?  And why would he open the door in the first place?  Nothing was out of place and it didn't appear anyone had been in there, but it is still very unsettling. And since I am the one that locked the door this one is pretty much on me. Oops!

Anyway, here is some of what we bought this weekend:

I thought this pillow was just too cute

Backseat Driver onesie

J picked this one out - we got little brown pants to go with it

This is from Old Navy - kinda small, but it'll fit as a newborn

On clearance at Old Navy

Happy birthday sweetie!

Today is J's 39th birthday.  Not sure he is thrilled with being another year older. I make fun of him all the time since he is 5 years older than me (not that he acts his age!),  but I think it's hitting him that he will be 40 next year.

To make his birthday a little better I made him a cake yesterday. We had some last night since we will be heading out of town after work today.  It wasn't the most beautiful cake in the world, but he seemed to think it was yummy so that's all that mattered.

He calls it his smurf cake

Blowing out the candles and making a wish

Also yesterday when I got home from the doctor (last second appt to try to see if there is anything that can be done about my excruciating rib pain) there was a package from my friend up in Charlotte.  She sent us a Christmas card and the sweetest outfit for our little guy. 

I love the little doggy on the jacket

So sweet!

She got us the 3 month size so it will be perfect for him next summer.  I couldn't stop smiling once I opened it.  Almost took my mind off of the horrible pain in my ribs.

And for the record, there isn't much they can do. I have a prescription for Lortab and I bought an ace bandage to wrap around it to try to put some pressure on it to relieve the pain a little.  Apparently I will be experiencing discomfort due to my ribs spreading to make room for the organs that are shifting.  My horrible coughing fits just aggravated it and made it a lot worse.  And that 'pop' I heard and felt yesterday was most likely the connective tissue. Excellent.  I told J if this last for the rest of this pregnancy I might go insane.  At least the Lortab might take some of the pain out of dealing with his brother this weekend.  (I'm kidding - I will not take a narcotic just to deal with his crazy family. I'm trying to make do with just Tylenol unless the pain just gets too bad. Gotta keep this little guy safe!).