Google+ The Duda Homestead: November 2012

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Construction Progress - Before & After

I finally got around to putting together some before and after pictures of all of the work on the house. I somewhat regret not taking pictures before the demo, but just picture a very outdated, wallpapered space. If you'd like the details on the remodel, see this post. You can click to make the photos larger :)

Demo time!
(Forgive the bad quality, they were taken on the iPod)




Now for the beautiful before and afters :) I can't wait to post the "painted" and "decorated" and "holy cow, we're all done" pictures! And a BIG thank you goes out to my mom for coming over help help Nick prime the new drywall! Painting is usually my thing, but it all falls on Nick now!

Bathroom

Bathroom

Reading Nook

Nursery

Our Room

The opposite side of our room.
My office!


Wednesday, November 21, 2012

15 Weeks!

As of Saturday the 17th, we hit the 15 week mark. We see the the doctor today so hopefully she will tell us when we can set the next ultrasound appointment and find out the gender!
 
 
As far as pregnancy goes, it has definitely gotten more comfortable. I sleep through the night better and rarely feel nauseous. I started feeling little flutters now and then which is very exciting!(TMI alert: I know they aren't gas...I'm a cheese-lovin' lactose-intolerant). Since I gained my energy back and the nausea left, I started doing squats and lifting (light) weights to keep myself strong and as in shape as I can. I also bought a prenatal Pilate's DVD that I'm excited to start using. The abhorrence to vegetables seems to be fading. Overall, they're right when they say the 2nd trimester is the best!

The only thing I struggle with now is feeling like a side-show at times. I am a pretty shy, reserved person and have never liked extra attention so that has been difficult. In fact, half of the reason I blog and post pictures on facebook is so I don't have to tell the stories and be stared at in person. I guess I figure you will see and read things and that will help. I hope that doesn't come off as rude...but who likes being stared at? I'm sure all of the pregnant ladies know exactly what I am talking about. Does it mean I don't want you to ask me questions and talk about the baby? No of course not. But it does mean that I'd rather not be treated like a fragile little zoo animal. Please and thank you :)

Monday, November 12, 2012

Announcing Baby Duda!


It's been driving us both crazy to keep it a secret, but we are extremely excited to announce that we are expecting! We're due May 11th, only a few weeks before my school lets out for summer, which is exactly how we hoped we could plan it. The house is nearing completion and we have winter break and spring break to put on the finishing touches, plus all of the time in between. It's my goal to be finished by the end of spring break (mid-late March) so we can relax for a month or two and I can go into full nesting mode!

Our announcement photo - Expecting our little pumpkin :)

I was fairly lucky with my first trimester. I was nauseous the majority of the time, but never actually "got sick." I was pretty lazy and tired (and still struggle with focusing now and then). I suddenly started LOVING orange juice more than ever and began hating broccoli and most veggies. I was a huge veggie fan before so that was a strange adjustment. I'll still force myself to eat them, but it isn't easy when you already feel kind of junky. There were only a few times where I didn't have much of an appetite, so I'm grateful for that. I do suddenly love corn, carrots, and celery with peanut butter (hmm...all things sweet).

As far as sudden cravings, I was violently craving a strawberry shake one night but wouldn't let Nick go out to get me one (he offered!) because lactose-intolerance seems to have gotten more sensitive with the baby, and I'm avoiding dyes that I'm sure would be in a shake. So instead I bought organic frozen strawberries to blend with vanilla soymilk (my mom's idea!) and organic strawberry pop tarts, along with a Naked strawberry-banana smoothie. It's helped a LOT to curb my unhealthy cravings. My onion/garlic (technically Allium) allergy has gotten more sensitive, too. If Nick eats salsa and leaves the bowl within 6 feet of me, it gives me a headache. It was never that bad, and I could eat salsa and be ok. Not anymore! Overall, I'm after sweet stuff more, whereas before I was a big veggie fan and never really wanted sweets...except donuts. I always want donuts.

