I finally did it.....

I'm saying right now....I should always listen to my mother (until she starts up with her crazy talk...)  OK. So most of the time, I should listen to my mother.  How about that?

I went to Target after work Friday to look at maternity clothes.  I'm not so big that still wearing the belly band isn't an option - the zippers are just getting lower and lower each day and I'd like to be prepared with the next phase of clothing options before I start flashing people in the office....

HOLY MATERNITY PANT COMFORT......

I had no idea what maternity pants were, honestly.  Were they just regular pants with a big waist?  Oh no, they are pants with a belly band built in.  The biggest question that arose from trying them on was....why don't women wear these EVERYDAY?!  I only bought one pair in black to start off, a t-shirt, a dress and a nice shirt for work.  One word:  comfortable.

Chase Corporate Challenge - Chicago

Yesterday was the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge in downtown Chicago.  Caterpillar participates every year and this year was my first time doing the race! 

The event is a 3.5 mile race downtown Chicago with participation from employees in local corporations.  Over 20,000 people from over 500 companies were involved this year!!  It was a site to see!  I decided to walk with Annie and Catherine and be representing Cat without actually competing.  We wanted to finish in less than an hour.....

......59 minutes and 58 seconds......can't get any closer than that!!

Since I didn't end up taking ANY pictures while we were there....I browsed the corporate challenge website and HARK!  what is that??  Do I spy an Annie, Catherine and Stephanie???  Oh, indeed, it is!!!  Since we are hiding behind the other Cat people, I have clearly pointed us out with lovely, red arrows. 

http://www.jpmorganchasecc.com/gallery.php?spgmGal=Chicago&spgmPic=7&spgmFilters=&city_id=5#pic

Shorter Catherine is almost hidden on the left.  Annie is front and center and she looks serious about this race.  I am practically hidden behind my movie star shades wondering when we get to eat..... 

"What place did you come in, Stephanie?" you may be asking yourself.  Well..... 6,330th, if you must know.  Hehe.

Also, think!  Baby's 1st Race!!

Countdown!!!

Adam and I will be in San Antonio (on the Riverwalk) in 6 days!!!!

Stefanie and Brandon are getting hitched in 9 days!!!!

So excited!!!!

Happy Birthday, Adam!

Yesterday was Adam's 31st birthday! A pretty mellow day for sure. He didn't get to open any presents, since we had bought his present (a weed eater) a few weekends ago. Him and I had gone to dinner to celebrate last week to the restaurant of his choice - Peoria Hofbrauhaus. Because of my starving self, we decided to grab dinner out last night for his birthday too instead of going grocery shopping and then making something - we wouldn't have eaten until about 8pm! We wanted to try something new and ended up at Gracie's in Washington. A sports bar/grill that was pretty tasty and had some good barbecue! Finished off with Adam's favorite - the mint fudge nut round from Baskin Robbins. The fudge is the most amazing part and there can never be enough on a piece....so what do I do?? I bought a huge side of extra fudgey goodness!! Tonight will be dinner with his parents at Agatucci's - about the best place to get pizza in town!! Yummy!!

Yummy ice cream and fudgey goodness!!!

How could you not enjoy your birthday with that sweet face??  Tressel, I mean....

Puppy Pool Party!!

Yesterday.....was.....HOT!  It was over 90 degrees outside and the air conditioning finally got turned out.  Since our puppy is the love of our life (for now....), I figured I'd spoil him a little bit and buy a little kiddie pool to play with in the back yard.  He loves water - out of a hose, in a bowl, while you are taking a shower and he tries to get in with you....any form.  I figured I could cool off by dipping my feet in the pool as well.  Pictures of the puppy!!

He'd rather eat the water before it can come out of the hose....

Testing the waters

Trying to dig the water

Bentley/Jancaric Wedding

Downtown Chicago.  Beautiful hotel.  Cocktail hour.  Lighted dance floor.  Champagne parade.  Formal place settings.  Elegant.

Just a few words to describe the wedding celebration of Dave and Christy this past Saturday.  The reception was beautiful and formal but with a fun atmosphere.  Although it was in a gorgeous hotel and hall (at the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel in downtown Chicago), you could tell that people were still planning on having a fun time - especially obvious by the "drunk" table that kept hollering for more kissing to the bride and groom!

Bride and Groom enter

Bride and Groom cut the cake

My love......

At the very first slow dance, Adam grabbed my hand and led me to the dance floor!  It was a great night.  Oh, and my Target dress and accessories did me proud!!

Heading to the dance floor....

