Foodtown

My friend Sally heard about this market in West Palm that was supposed to be like an Asian market.  She was really excited to get foods that she had growing up and I was really excited to try some new things.  Plus, I would be shopping with an expert.  :)

We went this past weekend and it was quite the experience.  They had everything.  From all over the world.  It reminded me of my beloved YDFM in Atlanta.  It wasn't the same, but it was close.  They meat and seafood section was like nothing I have ever seen before.  I think that's because I've never been to Asia.  They were selling every part of the pig and goat and I saw full cows hanging in the back.  They had tons of seafood and they even sold live turtles and frogs (I'm not sure how I feel about that...).  Sally went specifically for blue crabs but she said they didn't look very good.  She said they had dead ones in the mix so she passed on them.  They were right next to a bin of crawfish (or crawdads, as we say in my family) and we ended up talking to a women about them.  

The produce section was amazing.  Great prices and selection.  I ended up getting this week's worth of fruit and veggies for super cheap.  And I even spotted some items I had never seen before.  I ended up going home stocked with Asian sauces for cooking and all the things to make my own miso soup at home.  I'm very excited about it.

It was a fun day.  

Cheers!

I've never seen or heard of winter melon before.  They are huge.

Oh Jackfruit.  My old friend from Africa.  I've missed you.

Sally navigating me through all the Asian food.

Bump Diaries 1.10

It's probably a little early, and I may be tempting fate, but we started a baby registry at Babies R Us this week.  The main reason I did it was because of a promotion with the registry,  Babies R Us was giving 10% of the purchases off the registry up to $200.  You get a gift card after the baby is born.  If you know me, you know I can't pass up a deal.  So, even though I thought it was too early to register, we did it anyway.  Hey, the deal expired on Jan. 31.  I had to get it on it now.  

We walked the store with the pricing gun.  But it was not like when we registered for our wedding.  We kinda just wondered around with these blank expressions on our faces.  I looked at stuff, but it took a little time for me to tell Kevin to scan something.  I had done some research before we got into the store on strollers and car seats, so we were able to play with my top two choices and see if they would work for us.  I also picked some bottles, a lounger and some first aid/ grooming supplies.  So far, our registry is kinda boring.  But if you're like me and judge people based on their registries, than go to town.  We're listed under Kevin and Amanda Schwemmin.

Still feeling nauseous and tired.  Getting dressed is becoming harder.  And I am very anxious to get to my next doctors appointment, where we will hear the heartbeat.

Bump Diaries 1.9

Still nauseous and exhausted.  Starting to think that might just be how this pregnancy is going to go.  It's becoming more difficult to find a good position to sleep in.  I'm surrounded by pillows because my boobs hurt so much.  Still craving Mexican Pizzas from Taco Bell but trying to control it.   Went through all my clothes and packed away anything that didn't fit.  I'm having trouble fitting into my pants.  I have to do that trick with the hair tie around the button to keep them up.  Thought about getting a Belly Band but I just don't know.  Anyway.  I packed all my pre-pregnancy clothes away to make room for all the maternity things I have.  If I can track down the bin I put them in...

I put some clothes to the side to consign but I hope to one day fit in to most of the things again.  My goal is one year.  I lost a lot of weight before, I can do it again.  I just need the will power.

All the clothes I don't fit into anymore

Still trying to hide everything from people.  It's getting harder.  I have so much work to do and I'm so tired, it would be nice to have an excuse to cut back to three projects at a time instead of five.  But I'm not saying anything.  Not yet.  

My plan for dealing with pregnancy constipation seemed to work.  While I'm not back to normal, I'm not backed up either.  I'm going to stick with limiting the cheese and having more fruits and veggies and water.  I think I can cut back to one colase a day now until I start to have a BM every other day... 

Bump Diaries 1.8

After reading about all the horrible things in beauty products and how they can effect the baby, I got rid of all my lotion, face soap and hair stuff.  We hit up the organic food store and I spent an hour reading labels and picking out new products.  I like the shampoo and conditioner so far, LOVE the new deodorant and lotion and I'm not thrilled with the face soap.  I know that my face needs salicylic acid to stay under control and I can no longer use that.  I guess only time will tell if this new organic stuff is better.  I know its better for the environment, but I need it to perform like my old products.

I also started a cocoa butter routine for my belly.  I remember that my mom used it while she was pregnant with me and she didn't get any stretch marks.  Stretch marks are genetic, but every little bit helps.

