survey says...

 

It's a BOY!!!!!!!

we had planned to wait to tell family tomorrow at a little lunch at our house, but the weather just keeps getting worse (and, really, we just couldn't stand to wait)!

he was a little wiggly during the ultrasound, but this is a great one of him waving with his hand by his face....

 

we also got a great one of his long legs and little feet....little feet which are positioned perfectly to give my bladder a few good kicks during the day! :-)  

we are so blessed and absolutely overjoyed!

break

classes finished last week, so i am officially on vacation. unfortunately, brian works the rest of this week.

i made nut rolls with my mom, aunt dee dee, and beth this weekend. we use my grandma elsie's recipe... so, so good. we finished with about 18 dozen!

so far, the break this week has consisted of a trip to the grocery store, a visit to the vet (poor boo got some shots), and a date with the dish network installation dude.....and lots of naps with the heating pad...because according to "what to expect", my rapidly growing belly is shifting my center of gravity and pulling my back all out of whack!  here's the 18 week belly on my last day of school. i would apologize for the unmade bed and dirty laundry in the background, but the apologies would be completely insincere....our bed will NEVER be made and there will always be dirty laundry!!!  ultrasound on friday!!! boy or girl????!!!!!!!

17 weeks

i felt my first kicks on sunday. we were at church, and i grabbed brian's leg and started crying. he thought something was wrong. since then, the flutters have been pretty consistent...midmorning and evening. you know how it feels when your stomach turns? it feels sort of like that, only definitely not in my stomach!

this picture was taken on friday...officially 17 weeks. we are working on getting a real camera...so hopefully not much longer for grainy iphone pics!

crusty bread

my parents came down yesterday to help us with some things around the house. i decided i was going to make dinner so mom wouldn't have to go home and cook.  we had pioneer woman's beef stew (this has officially entered the sunday dinner rotation) and this incredible crusty bread....i mean INCREDIBLE!!!

i pinned this recipe on my pinterest boards a while ago and finally thought i'd give it a shot.  i followed her instructions exactly.  this recipe is extremely easy...i whipped it up the night before and just let it sit.....four ingredients, zero kneading, and deliciousness in the end.  this is a picture from the Simply So Good blog...and it really does look exactly like this....

so if you want to impress and influence people...try this recipe. eight thumbs up from everyone at my dinner table!

http://simplysogood.blogspot.com/2010/03/crusty-bread.html

all out of red ink

today was my last day of lectures. AMEN! i did a little happy dance when all of my students were gone!!!

unfortunately, i am absolutely buried under grading. i've already graded SO much....enough that i have drained TWO red pens of ink. but the stacks just keep sitting there laughing at me.

in the meantime, we got blinds up in the bedroom so that we will no longer be flashing the little lady next door (though i did have the windows partially covered with craft paper).

my mom helped me decorate the house. this is only the second year that we've had a christmas tree. it makes me so happy.

and i got together with my best friends and their moms for a little holiday dinner at oliverios. i was craving a steak, and their filet is fantastic. i ate like a hog. two thumbs up for the "eating for two" motto!