{call me crazy}

...but I'm considering natural childbirth. That's right- no pain meds. They say the recovery time is soooo much faster. Am I nuts?

{quick update}

Happy Monday!

In a nutshell, I'm feeling...

.exhausted
.overwhelmed
.sick
.hungry
.exhausted

Thanksgiving was great, but gosh was it tough not telling any of Evan's family about the pregnancy. We're waiting 'til Christmas to share the news. ;)

The last few weeks have been rougher than expected, mostly due to a terrible colitis flare-up I've been struggling with. Please go away soon, flare-up. I beg you.

The mild morning sickness I had been experiencing has taken a bit of a back seat to all the fun colitis symptoms... for now. There's always a bright side, so they say. I'm trying to stay positive, but I worry about the little baby. Is he or she getting enough vitamins and nutrients? Is Baby Sanchez as sleep deprived as I am, {considering I'm up every 2 hours each night for at least 30 minutes?} Arg. I hope you're ok in there, little one.

{via ffffound}

Yes, I called our little one "Baby Sanchez." It's an inside joke. For as long as I can remember, Evan has referred to himself, our cat, and other random things as "Sanchez." Totally random. He asks, "How's baby Sanchez doing?" or if I playfully ask, "What's your name?" he says, "Sanchez." Makes no sense at all, but it makes us laugh. Don't worry Mom, we're not actually considering the name "Sanchez." No, no, no.

Ooh, I've been craving pizza and mac&cheese SO badly lately. Since my current diet consists of bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast {dang flare-up,} seeing any food at all is like worst form of torture EVER. I'm seriously counting the minutes until I can go get a massive slice of pizza and a bowl full of cheesy mac. And some Indian food, and a turkey sandwich with cranberry chutney. And a bean & cheese burrito. Mmm.

Today is one of those days that I could easily lay my head down on my desk and sleep for hours. I have zero motivation to do... anything. Arg. Here's to hoping this funk goes away soon. 32 weeks to go! {Seriously??}

XO,
Danielle

back from norcal!

Wow, this past week FLEW by! I've been so bad about journaling, sorry baby!

Evan & I went in for an early ultrasound on Wednesday, which was a lot of fun. We got to see our little baby's heart beating, and we received confirmation that I was exactly 5 weeks, 5 days pregnant {on 11/18.} It's crazy to think there's already a little heart beating inside me. Here's our ultrasound...


The next day, we were off to Northern California to celebrate Thanksgiving with Mom & attend my cousin Jacob's wedding. Since my mom's birthday was last week, I came up with a sneaky way to break the news to her. She picked us up at Oakland airport early Thursday morning, and off we went to San Francisco at Mama's Kitchen {cute, right?} Once we were seated, I handed her the card I made, which had a little envelope inside containing letters that spelled the word "Grandma." It took her a minute or so to piece them together in the right order, but when she did... WOW, talk about excited. Evan captured it all on video, which I will be sure to upload ASAP. Needless to say, she was ecstatic. I had started a scrapbook for her too, completely with the pic of us holding the + test, and our ultrasound, which she thoroughly enjoyed. After breakfast, "Grandma" picked up a couple stuff animals for her new grandbaby at a cute little toy shop in the Mission Districkt, and then we were on our way to Pleasanton. That night, we had an early Thanksgiving dinner. Mmm, pumpkin pie! Lots to be thankful for this year!

On Friday, we had a relaxing morning which included a yummy breakfast and "Sleepless in Seattle." We hopped in the Tahoe and left for Folsom around 2. Jacob & Disa's rehearsal dinner started at 6, so we checked into our hotel as soon as we arrived in town, relaxed a bit, and then headed down for dinner. It was so nice to see everyone- Dad, Melissa, Beverly, Aunt Julie, Jacob, & Joshua. Ooh, and the food was delicious. Mmm. After dinner, I persuaded Dad, Mel, & Bev to stop by our room for an early birthday party for Melissa. I made her a similar card, complete with the letters. She figured the word "Grandma" out in no time. There was lots of hugging going on in that tiny hotel room of ours! After about an hour of Dad reminiscing back to my childhood, everyone wandered off to their rooms and Evan & I went to sleep. Long day!

