19 weeks – 5 days until gender day!!!

I have been following a cute blog, Schue Love for awhile and she posted a questionnaire weekly throughout her pregnancy. I was inspired, but I wasn't diligent in my first three months. Now, that I'm back to my normal self, I really want to keep track of my next five months. So, here I go!

How many weeks: 19 Weeks. - 5 Months! 

Baby Size: Size of a large mango. Six inches.

Weight gain so far: About 5 pounds - Finally have my appetite;)

Maternity clothes: Belly band is helping me wear my regular pants and I have a few maternity tops/pants. I never knew that maternity shopping was so hard.

Stretch marks? No, but I need to find a good lotion just in case.

Sleep: Sleeping well. Sleeping on my sides with my other boyfriend (full body pillow;) 

Best moment this week: Feeling more baby flutters

Missing Anything: A good margarita, coffee and sleeping on my stomach and back!

Movement: More movement this week from the little one!

Food cravings: I haven't had too many "pregnancy" cravings. The normal, thai, sushi and I was craving calamari last night.  

Anything making you queasy or sick: Since, I've haven't been sick in a few weeks (thank goodness), I still get yucky with coffee aroma and the cats food/litter. 

Gender: We find out this FRIDAY!!!!! 

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms: Some lower back pains throughout the day/night and my belly is tighter. 

Belly Button in or out? Still in, but it's not as deep anymore:(
Wedding rings on or off? On

Mood: Darrin tells me I've been pretty good throughout this whole pregnancy. So that's good! I haven't cried for anything. I have more normal energy back, yay!

Looking forward to: Finding out what this little berry is! It's amazing what a huge life change we will be experiencing this week. Also, I'm flying home to California to tell my family/friends in person and finally going baby shopping!

Things to do still: Lots to do in five months! Registry, baby shower venue in CA, finally attend a prenatal yoga class, finish reading baby books, and try to find more decor for the baby room. The list will never end...

Due Date: December 29th! Christmas/New Years baby!

Miss Maddie will be a great sis to her little brother or sister.

A little belated pic.

April in North Carolina

So, I'm getting caught up on my April North Carolina trips! I've been twice and plan on going again next weekend... In the beginning of April, Darrin and I went to stay with his younger brother in Raleigh. We went to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers play and it was an awesome show! I have never seen Darrin so pumped before! The next day, the guys took me around Duke University and I was in awe. The campus was so gorgeous and it made me want to be back in college again. Miss Maddie Duke got a picture in front of the chapel of course! We had lunch in Chapel Hill and saw UNC. Their sorority/fraternity row was so beautiful. It reminded me of the houses in Palo Alto.

Then last weekend, my Mom came to visit! She flew into Charlotte and we stayed the night. The next morning, I showed her around the area and she was very impressed. Then we headed off for a two hour drive to Asheville, NC. I had no idea this town was so artsy! I felt like I was in Santa Cruz again. We had lunch downtown at Mayfel's which is a New Orleans style restaurant. The fried green tomatoes with goat cheese and muffuletta were sooo good! This place had such a cool atmosphere and loved how they were dog friendly;)
I found this Antique Tobacco Barn that is #1 in the Western NC. My Mom and I drove up and our jaws dropped. This place was 77k sq. ft. and we had only an hour to look before they closed! This store was amazing and not like the crappy antique malls. I wanted everything, but found one item I will cherish forever! That will be a separate post:)
That night we wanted some Carolina bbq, so I found this cute place online that had great ratings. We had the best ribs, collard greens and mac and cheese! We had the best Bloody Mary's too! They make a BLT Bloody Mary, which we didn't try. It had bacon, lettuce and tomato all stuffed inside the drink. Talk about Southern! Yep, we ate pretty well on this trip.


Our last day was spent at the Biltmore Estate. One of the most beautiful house tours I've ever been too. It makes Hearst Castle look tiny!
This weekend we are going back to Asheville again and it will be fun to experience it with Darrin this time.

Miss Maddie Duke at Duke Chapel.
Who's named after her Daddy's favorite bball team.

HUGE!!

The Biltmore Estate

The Estates Backyard. It was a gorgeous day.

Top Five Wedding Gift/Top Mess by Maddie

Darrin wanted me to blog about this, so here I go...
I had a crummy morning at work on Tuesday and I came home at lunch to let out the pup. I came in the door and was hit with the biggest mess that Maddie's made so far:( I wasn't even mad. I was just blown away and I was kind of expecting it since my day wasn't going too well. 


Two words that summed up the explosion--ELMER's GLUE! Yep, M had a blast with the glue bottle she found in a drawer.  The target was our new COUCH! She poured a big puddle at the end where she usually sits. Then had a party with it and spewed out strands allll over. She also got a tube of brown paint, buttons, matches, a battery, two pens, and a cookbook. Somehow Darrin's childhood bible survived with a few teeth marks. I mean it was unbelievable and I only took one photo:(


THANKS to a gift card for our wedding, we purchased the Bissell 9200P Deep Cleaner, ProHeat 2X, Pet cleaner at Macy's. This SAVED us! Darrin scrubbed the heck out of the couch and the glue came out thankfully! This cleaner has been so useful for our Miss Mess Maker and we knew it would come in handy. Every time Darrin and I use it, we always say how this was one of the best gifts we got from our wedding. I mean we had a lot of good ones, but this has been a savior for us! 

Our poor couch

Bissell ad

All clean!

Soaking wet, but what a difference!

Miss Maddie

Yes, she get's a page all to herself! 

Read and see more pics about our new little girl.

First Post-Six Month Anniversary

I never thought about doing a blog, since I've never considered myself a writer. Since buying a house and thinking about ideas for our new space, I've been reading a lot of diy (do-it-yourself) blogs run by talented women.  I have been inspired and thought this would be a great way to share and journal my new life in Virginia. 

So here I go... 

I'm starting my first post on our six month wedding Anniversary! 

This past six months went so fast! I can't believe that we have done so much since our wedding, but it's been amazing, unexpected, but very memorable... In July, we brought home a seven-week old precious Springer Spaniel named Maddie Duke, from Hazard County, KY. She's our wedding present to each other and she is ALL dog! We now know what to expect when we have our own baby, ha! Then in August, we put an offer on an adorable farmhouse and all of a sudden we are experiencing being first-time home buyers. We really weren't looking to buy. This was the second house we went through and we didn't have to convince each other that this was our house. We just knew. Can't wait to get the keys in December!

We had a nice, relaxing weekend celebrating with our girl Maddie. We took her on a long walk along Claytor Lake. Something I love about the New River Valley is the abundance of hiking trails that are here. Darrin is always taking me to the most beautiful trails and I'm always in awe. The leaves have been absolutely stunning, but it's gotten really cold lately and it feels like January to me if I were in CA. I'm used to wearing my flip flops in the winter! I need to get myself prepared to live in these cold temps and snow!

On Saturday night, we were looking forward to trying the new and only "authentic" Thai food that just opened in Blacksburg. We went in and looked at each other and turned right around. The bright lights and packed lines felt as if we were in McDonalds. The owners were from Fremont, CA and I was anxious to try it. Boo! So, we went to a really nice wine bar that we have been wanting to try for sometime (622 North). I think it's one of my favorite places here now. Maybe it's because it reminded me of Santa Cruz? I was raving after every bite of my pilaf!  

Now, what will the next six months bring to our new marriage? How about relaxing from the first six months and enjoying putting together our first home;) 

-Megan