Just before 11 weeks <3 We have a very squirmy baby!

Now, into my second trimester, I have noticed myself losing my balance which is really pretty hysterical to me so far. I also go through ditzy phases (pregnancy brain), which is pretty funny to both of us. I am starting to get my energy back (yay!) and the nausea is gone (BIG yay!). I did have a 24 hour headache which was no fun, but those have stayed away for the most part. I am officially starting to show (at 13.5 weeks as I type this) and just told one of my administrators! I have been trying to hide it with jackets and ruffles but my students totally saw my tummy yesterday so I figured it's time. Everyone else will found out over the next week with the announcements we're sending out and of course on facebook :) Apparently it's "weird" to send out announcements...I love you all but I'd much rather do this and send you a picture than call every single person and I know most people don't love finding out big news on facebook. So there's my solution! I'm really hoping our Christmas cards will include a gender announcement! I hit 20 weeks right before Christmas so I'm hoping we can find out a bit earlier. Our next appointment is Nov. 21st, so we'll see what the doctor says!

In the future nursery :)
Nick has been great already with understanding how I'm feeling and doing even more around the house. The litter box is all his responsibility now! Aww shucks...I sure do miss it :-P I bought him this book and he seems to really enjoy it, as do I. For anyone who knows or is an expectant father, it's super informative while keeping it funny and not-too-mushy.


I've been reading a few books, all fantastic so far: The Mayo Clinic Guide To A Healthy Pregnancy, Babyproofing Your Marriage, and Hypnobirthing. Yes, I said Hypnobirthing. It sounds odd, but it is a wonderful, medically backed book (written by a doctor) that thousands of women have used to have comfortable, drug and intervention free births, and we are doing all we can to go down that path. The research is there and the concepts make a ton of sense. If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all please :)

We are very excited for everyone to finally know! It's hard to keep a secret this big and telling everyone makes it feel much more real! We just ask one thing...I have a good amount of energy now and feel great. No pity please! Pregnancy is fantastic and exciting and yes a little scary at times but I am loving it. I have nothing to do other than think and wait until the baby comes, so I am up for just about anything :)

Friday, November 9, 2012

Apple Cinnamon White Chocolate Cookies

I've been craving fall food like crazy (who hasn't?) and came up with the idea to alter my favorite cookie recipe (White Chocolate Cranberry cookies). My mom got the original recipe from my Aunt Julie, who I believe got it from Ocean Spray Craisins. They quickly became a favorite...I love just about anything with white chocolate in it. The cookies stay soft and fluffy and delicious, and in my opinion taste better as a little time goes on and the flavors blend.


Ingredients:
  • 2C. Flour
  • 1tsp Baking Soda
  • 1/2tsp Salt
  • 1C. Brown Sugar
  • 2 Eggs
  • 2tsp Vanilla
  • 1C. White Chocolate Chips
  • 1C. Butter (Softened)
  • 3C. Oats (I've always used quick oats)
  • 1/2tsp. Cinnamon (heaping)...I'd add a bit more for more for these
  • 1/2C. Granulated Sugar
  • 1T Honey - I used pure maple syrup and it worked out great!
  • 1 medium-large apple, peeled and diced. I used a large Honeycrisp, and had extra.
  • Pumpkin Pie Spice (for topping)
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Sift flour, baking soda, salt, & cinnamon into a medium bowl
  3. Stir in oats and set aside
  4. Beat butter and both sugars until light and fluffy
  5. Beat in eggs one at a time
  6. Add honey(or syrup) and vanilla
  7. Add flour mixture until well combined
  8. Stir in apple and white chocolate
  9. Roll into 1-2" balls and place on cookie sheet about 2" apart (I did 2" for nice big cookies!)
  10. Sprinkle tops with pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
  11. Bake 9-11 minutes (since mine were larger, I did around 13 minutes)
 
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