snow, snow, and more snow

we got another blizzard - after the one over the weekend.  i've only worked 4 hours this week, as my agency keeps cancelling work due to the snow and crappy road conditions.  i seriously cannot wait to get out of this apartment...i'm going stir crazy!!!

daniel has been off work, too.  he actually drove all the way to work monday morning - which is over an hour commute - only to find out it had been cancelled.  he was a lil annoyed, but i was kinda excited because that meant he could take me to my appt!  they did a follow-up ultrasound.  originally they acted like i'd have to go in every 4 weeks after 20 weeks for ultrasounds to check on baby girl's growth, but she's doing great and they decided they didn't need to do another ultrasound until 32 weeks.  yay!  she was measuring right on track with everything, and weighed 1 lb and 6 oz.  here's a pic...per usual, she didn't wanna give up a good picture, though she was kicking and waving a lot this time.

23 weeks 5 days

emilee's bedding came in and i love it.  i'm not a big fan of "themes", so we went with some bold colors/dots/circles designs.  it's super cute.  i can't wait to get her crib put together and finish decorating her room. 

daniel is doing so well with the non-smoking...he's been 7 days without a cigarette now.  i hope he continues to do well with it - the chantix is working wonders.  i know there's some weird side effects, but so far he hasn't experienced any of those.  he said the hardest part is just not knowing what to do when he typically would've smoked.  he's chewing gum like crazy.  lol.  i'm just so glad he's not going through withdrawals.

nothing else going on - praying that the snow stays away from the mid-atlantic area for awhile!!!!  ready for spring.

non-dq blizzard and baby preparations

us lucky people in the DC/Baltimore area are being blessed with another blizzard.  seriously.  i'm not looking forward to it.  we were supposed to head to good ol' wv this weekend for a friend's baby shower, but instead i'm gonna be stuck watching the snow fall with a husband that is attempting to quit smoking by using chantix.  sound fun?  not so much.  no - seriously - i'm just teasing, he's doing really well, and i'm proud of him for quitting.

i hardly ever update, yet i'm finding myself at a loss for words.  basically the only thing going on is baby stuff...we did get the crib and changing table/dresser in.  we're not putting it together, however, for fear that emilee would end up collapsing on the floor, based on her mom and dad's skills in that department.  it'd either end up crooked or we'd end up broken and divorcing.  neither seem to be a good scenario.

i have another ultrasound on monday...they didn't get all the measurements they needed at my 20 week ultrasound, so they're doing another one at 24 weeks.  and probably another at 28 weeks.  since i'm overweight, they like to take extra precaution with her growth.  i also will be redoing my glucose screen at my 27 week appt, as well as all the other 28 week labs.  in less than 4 months emilee will be here.  it's kinda crazy to think about - but exciting at the same time. 

i feel like i've ballooned in the past 3 weeks or so.  i'm starting to feel her move more, and daniel has felt her move on one occasion, but i really think that was a fluke, since there hasn't been a repeat session.  here's a pic of me and daniel from a friend's wedding in january...you can kinda see what i'm talking about with the "ballooning"...

it's gonna be a busy few months...i'm heading back to memphis - oh, yay, bbq city - on february 21 for more work training...i'll only be there a week this time.  then it's several trips to wv for birthdays, my baby shower, and the birth of my friend jill's baby boy.  i really think this year is flying by, and that kinda scares me.

for all you lost fans - tuesdays are now my favorite night.  i cannot wait to see the next episode.  this sideways stuff is getting to me.

what does everyone think of biggest loser?  i am having trouble getting attached to anyone this season - though i can't stand the red team.

dmb tour dates were announced - and it feels so weird not to be prepping for 6-10 shows this summer.  does this mean i'm growing up?  i'm not sure.  my love for the band hasn't changed - i just don't see how it's possible to go to that many.  i really do want to try to go to a show or two.  my 1 year anniversary will be july 10, and they are playing a show about 2 hours from the house on july 9, so i'm hoping maybe daniel and i can slip away for that one...aunt manda has offered to babysit - and if something comes up, i'm sure mamaw dee would be willing as well.  there's another show like 45 mins from our place later in july, so that one is a possibility as well.  i guess i will play it by ear, and see how emilee's doing.  while i'm excited about her arrival, there's a part of me that feels really sad about letting such a big part of my life go...i am not sure what else to say about it.  but i do have a vision of her sitting on daniel's shoulders at a show singing along to grey street while we dance in the lawn section...so time will tell. :)

i'll end this for now - if i think of anythign interesting to share, i'll pop in.  maybe with some ultrasound pics on monday?

