Emskyrooney

E is for Expecting Journaling Reads: We've been trying to get pregnant for a while now, and on April 26 I took a pregnancy test and it was positive! I actually took two pregnancy tests. And then another a few days later. And then went to the doctor for a blood test. It was confirmed- We're officially Expecting! Due date: January 2, 2009. P.S. My body completely tricked me and I was pregnant for a whole month without knowing it. Revised due date: December 6, 2008.

Here's the weekly babycenter.com email... "Your embryo measures about 0.9 inches to 1.2 inches from crown to rump, or the size of a strawberry. The arms and legs are getting longer, and the fingers might be a little swollen where the touch pads are forming. The head is more erect and the neck is more developed. Your baby now moves its body and limbs, and this movement can be visible during an ultrasound, but you won't be able to feel it yet. Your uterus is continuing to grow, and your waistline is thickening. But unless you tell people the good news, your pregnancy still won't be noticeable to others. Weight gain is small, if at all, since you could be experiencing food aversions (or cravings), heartburn, indigestion, nausea and bloating. Mood swings and weepiness similar to PMS symptoms are also common." The baby is now the size of a strawberry- it's rather ironic that we had strawberry shortcake for dessert last night! The baby could be in there saying ...

Now I know today is Memorial Day, the pregnancy hormones haven't addled my brain that much (yet...).. But the Mother's Day Project is something I've been wanting to write about for a while now and I think Memorial Day is the perfect time. A few months ago one of the bloggers I read (I wish I could remember who!) mentioned that she was taking part in the Mother's Day Project . The goal of the project is to draw attention to the human cost of the Iraq War, specifically the women who have lost their lives serving as part of the coalition forces in the war. Participants in the project are sent the name of a woman who has been killed in the war on a muslin square. They're encouraged to research this woman and then embroider the name onto the square, return it to the Project, and write about it in a letter or journal or blog. All of the embroidered names are being combined into a type of collage which will most likely be a part of a travelling exhibit. As soon as I heard...

I'm partway into week 8 and still have not experienced any morning sickness. The books I've been reading say that it usually starts between weeks 5 and 7 so I've definitely been lucky so far! Although I have to say that although I'm really glad that I'm not sick every day, I kind of wish I had just a TINGE of it- that way I'd feel more pregnant. Right now I just feel exhausted all the time which makes me feel like I'm just being lazy. I don't really feel pregnant yet. I know that I should just try to enjoy every day that goes by without any sickness but at the same time I'd really like to actually FEEL pregnant... Maybe I just jinxed myself by saying that.... I guess time will tell!

Here's the email from Babycenter.com about Week 8! Congratulations, Emily! You're Eight Weeks Pregnant. Your embryo is about the size of a grape -- 0.56 to 0.8 inches from crown to rump. Eyelid folds and ears are forming and even the tip of the nose is visible. The arms have grown longer and bend at the elbows. Places where fingers and toes eventually will grow are becoming notched. Your uterus, once the size of your fist, is now about the size of a grapefruit. We've gone from the size of a raspberry to the size of a grape!

D is for Dogs Journaling reads: D is for dogs. more specifically for dachshunds. before my parents had me they had dachshunds. and they've had dachshunds ever since. at one point they had six at the same time, plus a beagle. so I can't imagine not having dogs in my life. i'm a dog person, through and through. i'm afraid of cats, terrified, actually after a very traumatizing incident involving my aunt's cat, claws, and my bare ankles. i'm definitely not a cat person. dogs are dependable and love unconditionally. so we have dogs. a springer spaniel. and a dachshund. (of course)

C = Creativity Sewing, scrapping, photography, jewelry making, baking, cooking, embroidery, crochet, home decorating

This one was done a few weeks before my 30th birthday on January 29. B is for Birthdays, and B is for Baby. Journaling reads: This is the year that I turn 30- on January 29. When I was 20 I was sure that I'd have three children by the time I reached the old age of 30. Instead we have two dogs and are hoping to have our first baby this year. We keep trying and hopefully before my next birthday there will be a baby (or perhaps two as my mother-in-law is convinced that we'll have twins...) I'll settle for one though, one happy baby. Phew! Looks like we got the timing just right- this baby will come along just a few weeks before I turn 31!

