This Weekend

Haha - saw this and IMMEDIATELY thought of my hubby.  Love ya babes!

Got the nursery art hung and our map re-taped to the wall.

Took advantage of front-row parking at the grocery.

And, have the cuisinart ice cream bowl chilling to combine two of my favorite things (so much my favorite I had them for breakfast!)

Coffee and Donuts icecream

Sporting our new parents-to-be tees.

30 week: getting bigger & better

Made it back from Baltimore!  Baby grew SO much while I was gone.  
Instead of just feeling kicks, I'm feeling all kinds of movement!

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

AMDA: day 6

Whew!  Almost lost it today. Between being pregnant, mentally exhausted, sitting too much, missing felipe/elo/jackson, and interacting with people I almost went over the emotional edge.  Luckily there was a well-timed break scheduled so I got to take a lap around the hotel and get some fresh air.  Took me 45 minutes to decide where to get carryout from, and then the food was disappointing.  But, tomorrow wraps up the course and I will get to return home to my bed, my food, and my loved ones.

AMDA: day 5

A relaxing evening was just what I needed to get my groove back.   However, baby did not make it easy to get to sleep.  Just when I turned off the light, Baby Rosso decided it was time to practice their Olympics gymnastics routine.

Nonetheless I woke up rested and refreshed.  The sessions were shorter today (finished up by 515), and we got 90 minutes for lunch.  Skipped out on the pharma talk and walked down to the Lexington Market for a world-famous crabcake @ Faidley's. It was my first $15, microwaved, crabcake eaten standing up (they have tables, but no chairs.) But when you factor in the ambiance of the market with the kitsch it was quite the experience. 

This evening I walked back down to the harbor and enjoyed some french toast and scrambled eggs at a hole-in-the-wall diner.  Totally hit the spot.  Then I stumbled upon a mall (I think I have mall radar!) where I scored some fabulous colorful pieces. 

I sunk to an all-time fashion low this evening. Absolute mortification.  I was that woman wearing tennis shoes with a dress.  At almost 30 weeks pregnant I had no choice.  My feet thank me.

AMDA: day 4

Was way too tired last night to post. Had lectures from 730am thru 630pm.  I think I permanently indented the seat of my chair.  Don't think I even made it outside for a breath of fresh air or felt sunshine on my skin.  Ate all 3 meals with AMDA.  As soon as we were done I put on my robe, crawled in bed, propped up my feet and watched some bad tv.   I did finish reading "The Hours" which is an amazing book.  Let me know if you want to borrow it.

Did get to wear my new green necklace; total steal at $6!

AMDA: day 3

Mom, you will be proud of me.  I have made 3 friends at this conference!  One just finished her geriatrics fellowship, one is pregnant and due in Oct too (how do the 2 pregnant ladies manage to end up at the same table? Serendipity!), and the last is retiring from patient care, but keeping a part-time job as medical director in the nursing home.  It's nice to have them around to joke with and to ask for advice.  Now at the end of the day I still want to go off on my own adventures.  Extrovert by day, introvert by night. 

I've gotten so much knitting done during this conference.  I've finally started on the 3rd color of my shawl, which is a fun bright yellow.  Keeps my hands busy, which keeps me from nodding off!  Baby also keeps me awake with some well-timed kicks.  Fel & I are going to have such a smart baby with all the things they are hearing and learning while in my womb!

After work adventures included a long walk to the kitschy federall hill neighborhood - browsing some super cute clothes, picking up 2 new necklaces (stay tuned, I'll wear them both this week!), pizza w/ hot sauce and spicy cherry peppers (picked up a roll of tums just in case!),  3 mugs of local-made rootbeer, and a michael jackson street performer.  Baltimore has so much more to offer than I anticipated and the people here are so nice.

AMDA: day 2

Whew!  Today was even fuller than yesterday, straight through 730am to 515pm.  Definitely learned a lot - but the material was very dense and dry.  Luckily they had an endless supply of decaf Earl Grey to sip on! As soon as it was over I headed outside for a long walk down to the National Harbor and then over to an oyster bar for grilled corn and a fresh lobster roll.  Was dying for some fresh oysters, but had to pass.  (Luckily the annual AMDA conference is at the DC National Harbor this spring!). Found a froyo place on my way back to the hotel - yup, I was that stereotype - preggo waddling down the street with icecream:). Currently I'm lounging waiting for the big proposal scene on Bachelorette.  Excellent evening!

Fel had a very productive day as well, matting and framing our nursery art.  As Salt n' Peppa (one of my fave 90s girl groups would say) -- whatta man!

AMDA: day 1

My morning began even before the sun rose from the eastern horizon with an early morning flight.  Luckily I have an amazing husband who dropped me off at the airport without a single complaint.  Made it through security with my bump after getting questioned about how far along I am.  They asked with a smile, but I think I genuinely made them nervous.  After a 40 minute delay at the gate for maintenance I was on my way.

