Please Excuse My Belly

I have a problem with my belly. A very distracting problem.

You see, I sit in meetings at work, or across from friends at lunch and I just feel my belly move. Not like "oh the baby is kicking me, but its a secret between it and me".

No. This is like all out "at-any-moment-an-alien-will-emerge' movement. Back and forth. Up and down. Ending with a swift kick to the ribs that could actually make me yelp out loud.

And I can't focus on anything going on, or being said because I feel like I need to apologize for the massive belly between me and the person that seemingly has a mind of its own. And I just wonder if everyone else is looking at the craziness that is taking place.

I am thinking that two things can happen:

1) My belly can get bigger so this baby has more room to do aerobics or whatever dance moves it is practicing. (I'm thinking it is already working on its Diva Doug moves...)

OR
2) I can have the baby.

And as much as I am not jazzed about #1, I REALLY do not want #2 to happen until June 5th, or at the very minimum until I have some diapers bought and maybe a onesie or two. (not even joking--we have nothing yet.).

So if you see me, please don't laugh at my incredibly-jolly belly that seems to be moving to a dance beat that no one else can hear.

Magazine Cuisine: Episode 7

The new Cooking Light magazine could not have come at a better time. After a week of eating a lot of nothing, my mouth was watering as I turned through the pages. It was a GREAT edition--expect lots more recipes from this month.

Tonight's menu was Roasted Asparagus and Tomato Penne salad with Goat Cheese. Ahh...the taste of spring, summer, and fresh ingrediants could not have been more perfect.

There was a homemade dressing that you tossed all the ingrediants in that was a lemon juice/dijon/honey base. It was super light but had lots of flavor. Overall, I thought it was super easy to make, and a nice, quick, healthy weekday meal.

Want to try it for yourself? Here is the link to the recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-asparagus-tomato-penne-50400000112004/.

No, That's the Worst

Throwing up a 5 star dinner 30 minutes after you ate it is the worst.
Throwing up a 5 star dinner 30 minutes after you ate it in a public bathroom in NYC is the worst.
Throwing up a 5 star dinner 30 minutes after you ate it in a public bathroom, so strongly that you get splash-back in your mouth is the worst.

So, I am finally feeling on the mend, and more importantly HOME. Not sure if it was food poisoning, or some weird bacteria that got onto my hands or food, but either way it was a TOUGH week so far. 5 Words: Dual Movement--3 Hour Flight. Yup. I was a hot mess yesterday.

Just be thankful there are no photo shots of the above. Actually, I should probably be thankful there aren't any photos.

I'm just hoping I can get my stomach back to normal so I can stuff my face full of Easter candy this weekend.

For Better and For Worse

This weekend started out top notch. Dinner and Bocce with friends Friday night. Lots of Birthday wishes in the mail. First Class upgrades for Nate and I and a weekend away in NYC before my week of work in NYC.

We decided to seize the very fleeting opportunities to get away sans child, or the responsibility of finding childcare, and off to NYC we went. We started the day shopping in Soho, and the obligatory trip to Grand Central.

After standing in the rain for 1 hour in the TKTS line, I thought my head was going to explode when the people in front of us took 20 minutes to decide and complete their transaction once they got to the window. But all was not lost as we got tickets to go to the new Wonderland musical, which was great. We hit up Restaurant Row for an amazing dinner at a wine bar--hold the wine.

And the, Sunday was the day of the Hipster.

We headed for Brooklyn, where the hipster to other fill-in-the-blank stereotpye, was off the charts. We decided to forego the subway and take the bridge across. It was beautiful.

Next up was Brooklyn Flea which was this amazing little market filled with used goods, new goods, and freaking delicious good to be purchased. Can you say Doughnut of the Century?



Now this is where there will be some groans, but I have to give mad props to Nate, who found a quiet park for us to rest in after a full day of walking and literally rubbed my achy, smelly, probably sweaty feet.

All of this fun activity led us to a comedy show we read about in Time Out NY. It was kind hilarious because it was about 10 different comedians. One of them started by asking if anyone was pregnants, I raised my hand and he cracked some jokes. Then the next guy asked if anyone was STILL to sign up for Facebook and Nate was the only one and literally everyone gave him a round of applause.

And remember this website: http://www.latfh.com/?  Well Nate and I were saying it all day while we were in Brooklyn, and it literally came full circle when one of the comedians that stood up at the show was the WRITER of this blog, and from MN.

And thsi is where the magical NYC fairy tale ends. Notice the tank top above. No....it was freezing cold here too. Nope--I was just starting to overheat. One would chalk this up to pregnancy. I did. Nate did.

And then I almost passed out on the subway platform. Fast forward to throwing up all day, and a bunch of other ugly things you don't want to hear about and I am one miserable preggo stuck in a hotel in NYC. Nate left this afternoon to go back as planned, and I'm not sure he was feeling any better about leaving me than I was period.

I've decided that there is nothing worse than being sick and away from home AND pregnant. Try to top it. I've been sick and away from home and it sucked.

I've been sick while pregnant and it sucked.

But the combo of all 3 is killer.

Looking forward to hitting the friendly skies back to Minneapolis, where my bed, husband, and doctor is soon.

