Cleopatra--Queen of De-Nile...

Oh, hell. It has happened. I have been dreading this day. I secretly knew it would come, but I had MORE secretly hoped my luck had changed and maybe, just MAYBE I would be spared. I have spotted the arrival of my first STRETCH MARK. Oh gawd, what a horrible word (Or two words--whatever). I noticed a red spot on my stomach a week or two ago. I thought maybe I had pinched my expanding belly or possibly burned my skin somehow? I am a huge clutz, so unexplained injuries are commonplace in my world. But it stayed there. And then, it started getting longer. On Friday, I took the time to study the line carefully. There was no denying that it is a stretch mark. I have had stretch marks since I was a kid. My dad has them too. I knew I was gentically pre-disposed to them, but I had hoped my careful maintenance routine of Tummy Honey Butter and Mother's Special Blend would get me through. Sigh...no such luck. I remember when I was a kid, I convinced myself for a very long time, that I had just scraped the sides of my thighs, like, 100 times on each side and I just forgot about it. At least my little mind has remained consistent.

All is well with Elyse! We hosted a big Hurricane Ike Survivors party this weekend! It was SO much fun! I stayed up until 3:30am hanging with my buds. I am shocked that I can have so much fun whilst knocked up and sober--who knew??

Elyse has taken to doing little dances on my bladder. It makes me have to process a fresh batch of pee every 5 minutes or so. Not a lot of fun, but at least I know my girl is having fun in there!!

Big Ol' Grins

Since Elyse's movements have been noticeable, I have had these HUGE shitty grins creep across my face. I am in big trouble. I am already wrapped around her finger.

There she blows!!

Here are pics from 3 months, 4 months, then 5 months. I am almost 6 months now--will post more as Elyse gets bigger!

Registry Madness!!

Holy cow! Went to Austin this weekend to register for baby stuff. Julie and I were feeling rather clueless and overwhelmed, so the baby guru of Austin, Jennie Fleming, graciously agreed to be our coach. We spent about 4 and a half hours registering for crap I did not even know existed! Thank GAWD for Jennie and her trusty assistant, Ella. Here are a couple of pics from the weekend.

Scare Today

Today, I had a scare at my endocrinologist's office. Dr. Monla was checking my thyroid and I started to fee like I was going to pass out. I had not been feeling well all morning, and it came to a head on the table. I had to lie down and drink water. The nurse took my blood pressure and was very concerned b/c the systolic rate was in the 40s. They kept me in the office until my blood pressure stabilized. They even took my blood sample for my thyroid testing while I was laying down! I am so grateful for Dr. Monla and her staff taking good care of me during this drama! Needless to say, I took the rest of the day off to rest--hence my time to post this.

In unscary news, I ordered this kick ass diaper bag from Storksak!! I am in love...

Elyse's Anatomy Scan Pics

Here are pics of Elyse's face from her anatomy scan last week.

Rock on!

After 12 LONG and HOT days, we got our power back. What an arduous and horrible ordeal. All of us Houston chicks were desperate to go blow off some steam, so we have decided to go see the Fratellis tonight! Elyse's first concert!! ROCK ON ELY!She's going to see the Cold War Kids on October 25th. The kid will have impeccable taste in music.

In other news, Elyse's anatomy scan and her ultrasound from yesterday's appointment with Dr. Nanda earned her glowing reviews. She looks fabulous!! I will post pics this weekend. I gave Jason a hearty "THANK YOU" for providing such winning swimmers in the gene pool.

9 days and counting

So, Hurricane Ike blew in 9 days ago, scared the living crap out of us and knocked our power out. We stayed at Sanford for 8 days until it started getting really hot out. Yesterday, we checked in to the Four Seasons downtown for a much needed break from our post hurricane existence. Lessons learned: 1. We will never "ride out" a hurricane again. It is F-ing scary, 2. We are installing a natural gas generator at the new house. Hand washing dishes + Deanna= very bad juju. 3. Being pregnant during a natural disaster is not recommended. One can't even have a "l'il" (read: bottle) of wine to soothe one's frazzled nerves.

While the Four Seasons RAWKS, I miss my kitties and have lost it on my sleep schedule. Elyse has been a little hella mover and I think she is ready for a return to a normal schedule. Tomorrow is her "anatomy scan" when we will verify that she is developing normally. I am hoping she escaped harm from all the bloody carbon monoxide fumes I breathed in whilst refilling our generator with fuel...

Girl, Girl, Girl!!!

World, hold on!! We have a daughter in the oven!! I am sure most people have heard that Houston is facing a huge hurricane, Ike, to be exact. Despite the looming disaster, I was determined to find out the kid's gender. The Inside Story, a 3-D elective ultrasound place here in H-town had scheduled an appointment for me yesterday. I called today and confirmed that they would be there, and Little Mary came and picked me up from work. We got to see the baby moving around and Little Mary got to see and hear her heartbeat for the first time! At one point Elyse (that's going to be her name) was sucking on her middle finger, so she was essentially shooting us the bird. That is definitely my daughter!!! From what we could tell, she has her daddy'd beautiful nose and long feet. She has all her fingers and toes and a strong heartbeat!! I cried like a wuss while lying on the table. I will say that paying for that ultrasound was the best money I have spent in a long time. It will be super cool to show Elyse the DVD they made of the ultrasound when she is older!! I wonder if she will be pissed that I published pictures of her vajayjay on the web??

Coming apart at the seams

Look at this belly! I am not sure if this is normal for someone who is 4 months and 3weeks pregnant--it seems really big!! I am developing a hella "linea negra" which is a fancy way of saying a "treasure trail". Jason thinks it is hilarious. Everytime he sees my bare belly he exclaims "You're coming apart at the seams!!"