Gender Reveal Party: It's a . . . . .

This Mother's Day was a very memorable one! Jeff and I hosted a gender reveal party for our families and we had the BEST time! Seriously, looking at the pictures and video makes me feel the same way I do when I look at our wedding pictures and video. It was so special to share this time with our families. I had been debating whether or not I wanted to find out the gender of our baby but Jeff really really wanted to know. As he tried to convince me, I slowly changed my mind, if and only if we could have a gender reveal party. I wanted all the hoopla that comes along with waiting to find out the gender and I definitely got it. We kept it to a simple cookout and it was perfect. Here is the recap of our big day...

Snack table with pink & blue punch

Yummy cake that my mom made

My sweet baby!

Mama & Daddy rockin' the pink & blue!

We asked everyone to wear pink or blue depending on their guess at the gender.

Jeff insisted on the mismatch look so that he didn't give it away with his outfit!

My Mama and I loving on Baby P

My sister and niece rocking the "Team Boy" shirts!

I think it's been maybe 10 years since a baby boy in my family.

My siblings and niece

Such a goof!

These two are best buds!

 Brothers & Sisters

LOVE!

My sweet girl!

Funny story.. she was laying the hammock and she said, "I'm so excited for a girl cousin!" So I said, "but you have a Team Boy shirt on!" and she replied, "Ya, well it has these stars on it that are girl colors so I hope it's a girl." 
Haha she kills me!

Big Brother taking a break from all the excitement

 Elizabeth loves taking Rocky for a walk, he was loving all the attention!

Family

It's been a while since our family has seen a baby boy... clearly blue is going strong!

Finally.. the big reveal!

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!

Love the expressions! Everyone was SO surprised!

Someone's excited to have a sister!

The aftermath!

Loving our GIRL!

 

Couldn't miss out on a Bump pic! Neither could Jeff! :)

Tell me that's not the sweetest thing you ever saw!

I am so in love with my BABY GIRL!

We had the best time celebrating and our family is so thrilled to welcome a new baby girl! It was hilarious when immediately after seeing pink everyone wanted to change their shirt and talk about bows and dresses! SO many people thought boy that we talked about whether or not it would be weird if everyone showed up in blue but it just made the reveal that much more special because everyone was so genuinely surprised and excited.

This was such a fun and special day for us and we are SO glad that we did a gender reveal!

I wanted something different that I hadn't seen before for the reveal and I found what I was looking for on Etsy. I ordered the push-pop party poppers from Gender Reveal on Etsy. I would highly recommend it! The only thing is that you need both hands so pictures of the actual reveal are limited. I am so glad we got the video! :)

It was a long day for the Big Brother!

He or She, what will it be?

We are so excited to share the baby's gender with our families tomorrow for Mother's Day! In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to look at some of the old wives tales and see how accurate they are. I've been hearing the craziest things and everyone is guessing what they think Baby P is. I chose some of the wives tales that I heard most often or that seemed to be the most popular.

Chinese Gender Predictor (Try it here!)

This chart uses the mother's birthday and date of conception and makes a prediction based on the two. According to this tale... GIRL!

Baby's Heart Rate

Apparently, if the baby's heart rate is over 140, it's a girl. If the baby's heart rate is under 140, it's a boy. Recent heart rates... 155, 166, 166, 168. According to this tale... GIRL!

Sweet or Salty

Some people think that if you're craving sweet foods, it's a girl, while salty foods means it's a boy. I've always loved salty over sweet and that hasn't changed. According to this tale... BOY!

Mayans Gender Predictor

According to the Mayans, the mothers age at conception and year of conception were considered to determine gender. If both are even or odd, it's a girl. If one is even and one is odd, it's a boy. According to this tale... GIRL!

Seeing Spots

If you're breaking out during pregnancy, it is believed that a little girl is taking your beauty away. My face has been breaking out more than usual. According to the tale... GIRL!

Queasy Peasy

Intense morning sickness is believed to go hand in hand with little girls. If you avoided morning sickness, it's a boy! According to this tale... BOY!

How low can you go?

Lots of people tend to say that if you're carrying high, it's a girl. If you're carrying low, it's a boy. I'm not totally sure on this one but it seems that I'm carrying higher than I thought I would be. According to this tale... GIRL!

