Over 25 Weeks Pregnant.

I got a text from Dave last night (he was working in Springfield). It said :

"Got a fortune cookie for supper and it said three months from today there will be something big happening in your life."

Wow - a pretty accurate fortune cookie! A mere 3 and a half months and we will have a newborn in the house again. I can't wait, even though my memories of zero sleep and lots of crying are starting to come back. It's amazing how quickly you forget.

15 weeks to go.

PS - I can make my belly button pop out on command now. I will not show you if you ask, but please believe me that it is highly entertaining.

Will You Split? NO.

This post goes out to Kate - you know who you are.

Dave and I went to a fundraiser Friday night. It was really fun - a reverse raffle. If they call your name that means you are a big loser - no $1,000 prize for you!

Dave and I made it all the way to the 11th spot - so almost the top 10. Pretty exciting! We did win $50, so that was pretty sweet.

Anyway, for the remaining tickets, they bring the 10 finalists up to the front of the room. They ask each finalist if they want to split the $1,000. If all 10 say yes, everyone gets $100 and goes home happy. But that never happens. There is always at least one person who refuses to split the pot.

They want the glory, the full monty, you know what I'm saying.

This year's main non-splitter was Kate. She was very firm about not splitting. She made it to the top two and still refused to split (each would have gotten $500...not bad!).

And she won.

And it was awesome.

And what made it more awesome was that she came over to me earlier in the night and told me she reads my blog.

So hi, Kate!

Enjoy your $1,000!

Favorite Valentine's - An Update.

It appears my memory has failed me (yet again). How could I possibly forget two of my other favorite Valentine's celebrations?

From Sarah:

"Remember when I woke up early and hung hearts from our ceiling as a surprise for valentine's day?"

Basically, I woke up and came out into our tiny living room where Sarah had cut out and strung hearts all over the ceiling. It was fabulous. I think we followed it up with some quiet time and it was an awesome v-day. And then we moved out of that apartment into a nasty house with five girls and ruined our friendship. Thank GOODNESS we got it back. Love you girl!

From Morgan:

"Was it really better than our white trash valentines day at 119 1/2? I need to dig up those pictures."

I really don't see how I forgot this date. It was a double date - Morgan and Seebass, Me and Dave. The boys wore wife-beater tanks. It was a very memorable night. Please find those pictures.

Low-Key Valentine's.

Probably my favorite Valentine's Day so far.

Super low key, good food (a new recipe!) and my favorite bachelor (bob-o). It was a great night.

New recipe:

Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Balsamic Vinegar Pan Sauce
Cooking Light, March 2004

*I doubled it*

1/2 cup fat-free chicken broth, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 skinless (5-ounce) boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
Chopped parsley (optional)

Combine broth, vinegar, and honey, set aside. Melt butter and oil in a large nonstick skillet over low heat.  While butter melts, sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Place flour in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in flour; shake off excess flour.  Increase heat to medium-high; heat 2 minutes or until the butter turns golden brown. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add shallots, and sauté 30 seconds. Add the broth mixture, scraping to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil, and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 3 minutes). Serve sauce over chicken. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired. 4 servings

365 calories/serving
23% of calories from fat
13% of calories from carbs
63% of calories from protein

We followed up the meal with some chocolate turnovers (topped with powdered sugar - YUM) on a bed of strawberries.

Fast. Simple. Delish.

A very fabulous Valentine's Day.

Disney - Day 3

Yes, I'm still doing this. Yes, I know I'm insane, obsessed, etc. I'm pretty sure no one is surprised.

So Day #3 will be spent in the Animal Kingdom. We didn't upgrade our park tickets to park hopper, so we can only do one park per day. That also affects our food choices. I'm not too worried about it. It's Disney for Tightwads.

Animal Kingdom will consist of Safari rides, Camp Mickey performances, Lion King performances,

quick-service lunch at Flame Tree BBQ, Dinoland, Boneyard, TriceraTop Spin, Kali River Rapids, and any other rides on my master plan. Oh yes, I have a master plan.

We will catch the parade at 3:45 and our dinner reservations are at 6:30 for the RainForest Cafe.

Tomorrow - Day 4 - my birthday - the big 3-0 - and more Magic Kingdom.

Disney - Day 2 - Possibly

MAGIC KINGDOM!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot WAIT to go to the Magic Kingdom. This is what I've Hallie's been waiting for. We will be fast-passing when possible to make sure we hit up the biggies. I have a whole path mapped out (naturally), but also know where to rest, snack, etc. I don't want to run Dave and Hallie into the ground. Oh yeah, and I'm pregnant. But whatever. I can rest while they ride the rides that I can't!

For lunch we will eat in Frontierland, quick-service at Pecos Bill.

For supper we have reservations at the Crystal Palace (character dining!!!)

 and will catch the Wishes Nighttime Spectacular fireworks at 9pm. 

Check out Disney's description of the fireworks:

"Wishes Nighttime Spectacular is the biggest, brightest fireworks extravaganza in Magic Kingdom theme park history.

