The Home Stretch

We have arrived at the 40 Week mark...well, actually 40 weeks and 1 day today! I've been telling this baby for the last 2 weeks that (s)he had just better stay put because this mama was not ready yet. First of all, I wanted to teach all of my classes up until Friday (39 weeks and 6 days) because my maternity leave sub wasn't arriving until this weekend. Secondly, I wanted to wait until GG (Eric's mom) arrived from Pittsburgh on Saturday (my due date). And lastly, I wanted to make sure that everything was ready on the home front now that all of my school business is taken care of. Well, little Baby Frueh, now that all the boxes have been checked off on my to-do list, we're ready to welcome you at any time. We even have the welcome sign out and ready for you :-)

I got a little nervous earlier this week when we had something of a baby-bonanza in our circle of friends. I have three other friends who were also pregnant and all due between February 17th and February 27th. ALL THREE of them had their babies in one 24-hour period between Monday and Tuesday night. CRAZINESS!!! As the calls, texts, and facebook messages started pouring in about the three new arrivals, everyone at work kept looking at me, so sure that I'd be next. Well, "Newbie" knew that mama was not ready and (s)he politely stayed put. Now I'm just trying to be patient, reminding myself that babies arrive when they're ready and that this baby is not officially "late" until we pass the 42-week mark (although I very much hope we do not reach that point). We're just so excited to meet the newest member of our family and find out if Molly has a new baby sister or a new baby brother. We'll keep you posted.

Cravings!

My cravings during this pregnancy have been out of control! The only really intense craving that I remember from my pregnancy with Molly was Andy's cheeseburgers. After not eating red meat for 2 years, all I wanted for the last 8 weeks was greasy Andy's cheeseburgers! (If you're ever in North Carolina, you definitely have to give them a try).

Well, this time, my cravings have been so random and unpredictable that every grocery shopping trip has become quite an adventure. At this moment, I'm indulging my salt craving with some Utz Salt & Vinegar chips...gotta be Salt & Vinegar and gotta be Utz.
My most predictable craving has been for breakfast foods. I could eat breakfast 3 times a day (or more)! The ultimate fulfillment of this craving is the Cracker Barrel Country Sampler: eggs, bacon, ham, hash browns, fried apples, biscuits, and grits. What makes it even more perfect is if I can convince Eric to order pancakes so I can grab a few bites of those as well. Surprisingly, I can eat all of this with no problem, although it helps that Molly steals most of my grits and at least one biscuit.

Along with breakfast, my other predictable craving has been for comfort foods. This week's indulgence came in the form of good old Chicken & Noodles with crusty French bread and a tall glass of milk. YUMMY! I got my recipes from the Pioneer Woman's blog. If you haven't yet discovered this blog, you're definitely missing out. This woman may be the reason that I've already surpassed the level of weight gain that I had with my last pregnancy.

And, of course, what pregnancy-craving blog would be complete without the all-important ice cream. Woe is the day when our freezer is found devoid of ice cream! It's the only thing keeps my nighttime heartburn under control. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Right now, my flavor of choice is white mint chocolate chip. I've experimented with a few other flavors, but this is the one I keep coming back to, which makes Eric happy because he gets to have my flavor rejects.Well, my chips are gone and the ice cream seems to be calling my name. The time to indulge is now since I only have two more weeks (give or take) where this behavior can be considered excusable. Bon appetit!

Maternity Photos

This past weekend, we had some maternity and family photos taken by a fellow Grove City classmate who has also relocated to NC. It was FREEZING, but we still had a great time and Emily managed to grab some fantastic shots in the bitter January cold...well, I guess 27 degrees is bitter by North Carolina standards :)

Here's the link to the preview of our session on Emily's blog. Enjoy!

http://ecampphotography.blogspot.com/2011/01/growing-little-family-chapel-hill.html

We Bleed Black & Gold

I guess the consequence of being pregnant during football season is that our little "Newbie" has been decked in black & gold from the very beginning. Who knows? If the Steelers keep playing games like the one today, I may go into labor early from all the excitement ;) Their victory over the Ravens today was chock-full of excitement with a disappointing first half, a major comeback, lots of "3rd and long" situations, and a dramatic victory. With all my cheering, I'm sure our newbie was wondering what the heck was going on outside his/her watery home! One more victory like that and it'll be Super Bowl time in the Steeler Nation once again.