Saturday was the wedding, which was beautiful. It had rained the day before, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky the morning of the ceremony. Evan & I got all dressed up, then wandered down to meet up with the family around 11. The ceremony started promptly at 11:30, and we were eating a delicious lunch by 12. There was this penne pasta with sun dried tomatoes and pine nuts, oh my goodness. Seconds, anyone?! :P Speaking of yummy treats, Disa made these little candy favors, called Buckeyes, that were de-li-cious. I got to spend some time with Uncle Jeff at the reception, which was really nice. It's days like those that make us wish we all lived closer. Evan & I said our goodbyes and left shorty after the reception ended. We had a long drive ahead of us, and it was already getting dark. Dang these short winter days! We stopped and said "hello" to Evan's cousin, Ian, at his frat house in Berkeley {I've never been in a place that smelled so much like beer before, EVER,} and then we were on our way back to Pleasanton. Mom made homemade spaghetti sauce, so we stuff our bellies, then went to bed.

Daddy Chris came and picked us up Sunday morning for a day in the city. First, we stopped by the Skyy corporate office on the Embarcadero right across from Pier 39. Talk about an amazing place! After a really cool tour of the offices, Dad poured us a bunch of different drinks at the bar {yes, there is a full bar in the lobby.} I kept saying "I can't drink this," but he wasn't picking up on it. Dad walked away to grab some ginger vodka out of his boss' office, so I asked Evan, "How should we tell him?" Evan said to have him pour himself a drink, then make a toast. Good idea, babe. We toasted, and I said, "Dad, you are going to be a grandpa." He was so excited. We took a bunch of pictures, hung out for a bit, and then headed over to Sam Wo for some lunch. Ahhh, Sam Wo. Best chow mein ever. We ate and ate and ate, then went to Union Square to check out the Christmas decorations. Who knew that the massive tree they put in the middle of the square is a real tree? Crazy. People were ice skating, there were wreaths in all of Macy's windows, and there was the most adorable SPCA window display of baby kittens along Sutter Street. Gosh, I missed Dexter more than I thought! After walking our lunch of for a while, Dad took us to the airport. It was time to go home... already. Our trip went by soooo fast!

Now it's Monday, and I'm back at work. I should be tackling the piles that accumulated while I was gone last week, but I had to jot down some thoughts before they escape this increasingly forgetful brain of mine...

Random Thoughts...

.My Daddy Rich still has my crib in storage @ his house in Washington. And cute little dresses, and Rainbow Bright sleeping bags. Amazing, right?
.I'm still not really "craving" anything. Wonder when that will kick in?
.I'm peeing about 3x an hour. Fun times.
.Dexter slept on my chest last night. He never does that. I was in heaven.
.I'm so lucky to have such an amazing family! ♥

XO,
Danielle

{i am bliss}

I'm pretty sure yoga just saved my life...

Last week, a couple days before Evan & I found out we're having a bebe, I started private yoga lessons with Robin @ Coast Sanctuary in La Jolla. I had called to schedule a session about a month prior, mostly because I'd been feeling a little... blah. Also, my chiropractor Dave gets on my case about running and pushes yoga as a fitness alternative. Finally, I gave in and made the appointment.

There really aren't even words for how amazing I felt, both during and after my session. We focused on learning the correct form for basic poses like "Warrior," "Downward Dog," breathing exercises, and some chanting. {Yes, she chants while I do yoga, and it's amazing.} After my first session, I felt like a different person. I felt peaceful and happy and relaxed and just amazing. Sore the next day? Sure. But I couldn't wait to go again. It was like crack or something. Not that I would know, but they always say "you do it once and you're hooked." That's me. Hooked.

So I made my next appointment for this morning at 8am. Talk about a struggle, getting to La Jolla by 8! {Keep in mind that I had to get Evan up and drop him at work first, and he is NOT a morning person!} Thankfully, I am able to continue with our sessions, now that I'm preggo and all. We spent 75 minutes breathing, stretching, doing some pretty brutal poses, and then chanting and meditating at the end. There was this one chant that I really enjoyed:

"I am the light of my soul. I am bountiful, I am beautiful, I am bliss. I am, I am."

We chanted it over and over again, together, to music. It was really touching. Then, she had me lay down, visualize both my & the baby's body relaxing, and focus on the thought:

"I am completely relaxed. My baby is completely relaxed."

That one made me cry. It was a really peaceful moment for me. I don't think I had really concentrated on the baby's body yet. I've thought about how big he or she is, but I hadn't really focused on the baby being alive in there. It was intense.

Then we stretched a little more, gave thanks to each other, and I was off to work.

I feel like a different person. This morning was amazing, and I cannot wait to see Robin again next week. I feel like she just may have saved my spirit.

word{less} wednesday

So there's this thing going around the blogger community called "Wordless Wednesdays," where people post photos every Wednesday that sum up their state of mind without using any words. Click here to check out lotssss of other entries.

Here's mine:

{via www.aplusteacherfitness.com}

in one word {exhausted}

While I'd love to journal every day during this pregnancy, I know it's just not going to happen. There's this thing you may know about called "life" that keeps getting in my way, arg!