Still nauseous.  Still exhausted.  Still craving Mexican Pizzas from Taco Bell and BLTs.  The guy at the Taco Bell drive thru knows my order now.  I really want to tell him I'm pregnant so he doesn't judge me.  Lol.

For the first couple weeks of being pregnant, food didn't taste right.  It didn't taste bad, but it didn't taste like my brain remembered.  Except cheese.  Cheese still tasted the same, so I ate a lot of that.  Then, I ended up constipated.  Which totally freaked me out because I had no idea how to deal with that while pregnant.  I went to the boards on BabyCenter.com and read what other moms-to-be were doing and settled on this plan:

 1. No more cheese!
2.  More fruits and veggies.  Specifically apples and grapes to help move stuff along.
3. Drink more water!
4. Two colace a day
5.  Cut back on bread and doughy stuff

Bump Diaries 1.7

So, I had this really great post written about this week then I lost it some how.  This post is not as good as the one I lost.  Blogspot is always giving me problems...

After spending all of Christmas break in Michigan anxious about whether or not I was actually pregnant, the day finally came for the ultrasound.  I was really nervous.  I had a morning appointment and Kevin was still on break from work so he could come.  They got us back into the room pretty quickly.  The US tech was nice and gave me the lovely paper gown that makes you look fabulous to change into and left.  After I was changed and on the table, she came in.  I told her why we were there.  My heart was racing.  This was the moment of truth.  Was I really pregnant?  Were our dreams finally coming true?  She had me lie back as she prepped the equipment.  I tried to get my heart rate under control and calm down, but it was useless.  This could go one of two ways and I would know as soon as she looked at the monitor.  I would see it in her face, I just knew it.  She got everything ready, put the probe in place and started looking at the screen.  I held Kevin's hand.  Then, she flipped on the big screen TV on the wall and said "there's your baby!"

I burst into tears.  My heart was racing so fast.  Kevin was smiling so big.  He always had faith.  There was our little bean.  I was really and truly pregnant.  She pointed out the heart, that was already beating at 166 bpm.  She started looking at other things, making sure every thing was in order.  She took some measurements and gave us a new due date of August 14.  I was 7.5 weeks along.  I asked about the cist that they had seen in ER and she said it looked normal.  Then she printed out some pictures for us and we were on our way to meet with the insurance lady to discuss the rest of my prenatal care.  I have to say I didn't really hear a lot of what was said.  I was still thinking about what I had seen on the screen.  My baby.  I was going to be a mom.  At last, it was my turn.

We went to lunch right after.  I kept taking the pictures out of my purse to look at them.  I had to spend the rest of the day with this huge secret at work.  I was still in shock that I was pregnant.  Our journey had begun. 

DIY Baby

More Pinterest stuff.  I don't know how I managed before Pinterest.  My Mom has always been super creative and my Dad can build just about anything, so I have the genes to make stuff happen.  I just lack the initial idea.  Pinterest gives me the idea/ inspiration and my genes make it actually possible.  Here are some great ideas I have found on Pinterest that I think would be fun for our little one to have.  I like the idea of our Little Man growing up with home-made toys as well as a few must-have fad toys as well.  Click each picture for the instructions.

Cheers!

Crinkle Bot toy from Pretty Prudent

Fabric Blocks from WREN Handmade

Tag Letter Toy from Etsy.  No instructions but looks easy to figure out.

This looks so easy.  Just add a strap to a towel.  Done.

Cloud Toy from Hello, ReFabulous!

Glove Monster Toy from Craftaholics Anonymous

Tag Monster Toy from Wendolonia

Stuffed Monster Toy from Plushka Craft

Loch Ness Monster toy from We Lived Happily Ever After

From We Lived Happily Ever After

Easy Baby Shoes from LDS Mom to Many

Fabric Ball from The Purl Bee

Ring Stacker from DomesticEsq

Stuffed Monster from Get Crafty

Pee Pee Teepee from The Crunchy Mamacita

Or Weewee Wigwams from Make It and Love.  I'd really like to try these!

From How Does She

Fabric Rings.  No instructions but looks easy to figure out.

Bump Diaries 1.6

Despite all the doom and gloom we had been hearing from various doctors and nurses, Kevin remained optimistic.  If he had any doubts about whether I was really pregnant or not, he didn't share them with me. Instead, every time I asked he told me he knew this was it.  We were going to have a baby.  It made me feel a lot better. 

