Half way there!

This week marks the end of my 20th week of gestation. Only a mere 20 more to go!

I am optimistic to think that these last 20 will go a little faster with all of the stuff that we have to do. While browsing at cribs, we realized that it can take up to 16 weeks for the furniture to come in, which means that we have to order it by the end of the year. Not to mention all the time that I will be spending at Babies R Us for the registry, and then there is of course the shower. And after the shower - sorting through the gifts and preparing the nursery. With all of the excitement, I am hoping that time will fly!

We went for our ultrasound yesterday, and everything seems to be progressing swimmingly! The ultrasound tech actually was relieved that we opted to not find out the sex because she said that the baby wasn't being too cooperative as she was even having difficulty visualizing the base of the spine. That was fine by me, because if she would have hinted that she knew the sex, I don't know if I would have been able to stand the fact that a complete stranger knew the big secret and we didn't. Here is a new picture of the little bugger:

Baby Maz has grown quite a bit since the last picture we had. Oh, and my belly has definitely gone through the "pop." It still can pass as a large beer belly, but it's looking more and more like a baby belly every day. There are still people at work who are just finding out about the pregnancy...scrubs work wonders for hiding all sorts of things!

Think that this is a good picture for a Christmas card?

Totally joking!

Very productive evening

John and I made a plan: we were going to venture to Monroeville and do the shopping that we needed to do all in one trip...and we succeeded. We even made a list of the stores that we intended to go to along with the specific purchases at each individual store. I am not a shopper...in and out...that's how I shop: no dilly-dallying (especially during this time of year).

We we left our house at 2:30pm. We even strategized our route so that there was no back-tracking. We started at Giant Eagle to purchase gift cards for some of the stores that we were going to (hey - $0.20 in fuel perks for every $50 in gift cards - works for me!).

Then we were off of Pier 1 Imports because I love their Le Bien ornaments every year. My mom has been collecting them since I was in high school. Each year, they have about 6-8 different ornaments all dated for that year. Since my mom doesn't put a tree up anymore, she gave most of her ornaments to us, so our tree is filled with them, and they are beautiful!

Next was a stop at Big Lots to see how some Christmas decorations were priced. I have been wanting to put wreaths in all of our front windows, but never had the ambition, but this year I am determined. We weren't impressed with the selection - wasted stop.

Then it was a quick buy at Macy's and then to Dick's...success at both. Next was a pit-stop at The Baby Depot for a quite gander at their bedding. Their website says that they carry the bedding that I desperately want, but I don't want to register for anything before I have at least seen it in person. Unfortunately, they don't have in stock yet...bummer. (Here's a picture of it, in case you were wondering...comments?)

We even stopped by Cribs to Teens to check out their crib selection...quite impressive. Definitely found some good ones and John checked out the gliders for me...I wonder who is going to be using that more...hmmmmm.

Finally, we stopped at Michael's to see what their selection of wreaths was like - $1.99 each - SOLD! Hey, when you have 9 front facing windows, you need to be frugal.

In all, we had a great shopping venture...and we were home by 6:00pm! I was very proud of ourselves and now most of the Christmas presents are bought!

In case you were wondering...

Sorry about being a little late in the update, but the winner of "Dancing with the Stars" was:Brooke Burke! Really no surprise there. Can't wait until next season!

Hope that everyone had a good Turkey Day!

Emu sighting!

You have to refer to my friend Cara's blog in order to appreciate this post. Here is the post to read before going any further.

So, John and I were in the car last weekend when we past a little farm by our house and we saw it - the EMU! And let me tell you...it was HUGE!

John had class this weekend and passed it again yesterday. He took a few pictures with his phone, but they didn't do the giant bird justice. So, he went prepared today with our digital camera. And here it is:

You have to understand - this thing is at least 5 1/2 feet tall, so you can imagine the fear that Cara and her friend endured during their play date that afternoon. Not to mention...this thing is UGLY!

I was right!

Cody got the boot last night.

However, I am not as confident in predicting the final standings for next week.

I will have a full report.

Who's getting the boot?

It's the end of the Fall season for "Dancing with the Stars" (aren't you impressed that this is the first post about it?). Last night was the semi-finals and tonight's results show will reveal who advances to the final next week...exciting, I know!

Here's who is left:

Lance Bass - Hello? Who can forget the recent out-of-the-closet former pop star of *NSYNC? I think that everyone expected a lot from Lance being that he was a part of a boy band and therefore did a lot of dancing. However, he had a pretty rocky start and just last night really stood out.

Brooke Burke - Actress, host, entrepreneur. I am totally envious of her. She is a mom of 4, with her youngest being no more than 6 months old - and you should see her body. Must be nice to have tons of money so that you can look like that. Anyway, she has been the front runner the entire time...up until last night when her Jive was total crap.

Cody Linley - He is best known for his role as "Jake Ryan" on the Disney Channel series "Hannah Montana." (BTW - did anyone catch his character's name - the same name as Molly Ringwald's crush from "Sixteen Candles"). He's young and cute, and he really tries hard. Not sure how much further he will go in the show.

Warren Sapp - He is a recently retired defensive tackle and Superbowl Champion who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Oakland Raiders during his 13 year career. I distinctly remember when the Steelers played the Buccaneers a few years ago, and Warren Sapp and Joey Porter got penalties even before the game started due to their mouths. So, it's fun to see the same guy literally gliding across the dance floor...he's pretty good!

My prediction - tonight's victim will be Cody.

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FYI - I saw a commercial last night previewing "The Bachelor" with rejected Jason from last season. It confirmed that the season starts in January...can't wait!

A little obsessed?

My sister swore by this book when she was pregnant with Gabi and of course she bought it for me when I was in the "safe zone" of the pregnancy.

It's a great book - full of info that you really can't find in the stores. It divides up all of the baby essentials and then grades them A-F, even with +/-'s.

So as you can see, I have massacred the book. Well, not so much to that extent, but I definitely went through the major sections and figured out the stuff that is good and the stuff that is not. And as you can see, I have very anal-retentively color coded the different sections and staggered them for easy searching. I know, I am a loser! My Mom even thought that I went a little overboard - oh well!

It was a great help when John and I took our first trip to Babies R Us. It was just a browsing trip - not starting the registry any time soon. But by bringing the book, we were able to alleviate a lot of the over-whelming feelings that can accompany a couple and their first trip to a baby store. Anything below a C, we are not even considering. Makes for a much less stressful afternoon and a much happier husband and wife (or daddy and mommy-to be's).