Where to even start? You have changed my life is so many ways and I become overwhelmed when I think about just how very much I love you. But I want you to know just what you mean to me, so here's my best attempt.
When I began to get my baby bump, I was foolish and believed the rubber band trick to extend the button was "the best thing ever". Now don't get me wrong, it was good, but it didn't support me the way you did. I was able to avoid what I then thought to be the beginning of the end-it starts with maternity jeans and ends with me wearing nothing but mom jeans in just a few short years that make my butt look ginormous and tell the world that I have given up completely (ps. none of my super cool mom friends have done this, they are all way cute, I just have a fear of me going down that dark road).
Then one fateful morning I woke up and the only pants that fit were a pair of drawstrings capris from high school. To say they were ugly would be putting it lightly. Low and behold my parents were coming to visit that very day. So after my mom rubbed my belly and squealed a few (again, putting it lightly) times we got ourselves to the mall for what seems eerily similar to some kind of rite of passage, it was like we were shopping for my first bra all over again. I tried on a lot of pants and decided that having some nylon panel cover my belly when I am ginormous and dying of our south Texas heat wouldn't be a good option. But then my match-maker of a mom found you.
The second I pulled you on, well, it was love at first wear. You showed me that I could still be cute and pregnant at the same time. That was four days ago and I have worn you every day since. I also learned from you what a complete nuisance buttons and zippers are! I am literally going to save dozens of minutes in my lifetime no longer buttoning and unbuttoning the 25 times a day I have to pee. Our first night out together we went to Chuy's. I ate more Mexican food than I had ever eaten in my life (and that's saying something!) because I didn't have that pesky waistband to remind me that three baskets of chips plus queso might not be a good ideas. You are so comfortable, oh-so stretchy, and well perfect. I hope you are ready for the next 25 weeks because I have big plans for you and I. Thank you for being making the bottom half of my body and the whole part of my heart feel so good.
Yours forever (or at least till I start getting weird looks for wearing maternity jeans and not being pregnant anymore),
Ashley Luksys
Monday, March 21, 2011
Best part of today
I asked a client in our program why she wanted to quit smoking and she said "I want to live long enough to watch the entire Twilight saga.....and oh yeah my grandkids really want me to quit."
That is all. People are awesome.
That is all. People are awesome.
First Trimester Week by Week
Week 4- Holey Moley. I called the nurse and said "I took 3 pregnancy test, they are all super positive, what does that mean?" Yeah, I'm an idiot. Spend the next week walking around in a daze, absolutely joyful but very surreal.
Week 5- "Why am I so tired?" I though "I can handle this, at least I don't feel pukey! This whole being pregnant thing might by fun, I get a way valid excuse for my laziness!". Oh sister, if you only knew what was coming your way.
Week 6- Hello nausea! I though "Wow-this is real. It's kind of nice to have a reminder that everything is happening as it should and I am really pregnant." Famous last words. Had my first ultrasound. Mind blowing. It looked liked a tiny little gummy bear and it was so amazing. Then she showed us the heart beat. Bring on the tears- there is life inside of me. We danced on the elevator down from the OBGYN office and through the parking lot after the apt. We both agreed it was best day of our lives.
Week 7- I totally took back the whole "nice to have a reminder thing", being nauseous nearly 24/7 has lost it's novelty. Lost six pounds, don't want to eat anything. Having a hard time staying positive feeling sick 24/7.
Week 8- Sleeping 10 hours a night and taking at least 1 nap during the day and still exhausted. And yes, still nauseous. One day I broke a bowl and started crying and got mad at Andy b/c he didn't realize how important that bowl was to me (ps. it was not an important/sentimental bowl in any way)
Week 9- Saw the baby, it has arms and legs and a very strong heart beat. The most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my whole life. Doctor described the baby as "perfect". Sick as a dog this week but had such a better attitude when I thought abut what was going on inside of me. Suddenly constant nausea/exhaustion seems like such a tiny price to pay. Also I gained a pound of some of the weight I loss which is good, thank you Super Bowl Sunday snacks!