I started getting nauseous in week 6.  It was a drastic change from waking up STARVING in week 5.  And I mean starving.  Like that pain you get when you put off eating too long.  It was waking me up.  That had never happened before...  But I still didn't think it meant that I was successfully pregnant.  The nausea has been consistent though.  I don't throw up, which doesn't surprise me since I don't throw up ever, pregnant or not.  It's more of a gagging.  It became kind of hard to hide at work, but I think I managed pretty well. 

Then the exhaustion set in.  It was difficult for me to get up in the morning and I was falling asleep on the couch by 6:30 in the evening.  And sleeping was becoming difficult due to the fact that I was getting up to pee at night an average of 8 times.  While all of these signs would have told a normal women that she was indeed pregnant, I still remained doubtful.  I was protecting myself.  I didn't want to get my hopes up. 

But Kevin's were already sky high...

I managed to make it though a 22 hr road trip up to MI for Christmas and didn't tell anyone.  My friend Tiona even rubbed her baby bump on me for "baby dust" and I didn't say anything.  I ate like it was my job too.  I don't remember ever eating that much before.  And it had to be BLTs.  I don't know how many I had, but they were my favorite.  Maybe I really was pregnant...

Baby Argo

For those of you that might not know, when I was sixteen, I was given a brand new blue Jeep Wrangler.  I loved this Jeep more than you should love an inanimate object.  I named her Argo.  She is waiting for me in MI right now. 

Argo was a big part of my identity when I was in high school and a long time after.  I will always be the girl with the blue Jeep.  And I'm completely fine with that.  :)

So when I spotted a onesie at Walmart with a blue Jeep Wrangler on it, I had to have it.  I mean come on?  Of course a child of mine is going to have a Jeep in some way! 

Cheers!

Bump Diaries 1.5

The first pregnancy test I took was from the dollar store.  Now, being a scientist, I know that all urine pregnancy tests work pretty much the same way.  And I also know that it doesn't cost that much to make one and that the name-brand tests use the same stuff but just cost more.  But that didn't stop me from going to Walmart and buying a name brand test just to check.  Hey, I could have gotten a freaky weird one from that dollar store that gives a positive no matter what.  It could happen.

I got the Clearblue digital one.  I didn't mean to get the digital kind, and I kinda wondered why it was so pricey, but this was no time to be stingy.  I needed answers.  And with the digital read out, there was no room for analyst interpretation.  It says "pregnant" or "not pregnant".  Right to the point.  I like that.

Well.  Can't argue with that.


Later that week, I started having really bad cramping.  Full on, starting my period cramping.  This sent me into another panic thinking I was losing the baby already.  I called my OBGYN to see if she could get me in sooner, but because I was a new patient, I had to wait until the scheduled appointment.  The insensitive nurse on the phone told me to go to the ER if I was that concerned about it.  So I went to the ER.  I have never been to the ER myself before.  I didn't like it.  They got me to a bed pretty quickly and talking to a nurse, so I thought it would be out in a decent time.  Not so much.  When the doctor heard the situation, she ordered an ultrasound.  Yes!  I was going to get answers!  The US tech came pretty quickly.  First time in a wheel chair.  Didn't like that either, but I know hospital procedure.  The US took some time.  The lady was very thorough and nice.  She even showed us what she saw and explained somethings to us even though she really wasn't supposed to.  In my uterus was a yolk sac with no fetal pole yet.  She estimated that I was about 5.5 weeks pregnant.  I also had (what I considered a large) cist in my right ovary.  That concerned me, but she said it was "unremarkable".  Hmmm...

I was hooked up to an IV and blood was drawn.  I also had to take a urine test.  This confirmed I was pregnant and that I also had a UTI.  Awesome.  But it might account for the cramping I was feeling.  They checked my hormone levels too.  That combined with the start of what I thought was my last period (October) and the ultrasound pic, gave the doctor a doomsday message for me.  I was not as far along with baby development as my hormone level indicated.  I was sent home with an antibiotic and a feeling that history was about to repeat itself.

The ER doctor gave me a copy of all the information she collected so I could give it to my OBGYN at my appointment.  With those papers, Kevin immediately went to Google.  He started pulling up hormone charts and fetal development.  He concluded that I was right on schedule with both the hCG level and the ultrasound pic.  He said that it was just an ER doctor and we would get the real answers at my lady doctor appointment.  This made me feel a little better and I was able to make it the next two days to the appointment. 

