Weekend Update

I am a terrible blogger!

But when you sit by a computer all day at work, it's really hard to motivate yourself to sit some more when you get home.

We had a lovely babymoon trip to Chicago this weekend! The weather was great, no traffic along the way, and even though it was a 6 hour drive, shockingly I only needed to stop 3 times to use the facilities. And buy snacks.

The trip started out perfectly.... Jon picked me up from work, and he had Sweetest Days gifts for his "girls." Two precious Christmas footed pajama outfits for our pumpkin, and a prenatal massage for me. Is he good or what??

No, sadly, I did not take any pictures of baby girl by the silver thing like I wanted to. We didn't make it to that area... but we passed it twice. So that counts right?

Instead, here are the things I accomplished while in Chicago:

Learned the premise of "Chicago Deep Dish pizza." I thought it meant that the crust was just thicker... I was so wrong!

Got to see my beautiful friend Andrea!

Nearly incited a riot in a taxi cab queue.

Received a lecture on the downfall of the American education system by another taxi driver.

Nearly had my eardrums burst by yet another taxi driver who blasted Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" at full volume. As well as "Caribbean Dreams" and "Careless Whisper."

Had the BEST brunch I've ever had. Though technically I don't know if I've ever had a proper "brunch." More likely, I just eat breakfast really late. But anyway, it was awesome. We went to this little restaurant called Cafe Ba Ba Reeba. It's a Spanish tapas place, but they also have a kick-ass brunch menu. And a Bloody Mary bar. It's like a salad bar, for Bloody Mary's. I got one, sans alcohol of course, and I added two types of tomato juice, a pickle, a shrimp, a celery stalk, lime juice, horseradish, lemon juice, salt, pepper, Worcestershire, and hot sauce. YUP. The only picture I took ALL WEEKEND was of the Bloody Mary bar, but I took it with Jon's phone so I don't even have record of it. But here is a picture I pilfered off of Google Images:

It's even cooler in person, I swear!

Got "denied" from an exhibit an the science museum because we were 2) Not under the age of 10 and b) Not accompanying a child under the age of 10. Sorry baby girl, apparently being -2 months doesn't count in their eyes. You're still my favorite accompanied minor ;-)

Obsessively checked my phone because while Jay-Z and I were pissing off taxi drivers, Jon ran the "Spartan Race" with some friends. If you've heard of the Warrior Dash, it's like that, but apparently longer and harder. Look at these tough guys!!!

I have full faith in my husband's athletic ability, but all I could think was that he would trip, break his leg, and be out of commission when the baby gets here. All was well though, and he had a great finishing time! :)

And now I'm off to my regular monthly doctor's appointment. Except now I start going every two weeks. And then every week. Things are getting real!!!!!!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

WILW!

I'm loving.... my new job. Though 5 weeks in, it's not technically *new* anymore, but everyday brings about a new reason to love it. I know change can be a bad thing sometimes, but in this case, I definitely made the right decision!

I'm loving... apple and cinnamon candles. I light one as soon as I walk in the door when I get home. They just smell like fall!

I'm loving... all of the pretty leaves that are blowing around our neighborhood. There's something just so.... romantic about fall, yanno?

I'm loving.... Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Maybe it goes with the "fall theme" but I cannot get enough of this cereal. I swear, if my daughter eats anything besides milk and cereal when she's a grown-up, I'll be shocked. I apologize in advance for giving you a boring palate, baby!

Cinna-deliciousness

I'm loving... that we're going to Chicago this weekend! I'm excited to take pictures around the city, and to see some good friends (including my friend Jay-Z, who is coming all the way from Kenosha, WI to visit on Saturday morning!) I have no idea what we're doing, but that's how we roll. I just know I want a picture of baby girl by this thing:

I'm loving.... my sweet baby girl and how big my belly is getting. I swear every day it gets bigger. And we still have 10 weeks to go. I also love how I thought I was *enormous* a few months ago... Hahaha, if I only knew.

What are you loving today??

Convenient

con·ven·ient  adj. 
1. Suited or favorable to one's comfort, purpose, or needs
2. Being able to place one's salad bowl directly onto one's belly, requiring much less exertion to lift one's fork into one's mouth

Fill in the Blank Friday

This week, I'm linking up at The Little Things We Do for the fist edition of "Fill in the Blank Friday."