Waking up

I know it might sound completely absurd, but the belly I keep seeing and feeling when I wake up in the morning is amazing!!

Not sure why it's more "defined" in the morning when I'm laying down (or it's much easier to tell from the rest of my stomach region), but something feels and looks completely different. After the first day I noticed it, I couldn't wait to go to bed to be able to wake up and feel it again!

I love that Adam is next to me, and until my belly pretty much explodes and is free game for everyone to touch, Adam is the only one that is currently enjoying rubbing it.

Our baby is in there!! He or she can move and taste and smell and hear! The baby can hear Adam and me talking. It can hear my heartbeat. I'm amazed!

Can't wait to go to bed again to wake up and feel the belly again!

Why is it so noticeable in the morning??

IMPORTANT NOTE TO READERS: In several months when I want to cry and push the baby out of my huge stomach, when I can't fit in any clothes, when I can't stand, sit or lay down to get comfortable and I have to waddle instead of walking normally....it will be critical that someone slaps me upside the head to remind me how magical I feel right now and that baby is coming soon. Thanks :)

I'm not fat...I'm pregnant

So I know I've been loving my little baby bump that I'm starting to sport around under my clothes.....however, on top of the clothes, I look like I've drank too many beers or eaten too many donuts or large pizzas myself.

I can't fit into my normal pants (without my belly band and the pants unbuttoned) and some of my tighter shirts are a little tighter around the belly and the boobs (holy moly, have I talked about the boobs yet?? Who knew it was normal to grow so much in the first trimester!! a whole cup size, yowsers!). So basically I'm looking awfully chubby without the tell-tale belly of a pregnant woman.

Needless to say, I am frustrated with this. I've been joking with people that I need to buy or make a shirt that says "Stop staring, I'm not just fat, I'm pregnant." I think it has a nice ring to it and should be quite effective. :)

Your thoughts?? Haha.

Hunt for a dress....

We have a wedding to go to tomorrow.

We have known about this for quite some time.

I started packing last night....only 2 somewhat appropriate dresses fit. Yikes!! Do I look for one over my lunch break or just live with one of those? I decide to look over my lunch break.

I figured getting a maternity dress would be appropriate - I will have several occasions in the next few months to wear a dress. Kohl's in East Peoria literally had 4 racks of maternity clothes - absolutely no nice dresses. I race to Target. They had one kind of maternity/nice dress - that was ugly. Several stretchy non-maternity dresses that just weren't any nicer than the ones I had at home. I settled for a simple, (cheap), gray dress (totally non-stretchy, so I won't be wearing it much longer). Add in a bright yellow scarf/wrap and a nice, long, silver necklace and I believe I have something ready to wear.

Next time I have to do a better job at planning! Target.com had some adorable, cheap, maternity dresses!!

Growing Baby....

People are now starting to seem genuinely confused about Adam's facebook statuses.

This week - 4 inches from head to rump, or as daddy says....

Good Morning!

Good morning, everyone!

I know I've been talking about my little pooch and that my pants aren't fitting well around the waist anymore. I woke up this morning and the belly felt a little bigger and firmer than I have noticed before. So I didn't move and took a picture.

We did have spaghetti and meatballs last night, so perhaps that just some of the meatballs floating around, but I'm pretty sure it's not! :)

I will say that it definitely is not the most flattering picture I've ever taken of myself, and I apologize for exposing some panties ......."PANTIES?!!!"

Yes....I realize some of you may be looking at this picture and thinking "What part of your body is this exactly and how do I tilt my head to be able to see what you are trying to show me"....so I broke it down for you. This is just me laying down on my back and a picture taken from the side to see the bump :)

Weddings...oh weddings....

I love going to weddings! Even if I don't know the people very well, I usually seem to cry as the bride walks down the aisle and looks at her groom and when they say their vows. It's just magical and romantic!

This year, there will be a lot of crying as 9 brides walk down the aisle to meet the 9 grooms at the 9 weddings we will be going to.

Adam and I have already been to 3 so far this year:

Chris and Lauren - January 26, 2010 (in Toledo, Ohio)

Patrick and Ariana - February 12, 2010 (in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic)

John and Meredith - April 17, 2010 (in Cincinnati, Ohio)

We have 3 weddings in the next 6 weekends, with another 3 to round out the year.
Dave and Christy - May 22, 2010 (in Chicago, Illinois)
Brandon and Stefanie - June 5, 2010 (in San Antonio, Texas)
T.J. and Kim - June 26, 2010 (in Peoria, Illinois)


Chad and Brandi - August 21, 2010 (in Peoria, Illinois)

Brett and Angie - October 1, 2010 (in Cincinnati, Ohio)

Ryan and Caroline - October 2010


Congrats to all the newlyweds and soon-to-be newlyweds!! We are so excited to share the day with you!!!