Week 10- Prunes, metamucil, and flavored water (water suddenly taste disgusting to me) are my BFF's- can you guess what super fun new pregnancy symptom I was feeling for over a week? Not fun. Granted, not going twosies for a week may have caused this, but started to get a teeny tiny bump. Even if it is a disgusting gas bump because I'm so dang bloated it still makes me happy.
Week 11- First half of this week I feel not-terrible for the first time in 6 weeks! We went hiking, I was able to go to the grocery store, hang out with a friend. It was glorious! I must of gloated a little too much cause the 2nd half of the week the ickies came back with a vengeance. But we did get a "bonus" utltrasound because they were training technicians- woohoo! The baby was having a dance part in there, so amazing to see it move its arms and legs around.
Week 12- Tired but slowly becoming a functioning human. End of this week I even brave a trip to NYC. It was hard and I was like an old woman sitting down anywhere and everywhere I could. Only had to stay in the hotel one night d/t sickness.
What a crazy roller coaster the first trimester has been. I've never felt like so much of a crazy person in my life. One minute I'm weepy just thinking about how much I love the little chicken nugget growing inside of me and the next I am yelling at Andy that I'm not strong enough to feel this terrible any longer and why did he do this to me? And let me say this, Andy has been a champ. Cleaning house, doing the grocery shopping, and the most difficult task of all dealing with my cranky self. Thank you to him, my mom, and my sweet friends for listening to me go on and on about how terrible I feel all the time. I was even getting on my own nerves, so bless all ya'lls heart for dealing with me. I am so excited to now officially be in the 2nd trimester where I've been told things get easier and my mom described as feeling like an "Earth Goddess", now sure exactly what that even means but I am way excited to feel anything other than bloated and pukey. Watch out 2nd trimester- I'm going to rock you out!
Week 5- "Why am I so tired?" I though "I can handle this, at least I don't feel pukey! This whole being pregnant thing might by fun, I get a way valid excuse for my laziness!". Oh sister, if you only knew what was coming your way.
Week 6- Hello nausea! I though "Wow-this is real. It's kind of nice to have a reminder that everything is happening as it should and I am really pregnant." Famous last words. Had my first ultrasound. Mind blowing. It looked liked a tiny little gummy bear and it was so amazing. Then she showed us the heart beat. Bring on the tears- there is life inside of me. We danced on the elevator down from the OBGYN office and through the parking lot after the apt. We both agreed it was best day of our lives.
Week 7- I totally took back the whole "nice to have a reminder thing", being nauseous nearly 24/7 has lost it's novelty. Lost six pounds, don't want to eat anything. Having a hard time staying positive feeling sick 24/7.
Week 8- Sleeping 10 hours a night and taking at least 1 nap during the day and still exhausted. And yes, still nauseous. One day I broke a bowl and started crying and got mad at Andy b/c he didn't realize how important that bowl was to me (ps. it was not an important/sentimental bowl in any way)
Week 9- Saw the baby, it has arms and legs and a very strong heart beat. The most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my whole life. Doctor described the baby as "perfect". Sick as a dog this week but had such a better attitude when I thought abut what was going on inside of me. Suddenly constant nausea/exhaustion seems like such a tiny price to pay. Also I gained a pound of some of the weight I loss which is good, thank you Super Bowl Sunday snacks!
Week 10- Prunes, metamucil, and flavored water (water suddenly taste disgusting to me) are my BFF's- can you guess what super fun new pregnancy symptom I was feeling for over a week? Not fun. Granted, not going twosies for a week may have caused this, but started to get a teeny tiny bump. Even if it is a disgusting gas bump because I'm so dang bloated it still makes me happy.
Week 11- First half of this week I feel not-terrible for the first time in 6 weeks! We went hiking, I was able to go to the grocery store, hang out with a friend. It was glorious! I must of gloated a little too much cause the 2nd half of the week the ickies came back with a vengeance. But we did get a "bonus" utltrasound because they were training technicians- woohoo! The baby was having a dance part in there, so amazing to see it move its arms and legs around.
