Will it ever go away?

I have had the most annoying cough ever for over a week now. And of course there is nothing for me to take. I am allowed to take plain Robitussin which is for chest congestion and makes the coughing worse. It is in theory supposed to make it better but it hasn't! So I have been on the couch for the past two nights coughing up my lungs and not getting too much sleep. Energy wise I am ok but really how long is this going to go on?! We have Caleb, Adrianne and Baby Ben coming for a visit and I don't want to scare him with my hacking =( I am very hopeful that it will go away soon - it is good to stay positive ;)

Loud and Clear

I had my 3rd doctors appointment yesterday afternoon and we got to hear the heartbeat! We met a new doctor this time and she was really nice. She answered all of our questions and was very reassuring as all of them have been. I think that we have been really blessed with a great team of doctors. She told me that all of my lab results came back and everything was good. She didn't have anything to really tell me so I was able to ask my questions and then she was able to check the heartbeat. The first little machine was not working very well but she switched wands and it picked up the signal very well. She said the baby was moving a lot but she was able to find the heartbeat really quickly. It was so strong and loud. It was so amazing and reassuring to hear that sound. And then came the giggles. And I think they were contagious because both the doctor and Joe were laughing to which was causing the machine to make an even funnier noise so this went on for a couple of minutes and I was able to regain my composure so I could listen to the heartbeat one more time. My next appointment is March 21st and I have a referral to go to another office for my sonogram. That appointment won't be until @ the second week of April. Then we can lay to rest our theories of what the baby might be. After hearing the heartbeat I once again think that it is a boy. As Joe would say, "It was strong like bull". However if it turns out to be a girl I already found the perfect onsie. It has a picture of Muhammad Ali =)

Thank goodness for holidays!

I always love a day off. I feel like I am always more productive on a holiday than on a normal weekend. I was able to get school work done, 5 loads of laundry (yes I have been procrastinating), our TAXES!!!, and I was able to find sheets and a comforter for the new bed in the guest bedroom! And it was all on sale. I am very excited to finally have a bed for the guest bedroom. No more air matresses unless there are more than 1 or 2 people coming for a visit =) Joe found the matress on craigslist from a dealer near the Redskins Stadium. I am glad that he went to go check it out and not me because I probably would have turned myself right around. But Joe was able to get a nice matress for a great price. And my parents since they were the first ones to try it out said that it slept very nicely. So that is a relief!

The other relief is that after about 2 hours our taxes are complete and e-filed. I was very proud of myself for finishing them. It is one of those things that can just linger. I don't know why either. Especially when you are expecting a refund you should be trying to get your money back as quickly as you possibly can from the gov't.

13 Weeks

My parents were up this weekend to check out Jennifer's wedding dress (which was perfect and beautiful and exactly what she was looking for) No other details can be provided just in case Uncle Sean reads this blog =)

On Friday night my parents, Joe and I went to the youth sponsored Valentine's Banquet. The food was awesome and the youth did a great job with the decorations and the waitressing! I wished that I could go to a restaurant with that kind of food and service more often! They had NY Strip and Teriaki Chicken with a salad, baked potato and veggies. Then for dessert there was cheesecake! Delicious! There was more food than even I could eat. Then Joe and I got suckered into playing a version of the Newlywed Game. We won! It was a lot of work for a box of chocolates but it was a lot of fun. Now the whole church knows dirt on both of us.

Saturday we took everyone out to the Amish Market in Annapolis for lunch. It is kind of a la carte but they have the most amazing homemade food! They have these pepperoni logs that are too good for words. So you just have to try them to know what we mean. But they have homemade ice cream, pretzels, fried chicken, candy, fudge, etc.

Below is a picture of what I look like at 13 weeks. My dress has a crazy pattern so it hides it pretty well but you can still see it a little bit =)

11 weeks 6 days...

I kind of slacked off and didn't get a picture for the 11th week until today. So pretty much I probably look 12 weeks. =)

We also received some wonderful hand me downs from Angie and Dave the other weekend and the kittens have begun to investigate. Here are pictures from their investigation =)

Calvin is trying to figure out how he can use this thing. He just got a little turned around.

Hobbes likes to observe with her feet on the ground. She doesn't just jump right into new things. She has to sniff for a while before she approves.

They are natural inspector generals, very thorough and don't miss a thing. Overall I think they are ok with the new stuff =)

Sick =(

On Tuesday Joe caught something. On Wednesday he had to leave work early because he had a headache, feeling light headed, nautious, etc. He tried to go home and get some rest but he could not get comfortable. By 2:30am he was still moaning and complaining of a headache. I had already given him the maximum dosage of ibuprophen without having a dr. give it to him. And I didn't know what the heck he had. Normally if I take 3 ibuprophen at once my headache will go away but nothing was helping him. I am pregnant so there is only so much whining (=)) I can take at 2:30 in the morning. So the only place open at 2:30 is the hospital. We went to Calvert Memorial and they luckily were not too busy so we were seen right away. When they took his temperature it was over 100! They took a chest xray and then did a specimen test in order to check to see if he had the flu. He had to get saliene sprayed up his nose and then blow it out. It only took about 20 minutes to find out the results and they came back positive for the flu. Luckily I have not gotten anything yet. Joe is currently on 4 different types of medications, flu pack, anti-nautia, 800mg of Ibuprophen and vicadin. I can't have any of that so I would just be stuck with all of the symptoms =( So if I don't get it them I am in love with my prenatal vitamins!!!

Recipe

So I tried this new recipe last night for pork and thought I would pass it along to whomever wanted to try... It was delicious, but that might be because I am currently obsessed with anything pig. Bacon, sausage, pork, bbq, etc.

Orange-Mushroom Pork

3-4 Pork tenderloins
4-5 whole mushrooms (or you can use the ones from a jar) - chopped
1/2 onion (finely chopped)
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
2 tablespoons of Orange Marmalade (or as much as you like - taste the sauce)
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
1 clove of garlic minced (or one teaspoon if you have the minced garlic in a jar)

Heat the vegatable oil in a pan (preferably use a pan that has a lid, it starts to splatter a little when cooking). Then add the pork and cook thoroughly on both sides, it depends on the thickness but between 6-7 minutes. After cooking the pork remove and reduce the heat to medium. Add in the onions (you can sautee for a minute before adding the other ingredients), then add the mushrooms, orange marmalade, soy sauce, and galic. Let it simmer for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Once it has cooked thoroughly, pour over the prepared pork.


Let me know if you try it and tell me what you think =) I had a side of zucchini with mine and fruit. I am trying really hard to eat healthy. And it really hasn't been too hard because all the baby wants is meat and veggies, hopefully that will continue once it is out!