Sister, Sister

If your husband has more sisters than brothers, it's a girl. If he has more brothers than sisters, it's a boy. My husband has twin sisters. According to this tale... GIRL!

All Belly or All Over?

It's been said that if your weight gain is just in the belly, it's a boy. If you're gaining all over, it's a girl. I've only gained 3 pounds but it's all belly. According to this tale... BOY!

The Girls

This one was new to me but I thought it was funny. If you're chest is growing a lot, it's a boy. If it stays the same, it could be a girl. My girls are most definitely large and in charge. According to this tale... BOY!


Considering that some of these actually contradict themselves depending on the website that you go to, it's only for fun. WebMD suggests that the only way to accurately predict the baby's gender is to get an ultrasound. Hah!

What do you think? Were any of the old wives tales true for you?

Friday's Letters

 

Dear state testing, SEE YA! You have officially ruined a complete week of learning and now my students think that school is over because testing is over. Um, how do six more weeks sound?

Dear grad school, I'm over you. Hurry up and be gone! I just want to use my free time researching baby things rather than special education reform. Blah!

Dear Sweet Brown & Chuck Ramsey, thanks for providing us with pure entertainment for the past few days. Jeff just discovered Sweet Brown and he's a big fan!

Dear Rocky, seriously.. how do you keep getting cuter? My heart melted when I picked you up at daycare and you stood up to look over the window at me and ran to the door. My precious boy!

Dear husband, thanks for all you do! You are working extra hard to make our stairs more useable even though you have a million and one things on your schedule. Ain't nobody got time to fall down the stairs!

Dear Baby P, I can't wait to see you today! Mama wants to see your precious face and those baby bits! We are already so in love with you and can't believe how many people are already head over heels for you!

A moment in my day

Today's post is on a moment in my day. My favorite moments in my day usually look like this...

 {the moment Jeff's truck pulls in the driveway}

 {quiet moments}

 {these two snuggled on my feet}

After a long day at work, my favorite thing to do is snuggle on the couch with my husband and my pup to work on grad school assignments catch up on blogs and watch TV. Lately, we've been flipping between baseball and playoff hockey, with a bowl of ice cream. Sometimes we thrown in a family walk. Perfection.

What the eff Wednesday

I had no intention of checking my blog this morning because I had a busy morning at school but there are lots of things that are making me say What the eff?! and I need to write them down so I doesn't slip out.

This morning I was excited to grab jeans for our early release day at school, paired with a loose tank, since my students still don't know I'm prego. Loose tank #1.. stain on the front. Loose tank # 2.. too short. Loose tank # 3.. not loose anymore. What the eff?!

Last week I managed to not hit traffic to or from work every single day. This week.. I managed to find myself amidst all the lunatics who are texting and making their damn breakfast while driving and still have time to slow down to sneak a peek at the poor fool who doesn't know how to change a tire on the side of the road. What the eff?! Sidenote: I was once the poor fool on the side of the road and much to the dismay of my father and husband, still don't know how to change a flat. Still, keep it moving people.

We have state testing 4 out of 5 days this week. The one day we don't have testing, we have an early release day and our schedule is shot to shit. What the eff?!

I thought last night was my last grad class this semester. Apparently we are coming back for one more. The professor's consoling words? "At least you don't have a 200 question final." Um, no, that's because I'm not in med school or law school. Who gives a 200 question final? What the eff?!

I'm pretty sure I had a damn hot flash in class last night. My body is like an oven and baby needed 3 gallons of water last night. Thousands of dollars in tuition a year and we can't get a working AC? What the eff?!

I got a letter this morning about the status of my teaching license. You know, the one I renewed LAST JULY. Then I tried to log into the website and my account timed out because I used the wrong password. What the eff?!

Here's the real, shit in your hat and put it on your head cherry on top. I had a few extra minutes this morning so I stopped at Honey Dew for my healthy breakfast.. Mocha Madness Iced Coffee, apple juice, and sausage egg & cheese on a croissant. The woman was all confused that I wanted a cup with ice for my apple juice, so I became dead focused on the cup with ice. Remember, my body is an oven? I DROVE AWAY WITHOUT MY SANDWICH. I found out when I go to work, with no time to turn around and pick up the sandwich THAT I ALREADY PAID FOR. What the effin' eff?!

