Peanut Butter and Jelly = True Love

One of my best memories as a kid is sitting down to the kitchen table to my mom's grilled cheese sandwich, cut diagonally, with ketchup on the side. It is such a simple dish, but I can never duplicate how it good tastes compared to when she makes it.

I know our kids will grow up and have the same memories. Jeff does 99% of the cooking in our house. I believe the kids will grow up loving his peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, something I have craved throughout my pregnancy. (Which we are both baffled by; I didn't like PB&J before I was pregnant.)

Jeff lovingly makes me lunch every morning before work and each day provides me with a healthy meal. It seems like a small thing, but it means a lot to me. (And makes him the talk of the office at lunch time!)

I can envision him doing the same thing for our kids in a few years. Packing a lunch, with mom adding a note and fruit each day. It makes me smile to know something as simple as PB&J could become such a happy memory for them.

So tell me readers, did you have a meal when you were growing up that you have tried to duplicate but it just doesn't taste the same as when your parents made it?

Sampsonite...I was way off!

It is funny how if you feel good or life is humming right along,you assume something is wrong or will go wrong soon. I have been so blessed this entire pregnancy and have felt really good the entire time. Of course my mind would logically think: then something will go wrong.

Well, I just got back from my first internal check at the doctor's office. This whole week I was convinced the baby was heads up and that I would not be dilated.

Well....I was WAY off. My doctor informed me the baby's head is down and engaged. I am at 1 cm, with 25% effacement. This was exciting and scary news at the same time. He followed the exam with "Do you have your bags packed yet? If not, I would recommend doing so this weekend!"

I am so thrilled and scared. Little one will be here in a few short weeks. I can't wait. Get ready world, soon a Baby Brausen will enter!

Other stats:

Blood pressure: Still low 110/70
Total weight gain: 26 lbs.
Mama feeling: Good. Sometimes it hurts to walk and I have started that "adorable" pregnancy waddle everyone talks about.

Week 36 Highlights

Your baby is gaining about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy hair that covered her body, as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Next week, your baby will be considered full-term. Most likely she's in a head-down position, but if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an external cephalic version, where she'll try to turn your baby by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

We will find out tomorrow what position the baby is in and talk with our doctor about our birth plan. The key word in our plan is flexibility. We plan to go with the flow as much as possible and not be stuck to a "It has to go this way" kind of plan. If there is anything Jeff and I have learned from this pregnancy it is that we can't plan everything and once you do life throws you a curve ball. (I am sure this lesson will continue once Baby Brausen arrives!)

I am feeling really good! A few aches and pains, but overall feeling fine! :)

Getting closer and closer

Well Baby fans, we are t-minus 30 days for D-Day! These last few weeks have been flying by.

Things left to finish:
Put away baby clothes in the nursery
Wash and sanatize all toys, bottles and nuks
Add finishing touches to the nursery
Pack hospital bag

Can't wait to meet the little one soon!

Week 35 Highlights- 35/35 today!

WOW, what a milestone...today I am 35 weeks pregnant with 35 days left to go!! I am starting to feel more uncomfortable, and when you read this week's information, you will understand why!

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

I start my weekly doctor appointments tomorrow. Not to much longer now!

Gorgeous Blogger Award...my first blog award!

Thank you to Bethany from her Believe blog for this wonderful blogger award!! Check her out at: http://believe-o-bethany.blogspot.com/.

The Rules:

1. Accept and thank the person who gave it to you! Thank you Bethany!

2. List 10 things about yourself

3.List 5 additional things you DON'T like!

4.Then pick three people to give this lovely award to


First things first -- 10 things about me:

1- Reading is more than just a passion for me, it is an escape and a stress-reliever. I get cranky when I go for periods of time without reading something. It could be an interesting article in a magazine or a novel, it doesn't matter. My mind just works better when I read constantly.

2- When I met my husband Jeff, I knew instantly that he was my soul mate and the man I was going to marry...which I told him right away. (Thank goodness it didn't scare him away.)

3- I could live off pizza, broccoli and white rice.

4- I try to look at life as positively as possible. It wastes everyone's time and energy to focus on the bad parts and in my experience is the easy way out. Trying to find the good in each situation is challenging and hard sometimes, but I find it helps you to get through the tough times easier.

5- I appreciate the things my parents did for me as a child. They did a damn good job raising me. I didn't really understand how great they are until I was 20 or so. (Of course after I moved out and started to really live life on my own.) So THANK YOU.

6- I love motorcycles, old cars (Circa 1960-1970 muscle cars are my favorite).

7- I have amazing and diverse friends...but you already knew that, didn't you! :)

8- I am a homebody at heart.

9- Have I mentioned how much I love my husband?

10- If I could do anything in the world, I would want to own a small bookstore.

5 things I don't like:

1- Cancer...it sucks.

2- Selfish people, while I understand it is important to do things for yourself, I don't understand adults who are all about them without any consideration for others around them. Just a different mindset, I guess.

3- Being scared of the dark. I don't like this about myself at all!

4- The way strangers grab my pregnant belly in public. WHAT ARE YOU DOING!

5- Horseradish on prime rib. Who came up with that?

Pick three people to give this lovely award to:

Jenny at Baby Meneghin

Melissa at Tales from my Ridiculous life

Casey from Funky Blog

Enjoy ladies!

Week 34 highlights

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine.

I am getting more uncomfortable these days. I have a hard time sitting all day for work, when baby wants to kick me in the ribs or pick on my hip bone. :) Other than that, all is well. Waddling is my main form of transportation these days.

Week 33 highlights

Baby’s senses are continuing to improve -- when light peeks in through your (extremely) stretched belly, those tiny eyelids and irises blink and dilate. And, baby can now recognize and react to simple songs… time to start practicing your lullabies! Growth (at least inside your womb) is starting to slow, and you may notice baby descend into your pelvis at the end of this month.

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

Well, I am starting to really feel baby kicking in my ribs a bit more. This week the doctor should be able to tell the position of the baby.

Pregnancy survival skill: How to get out of a soft chair

Put your feet flat on the floor and bend from the hips. Push on the armrests with your hands! Use your stomach muscles. If upward motion is still elusive, pick up your magazine and yell for more mint-chip ice cream. (Standing up is totally overrated anyway.)

Hmmm, maybe Jeff will have to start bringing my ice cream vs. helping me out of the chair.