Since oh…about Day 1 of this pregnancy, I have been filled with anxiety about this baby and if everything was okay with it. My family history doesn’t pose any risk whatsoever, but I can help that nagging dark corner of my mind that something could be wrong, and I would have no idea…further compounded is the fact that the Dr. doesn’t do ultrasounds until 16-18 weeks so I’m left waiting…thinking of every possible thing that could go wrong.

And now, I’m really darn sick of these thoughts. I’m completely over it. Even hubby is…he is so great reassuring me every single day when I go on my crazy rants. But enough is enough. I need to chill out and stop reading BabyCenter.com and TheNestBaby.com message boards and any baby related book. I’m placing myself on a self-imposed ban from reading those message boards and books until week 12. ;)

Wish me luck.

And for a few friends who are expecting and readers of my lil’ ole blog, this one is for you too:

Prayer for a Safe Pregnancy

This life you have given us
is so tiny, fragile, and vulnerable,
safe in the womb of flesh and hope,
yet subject to danger and death.
O God of love, creator of life,
hear our prayer.
We want this baby so much.
Please grant this child of ours
a full term of nurture,
the joy and mystery of life,
and the blessing of your love.
Grant us the fulfillment of our dreams,
a baby to cherish and protect,
a child to teach and guide,
a blessing to our family.
Amen.

Source: Prayers of Our Hearts by Vienna Cobb Anderson

  Wow that week flew by fast! I’m already half way through week 9…and guess what? I think I’m finally seeing the light at the end of the nausea rainbow. Instead of daily-ALL DAY-sickness, it’s just a bit here and there every day the past couple of days. 

Just a few new food cravings…though I’m so bad when I go the grocery store…everything that sounds good and I haven’t eaten in ages somehow ends up in my cart. My mom used Prego spaghetti sauce as the base sauce all through my childhood, and I had only some Ragu jar in the pantry a few weeks back. What a dissapointment! Now everytime I end up at the store I get some Prego – just in case – you never know when that pasta trigger will strike! ;)

And I have definitely been jonesing for sushi since Day 1 of this pregnancy. I love me some extra spicy tuna rolls. Sigh…only 7 more months. In the mean time Shrimp Tempura rolls (anything cooked) are fair game!

Here’s the 8 week picture (a little crooked but hey, the camera was leaning on the shelf). I think the bump has subsided just a tad this week when I checked myself out in the mirror this morning….maybe the week 8 picture was after a large meal. LOL.

I also realized that the background is going to change on these…we move to the rental this week!

If anyone knows my husband, he doesn’t wait until the last minute for anything. So early Saturday morning, he returned from an errand with loads of packing boxes and supplies, and we got to work. In two days, we packed up just about our ENTIRE house. Seriously, it looks like the day we moved in.  The only thing left is for me to tackle this week: my scrapbook room (YIKES!) and my closet (YIKES, again).

It’s quite surreal really. I even had a minor breakdown on Saturday night…which can easily be attributed to pregnant hormones and stress of all this chaos. I really loved our house, we built it from scratch, we planned on staying in it for a long while. But plans change and now we are on to building our true dream house…one where we really mean it this time, we are planning on staying for a very very long time…like 30 years long time! :)

I can’t wait to plant a garden and all my favorite flowers…and for our future children to run around catching fireflies in the summer time…

All of these dreams makes it worth the 6 month building time.

And this is where it will all take place:

Thank you for all your amazing comments on your last post! You guys are great – never thought that would have stirred up that many comments. :) I thought about possibly making the blog private to close friends and family, but reconsidered, and will keep things as they are…unless someone goes all freaky on me. :)

So we are at the 9 week mark today and our baby looks less like a reptile! ;)  Check out our little ticker to the left of the blog. Today he/she is the size of a grape! Amazing how small that is!

I’m using a lot of exclamations on this post which is odd considering today was a "sick day"…one of the yucky morning sickness days, but feeling much better because I made one of my favorite salads for lunch. SO GOOD that I just have to share. Food tastes so much better (well sometimes) when pregnant! ;) Enjoy!

Broccoli Ramen Asian Salad
Cook time: 5 minutes (seriously!)

2 bags (3-ounce) Ramen Noodle Soup in Oriental (other flavors will work, too)
1/4 stick butter
1/4 cup unsalted peanuts
1 bags (12-ounce) bags broccoli cole slaw (in the bagged salad section of the grocery store)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
Chopped green onions, for garnish

Dressing Mix:
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 ramen noodle seasoning packets

Put the uncooked ramen noodles in a bag (or the unopenedbags they come in) and crush them with hands or a rolling pin while melting butter in a large skillet over low/medium heat. Add the crushed noodle to the skillet and saute, stirring occasionally (keep temperature at low/medium heat) until a bit browned. Meanwhile, whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Place the shredded broccoli into bowl and toss with the noodles, peanuts, and sunflower seeds. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat. Garnish with chopped green onions. Chill in fridge for 30 minutes or until cold before enjoying.

Notes: You can add two bags of broccoli slaw instead of just one…but I’m not a huge slaw fan, so I do just one. I sometimes also add chopped cilantro as a garnish as well. 

Wow, so I guess it took a good three years to get my first mean comment on my blog. To the anonymous person "Disappointed in the South" who left the following comment regarding my request for local assistance in day care:

"You’re barely pregnant and already planning who you can pawn the baby off on when she’s only a couple of months old? Sad. Have you not even bothered to consider what other options you have? "

Yeah, you see I have this thing called A JOB. One that supports my family and this baby. It pays things called bills so I can assist in putting a roof over our heads, gas in our cars and food on the tables. It also provides a thing called health insurance that will help this baby grow and come out in this world as healthy as we can hope for. I do have many friends in the Nashville area who have the luxury of being stay-at-home moms. I use the word "luxury" extremely loosely because in fact their job is very very hard work, but they are able to be with their kids at the magic of every major milestone. They have been able to work out an arrangement with their spouses to stay at home probably with some major budgeting and sacrifices. I on the other hand made my own individual choice that I will continue to support my family in the best way I can – and that includes working to support things like building a house. I don’t know how you could consider it wrong to be seeking out the best childcare for my child as soon as possible – ESPECIALLY ONE THAT IS BASED IN A CHURCH ON CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES.

I went to a home-based daycare since I was 6 weeks old and and guess what? I came out a wonderful fully functioning member of society. After all, Mom didn’t have much choice as a single Mom when there are bills to be paid. My childhood memories of that daycare are some of the best memories I have.

So, thanks Mom for pawning me off. And thanks Disappointed in the South for furthering my belief that there are some really sad people out there who give unsolicted advice to pregnant ladies.