Here's an brief {or maybe not-so-brief,} sinopsis of the last 4 days:

Saturday:
.Took Evan to work @ 8am.
.Got the car washed {so dirty and dusty!}
.Drove home, had a snack.
.Left for photo shoot in Presidio Park with Kara and her son, Javon.
.Had an awesome time shooting pics for Javon's zed card {he just signed with an agency!}
.Definitely exhausted after shoot, whew!
.Drove downtown to House of Blues
.Bought concert tickets at box office to save on fees {boo, Ticketmaster.}
.Drove home, cooked lunch.
.Picked Ev up from work @ 4.
.Cooked shrimp tacos for dinner.
.Contemplated what 6oz of shrimp looks like, and whether I should be eating shrimp at all. Hope so.
.Watched documentary called "Food, Inc." Don't ever want to eat poultry, beef, or pork again. Ever.

Overall, Saturday was a great day. Javon's photos turned out great. I'm realizing it's much easier to shoot kids who are a bit older and can take direction. Duh. Other than being extremely {EXTREMELY,} tired, I'm feeling great. Little bloated, but hey- I can't complain. Things are going well. :o)

Sunday:
.Evan was off, so we slept in a bit.
.Got up, went for walk/run. Ran 2 miles, walked 1. Not as much energy as usual, but not bad, right?!
.Cleaned up and then drove to Temecula for Andrea's Tastefully Simple party.
.Broke the news by putting the pic of us with the test and "Andrea- you're going to be an AUNTIE!!!!!" on my laptop screen {she had asked to see Ireland pics}
.Andrea cried. Told her the details. Excited would be an understatement.
.Ate yummy food with the girls for a couple hours.
.Told James when he got home. He's soooo excited.
.Got the book "What to Expect When You are Expecting" from Andrea. Cute.
.Drove home, spent some time relaxing with Ev.
.Watched the Chargers beat the Giants. Yay!
.Don't remember much else, except for reading and that I was TIRED!

The belly:

Monday:
.Ev & I both had to work.
.Work, work, work.
.Met with Moira & her three daughters to discuss our photo shoot on Saturday. They're adorable, can't wait.
.Got home around 6, just in time to have dinner with Ev & Jared- shrimp tacos again. Still hoping shrimp is ok, because I don't eat much else meat. Hehe.
.Made white chocolate-covered pretzel sticks with sprinkles w/ Ev. Soooooo yummy.
.Super tired again, so I relaxed and then went to beddy bye.

Pretzel Sticks...

Tuesday:
.Ev & I took the day off because he had an appointment with his surgeon down in El Cajon.
.Went for a 3 mile run/walk. Ran further than Sunday, woohoo. Felt great.
.Went to Ev's appointment. Surgeon took x-rays, then said Evan can start walking again. Yay!!
.Went to Fashion Valley to return a bunch of shirts I had bought at Anthro the day before we found out the good news. {There's no way they would fit with a belly.}
.Went to LensCrafters, got Ev and eye exam.
.Talked to Mom. She could tell I was beat and recommended that I take it easy, get a good night's sleep. She still doesn't know. It's killing me!
.Ran to Michael's & Paper Source to buy materials for my vanilla sugar jars that are going to be in an eco-chic wedding magazine article called "Etsy Love." How exciting!
.Tired doesn't even BEGIN to describe it. And I have to be at yoga @ 8am tomorrow. Yikes!

preggo!

I'm at a bit of a loss for words! Where do I start?

Ok, so Evan had physical therapy this afternoon. We ended up in San Marcos at 5pm, hungry, dreading Friday night rush hour traffic on the 78. I thought, why not kill two birds with one stone @ Pizza Nova, this yummy Italian restaurant across the freeway? We filled our bellies with yummy garlic balls, salad, and pizza, and then had a relatively traffic-free drive home. Thank goodness.

As we got off the 15 in Escondido, I asked Evan, "Soooo, should we stop anywhere on the way home?" He asked if we had any tests at the house, which we didn't since I had taken all of them in the months prior. At the last minute, I went straight instead of right at Valley Parkway so we could run into Target. We get inside, and Evan asks, "What did we come here for again?" Gotta love men. "Wellll, we need shaving cream, toothpaste, ummm, pregnancy tests..." Right. It's so much easier for men to forget. They aren't the ones who sit around thinking, "Is there a BABY growing inside my belly right now?" So crazy.

He wandered off to who knows where while I strolled downed the feminine care aisle. Another woman was hunched over examining the differences between ovulation predictors. She must be trying too. I almost felt bad grabbing a box of tests right in front of her, like it was mean or something. Weird, right? Must be the hormones. So I bend over and quickly grab a 3-pack of Clear Blue Early Detection tests. Yes, a 3-pack. Why? Not quite sure. Guess I figured we'd go home and the test would be negative, so I would need those extras for the next time I convinced myself I was preggo and wasn't. Always thinking ahead, I am.