Things have been crazy hectic at work, so I though I'd ease back into posting with this fun little edition. And here.we.go!

1.   Something popular that I can't stand/just don't "get" is    Katy Perry. I think she's super cute but I just find her music so superficial and annoying. Don't hate me.

2.   Something unpopular that I secretly love is    The Bachelor/ette franchise. It is my guilty obsession and you can judge me all you want, I will watch diligently every season    .

3.  When I've had a bad day I  take a hot shower, then put on soft PJ pants. It can instantly put me in a better mood  .

4. I'd prefer    a coffee date    to    happy hour      any day.

5.  Something that makes me nervous is   the "unknown" when it comes to parenting. I have the love part down absolutely, but sometimes I'm scared that I'll be bad at it .

6.  Something worth fighting for is     situations where you have to compromise your personal set of morals and ethics. I can go with the flow, but not at the cost of my integrity.

7.  When people think of me, I hope they think   Audra is happy, kind, and funny on certain occasions.

Baby Bucket List

As I'm sitting here at my desk, typing things into my Astrid Task List Droid app, it dawns on me...

Holy crap. My life is going to change completely in 83 days. 

Yes of course I've had this thought before, but it still hits me like a ton of bricks.

I feel like I'm already in "nesting" mode. Nesting is a great little term for the period of time leading up to the birth of your baby when you go apesh** and clean, cook, and shop obsessively in preparation for your little one's arrival. Last night, after unpacking and de-tagging gifts from our first baby shower this weekend (pictures to come!), what started out as casually putting things into place turned into an all-out categorization frenzy. I could not sleep or rest until every baby item had a proper place. 11:00pm and a sore back later, her bedroom is more organized than ours. She also has more pairs of socks than any human person should.

Anywhoo, now I'm thinking about all of the things that I want to do before she gets here, baby-related or not. So, dear friends, I am typing out a list so that I can be held accountable to not only myself, but to all of you who can check up on my progress. Yes, I'm sure you are dying to check up on that. I'll keep adding to it I'm sure, but hopefully can cross things off too!

Audra's Baby Bucket List

1. Create a baby bucket list. Done. Success already!

2.  Watch "The Happiest Baby on the Block" DVD with Jon. Many, many mommas have told me this DVD saved their lives when their babies were first born, and helped them achieve longer stretches of sleep in those early weeks when you're basically a zombie.

3. Take a mini babymoon with my husband. Almost done. We have a trip to Chicago planned in two weeks!

4. Read at least 3 non-baby books. I already have Until Tuesday and The First Husband on my reading queue for Book Club, but I'll take other recommendations!

5. Re-organize the following places in our home: Master bedroom closet, attic, basement, dining room and let's throw in the garage if I'm feeling crazy.

6. Put up a Christmas tree by December 5th.

7. Go see at least one movie in the theater with Jon, and one with my friends (Good thing I already have a date with Holly and Jess to see Breaking Dawn in November) 

8. Continue working out at least 4 days a week, including prenatal pilates.

9. Write a blog post about the amazement that is prenatal pilates.

10. Have all Christmas shopping/wrapping done by December 5th. Haha, self. Good luck with that. 

11. Figure out how to use Skype and video chat.

12. Make and freeze 2 weeks worth of meals.

13. Take a "Baby Prep 101" class. Scheduled for 11/6! 

14. Enjoy sleeping in while I can! Everyone gives me that advice, but since I really don't sleep in now, I am finding it hard to force myself to do it. Maybe once the 3rd trimester fatigue kicks in I'll feel differently.

15. Get at least one video of baby girl moving around in my belly. It's so cute to watch, but she seems to move alot more when no one is around.
16. Update my iPod with some new tunes.
17. Find the local publication that advertises family-friendly things to do around the area. I know it exists, but I can't find it! And I want to make sure she gets to experience as many cool things as I did as a kiddo, from pumpkin picking to hiking to cheesy festivals and the like.

I'm sure there will be more to add, but this is definitely a start!