So, how is our newest little one doing these days? Everything appears to be progressing perfectly. Amazingly, all my measurements this time around (weight gain, belly size, blood pressure, fetal heartrate, etc.) are nearly identical to my last pregnancy. I'm at the "every 2 weeks" stage in my appointments at the birth center, but beginning in February, I'll be going every week. It's funny how last time around, these last few months seemed to drag by, but this time around the time is just flying. When I signed into my blog tonight and looked at the ticker at the top of the page, I was amazed. It said "You are 35 weeks pregnant. 35 days to go" and my reaction was "WHAT?!?! 35 days!!!" With Molly, her room was all set up, closet and dresser organized, and bags packed for the birth center 6 weeks before my due date. This time around, I still feel like I have a million things to do. Life with a toddler keeps me busy, plus I'll be working up until my due date. This new little one will be here before we know it!

Here's our little toddler, helping Daddy play Wii and all ready to cheer on the Steelers...well, almost all ready. She's missing her diaper! We've been having a few diaper rash issues here lately, but Molly doesn't seem to mind too much. She LOVES running around the house bottom-less while we give her little red bum some fresh air. And the little flap that hangs off the onesie gives her just enough modesty that we won't be black-mailing her with these pictures in 16 years or so :)

Ahh, finally wearing pants and ready to cheer the Steelers on to victory over the Ravens! Truthfully, she only made it to half-time and then it was time for bed. I think we must be heading into a growth spurt because this child has been sleeping like CRAZY lately! Or maybe she just takes after her Daddy, who also is a sleep aficionado. For the last few weeks, she's been sleeping 14-15 hours each night and then taking a 2-3 hour nap every afternoon! It's been just lovely for her parents because Eric gets to sleep in until 9:30 or 10am with her every morning and I have been benefitting from an afternoon nap when I arrive home from school and find her still asleep. I think we're getting rewarded for all the sleepless days and nights we had during her infancy.

So, today was another great day in the Frueh family and the Steeler Nation. We're looking forward to adding one more to the ranks of the Steeler Nation, but probably just a bit too late to cheer them on to a SEVENTH Super Bowl victory (we hope). GO STEELERS!!!!!

Golden Friends

Lately, I seem to have a lot of childhood songs and poems popping into my head. I'm not sure of the exact title, but the one running through my mind right now goes something like this:

"Make new friends,

But keep the old.

One is silver

And the other gold."

A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to spend the weekend with some "golden friends". Jeremy and I went to high school together. We have a long history together: I dated his brother; he dated my sister; working at summer camp together; attending the same church; participating in choir, band, drama club, etc. He even played the role of my father...twice...in 2 different musicals. It's amazing how years can pass, we can attend separate colleges, move to different states, start our careers and families, build new friendships, and yet, when we get together, it's as if nothing has changed.

Jeremy married an amazing girl named Julie and they have a little girl named Katie. Katie and Molly are only TWO DAYS different in age! We've gotten together a few different times...once when Julie and I were both pregnant and again when the girls were only a few months old. It's been fun to watch them grow together and to compare notes on all the crazy aspects of parenting a toddler.

It was while they were here visiting from South Carolina that we got our totally unexpected "snow storm" (if you can call less than 2 inches of snow a storm). The girls had fun playing in the snow...I mean, staring at the snow in confusion and wondering why their parents were forcing them to wear ridiculously puffy snowsuits and acting like crazy people while taking a million pictures ;-)

By the way, isn't Katie just a doll?

I was amazed by how quickly Molly attached herself to Julie. As you may have picked up from previous posts, Molly has taken the "stranger anxiety" stage to epic levels. It normally takes her a good long while before she warms up to new people. Not the case with Katie's mommy. It was like she knew that Julie was another mommy so she had to be alright. There were even a few occasions where I was holding Molly and she leaned over to reach out to Julie! She was so precious on the last night that they were here visiting. We were having a grand time decorating the tree, eating popcorn, and listening to Christmas music. Julie was sitting on the floor playing with Katie when Molly toddled over and sat right down on Julie's lap (on top of Katie!). It was like a little dogpile of friends. So cute!

So, remember that no matter how far you move from home, no matter how many career changes, life changes, or relationship changes you make, there will always be golden friends from your past that will remind you of where you've come from and of the experiences that have shaped you. Thanks for a great weekend, Jeremy, Julie and Katie! Can't wait to do it again sometime soon.