Seventeen Weeks and Award Blessing...

This week we are at the seventeen week mark. So excited!! Starting last weekish I started to feel popcorn in my belly. I wasn't sure at first if it was the baby because everyone told me to expect to feel flutters and like there was a goldfish in my belly. After this weekend I'm positive the popcorn is our little one letting it's presence be known. DH even put his hand on my belly and felt a little kick!! It's not consistent quite yet but when I'm relaxed and still in the evening there's usually movement. The night DH felt his kick was after a particularly spicy dinner of buffalo chicken strips. Those strips sure got Baby Bean moving around!!
We live in DC so this weekend we were slammed with about 24" of snow. Tomorrow night we're expecting another 5-10". Ugh. I HATE snow. Growing up in North Dakota I saw enough snow for 3 lifetimes. If I never see another flake I will not shed a tear. We spent the weekend snowed in.

I was given a Beautiful Blogger Award this weekend by Courtney over at The Yerkes Life~Learning to Embrace God's Plans. She has a great blog that's filled with hope. She always has a kind, supportive comment for other's blogs. Stop by and check out her blog and wish her luck on her IVF cycle!! Here's the rules for this award:
Here are the rules for the award:
* Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog.
* Copy the award and paste it to your blog.
* Tell us 7 interesting facts about yourself.
* Nominate 7 bloggers that you love and link to their blog.

Seven interesting facts about me:
1. I am an only child. I was the only grandchild on one side for about 6 years and the only grandchild on the other for about 16 years. So originally I wanted to have just one child. Now my DH has convinced me our kid needs siblings. So as hard as it was to get baby #1, we're already discussing baby #2. We love a challenge.

2. I was born in North Dakota. I moved to New York after that. Then we moved back to North Dakota. Then I moved to Nebraska. All states that start with "N". All of this during the first 22 years of my life. When I met my husband I followed him to Maryland. Then we moved to Virginia, so I broke the curse of the "N". Although both still contain "N's".

3. When I was growing up I was a dog person. I would have never dreamed of having a cat. Didn't ever want one. Since college, when my roommate and I got a cat, I have become strictly a cat person. I don't hate dogs, but I would take a cuddly, snuggly cat any day over a dog.

4. My birthday is on Valentine's Day. So is my DH. So was his mom's and so was my great-grandma's. My mom was told her due date was in April when she found out she was pregnant. She immediately told people she knew I would be a Valentine's baby. My mom was right.

5. I always wanted to be a flight attendant. It was my dream job. My aunt was a flight attendant and she was the most glamorous person I knew when I was little so I was determined to be just like her. I fulfilled that dream and worked for two airlines. Being a flight attendant in 2005-06 was certainly no where near as glamorous as it seemed when I was younger. Traveling people are crabby. Airlines are cutting back. These things combine to form the perfect storm of an awful job. Besides the free flight benefits I don't miss that job.

6. I am a reality TV junkie. Like trashy reality TV. Not Amazing Race, American Idol, or Bachelor. Bravo reality TV. Real Housewives, Millionaire Matchmaker, Tabitha's Salon Takeover. Kitchen Nightmares, Teen Mom, Real World, Tori & Dean... I could go on and on. My DH hates all of these by the way.

7. My cats are two of the most important little people in the world to me. They are second only to the baby. DH is third because he can take care of himself. Yes I called them people. I talk to them like they're people, I spoil them like they're people, and I hate, Hate, HATE to go on vacation and leave them. I worry non-stop. We're going to Vegas for our birthday/babymoon trip and I'm already wracked with guilt to be leaving them.

Now the seven bloggers I love:
*Rachel over at Our Journey But Not Our Plan
*Michelle over at IF Crossroads
*Lara over at Peanut Noodle
*Jill over at Hubby, Baby, and Me...
*Adding to the Pack
*Mommie In Waiting over at Crazy Runs Deep
*Ivana Kidd over at The Phantom Line


I was given a Valued Blogger Award way back in December. I've been behind on getting this one passed on, I apologize, Thank you so much Jill!! Her blog is one I truly enjoy reading and I'm so excited to follow her through her pregnancy(she's 3 days further along than I am) over at Hubby, baby, and me...would make 3. This award is not like all of the other blog awards because we all want to not only know about you, but also your opinion of your fellow bloggers. So, without further ado, I present you with the rules.
1. Tell your readers how your journey into blogging began. Be as verbose or shy as you like.
2. Pick 3-5 fellow bloggers whom you adore and write what exactly it is you value about that person or their blog. The more you write about them the better. There is a chance to really appreciate your blog friends who have been there with and for you through thick and thin.
3. Let the blessed winners know they have been awarded.
This award was started in December because it is the season of giving and bringing cheer to others. What better way to do that than to let the people in our lives know that we cherish them?

My journey blogging began as a way to document my experience with IF and my quest to become a mother. It was a way for me to have something to look back on when my journey was rewarded with children. It became a way I communicate with others both in and out of the IF community to share the feelings and processes involved in treatment and dealing with IF. I've met so many wonderful people through blogging and I am so glad I joined the blogging community!!

Lara(Noodlegirl) over at Peanut noodle is a wonderfully strong woman. She always has a kind and supportive comment to offer. Despite some struggles she's had on her journey she remains positive and her blog is delightful to read.

Michelle over at IF Crossroads has a wonderful blog that's fun to read and entertaining!! She has converted her blog from an infertility blog to a pregnant after infertility blog and she has a great way with words.

I also love Kristen's blog, Now You Know. This is a non-IF related blog. Kristen has a great sense of humor and her blog is always a good place to find an insightful post!! And her little pooch Colbs is a cutie!!