Kevin came with me.  I ended up seeing a midwife.  I was a little nervous about that but I really liked her.  She answered all my questions honestly but with comfort.  She said based on my October period and that I should be farther along in baby development.  So, who was right?  The ultrasound picture that said I was 5.5 weeks along or my October period that said I was 12 weeks?  She scheduled another ultrasound to check viability and see what was really going on in there.  The only problem, it would be after we came back from MI for Christmas.  I would have to spend my whole vacation wondering...

Bump Diaries 1.4

Here they are!  The long awaited stories from the very begining of my pregnancy journey.  Thanks for waiting. :)

Since I waited for so long to get pregnant, and since I am so very excited, I thought it would be fun to keep a journal of the whole process.  I write in a journal regularly, but I found when I got pregnant, the information out there was all over the place and nothing was really what I was experiencing.  So, I hope that this makes some moms-to-be out there a little less nervous, afraid, anxious, whatever.  Hey, we ladies have to stick together, right?!

Cheers and here's to the next 40 amazing weeks!

(Oh, and that number after the title, that's the date.  It goes trimester.week of pregnancy)

(And this is going to be a lot of TMI.  So if you don't want to know what women go though while pregnant, don't read this).

12/8/13

I found out I was pregnant around 4 weeks into it.  We had just come back from Key West (December 8).  And I mean just come back.  I had two drinks while we were on the island (confession time).  I totally didn't think there was any chance that I was pregnant.  I have an app on my phone where I keep track of my period and I am pretty good at recording when I start each month.  I thought I had started in November since I had my normal spotting for three days at the right time.  This usually means I'm going to start any day.  But then it went away.  Completely.  I never really started a period that month.  Now, you might be saying "she should have known something was up right then".  But my period is effected by a lot of different things.  If I'm on an antibiotic, that can throw me off.  If I'm really stressed about something, that can cause me to skip a month altogether.  I skipped July because of the new job and moving details... I was really stressed at work for a while and I just thought that was what was going on.  But something kept nagging at me.  I'm a molecular biologist so that voice in my head keep saying "you should start collecting data because you don't have a concrete answer".  Always a scientist.  So Sunday morning, while Kevin was watching TV, I got out of bed, grabbed one of the pregnancy tests I had and took it. 

My dollar store pregnancy test was positive (feel free to laugh about the dollar store part).  And I freaked out.  I mean full on, shaking, hyperventilating, crying freaked out.  Not the normal reaction for a couple that was TTC, right?  I ran out of the bathroom with the test and pretty much collapsed on Kevin who heard me start to cry and was on his way to meet me.  You see, this is actually my second pregnancy.  In November 2012, I had a miscarriage.  2012 was the worst year for the Kendi Haus and getting pregnant was the one bright spot after a all the job, family and financial drama that seemed to plague us all year.  Going through (and living with) a miscarriage was without a doubt the worst experience I have ever survived.  I guess it just goes to show how strong women really are.  I was going to share the story of my miscarriage here on the blog, but ultimately decided that it was too personal.  It is something that will haunt me throughout this entire pregnancy and something I am still coming to terms with.  After you experience one miscarriage, it changes the way you experience pregnancy forever.  It takes away from the moment, all the moments, because you know that the worst can happen and what it feels like.  And nothing anyone will say or do will make you feel better.  You just need time.  A lot of it.  And understanding.

Instead of being excited, I was doubtful and afraid.  And guilty.  I knew there was a chance that I could be pregnant but, with the spotting in November, I convinced myself I wasn't and had two drinks in Key West.  I was already a bad mom and I was barely even pregnant.  Go me.   Kevin calmed me down and told me not to panic.  That this wasn't going to be like last year.  He said our luck had slowly been changing since we moved to Florida and that it was our turn for happiness.  I wanted desperately to believe him but that scientist voice in my head wouldn't let me.  I needed to see what was going on in there.  That was the only way that I would except that I was pregnant.  I had been fooled once before, I was not going to let it happen again.  I decided that I would start taking care of my self like I was pregnant, just in case, but I would wait for confirmation from my OBGYN.  I had an appointment before we left for Christmas break for my annual check-up.  Well, we were going to check a little bit more.  In the meantime, absolutely NO ONE was going to know that I was "pregnant".  I made that mistake before and I was not going to repeat it.

So the waiting game began...

23 Weeks

Finally!  A current bump pic!  :)  I guess the theme of my bump pics is "bathroom selfie".  Lol.  Here I am at 23 weeks, which is right now.  I felt pretty good here.  I'm in the swing of being pregnant and I think my bump is really cute.  I'm getting away with wearing both maternity clothes and regular clothes.  The big clothes I put aside from summer 2012 work really well right now.  And I've managed to find non-maternity clothes that fit my bump now and will camouflage baby weight later.  So, I'm in a good place. 