Week 12- Tired but slowly becoming a functioning human. End of this week I even brave a trip to NYC. It was hard and I was like an old woman sitting down anywhere and everywhere I could. Only had to stay in the hotel one night d/t sickness.
What a crazy roller coaster the first trimester has been. I've never felt like so much of a crazy person in my life. One minute I'm weepy just thinking about how much I love the little chicken nugget growing inside of me and the next I am yelling at Andy that I'm not strong enough to feel this terrible any longer and why did he do this to me? And let me say this, Andy has been a champ. Cleaning house, doing the grocery shopping, and the most difficult task of all dealing with my cranky self. Thank you to him, my mom, and my sweet friends for listening to me go on and on about how terrible I feel all the time. I was even getting on my own nerves, so bless all ya'lls heart for dealing with me. I am so excited to now officially be in the 2nd trimester where I've been told things get easier and my mom described as feeling like an "Earth Goddess", now sure exactly what that even means but I am way excited to feel anything other than bloated and pukey. Watch out 2nd trimester- I'm going to rock you out!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
So guess what?
We are having a baby!
September 11, 2011 we get meet our child. We are walking on clouds, goofy grin all the time, blissfully happy and cannot wait for this next adventure!
Here is our little gummy bear (although I think here he/she looks exactly like ET)....
September 11, 2011 we get meet our child. We are walking on clouds, goofy grin all the time, blissfully happy and cannot wait for this next adventure!
Here is our little gummy bear (although I think here he/she looks exactly like ET)....
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
NYC Food
Kid in candy store= me in NYC
This sums up how I felt about my eating options...
I was in heaven. A carb-loving, sugar- junkie, street-vendor obsessed heaven. All my guilty pleasures- pizza, bagels, sweets... I would go back to New York just to eat.
Magnolia Bakery- ADORABLE place but also so very tasty as well.
Murray's bagel, most delicious bagel of my life (we also went to H&H bagel where I was shamed for asking what kind of shmear they had).
Sernedipity was just about the only restaurant we were all equally as excited to go to. We were told our best chances of getting in were to go around 10:45pm, well for a girl who goes to bed at 9:30pm every night (shhhh....don't tell anyone...it's embarrassing) I was dubious if it would even be worth it. Silly Ashley. It totally was. It was so cute and we had a lot of fun there.
SUPER excited about my falafel.
So Sheiva told me "I know where the best chocolate chip cookies in the world are". I smiled and thought "psshaw, my mom makes the best chocolate chip cookies in the world" but I smiled and let her believe she had that secret. Well then she brought me one. Mom, you may one to skip this next part. They are amazing. They are what every chocolate chip cookies can barely even dream it could be one day. Ginourmous, super soft, oh-so chocolately. I didn't get to go there since Sheiva is amazing and brought me one, but for my next trip to New York I will be staying in a tent outside their door. These were from Levain's Bakery.
Hot dog in Central Park!
Doughnut Plant- we spend the better part of a morning figuring out the subway system to get to this place. Again, totally worth it. I woofed down my food so quickly I had already eaten my orange donut and half of this pistachio donut before I remembered to take a picture.
Lombardi's- the first pizzaria in America, est. 1905.
YUM YUM YUM.
This sums up how I felt about my eating options...
I was in heaven. A carb-loving, sugar- junkie, street-vendor obsessed heaven. All my guilty pleasures- pizza, bagels, sweets... I would go back to New York just to eat.
Magnolia Bakery- ADORABLE place but also so very tasty as well.
Murray's bagel, most delicious bagel of my life (we also went to H&H bagel where I was shamed for asking what kind of shmear they had).
Sernedipity was just about the only restaurant we were all equally as excited to go to. We were told our best chances of getting in were to go around 10:45pm, well for a girl who goes to bed at 9:30pm every night (shhhh....don't tell anyone...it's embarrassing) I was dubious if it would even be worth it. Silly Ashley. It totally was. It was so cute and we had a lot of fun there.
SUPER excited about my falafel.