no longer an it

we're having a baby girl!  we went to my 20 week ultrasound appt on tuesday, and little miss hughes did not want to open her legs for us...but the ultrasound tech finally announced that it was a girl.  i think daniel might've died from happiness - he thought all along we were having girl, so he says.  i personally think he was just hoping all along, but whatever...

after the appt daniel and i went to the mall and bought emilee lots of new clothes.  i tried really hard to limit what i spent, because i know that a baby shower is coming up, plus my friend jill has tons of little girl stuff she's sending my way.  that's gonna come in handy, especially with the $1,000+ per month daycare expense, but that's a complaint for another day.

in other GREAT news, i passed my 3 hour glucose test...so yay - no gestational diabetes right now! :)  i was thrilled...after i failed the 1 hour, i was convinced i had it, especially with being overweight.  i got that news on tuesday, too, so all in all, it was a good day.

no much else to report on this end.  i've been really busy at work.  i'm heading to VA to visit with manda this weekend...we're gonna tackle the start of the baby registry.  daniel was supposed to make the trip down with me, but he is going to have to work overtime this weekend.  he told me to go in so he could get some sleep, since he'll be working midnights.  lol.  you'd think i was loud or something... ;)

you guys have been all healthy and exercising and stuff.  i'm actually looking forward to the day i can go all hardcore on weightloss again.

enjoy the rest of your weekend and the long 3 day weekend (for you federal employees!).

out with the old, in with the new

the new year that is.  2009 was a pretty big year full of new adventures for me.  started the year off moving to a bigger place (in wv) with the then boyfriend, joined ww, got engaged, planned a wedding, got married, went to hawaii, left my 1st "real" job, moved to md, started a new job, got pregnant, and moved again to a bigger place.  that's my year in a nutshell, and while all of these things have turned out to be positive choices, it seems like a lot for one person to endure in one year.  i'm wondering if 2010 will be full of lots of changes or just the biggest change yet - becoming a mom.

in baby/pregnancy news, last monday i had to go in for my 18 week checkup and they did the glucose tolerance screen a few weeks early since i'm overweight.  well, those results came back and i failed it, so i go again this coming friday to do the 3 hour test that will determine if i have gestational diabetes.  that means a strict, low carbohydrate diet for this ol' girl. 

we should get the results for daniel's cystic fibrosis gene carrier blood screen back tomorrow.  can't remember if i mentioned this before, but i was determined to be a cystic fibrosis gene carrier, so daniel had to get tested as well.  if his returns negative, then there's no chance baby hughes will have CF.  however, if he's positive, there's a 25% chance our baby will have it.  i'm trying to think positively, as the odds are in our favor, but it is still kinda scary.

baby stuff seems to be on my mind a lot these days.  i think that started with the baby's first movement.  i am dying to know if it's boy or girl (9 more days!!!) and to start really prepping for him/her.  daycare research is still taking place.  i'm hoping to make a decision sometime this month.  the expense of it all really freaks me out!!!

hope everyone enjoyed their new year's as much as i enjoyed mine.  daniel and i drove down to va to meet up with manda and jay.  we had a nice dinner, and then went back to their place to play games (lots of guitar hero, some wii arcade games, and then i introduced them to the awesome catchphrase).  it was one of my favorite new year's yet!  did anyone else watch the dick clark countdown?  we couldn't help but giggle, but wow, i feel bad for him.  he sounds so bad...that stroke did a number on him.  i think it's good they still let him participate, but still...

okay, i'm outta here.  i'm freezing and need to get back under the covers.  this -7 windchill is getting old!!!

it's been awhile...

i realized it's been over a month since my last post.  i guess i just haven't had much to say, plus we've been really busy with trips home to WV, moving, and the holidays.

we moved to a bigger apartment earlier this month....3 bedrooms, 2 baths - compared to our 1 bedroom, 1 bath previously.  i feel like i moved into a house - lol.  we left 900 square feet to move into 1500 square feet....it's been really nice so far.  (except for our neighbors upstairs who sound like they're moving furniture at least 10 hours of the day)

we find out what the baby is on jan 12....less than 2 weeks now.  the suspense is killing me.  i'm ready to know if we're having emilee or evan.  we've been trying to prep for the baby - seems like there's a million things to consider and do, but we're slowly getting there...and i'm feeling less overwhelmed the more decisions we make.  daycare seems to be the biggie....it's soooooo expensive up here.  we're almost halfway through this pregnancy thing - 18 weeks today.

from my 1st prenatal appt, i'm up 7 lbs.  i don't love that, but i partially blame the holidays.  well, i guess i blame myself, but the holidays were thrown in there.