What will 2011 hold for weddings? Any engagements coming that I need to know about , you know who you are????

Weight Problem

Here is kind of how the meeting of another doctor in the practice went yesterday:

[doctor enters]
Doctor: Congratulations [shakes Steph's hand, shakes Adam's hand, introduces himself] They are still trying to figure out your weight in the chart.
Stephanie: [gives confused look]
Doctor: Oh, the nurse didn't tell you? They have you currently as a 50 pound weight gain.
[doctor looks at Adam]
Doctor: I was like, what are you feeding her, man!!?

As if I didn't feel fat enough already......still hilarious!!

[Addition] - I feel the need to add that I HAVE NOT gained 50 lbs. Just so we're clear......

Thanks Stef!

Thanks to Stef's suggestion and help, I have now added a countdown bar to my due date. It'll also show you how far along I am!!!

Yes.....I am well aware that I will most likely not deliver on my due date, but since a crystal ball is out of our budget at the moment, November 17th will have to do for now!!

~184 days to go!!!!

Old Wives' Tale - We're Having a Girl

So it's fun to tease and make predictions on whether we are having a boy or a girl. It's mostly fun to play because I absolutely don't care what it is (I'm not being smug as the song would imply, I just don't care). We want to have at least one of each, so for baby #1, my wishful thinking is that we just have a......baby.

Adam also seems a bit terrified of having a daughter. This makes it even more fun to tell him that I think we're having a girl. I want him to have a daughter eventually, because I think he'd be a great daddy and will just not fully appreciate the father-daughter bond until he can experience it for himself.

I'm using the old wives' tale that heart rate can help to determine the baby's sex. "As the old wives' tale has it, if your unborn baby's heart rate is higher, above 140 beats per minute, that means you're carrying a girl. A lower heart rate below 140 bpm means you're having a boy."
http://www.in-gender.com/cs/blogs/gender_selection_news/archive/2006/01/07/5031.aspx

Appointment #1 - 183 beats per minute
Appointment #2 - 160 beats per minute
Appointment #3 (today's appointment) - 152 beats per minute

Realistically, I know this theory doesn't work at all...but it's still fun! Another 7 weeks or so until we figure out the sex of the baby for real!!!

Glee Weekend!!!

Shhhhh....Adam doesn't know yet, but.....

I think this weekend will be a Glee weekend!! As you may know, I was a Glee virgin up until a few weeks ago until I decided to sit down and make the time and fall in love.

How could I not have seen this show before!? How will I ever catch up on Season 1?

The answer: Talk about how much you love Glee to a coworker and beg him to ask his wife to borrow Season 1, Volume 1 on DVD. Oh yes, 13 episodes of Finn, singing, my growing love for Puck and Sue Sylvester.

Do I smell marathon??? It smells lovely....

Date with Andrew

I had a date tonight with a man other than my husband - his name is Andrew.

Cynthia also accompanied Andrew and myself for a lovely meal at the Olive Garden. It was magical and delicious.

Andrew is 6 months old (Cynthia's son) and the happiest little baby in the world! Although he hadn't had his afternoon nap, he was just happy and chatty all dinner long. When he's happy, he doesn't smile so much as he just opens his mouth in complete glee!

Cynthia is an old coworker and friend who is a first-time mom. So far, I've been asking her lots of advice and checked out Andrew's nursery to see what they had. I also scoped out the other toys/seats/car seats/strollers that they really liked and the ones that are gathering dust that they didn't especially like.

It was a good girl's night + one handsome, dark haired man!

Growing Baby....

Start of week 14 today. Baby continues to grow and develop.

How big will the baby be this week? Just look at Daddy's facebook status to find out.

The Day Has Arrived....

I have a confession....

I no longer button my work pants. They still fit fine in the butt and legs and waist (for my high waist pants), however, it's getting a little tight in the belly region and I'm somewhat sick of having a button digging into my belly whenever I'm sitting down, which is 99% of my day.

About a week and a half ago was the first day I wore a pair of work pants and bravely didn't button them and hoped my long, tight cami would hold them closed and up during the day. I figured, as classy as that was, I needed another solution. I found it at Target. The BeBand - a band for your belly to help hold up unbuttoned/unzipped pants in your earlier pregnancy, hold up too big maternity pants or to help you post-pregnancy in your maternity/regular unzipped pants.

Let me tell you - magical.

