Saturday, January 25, 2014

Crochet my...

Seems lately that the largely known website "Pinterest" has been showing me nothing but Crochet projects. Must be a fad or something...

Well I thought I'd try it out.



I should have thought twice about that idea before plunging in!

I started by going to Wal-Mart and purchasing a Crochet learning kit that includes different gauges, needles, and a book with step by step guide. I took it one stitch at a time and was quick to pick up slip stitches, single stiches, double stitches... the list goes on and on...

Well then I tried a pattern and it turned out like - well - you can see above the disaster that came of my first attempt.

Well I'm not one to back down - most of my patterns are still looking like the one above; hats look like a Kippa, clothes that look like a pyramid... I am slowly getting better as I realize my problems and with the help of friends around me.

Hopefully my next post will include some more... realistic projects that actually were successful.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Stranger Danger - week 21

It's strange to think that I am now in the second half of my pregnancy. It still feels so new to me. Along with the second half of pregnancy come certain... Benefits...  

I ACTUALLY look pregnant! 

Thanks to the blessing of some friends, I now have some maternity clothes on loan that help me look pregnant rather than fat. A new co worker highlighted my morning by asking if I had swallowed a watermelon seed or was having a baby! (She was thrilled to hear it was a baby and not a random fruit growing inside me) 

They say in week 21 your baby's digestive system starts to work on its own. My first reaction to this news was to google if my baby is pooping inside me... I was relieved to find he is not. 

Also I can add new maternity symptoms to my list. This week we add the continuation of fetal movement, flatulence, and varicose veins... Hoping not all of these happen to me! 

One great thing is that I now know when baby Roo is kicking. Prior to this week, it was easy to mistake with my digestive system and gas. Now I know when I lie on my tummy (somewhat lopsided) I can feel him protesting. When I lie down in general is when he moves the most.  It's not really annoying yet, more of a great miracle feeling. I look forward to when Eric can feel him too with his hand on my tummy..

Today also marks my first awkward encounter. I had a random gentleman I had been interacting with previously suddenly ask, "where are you having the baby?" It took me a moment to realize I did hear him right. Since we had already been in discussion I debated joking with him that he was lucky I was really preggo and not just fat... But instead I just answered we were going to TGH. In the end the gentleman was an employee of TGH in the maternity ward. This made his comment a little less creepy haha. 

Bending down is now optional. If I drop something I don't need I might just leave it there till A: enough things drop in its vicinity to make it worth the trip, or B: leave it for Eric to pick up... I'm not too sure he's happy with this new venture of mine, but what are you gonna do?

So bring on week 21... I hope to snap a picture tonight of the belly for all to see. 

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Confessions of a Nerdy Girl

If you're following my bog, and following me on Facebook, you've probably seen some strange pictures of my husband and I...

Such as


and wondered "WHAT ON EARTH ARE THEY WEARING?"

Well let me explain... 

Through our two and a half years of marriage, Eric and I have come to learn just how secretly (at least at the
 time) nerdy we both are. I used to hide the fact that I played video games non stop or that I had a secret droid crush on R2D2...

Perhaps the loving support of a Nerdy husband is what gave me the courage to come out of my proverbial "nerd closet." It started out simple, growing my online group of game-playing friends, then found other friends at work who were as nerdy (or more) as I. Eventually I could no longer hide the fact that I long for the weekends we spend at Cons (comic book conventions) or sitting around playing video games all day together.

Soon the nerd-innocent girl went away to be replaced with, well, me!

We discovered last year that we had family in town, cousins on Eric's side. It didn't take long to realize they were just as nerdy as us! (to their credit, they were all dressed up in costumes at a Con when we reunited with them.)

Mega Con 2012

Since my... coming out... My collection of Nerdiness has expanded into a large collection of R2D2 paraphernalia, board games, card games, and so much more! 

But back to the first picture... 

 Last year we found out that our cousins (pictured above with lightsabers) were members of the Rebel Legion Star Wars Fan Club. It's an international Star Wars costuming organization created by, of, and for people interested in creating costumes for the Star Wars Mythos. In short, people who make screen accurate costumes from the Star Wars movies. 

Once we learned this, our cousins greatly encouraged us to join! This was no simple task... and would take a lot of imagination and work on our part. 

We started by purchasing our base costume. This included Under Tunic, Tunic, Tabbards, Obi (or sash), Belt and Pants (These were found on Ebay). I found an online tutorial for making our own lightsaber hilts, which involved a massive treasure hunt around Home Depot until we found all the little pieces we needed. Add in some boots, homemade food capsules, pouches, and some sewing adjustments, our costumes were complete and we submitted them to the Judges at the Rebel Legion in December. 


Now you're probably asking "what's the purpose?" 

Well, our worldwide members often choose to give back to their communities through costumed volunteer activities and charity event. You can see many of our members around the world at Cons, Toy Drives, Disney, local hospitals, and much more! Members are always looking for a way to use their costumes for good. 