So Sheiva told me "I know where the best chocolate chip cookies in the world are". I smiled and thought "psshaw, my mom makes the best chocolate chip cookies in the world" but I smiled and let her believe she had that secret. Well then she brought me one. Mom, you may one to skip this next part. They are amazing. They are what every chocolate chip cookies can barely even dream it could be one day. Ginourmous, super soft, oh-so chocolately. I didn't get to go there since Sheiva is amazing and brought me one, but for my next trip to New York I will be staying in a tent outside their door. These were from Levain's Bakery.
Hot dog in Central Park!
Doughnut Plant- we spend the better part of a morning figuring out the subway system to get to this place. Again, totally worth it. I woofed down my food so quickly I had already eaten my orange donut and half of this pistachio donut before I remembered to take a picture.
Lombardi's- the first pizzaria in America, est. 1905.
YUM YUM YUM.
New York City invaded by Okies!
Hanging out with friends I've know 15 years + New York City = best weekend ever.
I just got back last night from an AMAZING four days in NYC. We walked all around the city, we ate, we saw the sights, then we ate some more. I think I will do a whole other post on the yumminess that is NYC food. It was just such an awesome trip but as great as the city was my favorite part was just getting to hang out with my friends I don't get to see very often as Holly and Marie live in OKC and Sheiva lives in New Jersey. We have been friends since middle school and there is a good possibility we are still friends because we have too much blackmail material on each other not to be ;) No, I am lucky to call Marie, Holly, and Sheiva my friends and I already miss them! Special shout out to Sheiva- she was an AWESOME tour guide! She showed us the ropes, made us not look like tourist for a couple of days, thanks to her we were even able to get around on the subway w/o her because she taught us so well! Thank you so much Sheiva for being pretty much the coolest person I know.
Chicago on Broadway!
Washington Square Park
As close as we got to the Statue of Liberty, pretty cool to see. It was the other side of town but I'm glad we went. We may or may not have paid our respects by singing "Proud to be an American" while looking at it.
Times Square
At night
During the day
Rockafeller Center was super cool, I totally geeked out and just kept thinking about my eternal love for all things Tina Fey.
Dylan's candy store- 3 levels of sugary goodness.
Central Park is GINORMOUS. We just saw a little bit of it and were amazed.
View from our hotel room- Natural History Museum and Central Park. Way to be awesome Holly and book the best hotel ever!
So yeah, it was a super fun trip and again I'm struck by how lucky I am to get to do amazing things like this- but then the icing on the cake is I get to come home to my better-than-everything-in-NYC life I have with my sweet husband and crazy puppy dog.
:)
I just got back last night from an AMAZING four days in NYC. We walked all around the city, we ate, we saw the sights, then we ate some more. I think I will do a whole other post on the yumminess that is NYC food. It was just such an awesome trip but as great as the city was my favorite part was just getting to hang out with my friends I don't get to see very often as Holly and Marie live in OKC and Sheiva lives in New Jersey. We have been friends since middle school and there is a good possibility we are still friends because we have too much blackmail material on each other not to be ;) No, I am lucky to call Marie, Holly, and Sheiva my friends and I already miss them! Special shout out to Sheiva- she was an AWESOME tour guide! She showed us the ropes, made us not look like tourist for a couple of days, thanks to her we were even able to get around on the subway w/o her because she taught us so well! Thank you so much Sheiva for being pretty much the coolest person I know.
Chicago on Broadway!
Washington Square Park
As close as we got to the Statue of Liberty, pretty cool to see. It was the other side of town but I'm glad we went. We may or may not have paid our respects by singing "Proud to be an American" while looking at it.
Times Square
At night
During the day
Rockafeller Center was super cool, I totally geeked out and just kept thinking about my eternal love for all things Tina Fey.
Dylan's candy store- 3 levels of sugary goodness.
Central Park is GINORMOUS. We just saw a little bit of it and were amazed.
View from our hotel room- Natural History Museum and Central Park. Way to be awesome Holly and book the best hotel ever!
So yeah, it was a super fun trip and again I'm struck by how lucky I am to get to do amazing things like this- but then the icing on the cake is I get to come home to my better-than-everything-in-NYC life I have with my sweet husband and crazy puppy dog.
:)
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