The biggest question is....is this baby growing or is it fatty-bo-batty belly and love handles growing? For someone that's practically been on a diet for the last 10 years, eating a little less like I'm losing weight and a little more like everything tastes really good - that's fatty-bo-batty fo sho. At least now that I'm feeling better, I am back to eating fruits and veggies and I'm heading to the gym for the first time in months after work today.

So now I seem to be covered until the belly starts to pop and I'll be looking for maternity clothes. Thanks to mom and Mel, I've already got a start on some adorable tops! :)

Happy Mother's Day!

So I couldn't be home to see my mommy on Mother's Day, but she was definitely the first person I talked to today (mostly because Adam was too asleep to even open his eyes) to let her know that I was thinking about her. She's the person I call if I have some exciting news to tell or something funny happened or just to call for 'whatever.' I think I started appreciating both of my parents more and more when I went away to college and started having to 'be an adult' myself. I could see the people around me and the different ways their parents raised them, only to think "my parents did it better." I can't wait to be able to take my kids over to Grandma Von Wahlde's for holidays and birthdays like I have always loved with my family. I can't wait to call her in the middle of the night (oh yes...middle of the night) because my baby won't stop crying or had a little runny nose and I have absolutely no idea what to do. I've learned a lot from my mother over the past 27 years and I know I haven't even begun to learn as much as has to teach....I think I will be able to learn so much more once baby O'Neill arrives.

I love you, mommy. Happy Mother's Day!

So, I also consider this my last non-Mother's Day. My last day celebrating Mother's Day before I have an actual child to say that I'm officially a mother. I subscribe to Oprah's "Thought of the Day" (I know, I'm a dork who's obsessed with Oprah). A few months ago, a few days after I found out I was pregnant, I received the following quote. It helped to explain in words one of the reasons I want to be a mother myself:

"I had always wanted children. Partly, I wanted someone else to be more important than me; mySelf was a burdensome thing to keep carrying around. But I'd been missing that Self since my daughter's birth. I hadn't know it would be so eclipsed by the constant worry - had she burped, slept, peed? ("Sleep when she sleeps," the doctor said. I couldn't. I was too stunned. There were moments in those early days that when she cried, I cried too.) But that day I saw her from the window of the bus, I almost yelped aloud - not just with worry, with love. Minutes later I sat on the front stoop, and when the babysitter pushed the carriage around the corner, I felt a huge billowing of love that sat like a gigantic, soft helium balloon on my shoulders. I didn't know a person could feel that love, it was so large. But then, a few weeks later, I watch my little daughter wake from her nap, kick her little feet. And-whoosh!-that feeling of love grew exponentially. This kept happening as the weeks went by, and each time I was amazed. How could love be this big? That enormous, soft helium balloon got bigger and higher, until my love filled the skies. Boundless, as they say."
- Elizabeth Strout, author

Excited Daddy

Middle of the work day....took a quick second to check update Facebook statuses on my phone.

Adam's FB status:

I text him, because I'm slightly confused. What the heck does "apple" mean?

His response: "Our baby size"

This is the start of week 13 and the baby is about the size of a small apple ~3 inches.

I think he's a little excited :)

PS....I kinda like him.....

Craving....satisfied

So I haven't had any unusual pregnancy cravings so far. I've just been craving foods that I liked before but wouldn't eat them very often. This could also be because I've been trying to follow Weight Watchers or some sort of healthy diet for half a lifetime and fatty-bo-batty is just using pregnancy as an excuse.

Cravings so far:

-Chinese food (specifically beef and green peppers/onions from Jade Garden down the street from our house) I think I had only had this once before but I feel like I could eat it for every meal!

- Garlic - garlic bread, spaghetti, italian food. I've sometimes eaten dinner and then have had a craving for frozen texas toast so I pop a piece in the oven.....yummy cheese and super garlicy!

- Food I can't have - Skyline, Penn Station. I'll have a 3-way, juicy and a chilito with sour cream, no onion. Also, I'll have a medium chicken parm with no onion or mushroom, extra tomato sauce.....Yummy!!! I need to make a long weekend in Cincy just to satisfy these. Umm....I mean to visit my family....

Foods I used to love, but don't wanna touch now:

- Bananas - I used to have one every single morning as part of my breakfast. I don't know if it's the texture or smell....but breakfast no more. I had one in my 5th week and could barely work it up to swallow it.

- Plain chocolate - I can have brownies or chocolate cake, but if you hand me a chocolate bar, I'll have to pass. Everytime I've attempted to eat plain chocolate without anything else, I've regretted it with a horrible stomach ache. No idea why!

