And the winners are...

...Brandi for guessing it is an ear and Megan for guessing spot on that it is an ear mark!

So why a picture of an ear mark? Here is a picture of where we found it - on our front door. We returned home from our 4th of July trip to find this greasy ear mark on our door. So we are left with the questions...Who left this ear mark? Why did someone feel the need to press their greasy ear to our door? What were they listening for? What did they want? Who does this?

Can you guess what this is?

Special Kudos to whoever can tell me what this is a picture of. If no one can guess in a couple of days I'll give a hint...

14 Week Update

Well, I'm officially done and out of the first trimester. Secretly I was hoping that the Day of week 14 would be the day I felt completely normal again. Normal may never come but there have been some improvements. I feel like my energy is slowly returning bit by bit, there is a sort of "fog" that seems to be lifting from around my brain, and the nausea has gone down significantly. I still have my moments of gagging and still have VERY strong food aversions to...just about everything, but I'm hopeful. The other night we went to Olive Garden to celebrate 3 months. It turned out to be the first successful restaurant visit since the "ickiness" set in. We were sitting waiting for our food and eating our salad and bread sticks (which were actually tasting wonderful). I told Dan this was so wonderful I wanted to cry and my eyes actually started to tear up . It just felt good to eat and enjoy. Unfortunately I haven't been able to repeat that night, but I am hopeful it will come again!

Baby is doing great with a strong as ever heartbeat which was much easier for my Doctor to find this time. Everything seems to be going well. I still have not been gaining weight and my Doctor says I should start within the next couple of weeks. She encourages me to drink Ensure (alone or in a milkshake - which ever is more tolerable) which can be pretty gross at times.

As for a baby bump. I definitely can tell there is some growing going on - some of my pants hurt to have the last button done so I've been sticking to my low loose jeans lately. I am including my "baby bump picture" but many may say it really isn't a bump. Most of what is visible isn't actually baby bump but a cushion that I've developed since I got pregnant. NOBODY would guess I was pregnant right now, and it will probably remain that way for a while.

First Baby Pictues!

Almost 6 weeks ago we got to have our first ultrasound. Unfortunately the experience was not the most pleasent of experiences due to the possible reason for the early sonogram AND to the technition with the worst bedside manner and conversation skills EVER! Fortunately, everything was good. The baby was where it should be and we got a little picture of the peanut - I even got to see a little heart beating - but you really couldn't see much else and there was no movment. (the picture below was this appointment)
So, imagine our surprise when we returned for our second sonogram and got the following pictures! It was amazing and Dan got to be there. Suddenly everything seems just a little more real - that I don't just have bad gas or the flu but there is actually a baby (and it actually looks more baby than alien) in there kicking, turning, and moving away. It is definitely a little Dan with all its moving (it never stopped!)
A perfect little leg and foot. It was so funny to see it crossing its legs, tapping its feet, and kicking. This baby is a MOVER! The technition said, "Just wait until you can feel all of this!"

The baby's hand and fingers were waving in this shot - it was so funny. It also liked putting its hands between its legs and sometimes looked like it was lounging with one head behind its head - enjoy the room while you have it baby! We even got a thumbs up at one point.

Baby Brewer Profile. I think it has my nose and Dan's mouth. :O)


The arrow is pointing to a little start of something - still too early to tell if its a boy or girl though.

A good spine shot and if it was a video you would see a 4 chamber heart beating away healthy and strong at 162 bpm.

I apologize if this is baby overload or something, but We are just thrilled and want to share the excitedment. It really was an amazing experience and it makes are the uncomfortable parts of pregnancy worth it!

Catch-Up Road-Trips: Tuscon and New Mexico

TUSCON, AZ

Well, we added two more major road trips recently and I never did share pics (not that I took very many - in fact I was horrible about taking pictures - but that just means I had a great time!). Over memorial weekend we made a mad-dash trip to Tucson, AZ with a friend/coworker of Dan's. Turns out we were pregnant at the time which explains the frequent bathroom breaks and insane amount of sleeping. The majority of the driving was spent sleeping on my end.

We drove late into the night on Friday after work and stopped at a KOA for some sleep. It was great until about 3 am when other campers showed up and set there tent up litterally 3 feet from ours and were SO loud in the process and had their car lights glaring right at our tent. It wasn't until about 4:30 that they started to quiet down. We were up at about 6:30-7 getting ready to go and Dan and his friend took full advantage of our breaking camp to share the joy (noise) our neighbors so thoughtfully shared with us just a few hours earlier. Even when backing the car out of the site Dan shouted out the window to make sure our car was making the "SHARP LEFT, SHARP LEFT" it needed to exit the camp site.

On we drove until we reached Tucson and dropped our friend off with his friends. We got to spend the rest of the day and part of the next visiting wonderful family and friends. It wasn't much time, but it was well worth it and we loved every moment. We were happy to see Brandi,David and the babies and share in the wonder which is Eegees! We also got some fun pool and visiting time with Megan and her little babies! We even got to spend time with Renee and Josh and there sweet babies - my only regret was no pictures of those sweethearts!

We had a great trip and we were happy we went.