as for new year's plans, we're getting together with manda and jay - i'm looking forward to it, as we haven't seen them in FOREVER.  we'll probably just grab some dinner and then hang out for awhile.  i'm really excited for the easy, 3 day weekend.  :) 

okay, i'll try to make an appearance more often.  you guys keep blogging, it keeps me entertained at work!

crazy easy

i've been at work for about 45 minutes and am already to get out of here.  it's a short day, though...i leave here at noon to head to the doctor for my 1st trimester screening (ultrasound) and then i've got about a million things to do before we hit the road to wv later tonight. 

i'm really looking forward to going home...i haven't been home since sometime in september, which really surprises me.  just had about a million things going on, it seems.  we should get to the g'rents at 10 or so tonight, and won't be returning to MD until sunday evening sometime.  it's a long break, but i'm a little worried about leaving the boycat that long.  d swears he'll be fine, so i'm holding him to it...

no real complaints on this end.  surprised, i'm sure.  things have been rolling along fairly smooth lately.

in the spirit of thanksgiving...
things i'm thankful for at this moment

• my husband, who makes me laugh.  (dreams of fried eggs and random voicenotes come to mind)
• the dot aka baby hughes
• finding jeans that fit last night (this is a biggie, as i've been looking for over a month)
• my grandparents for treating me like i'm their daughter
• bestie, lovely, and richmond friend time this week!
• my in-laws
• girl time with my FF, which always involves good talks, good food, and brutal honesty
• super mario world on wii and the penguin suit in the ice worlds
• bloggers - because they keep me educated, and pass my time at work
• dmb - for making the drive to work much more bearable, and for many other things
• DVR and TiVo
• stephenie meyer for writing one of my favorite stories and leaving me twilight obsessed again this week
• good health insurance coverage
• my prenatal vitamins for keeping me un-sick so far this year
• my iPhone - i can't help it, i'm addicted, and i love it.

four things

as i'm already bored at work, and i've only been here 45 minutes, i thought i'd do this little survey i found on another's blog from a few years ago.  (what can i say, i've been blog stalking)

4 things i did 10 years ago - 1999

1. recovered from a break-up from my 1st real serious boyfriend.   ah, josh colegrove.  would say it'd been awhile since i'd thought about him, but he updates on facebook more than i do.  hehe
2. drove to canada with my mom - that was a good night...
3. started my 1st job - i was 16, working as a cashier at foodland (sidenote:  i honestly did love that job, ended up working there until 2005 - through almost all of college - working as an office clerk and later as the evening manager)
4. scored 64 points during the basketball season...haha.  and yes, i was proud of that number.

4 things i did 5 years ago - 2004

1. skipped A LOT of accounting classes to do things that were more fun:  eat out (black bean soup from chilli willi's or cheese wedges at o'charleys or white cheese dip at rio), go shopping or because it flooded
2. went to walmart at midnight, bought a single rose, some black spray paint, an offensive card, and a lemon meringue pie - and proceeded to leave it on a doorstep...maybe we got caught that night and maybe i peed my pants from laughing so hard, maybe.
3. officially formed the AAA and dreamed of owning a CPA firm with that same name some day (although i'm kinda glad that dream didn't come true - not sure i'd wanna work at a CPA firm, let alone own one)
4. went on my 1st cruise (grand cayman islands, cozumel, and key west) and fell in love with cruising and all of key west (i'm a parrothead, what can i say?)

another sidenote:  i was married to my 1st husband in 2004 and we went through a LOT of crap that year (my mom had recently passed away, his dad was in iraq) but still my favorite memories are with the girls.  wish i'd realized this then....

4 things i did yesterday

1. watched biggest loser from tuesday night with my hubby and found out that rebecca and daniel are now dating, and am still trying to figure that one out
2. talked to my poppaw for almost an hour, which included a very detailed description of the cole slaw he made using my grandma's kitchen aid mixer - don't ask.
3. read a few chapters in breaking dawn
4. sat at work, bored out of mind, for 9.5 hours

4 shows i love to watch

1. biggest loser
2. big brother - when it's on
3. grey's anatomy
4. top chef

4 things i love to do

1. see DMB in concert.  i'm kinda having withdrawals, just a lil.  i realized this morning when JTR came on my iPod
2. travel - for fun, not for work
3. play dr. mario with daniel
4. see the odometer hit a "milestone" number - 9,999 or 12,000 - anything even or a repeat of the same number

i guess technically i'm supposed to tag people, but i'll let you guys do it if you want, though i think amanda should definitely do it, because she hasn't updated in FOREVER!!!