I'm wearing a new, non-maternity top from TJ Maxx ($20) and maternity skinny jeans from Ross ($19).

Cheers!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!  We hope everyone had a great day with family and friends.  It was a lazy day here at the Kendi Haus.  We went to church and after I made a nice Polish meal for Easter.  I even added peppercorn eyes to the butter lamb!  Then we all took a nap.  It was nice.  I hope Little Man liked his first taste of Polish food, cuz he's gonna have it every Easter.  :)

Cheers!

Love,
The Kendi Haus

My Polish ancestors would be proud.  Cutting up real kielbasa from the Polish deli for Easter dinner, and pregnant no less. :)

Kielbasa, pierogi, butter lamb, beans and rolls!

Boy or Girl?

20 Weeks

Another bathroom selfie.  I just didn't get into the whole "bump pic" thing.  I try to snap one when I feel like I look good.  Since that hasn't happened a lot so far in this pregnancy, I take the picture where ever I am when I feel like I look pretty.  So here's 20 weeks.  This was taken 2 days before we found out what we were having.

I'm wearing my $9 non-maternity maxi dress from Ross (mentioned here).  I think it might be my favorite preggie outfit so far...

Cheers!

Bump Style: Budget 202

Here's my second round of maternity clothes deals.  This time I tried to find non-maternity pieces that fit my 20 week bump but that I could wear long after the pregnancy.  The key to this trick?  Flowy and stretchy.  My style has always leaned toward the boho/hippie vibe so flowy wasn't a big leap for me.  Most of the "maternity" clothes I packed away last year fit this description.  The stretchy part was really fun because I am now unmistakably pregnant but not huge.  I'm in the cute bump phase now.  I can get away with wearing fitted pieces that show it off.  And I stocked up on leggings.

It's also getting hotter which means lots of skirts and dresses for me.  One trick I have is going to the swimsuit cover-up section.  Those are usually loose and pretty.  With a cami underneath and a pair of leggings, it's a cheap and cute outfit.  And since we live by the beach, I can use the top later!

Cheers!

Ross
Navy tunic (non-maternity) $20
Sheer cover-up (non-maternity) $13
Striped tank maxi dress (non-maternity) $9
Striped tee maxi dress (non-maternity) $9

Burlington 
2 pairs black leggings - $16
Grey leggings - $8
Black/white striped maxi dress (non-maternity) - $17

*haven't received this order yet, so the grey leggings and the dress might not be keepers...

Target

Liz Lange maternity tank - $13

Pants (non-maternity) - $20

*not sure yet if I'm keeping the pants...

Walmart
 

Dress (non-maternity) - $15

Total:  $140

13 Weeks

My first bump pic!  I tried to set up a cute theme for all the weeks but it didn't work out.  Our rental house in Florida hates me.  So, here's a bathroom selfie.  It's from February so I don't look like this any more.  This is when I felt like I was really starting to show.  :)

I'm wearing my favorite peasant top from Marshall's and my Old Navy Rockstar jeggings, so no maternity clothes yet!

Cheers!

Bump Style: Budget 101

One of my big goals when I got pregnant was to look cute with what I already had and only add a few pieces for when I got bigger...for cheap.  :)

I starting doing research before I really needed maternity clothes to get an idea of what was out there.  I was quickly disappointed.  Clothes that were cute and stylish were too expensive and the ones that were reasonably priced were ugly.  I got discouraged pretty fast, but I couldn't give up.  My pants were quickly becoming too small.  

So, here's what I was able to find so far and where I got it.  Most of the things I picked are very basic and good for layering.  And I'm pretty sure that I can get away with wearing a lot of the tops after the baby is here, which will be important since my body won't be bouncing back in a month.  The jeans and leggings I will be saving for baby #2.  I will probably splurge on a cute dress for the baby shower and professional bump pics, but we'll see.  I hope you other mamas-to-be find things that make you feel fabulous, without breaking the bank!  Stay tuned for more deals I find as I continue to grow!

Cheers!

Old Navy

$12

$6.50

$9.75

$7.80

$12.35

$11.01

Burlington

Belly band - $10

2 pairs jeans - $19 & $25 (because of shipping)

White cami - $4

Leggings - $8

JC Penney

White jeans - $28

White tank - $11

Zulily.com
Jeans & Top $44


Total: $208.41