Jiminy Cricket is your host, guiding Pinocchio, Cinderella, Ariel, Peter Pan and other beloved Disney Characters through a fantastic tale told amongst the stars.

A magnificent musical score synchs with the fireworks for a stunning aural and visual experience, featuring unique pyrotechnics and special effects.

Discover that wishes do come true when you experience Wishes Nighttime Spectacular, a story so big only the sky can hold it!"

 I can't wait.

Spending Freeze Update.

We interrupt this Disney programming to give you an update on the spending freeze.

I am rocking this spending freeze. Outside of purchasing a wedding shower gift and a charity raffle ticket (two things I had already committed to), I haven't spent a DIME on anything unncessary.

Yes, it's only been five days.

Bite me.

Disney - Day 1 - Revised.

Well that didn't take long!

But I just want to make sure to give ourselves time to chill out the day we get there. I've switched our dinner plans to lunch reservations at the 50's Prime Time Cafe, but made them late-ish so we can rest up, swim, etc and then head out.

They have the Pixar Pals parade at 3pm, hello ElasticGirl!! She is currently obsessed with The Incredibles. PERFECT.

We will hit up ToyStory Mania, catch a Play House Disney Live and Voyage of the Little Mermaid. We will eat counter-service somewhere and maybe get dessert at the Sci-Fi Diner.

I'm planning for us to see Fantasmic that night at 8:30pm, but if we are super tired then I'm not pushing anything. We will see the electricl parade and wishes fireworks over the next few days. So we are set.

Day 2 - coming tomorrow!! Magic Kingdom, baby!

Disney - Day #1 - Maybe

This is subject to change, of course.

March 7th - leave in the afternoon/evening. It's a 17 hour drive. Never before have we attempted to drive 17 hours with Hallie. We have been on a trip in the semi to Georgia, so add another 5+ hours, and no sweat. Right?!

Anyway, so we will drive overnight and arrive at Disney sometime in the morning or mid-morning. We will let Dave sleep, while we hit the pool and playground at the resort (Disney's All-Star Movie Resort), IF we are able to check in at that time.

After Dave is somewhat rested, we will hit Hollywood Studios. I figure this isn't the most kid-friendly park, so we might as well check it out since the other full days will be at the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, etc.

We will check out Toy Story Mania:

The Voyage of the Little Mermaid:

And then eat supper at this place (reservations already made):

50's Prime Time Cafe. Makes me think of the 63 Diner in Columbia, a place that I LOVE. And it looks super family friendly and a good first-day, non-character dining experience :)

We did purchase a full meal plan, so it's fun to plan our table service meals for each day.

After this day we will all crash back at the resort, have a fabulous night's rest and wake up ready to rock at the Magic Kingdom.

Spending Freeze.

Do you feel the chill in the air?

 It's my spending freeze. It's kind of like...a cleansing in preparation for something. I'm cleansing in preparation for Disney. We're spending enough to go! So, no spending (outside of food, necessities) period.

No more maternity clothes.

No more baby clothes.

No more baby stuff (plenty of time for that later).

No more vending machines - yikes!

No more eating out.

I am frozen. A snowman. For a month. Well, until February 5th. Because I will have to do Disney prep at some point - car snacks (yes, we're driving), car activities, etc.

But until then I am dedicated. Fully.

Holy Macaroni.

We are going to Disney.

As in, Walt Disney World Resorts in Orlando, Florida.

As in, freaking land of Cinderella's Castle.

As in, holy crap Magic Kingdom.

As in, Hallie's last hurrah as an only child.

As in, MY 30th BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

As in, I can't believe Dave is on board with this. For reals.

I am in major planning mode. Not sure if you followed along with the trip to Hawaii, but I was a planning fool. And it made for an awesome trip.

Organized = awesome.

Unorganized = you miss stuff.

I don't plan on missing anything. I have dreamt of going to Disney my whole life. I want it to be amazing for the whole family, especially Hallie. I am giddy....GIDDY over this. Giddy I can't even say how excited I am.

I have consulted with my Disney experts (thanks, betsy, tom and jill!) and they have given me great planning tips and things not to miss. I've already made reservations for some sweet character dining (more to come on that!) and have basically booked our our time there. I'm thinking of getting a book. I love books.

Anyway, I'm excited. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions for Disney I'd love to hear them!!!

Dear Dave: Snow Day Edition

Dear Dave,

While you are enjoying 76 degree weather in Florida (i hate you) we are having a snowy fun time here. So these pictures are a big boo-ya for not being here last night when the blizzard was raging and our power was flickering.

I do love you.

Snow Day Continued...in pictures.

Another Day of Snow.

It is 8:35am. I have already committed myself to a tea party and a game of Pretty Pretty Princess. More later.

Snow Day.

It is 9:15am.

I have already banned the TV - what was I thinking? We have played Pretty Pretty Princess twice and are going to have a tea party. She is antsy. I am un-motivated. A terrible combination. I'm dying to find out about my BFF Jenna and her new baby. Come on baby Curry!!!

I need to get my butt in gear. First up, a bra. And teeth brushing. Possibly deodorant.

 Ready,

Set,

Go!