NEW MEXICO: Brewer Family Reunion

Over the 4th of July Weekend we took another trip out toward Gallup, New Mexico for the annual Brewer Family Reunion - this would be my first with this side of the family. On the way there we split the trip and stayed a night in Amarillo, TX. Then on to probably one of the most beautiful spots of land I've seen in a LONG time - it almost didn't look like the New Mexico that surrounded it - more like Washington state. It was beautiful. We all stayed at the "It'l Do Ranch" - an extended family member owns it. Everyone did the camping thing except Dan and I and one other couple - we got actual beds and rooms in a trailer (priority given to expecting and new mothers) and thank goodness for that! I think it really helped me enjoy the time there more since I was able to take good comfortable naps when I needed to. We had a blast visiting and meeting new family. There were a TON of little kids EVERYWHERE! It was great! Dan even put together a little treasure hunt for all the little kiddos with tons of toys he bought at the dollar store. They loved it. The highlights were spending time with family, and celebrating Grandpa Brewer's 80th birthday. The food was actually great and I was so appreciative of all the hardwork and all those who helped with it - I was of very little help myself. It was a great weekend and over all too quickly, but we were glad to make the trip.A beautiful New Mexico View

Deer and Elk are everywhere out here - we were in the middle of NO WHERE!It'L Do RanchI look a little worse for the wear but we had a relaxing time in this beautiful place!I caught one of him smiling!Isn't she just a cutie?!The gathering spot.Dan and Jack.Dan and Grandpa Brewer. In Canon's words, "hey great-grandpa Brewer"The kiddo's treasure hunt that Dan put together.

I wish I'd taken more pictures...

Heartbeats AND Hollywood

Today Dan and I went to my Dr.'s Appointment and got to hear our baby's heartbeat!!! It was amazing!!! A strong healthy 170 beat per minute heart! It was kind of hard for her to find it over my heartbeat - she said I didn't weigh enough or have enough "cushion" yet to not pick up my pulse. But she did and I am so glad. It has suddenly made this all so much more real and exciting! And I am so glad Dan was able to go to work late and join me.

Then I went to work for a whopping 3 hours and ate lunch. I got a phone call from Dan that they got let off early from class and a group was going to see transformers 2 and I was excited to join them. I thought the movie was ok. Nothing like the first (few sequels are). And I was a little disappointed by the language and innuendos through the entire movie. The language was actually pretty bad. The only other problem was there was a LOT of movement shots and a lot of circular camera shots spinning around which I had to look away for fear of motion sickness - Luckily we weren't sitting TOO close. BUT I was happy to get to see a movie in the theatre (its been a while) and be with Dan.

Shelf Reliance Giveaway!

I signed up for an AWESOME giveaway at Shelf Reliance's new blog! It sure would be incredible to win, but they have a lot of other helpful advice and tips in their newsletter and website. If you want to participate too, just click here ! Good luck!

How I feel...

I keep getting asked how I am feeling. I usually say I am "fine" or "ok", but what I really want to say is...
...Well, it feels like I am reading a book with really small print and cannot put it down while sitting up straight in the front seat of a car with large windows and the car is driving very fast up a VERY windy road with tall trees on each side whipping by and sunlight shooting through the branches sporadically and moving across the page of tiny words I am reading...all the time...oh, and a bad metal taste in my mouth.

LUCKILY, I have an awesome boss that lets me come in late and leave early everyday now (9:30-2:00 is awesome!) - its just enough to keep me distracted on how I feel and keep me a little active, because by the time I get home all I can do is veg., sleep, and eat (or at least constantly think about what I'll eat next that doesn't sound too gross). Thank goodness I have a wonderful husband who has been doing ALL the cleaning and cooking - I can hardly take a step into the kitchen. I can't stand and yet I am totally obsessed with food. It is a fine balance between being too full or too hungry - each of which will induce increased nausea if allowed to develop. I can't wait for the day I can eat as much as I want whenever I want! THAT will be a day to celebrate!
ADDENDUM: I am aware of anti-nausea drugs and I did discuss them with my doctor - I have made a personal decision that I am not satisfied with the research that has been done that I have had access to and my doctor is not a huge advocate unless the nausea/vomiting is harmful to the baby. AND since my Morning sickness no longer/rarely includes actually vomiting and I am no longer LOSING weight we decided to wait it out and try a few more natural methods first - which seem to be working just fine most of the time. If I complain too much on my blog I apologize - it usually happens on the more unpleasant of days. That doesn't mean I don't think there is a time and place for the medication for certain women - some women need it to even function, I am still functional and ultimately still healthy - for which I am VERY grateful!

Reading for Pleasure

I have not been a big reader (for pleasure/fun) since...well, honestly since...high school? Of course I have read books for fun that I enjoy since then, but I used to do it all the time when I was younger, but whenever I have been in school, especially nursing school, I read so much in textbooks, papers, online articles that I didn't want to read anymore! Additionally, I am a slow reader - so that certainly doesn't help. I would spend hours reading and studying - so I rarely would pick up another book to "wind down" or "escape"! Now that I have graduated and am working, I come home from work and there is no studying to do, no tests to prepare for...I leave work at work! As soon as I took the NCLEX nursing examination this last summer I finally allowed myself to open the twilight saga - since then I have picked up a book now and then to read - it has been fun to rediscover reading for pleasure.

I've set up a bookshelf on my blog and you can read my reviews on books as I read them. I am definitely not a fast reader so you won't see new books popping up all the time, but its been fun to do the Shelfari thing and get suggestions and reviews on other books I've heard of but not sure if I want to read or not. What have you read recently that you enjoyed?

Temporary Postponement of I Made it Mondays

The typically weekly "I Made it Monday" of cooking recipes I have tried and enjoyed will be temporarily postponed until a later date which is not yet determined. Until the sight, smell, and even thought of food of any kind or form does not repulse me or send me into convulsions I think it best not to dwell on the idea. Besides - I certainly don't have the energy to be doing anything more than microwaving or pulling something out of the fridge that Dan has already so lovingly prepared. I can hardly set foot in the kitchen without my stomach churning and getting an awful taste in my mouth. So, too bad so sad for I made it Monday's - maybe one day it will make it's return.