Love is in the Air

As I mentioned before, I had the honor of standing up in one of my best friends wedding last weekend. And it truly was an honor to be among a family so filled with love...

...and a couple whose happiness was palpable.

 I was overcome with joy for my dear friend, and could not stop smiling (okay...honestly crying) anytime I thought about all the excitement, happiness and emotion she was feeling.

The word stunning does not even begin to describe Katie on her wedding day.

 And as anyone who knows one Ryan Plonske would expect, the wedding reception was beyond fun. As a person with child, who consumed no alcohol, I can attest to the fact that everyone had a good time (some maybe just a wee bit too much) and the dance floor was hopping all night long.

Baby H got some serious time on the dance floor. I think I might have pulled a muscle during Jump Around, but it didn't slow me down. I love how when people danced with me they automatically started dancing with their own phantom babies :)

I feel so lucky to have had just a small glimpse of Katie and Ryan in their wedded bliss this morning as they called me from Africa--and I'll tell you the "pure love" grin on both of their faces has not faded. Thank you Katie and Ryan for letting me be a part of your very special, and amazingly happy day. I am so happy for you.

Blog Ponderings

I have a lot to blog about today (mainly the stunning gorgeousness that was Katie as a bride this weekend), but I had a camera malfunction and am waiting for more pictures to truly do it justice.

In the meantime, I have had a number of people ask me how we were going to incorporate Baby H into the blog.

The reality is of course Baby H will be a HUGE part of everything we do going forward. But true to the name of this blog, I think Nate and I will continue to try build our nest the best way we can, and stay true to ourselves in the process. I hope and pray that we can encompass this baby with all of our love, but do it without losing ourselves, or the "Nate + Greta" that make us, us.

Given that, Here is what I know for sure is what we won't do with this blog:

• make it all baby all the time.
• Lose our sense of humor and sarcasm
• Tell you about every. single. detail. about baby right down to every last dirty diaper.

So if you have any ideas, or suggestions about how to incorporate "baby" into "blog" I would love to hear them.

 And if you want  to hear about every dirty diaper, I could humor that request...after all there would probably be some GREAT visuals.....

Triumph

Today is the first day of the rest of my life!

 At least that is what it felt like as I walked out of work to a balmy 65 degree temperature. Seriously, this winter SUCKED. I know I choose to live in the midwest, and normally the winters are fine and there is always a little whining, but this one was down right ridiculous.

But the best feeling in the world, is the feeling that you just triumphed over one of these ridiculous winters. The smell of mud, grass, melting snow....glorius.

I went for a walk around Lake Calhoun last night and it almost brought a tear to my eye (okay, it actually did, but that was the pregnancy hormones, not the weather). I cannot wait for all of my summer days where me and Baby H can cruise around the lakes, enjoying the sunshine, and basking in the fact that I didn't have to work that day, and I don't have to work the next day!!

In conclusion, F-off winter. Don't come around these parts no more. You and your kind are no longer welcome.

Surprise!

One of my dearest friends had her baby in the very early hours of Monday morning. Remember this? (For the record, I remember thinking I was 'big' back then....oh how time changes that perspective...)

Well fast forward about 2.5 months, and the belly on the left is now empty! Yes, her baby was 7 weeks early. I know it just couldn't wait to get out into the world, and I am fairly certain that it is because it knows how totally and utterly amazing its parents are and just couldn't wait any longer to meet them.

I couldn't be more excited for the THREE of them...(holy crap!), and am sending lots and lots of love to little Paddy Jr. so that he can get big and strong for all of the snuggles and hugs and kisses he has coming his way.

And it was a HUGE reality check for me when I got the call Monday morning because Amy and i have been going through this, together, the entire time. And the fact that her baby is now here, makes it so much more real that mine is not far behind it (although I am hoping it is further than 3 weeks....). And so the crazy productivity begins...

I mean I am crossing stuff off my list here people. Every night. The hospital bag has been started. The pediatrician has now been called and selected. Closets are being cleaned. Shelves cleared to make room for baby stuff.

The big outstanding item is the relocation of one Lucy--"don't-even-think-about-changing-my routine"--cat. I mean to be fair she is ancient...but if this baby comes before May. Baby H and Lucy may just be roommates....

Anyway, congrats to the Joyce's, and welcome Patrick Jr!! Baby H cannot wait to meet you.

Magazine Cuisine: Episode 6

With the slight warming of the weather (finally), we dusted off the grill this weekend and enjoyed the taste of summer every night this weekend. Oh yeah. The taste of the good life.

We decided to test out a network from the Food Network magazine: Mediterranean Turkey Sliders. I would say ours was more of a 'burger' than a slider, but either way Nate and I both gave this recipe a thumbs up.

Thumbs up for two reasons:
1) It actually did taste delicious, and had a very fresh vibe.
2) It uses ingrediants that we normally have in our fridge 80% of the time, so it has a chance to be put into every-day rotation.

Cucumbers, Feta, Parlsey, Hummus.

And just as we started to clean-up our grilled masterpeice tonight, it started to rain. And we have heard this rain is supposed to turn to snow (again) tonight and tomorrow morning. So it was good while it lasted, and here is hoping that the grill can come back out to play soon--and stay out for an extended period of time.