 

20 week bump date! Halfway there!

This week: We have MCAS at school and it is my last full week of the semester for grad school. I'm looking forward to things getting back to normal soon. We also get to go back on Friday for another ultrasound! Counting the days! :)

How far along? 20 weeks! Halfway through this pregnancy! I don't even know how that is possible!

Baby's size: Baby P is the size of a cantaloupe!

Total weight gain: Total of 3 pounds at 18 week appt. 

Maternity clothes? I ordered a couple of new tops & dresses from Old Navy and I have to say, I'm not super impressed. I'm pretty sure I need a ph.D to figure out how to get the nursing dress on and everything else is too long or too tight in all the wrong places. So sad. For now, I'm sticking with my regular pants & belly bands (which I also can't stand) and a few long maternity tops. No belly shirts for this mama!

Stretch marks: Nope! Still using BioOil mostly every night.

Sleep: Still okay. I'm getting used to my big ole' maternity pillow.

Best moment this week: Getting to see our little bean dancing around at our ultrasound!! I was completely in awe of the long legs kicking around all over the place! It was also really amazing to be holding Jeff's hand watching our baby move around!

What I miss: A margarita would be nice but other than that, I'm good!

Movement: Not really. Every once in a while, I think I feel something but then it's gone. I do feel better though after seeing my little munchkin movin' and shakin' all over the place at our ultrasound. I couldn't even believe how much movement I was seeing and not feeling!

Food cravings: I've been drinking huge glasses of Newman's Own Pink Lemonade. Can't stop, won't stop.

Food aversions: Back to the meat. It just feels weird when I chew it and I have to fight the urge to just open my mouth and let it fall out. I just don't eat it now :( 

Gender: Baby P was all over the place at our ultrasound so we go back for another on Friday! I can't even stand the wait!

Symptoms: My headaches are out of control this week. Seriously, every day. I'm sure 25 fifth graders getting close to summer break isn't helping, either.

Mood: Happy, happy, happy! I really love being pregnant!

Looking forward to: Our next ultrasound on Friday & big gender reveal on Sunday!!

Do you think Baby P is a boy or a girl? Let me know in the comments! 

Friday's Letters

I guess you could say I'm kinda skipping Day 3 of the May challenge because to be perfectly honest, not much makes me uncomfortable. I've had people walk in on me in the bathroom, lost my bathing suit top once at Hampton Beach, lost my bottoms in a lake, and have been involved in some really weird he said/she said parent arguments at meetings and nothing seems to make me flinch. Maybe when you work in a middle school you truly start to see it all and uncomfortable situations become the norm. Centipedes make me squirmish but not necessarily uncomfortable because once I beat them to death with my shoe, I can go on with my life. That's all. :)

On to the letters! Happy Friday y'all!

Dear Friday, hello lover! We have a great weekend planned and the weather is nice. Hallelujah!

Dear 93, thanks for taking it easy on me this week. Hell must have frozen over somewhere because traffic has only added 5 minutes to my commute every day. More time for me in the morning and family at night. Heaven.

Dear Honey Dew Donuts, thanks for coming up with the Mocha Madness iced coffee. Whosoever idea it was to mix iced coffee and chocolate milk together is a genius! It is all I have wanted every morning this week and it was glorious!

Dear Rosy, thanks for squeezing me in today! My roots are hella long thanks to my hair growing at an abnormally fast rate right now and I need some highlights something fierce.

Dear Princess, thanks for being so sweet last night. You kept my feet so perfectly warm while I slept and I know that's not normally your style.

Dear Baby P, you are all I can think about and all I can dream about. I fell even more in love with you last night, watching you kick your long legs all over the place! You sure didn't get that from me! I am so amazed that something so perfect could be growing inside of me. Next week, though, Mama needs you to be more cooperative so that we can see all your parts! Especially that precious face! Love you to the moon baby cakes!

Dearest hubby, I love you more and more when I think of what an amazing father you will be. It was so precious to watch your face during our ultrasound and to see how anxious you were to catch a glimpse of our sweet baby, even if you really didn't know what you were looking at. You're going to be the best daddy! Love you more than words!