Either baby really loves flying and was super excited or baby was angry and punishing me with a flurry of kicks.  Either way it was awesome!  Super baby!  Second suprise was the weather in Baltimore - high 60s and rainy.

I arrived in plenty of time for the conference so I wandered down the street to a local pub to sip a ginger beer (close cousin to rootbeer, not alcoholic beer), read a novel, and munch on some tomato soup with grilled cheese.

That was the highlight of my day for sure.  The conference has started off a little dry, I'm hoping it picks up tomorrow.  At the meet & greet tonight I had the misfortune of sitting next to the geriatrician version of "back in my day I walked 10 miles to school, barefoot, uphill each way". Things have certainly changed in medicine over the past 30 years, but not everything is easier.  Excused myself as soon as I scarfed down my 2 plates of cheese, crackers, and crudites for a quick walk on the treadmill at the gym.

Currently I'm vegging in bed watching tv in complete control of the remote.

Stay tuned for day 2.......

This week

This week has been SO busy!  I'm still adjusting to the life of a fellow and frankly it's quite rough.  Here's a breakdown of my days:

Mondays @ Aberdeen Village nursing home

Tuesdays @Kansas City VA (a 30m commute) - PM&R in the am, Assessment Clinic in the pm

Wednesdays @Kansas City VA - Wound clinic in the am, Neurology clinic in the pm

Thursdays: @ KU - Assessment Clinic in the am, teaching activities in the pm

Fridays @ KU - my clinic in the am (love this clinic!) and lecture in the pm

Throw in reading a couple chapters of my board review book to prep for Friday lecture, keeping up on patient phone calls and prescription requests, getting my research project off the ground, reviewing journal articles for monthly journal club, prepping my ethics presentation for the upcoming Ethics lunch . . . .

Not to mention just learning what all of these things mean, where to go, how the flow works, what the attendings expect out of me. . . .

I arrive home pretty exhausted by the end of the day - take off my support hose, check my email, eat a snack, start dinner, do some dishes/laundry, watch an episode on the tivo, shower, and then go to bed.

Ugh!  

On the bright side, I really enjoy cooking.  This week's featured CSA recipe was Moussaka.

"Moussaka is a casserole made by layering eggplant with a spiced meat filling then topping it off with a creamy bechamel sauce that is baked to golden perfection.

It is perhaps the most widely recognized of all Greek dishes and was made famous by the legendary Greek chef, Nicholas Tselementes."

A little too ethnic for my dear hubby, he was not a fan of the cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg in such a savory dish.  I was a big fan of the browned cheese on top as well as the rich bechamel sauce.

Can you believe I will be 29 weeks along on Friday?  So exciting!  I cannot wait to meet Baby Rosso.

How your baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

Baby now has a mini-Pack & Play as well as a bouncer thanks to a very generous urology colleague of Felipe's.  Three cheers for hand-me-downs!

Saturday

Today has been quite the productive day.  Against my will, my sleep cycle has already shifted into "mommy-mode" and I woke up ready to start the day at 630am.  Felipe and I actually got up together, except he had to go in to work.

While he sipped his coffee and caught up on computer stuff, I went out to do some yardwork while it was still cool.  I trimmed down the mini-trees from our front yard (which is a whole different story) and did a bit of raking in the back.  

I hit up the grocery store early, hoping to beat the Saturday shoppers.  Turns out the geriatric crowd are the Saturday shoppers and they are slow. . . . . .

The highlight of the grocery was definitely finding Biscoff spread.  Tastes just like the airline cookies!  Amazingly delicious.

Here's a pic of the disaster that was my kitchen.  I was in the middle of making Chocolate Zucchini bread and a delicious black bean and corn salsa using fresh veggies from our CSA.

  

My hubby really liked it!

(Much more than he likes posing for pictures.)

Got a start on the baby book. . . . ..

AND the Pièce de résistance - finishing up the rag rug!  I am loving it.  It's so cool to think about little Baby Rosso while I'm working on projects.

Finished up the day with a little croquet for our dear friend Heather's 30th birthday.  Such a fun game, brought back backyard childhood memories.

Currently craving.....

Grilled chicago dog on a pretzel bun,
Cucumber salad,

And grilled corn.

All from our weekly CSA!
(ps - all the grilling was done by moi)

Our week

This week flew by!  A couple of highlights included:

1.  grilling chicken legs (Fel makes the BEST chx legs in the world)

2.  Working on the rag rug.  Elo thought she was being super helpful!

3.  Eating our farmer's market bounty: eggplant, picked beet salad, ice cream w/ strawberries and chocolate chips.  All SO yummy!

4.  Trying out my new make-up for date night - I finally decided it was time to look like a grown-up.  2 hours in sephora - $100 and 2 make-up lessons later I'm feeling pretty good about putting on my face.

5.  Homemade salsa with tomatoes and peppers from the Farmer's Market