Memoirs of a Pregnant Woman

10 Things I Thought I Knew About Pregnancy:

1. You throw up in the morning and then feel great all day during the first trimester
2. 9 months means 9 months... NOT 10 months or 40 weeks, which is actually already started by the time you actually get pregnant... very confusing!
3. If you don't watch it, you'll gain 100 lbs during pregnancy and never lose it
4. After 3 months, you start to look pregnant in this really cute belly is obviously a baby & not fat kind of way.
5. Everyone will be really happy for you and give you ridiculous tshirts that say "Hot Mama"
6. You have to read "What to expect when you're expecting" b/c that's the pregnancy bible.
7. Women who are moms change from their original selves into this loving mom mushy monster who doesn't think about anything but laundry and age appropriate topics for their child.
8. You and your baby are what you eat so I will only eat good, healthy things while I am pregnant.
9. The hardest part about being pregnant is giving up partying with your friends.
10. Whenever you talk to a pregnant woman, you should ask her how she's feeling because that's just what you're supposed to do.

And now....

10 Things I've Learned About Pregnancy:

1. Morning Sickness for me was never predictable and some days I felt like crap all day. However, somedays I felt great.
2. Pregnancy is all about the weeks. Sometimes I have to think about it to even know what month I'm in. People who've been pregnant understand weeks... others understand months.
3. I've still only gained 2 pounds despite my horrible diet, however I know weight gain is coming in the second half of the pregnancy... but there's no way I'll gain 100lbs.
4. I could still easily be mistaken for a fat chick. Dan likes to play the "She's rockin the beer gut" song for me. Yep, that's pretty much what it looks like unless I purposely wear tighter maternity clothes that show my belly more prominently.
5. Most are happy... happy to give you unsolicited advice and opinions that is. Seriously though, most people are happy but some aren't. That's ok. I'm happy enough for everyone.
6. The sheer size of "what to expect..." is way too intimidating and it has not found its way home from the book store yet. I'd rather read the gossip pages online.
7. I don't feel any different other than the fact that I'll get to impart all my wonderful thoughts onto another little one. If anything, I think motherhood will make me smarter and more insightful. I don't feel mushy... but maybe that's to come.
8. I eat what sounds good. If that's healthy stuff, great! Usually its not.
9. The hardest part about being pregnant is having your friends say or feel that you used to be more fun when you drank. Ouch.
10. Everyone asks me how I am feeling and I almost want to ask them "do you really want to know?" because what if I feel crappy? Who wants to know about that stuff? So I always oblige in saying something along the "pretty good" lines. I just appreciate that they ask. It means they care and that is wonderful.

So as you can see, being pregnant isn't exactly what I expected... and really it's just is a new reality. Sure, it's wonderful and a miracle and all that... but for me, when I get up in the morning, it's a new part of my world. It's like getting your hair dyed a different color. People who see you often, notice it the first time and then become used to it. People who see you less often may not get used to it but for you, its your reality. Often people say that the length of gestation is meant to give you time to mentally prepare for the arrival. I think that is very true. Obviously, I'm still preparing.

2008 Reflections

As the stroke of midnight came this year during a more low-key shrimp boil party over at my sister's house, I looked at Dan and thought "what would I ever do without you", and then promptly kissed him and hugged him to ring in 2009.

2008 was a big year for us although I've heard many refer to 2008 as a disappointing year in their lives. Was this a global problem that stemmed beyond the economy? Do many find themselves waiting for 2009 and a new beginning? It makes me reflect on what has happened in 2008, since it didn't occur to me that it had been such a bad year.

• My grandmother got diagnosed with cancer... and beat it.
• We lost a friend, Thor, suddenly during a routine medical procedure... and discovered that his pregnant wife is having another girl (they already had 2).
• We got to see the first African American be elected President by a shockingly large margin.
• We moved back home from New York City.
• We decided to expand the Shepard clan... and I got pregnant a few months later.
• We saved up a ton of money that we'll be putting into a home purchase sometime early 2009.

That's just a few things. I guess if you view it from a certain angle, then 2008 could have been seen as bad... but the way I see it, it was a pivotal year for the Shepard family. 2009 will be even better. I don't know how I would have done any of it without Dan and as we shared our moment during the stroke of midnight, I felt so thankful that I had the perfect person to share all my years with (new and old).

Welcome 2009. This is the year that our lives will change even more... and all for the better. Hope you have as much to look forward to as we do. Happy New Year.

Happy Holidays!

Well with the imminent arrival of Santa Clause tomorrow night, I wanted to take the opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas... or a wonderful holiday... whatever you celebrate!

Winter Follies

This winter has come on really quickly. We were really lucky to be in the suite for Dan's work at the Big 12 Championship. Unfortunately, the game wasn't that exciting but hey at least we were in the heat. The heat is also probably why I fell asleep towards the end of the game. Hey, when you're not drinking and its 10pm, you get tired! Blame it on pregnancy, blame it on a boring blow out of a game... whatever... I am only slightly ashamed that I fell asleep sitting next to one of Dan's clients. At least she thought it was funny.