I tossed the box in my little red hand basked, found Evan, grabbed some shaving cream and toothpaste, and then asked if we needed anything else. "We should probably get a toy for the baby, right?" he says. Too cute. I say "Absolutely," and we had back, through all aisles that look like Christmas exploded on them. Evan goes straight for the miniature skateboards- you know, one of the least baby-friendly items they stock at Target- and asks if it would be ok to buy the baby one. He makes me laugh. Instead of any easily-to-swallow toys, we decide on a Rubik's Cube. Evan & I both know how to solve the cube in less than five minutes, so why shouldn't the baby be able to learn? "He, or she, is going to be a genius," says Evan as we check out.

Did I mention I had to pee soooooo bad at Target, but that I didn't want to go because then I wouldn't have any left for the test? And I wasn't about to take the test at Target, so I held it? So we pull up to the house, I run in, grab the box of tests, and make a b-line for the bathroom. Evan wants to watch, but I make him wait outside the door. I frantically tear open the little foil wrapper that says "ept" in purple all over it, remove the plastic protector cap from the end, and here we go... testing in progress. No sooner had I put the cap back on, placed in on the counter, and started to wipe, and Evan is bursting in. "Soo, are you?! Are you?" The instructions always say to wait 5 or 10 minutes, but our test started changing within a couple seconds. We could see the pee traveling through the first window and over to the second window. I was pretty sure I could already see lines showing up in both, so I looked closer. As we both hovered over the little plastic wand, I noticed that a + sign was slowly appearing in the indicator window. A plus sign! I blurted out something like, "Oh my gosh, I'm pregnant. See, I knew I was!"

And then Evan turns towards the toilet and starts peeing. Yep. No hug, no kiss. I guess he had to go just as bad as I did! We hugged and kissed once he was done, and then we wandered back into the living room. "You are going to save that, aren't you?" he asked, looking at the test. "Of course." We took a couple pictures of ourselves holding the positive test, and then Evan called his friends Jason & Chris, and I called Jennifer. Talk about excited! They were all so cute. We decided to tell my mom when we see her in two weeks... It'll be better in person, right?

We're still in shock. It hasn't hit us yet. Not that we're not excited, but it's just so weird to think that there's a human growing inside me... that we're going to be parents... When does that shock go away? Soon, I hope! :o)

Here's the picture we took with the test. Cute, right?!

never been {this} late!

My period always arrives on Mondays. Maybe Tuesdays. Never Wednesdays, and definitely not Thursdays. Whether I've been on birth control, which I was from ayoung age until August 16th, 2009, or not, I've always started on Mondays or Tuesdays. Like clockwork.

Well, not this week! It's Thursday, and there is no sign of a period in site. No cramps, no tender tatas, I'm not crying more easily than normal, or anything that might resemble PMS. Well, that's not entirely true. I'm definitely bloated, but what's new? Arg.

On a scale of 1-10, I'd say I'm pretty freakin' sure I'm pregnant. Except for the bloating, I don't have any "pregnancy symptoms," per say. Besides the late period, which is a pretty huge symptom, now that I think about it. But the big ones- morning sickness, food cravings, heightened sense of smell, sore boobies? Nope. None of the above. I have been peeing in the middle of the night more than I'd like, but hey- I also drink massive glasses of ice water all night, so it's like, "Duh Danielle. Cut that out, would ya?"

Evan must think I'm nuts, because I've been sure I was pregnant every month since we decided to pull the ring out for good back in August. One month I was nauseous, the next I swore I could smell everything a million times better than normal. I took tests each time, and each time I saw a big blank indicator window staring back at me. Negative. Not pregnant, just a bit crazy.

I've mentioned to Evan that I'm late a couple times now, but he doesn't seem to be taking me very seriously. Reminds me of a certain story my mom told me as a child- there was a girl, a wolf- I'm sure you remember the rest.

Anywho. Did I mention I bought this application for my iPhone a while back- iPeriod- that tracks my cycle for me? Best app ever. It predicts when I'm ovulating, when I should be getting my period, it sends me reminders so that I know to bust out the "period panties," all that good stuff. For the last three days, little messages have been popping up on my phone screen- "Your period is one day late." "Your period is two days late." "Your period is three days late." Thanks, I noticed!

It's time to buy a test. Definitely time. Here's a pic I took while getting ready for work this morning:


{Little did I know, at the time, that it would be the first picture of my growing baby bump. :o) }