Our first troop was the past Sunday at Tampa Bay Toy and Comic Con. We volunteered our time to dress up, stand around, look cool, and get our pictures taken A LOT! I know this sounds a little "self-centered" but if you understood the world of Nerds, getting your picture taken with 10 storm troopers or a horde of Jedi, you'd understand how cool it is... Having the Rebel Legion present at these events brings lots of joy to many kids, excitement to teens, and childhood memories to adults. 

Photo credit to Christian Wingate
All in all, we're nerds! And we love Star Wars. It really is a childish dream that we get to dress up as Jedi, carry around lightsabers, and ward off storm troopers. We even got to force choke Darth Vader! 


And hang out with a Wookie and a Ewok!


I'm glad to be out of my "nerd closet" for the whole world to know! So bring on the R2D2 action figures, the Star Wars Nursery for our coming baby, and the strange pictures of us with dozens of Science Fiction copy-cats. We love it and I ain't going back to life before I met my nerdy-like-me husband. 

May the Force be With You...

Monday, January 13, 2014

Guns or Glittler? - Week 19

Well the time has come! On Monday we had our first ultrasound with Baby Roo and it was such a blessing to see the movement of the baby and their little feet!!

I immediately went into planning mode - we needed to plan our Gender Reveal Party and Fast!

Sunday afternoon many of our friends gathered with us to find out if Roo was a boy or girl. We had pink and blue decorations all over with plenty of food to go around.

I had painted a box with the word "VOTE" on it. Our guests could write down their Gender Vote and a name suggestion to tape to the box for their vote.



We had many of our out-of-town family and friends log into a website to watch the live stream of our reveal. They were all able to vote as well and had a chat room on the side for questions. This was such a blessing as we had about 23 people logged in to enjoy in our celebration.

A friend had filled our box with pink or blue balloons (She had the envelope with the gender of the baby so she could get the correct color). The time came for us to open the box as all our friends gathered in our small living room (18 of them, including children).

We pulled back the tape and balloons came flying out and guess what color they were...

BLUE!!!



So we're having a little boy... and we couldn't be more excited. Eric and I both agree and a big brother is the best thing any family can have. We still haven't decided on a name but I think we will keep it secret until the arrival of our son.


I must, say I sure am happy I can say "he" now instead of "it" or "their" or "he/she."

Monday, January 6, 2014

The Most Wonderful Sight of the Year

Today we got to finally see baby Roo!

We headed to the hospital and got set up in the ultrasound room. We asked the Tech to keep the gender a secret for us so we could do a gender reveal with friends and family.

The ultrasound was the most... emotional part of this pregnancy so far. Baby Roo was all curled up in a ball grabbing at their feet, then suddenly they would kick straight out to almost a standing position. It was so very amazing to watch our little one move around.

Eric and I shared many special looks as we watched our little one move around and show off for us all to see. Rachel was a fantastic Ultrasound Tech and smoothly walked us through the hour long appointment. She explained different aspects of the pregnancy that we didn't understand. She would even jab my belly when the baby wouldn't move around enough. We are so thankful we were blessed with Rachel.

He/She was very stubborn and wouldn't show their face for the profile picture... So we have an upside down, curled up baby for our first picture but it's a precious memory of Baby's stubbornness. The following was my favorite Facebook comment


We will probably not see Baby Roo again until the birth. That's something to look forward to, although I love seeing our little one. This Sunday we will be having our Gender Reveal party and will be streaming the reveal online for family and friends to see.

For now, we will cherish this sight of our little one


Saturday, January 4, 2014

Pregnant or Fat? - Week 18

Week 18 has started... oh me oh my...

I can't believe how much my tummy has started to pop out. In the two weeks that I was in NY and Canada visiting family, my little Roo has started to make their first appearance. Unfortunately I'm at that stage where people aren't sure if I'm pregnant or just fat...

Everyone keeps saying I should start feeling little pokes and prods from baby - but everything I feel just turns into gas... T.M.I.?

My Mayo Clinic books saying the baby should begin to develop the bones in their ears this week. They should start being able to hear our voices and respond. When I told Eric this his response was "So I've been talking to it all this time for no reason?" He's gonna make a great daddy... I just know it.

A lot of congratulations have been shared and I now have a massive box packed to the top with baby gifts. Our family has been such a blessing with their generosity. Eric's parents Jeff and Siggi gave us a huge basket full of items I wouldn't have thought of but will desperately need once baby comes (baby lotion, soap, formula, toys, clothes, an much more). We've received clothes and toys and books for baby Roo, we can't even begin to express our thankfulness.

Monday we will have our first ultrasound and, Lord willing, will know the gender of our first child. We've already decided on baby names for both boy and girl, but they're staying secret for now.

Our new apartment search is in full swing and we hope to be in a 2 bedroom by April so we can set up the nursery and have room for all the new things in our life before the baby arrives.

I suppose that's all for now. Over the next few weeks things will be changing dramatically I am sure... Here's to growing a life inside of you!