My little man Tristan is really active now. He actually runs... I mean... RUNS everywhere. Its like all of a sudden he wants to catch up for the last 15 months when he was just hanging out in one spot. To that end, he is really hard to get a clear picture of anymore. He won't sit still. My sister asked me to take a picture of him for their Christmas card and I had a pretty hard time getting very many that were any good. The one above actually turned out ok. Another funny thing about him lately is that he is full on with the adult food... give him a chicken pattie fresh from the microwave and he is happier than a pig in sh&*. (Dan would disagree with that statement because he says pigs don't actually roll around in their own feces... but whatever.)

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season so far.

The Rabbit Died...

Well, its official. I am 12 weeks pregnant today. I feel like the last two months have been the longest months of my life, just waiting to see if everything is "ok" and we actually make it to the 12 week mark. I'm an odds person and once I found out that my odds for a miscarriage after we saw or heard the heartbeat went down to less than 5%, I felt so much better. When we actually saw the ultrasound and the heartbeat, I felt even more relaxed. Dan is really excited too and surprises me daily when he either acts nonchalant or brings up some small detail of how we'll raise our child. I guess we're both adjusting and getting used to the idea.

Mizzou Homecoming 08

We had a great time at Homecoming for many reasons.

1. My sorority had an informal reunion tailgate that allowed us to see many familiar faces and their spawn.

2. Some of Dan's fraternity brothers always tailgate at the games, and just happened to be in the same lot as the Theta tailgate.

3. Mizzou beat Colorado in a SHUTOUT!!!

Here's a pic of all the old sorority gals, it was great to see them and their families. Its weird how time flies, huh?

The Mansions of Newport, RI

Last week when I was in Providence, Rhode Island for work, we took a side trip to Newport for the day. First of all, Rhode Island is basically an annex to Boston. They are fans of all the Boston teams and there was not a restaurant that didn't serve "chowda" or New England Clam Chowder as most would say it. So our little trip to Newport was surprising on many levels including the beautiful mansion tour they tout to the tourists. We, of course, could not pass up the opportunity to take a look. Below are a few pictures from the mansion tour, and the cliff walk.

You can go into the mansions but we were too late since that morning I was too busy beating my boss at Madden 09 on Xbox. Yeah, it was my first time playing... ever.

Dan & Isiah

This past weekend we went to Columbia for the Mizzou game. Alas, we lost. But the weekend wasn't an entire bust, we got to spend time with the family. Dan was playing with our nephew, Isiah, or rather he was playing with the tractors and Isiah joined in. Amy and I watched from inside the house and really enjoyed watching the boys.

Real Life Gossip Girls

Alicia, Shawn, Gannon, Sam & Jill

Last week when I was in NY, I attended the 21st birthday party of my new boss's son. Well he's really my boss's boss... but you get the point. All of his children attend NYU, though he lives in Detroit. He asked that Shawn, my boss... (are you following this?) arrange for a small party at a great place, the Sixth Ward. This is the same bar where I had my going away party, and is owned by a great friend, James.

The Orley Family, my boss's boss is the third from the right.

What did I expect? I expected a bunch of 21 year olds to come in and act stupid, drink a ton of shots and have to go home by 11 because they haven't quite grasped how to handle liquor yet. Mind you, it is a Tuesday night and thus a school night.

Not quite...

Here's what we got, real life Gossip Girl. If you haven't seen the show, it revolves around the lives of the NY elite high school kids. They drink and have more adult experiences than any high school kid I ever knew. They also have luxuries that put my Gap wardrobe to shame.

I decided I needed proof of these real life Gossip Girls so I randomly went around taking pictures of them under the ruse of being the party photographer. I am sorry to say that I don't think I got Keith Richards' daughter or Sting's son in any of my pics even though they were in attendance. Just for the record, I did not socialize with these kids... I merely sat at the edge of the bar and watched them like they were in a fishbowl. I'm not jealous of them, it has to be exhausting to live their life. I'm already tired enough as it is.

What's with the plaid? Don't worry, it's probably Gucci plaid... very chic.

Back at New Horizons!

I am happy to announce that on 9/22 I accepted a job back at my old home, New Horizons. I'll be doing Marketing for New Horizons of the Northeast... which means NYC, Philadelphia, Rhode Island and Connecticut. I spent last week traveling around to some of the offices that I'll be supporting and found that while many things have changed, plenty has stayed the same. It's great to know that so many of my old friends are still around and in some ways I can pick up with them where I left off.

I'll be primarily working from home, which I love. I get so much more done and my life is primarily run through this wonderful invention called a cell phone. All I can say is, I love my bluetooth headset, it never leaves my ear. I guess that just confirms that I am a total geek.

I am really excited about this new venture and happy to say that for the first time since we left NY, I feel like I'm home.