Today's craving....pie a la mode. What?? When was the last time I had a piece of pie? I would never go out of my way for a piece. Today....I wanted a warm piece of fruit pie with vanilla ice cream melting over the top. I settled for an individual, frozen cherry pie that I can just pop in the microwave.....can you say yummy??

Am I Smug?

Jaclyn sent me this video probably about the day that I found out I was pregnant. These girls are hysterical and I couldn't resist showing you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJRzBpFjJS8

There are several cliches in the song that I'm desperately trying to avoid from using.

1. Boy or Girl question: "It doesn't matter, as long as its healthy...."

This one is kind of true - eventually I'd like at least one of each. I keep joking with Adam that it's a girl - just because I would like him to be a father to a little baby girl.

2. What's the name: "We know, but we're not telling....."

No worries here. We have been sharing our the names we like with just about everyone. If it's a boy - William Edward O'Neill IV. If it's a girl, that's where it gets a little trickier. We both like Miren.....I like Riley too.....it might be a toss-up.

3. "Everything seems so trivial now that I'm pregnant...."

Ewww! Not even close. I still need gossip and fun and friends....just minus the alcohol for now....

4. "You think that you're glowing, but you have been ho-ing and now you're pregnant."

Umm......yeah.....I got nothing for this one.....

5. You're just giving birth now...you're not mother earth now..."

I think this one is hilarious! I do joke (especially when Adam complains about something I did or didn't do) that "I'm growing a human....what have you done lately," - but I swear this is only a joke. Except to Adam....for him, it's totally true and I will use it for all 9 months and possibly until the kid's 18th birthday.....

So much to do, So little time

So now that I'm starting to feel a little better, I'm trying to come up with a list of things that need to be done before the baby arrives. I'm not necessarily talking about baby-related items; of course we have to buy car seat and crib and other baby stuff. I'm talking about the non-directly baby related things that might help us out to get it done now. Here's a short list of things I'm thinking so far. Since I don't really have many friends that have new babies, I'm looking for any suggestions and recommendations on what else to add to the list!

1. One of the top things on my list is to catch up on my scrapbooking. I am pathetically, almost two years behind. I guess planning a wedding, getting married, buying a house, buying a dog and getting pregnant have cut into some good scrapping time and I'm not even done with Melanie and Jordan's 2008 graduations yet. I know once the baby gets here I'll want to scrap everything BABY so that means I need to catch-up now. I started by organizing the scrapbook room over the weekend and buying a few goodies at Michael's to help motivate me to get started again.
2. Buy a new living room rug - It's not just "nesting", it's anyone with a teensy big of common sense and having been at my apartments in the past few years. I adore my 4 year old rug, but I realize how many rum and cokes and beers have been spilled, several attempts at house training Tressel and lots and lots of shoes trampling it. All of it adds up to the fact that I barely want to walk barefoot on it, much less put a brand new baby on it. So it's got to go....
3. Paint the kitchen - I've been wanting to paint the kitchen for the past few months. Once I found out I was pregnant and the morning sickness and tiredness started to kick in, I was easily convinced that the current brown color was fine. Now that I'm starting to feel better, I'm back to wanting to paint it. It's so dark in there right now and I want to brighten things up - maybe a super pale yellow?? I don't think Adam wants to participate in this activity at all...but I might try to convince him.
4. Address Christmas cards - I know we've barely started spring and I'm bringing up Christmas. I have never sent out a Christmas card before. Last year we were a little tight on budget and time and we didn't end up doing it then. This year, I know I'll want to send out a family picture with our new addition!! Between the middle of the night feedings and up worried sick at every sneeze and sniffle, I'm sure I'm going to value any free time or time to sleep I have. This means, that addressing envelopes ahead of time with everyone's addresses might help speed up this process. Efficient or just a little cooky?
5. Super-Duper Spring Clean - I know anyone that knows me finds it hard to believe that I maybe be a teensy bit of a pack-rat..... I really don't think I need half of the things I have just cluttering up storage containers and boxes. Even the bathroom closet is starting to annoy me with 10 year old ointments and face washes I'll never use again. I want to de-clutter (Adam will be so happy!) and completely organize things. I sense the need for a label-maker, methinks.....
6. Sanitize the entire house - This is a little more related to the new baby we'll be bringing home, but I want to clean EVERYTHING! I'm still not sure what magical product I'll be able to clean the walls and couch and cabinets with....but dangit, I will find it. I want the place to shine. (again, Adam will be so happy!!)

Any other things you can recommend that I need to do before a baby comes along???