Here's my "A" Page. I actually started this project at the tail end of 2007 so this page is dated 12/21/07. A is for At Last, it's About Time, and Finally! (but not until April) The journaling reads: I've been working in the same department at Harvard for more than 7 years now. And for at least 2 of them I've been looking for a new job as I wanted more challenges and more appreciation for my work. The day we started our holiday break I finally had a job offer- I actually had two offers! On Monday, April 14th I'll start my new position with the history department and I'm so excited to finally, at LAST, be using my degree in history and starting my new job.

I have a book to recommend (just in case you haven't heard of it yet although it seems like everyone has). It's called Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. And that's just what it is, it's an encyclopedia of her life. With entries like the following: Brother My brother, who grew up with three sisters, was I won’t say how many years old when he finally realized that he did not have to wrap the towel around his chest when he came out of the shower. 15 Minutes Love If you really love someone, you want to know what they ate for lunch or dinner without you. Hi, sweetie, how was your day, what did you have for lunch? Or if your mate was out of town on business: How was your trip, did the meeting go well, what did you do for dinner? Jason will stumble home in the wee hours from a bachelor party, and as he crawls into bed I’ll pry myself from sleep long enough to mumble, how was the party, how was the restaurant beforehand? The meal that has no bearing ...

I am addicted to this season of American Idol . I know. It's shamefully embarrassing. And it's not something that I'm proud to admit but boy does it feel good to come clean. In the past I've generally watched the first few episodes of AI, the ones where people are trying out and are either really good or really bad and it's a lot like watching a train wreck. And there was one season (Season 2 I believe, the season of Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken) that my roomie and I watched- but that was because SHE was addicted, not me... I was just watching with her as moral support. I swear. But this year I started watching at the beginning and just never stopped. Maybe it was because all my normal shows were on hiatus due to the writer's strike? Maybe it's because I turned 30 recently and thought that watching a bunch of youngun's on t.v. would make me feel young again? (right... instead I felt ancient as they all had to choose songs from the year of their b...

Here's the email I received from babycenter.com this morning. Friday will be the end of Week 7! Week 7 Congratulations, Emily! You're Seven Weeks Pregnant. Your baby makes great strides this week, reaching almost half an inch from crown to rump -- about the size of a small raspberry! The heart and lungs are becoming more developed, as are the eyes and nose, intestines and appendix. By now the brain and spinal cord are growing from the neural tube. Hands and feet are beginning to form, and those adorably tiny fingers and toes are getting ready to make an appearance. A raspberry- Cute!

Just wanted to take a minute to say Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful mother! I'm so glad that I have you in my life and I hope that I can one day be as wonderful a mother as you have been... You've been there for us through everything and I love you very much!

I've been wanting to do this for a while now and am feeling inspired today... (the template and idea came from here ) I am from lavender scented air freshener, from Crayola Crayons and crocheted hats. I am from brick and stucco and green grass, from the woods out back and from the play yard and the turnaround. I am from the bleeding heart, the apple trees, and the black eyed Susans. I am from cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning and from stubbornness and sarcasm, from GrandmaRee and Nana and Aunt HeHe. I am from intelligence and creativity and the Bushkill Creek. From eat your sandwich crusts so you'll grow hair on your chest and from if your uncle wore a dress he'd be your aunt. I am from Lutherans and Quakers. I am from Pennsylvania and I am from Germany and England. From sauerkraut and shoo-fly pie. From my father's pet rooster Gaudy, from my Italian uncle and his collectible glassware and giving heart, from my Great-Aunt and her kitchen sponge. I'm f...

Thought I'd post some pics of our kitchen renovation now that we're just about done with it (just waiting for a ceiling fixture for above our sink and a there are a few more pieces of trim to be installed)... I have to say that overall the project went much better, and faster than I expected. I was a little worried that Hubby would start the project and then just let it go for a while but once he started it was done really quickly. The hardest and longest part was waiting for the counters to be installed- we had no sink or dishwasher at that point so there were a few weeks involving way too much take-out food and paper plates. Now that it's done though we're thrilled- we love the new kitchen, we have so much more space and we've added value to the house which is great too! Here's the kitchen before, looking from the dining area towards the one wall of cabinets that made up the kitchen (this photo was taken when the previous owners still lived there.) Here...

Anyone who knows me (or has lived with me- family, roommates) knows that I am a complete insomniac. For most of my life I've been able to get by on 3 or 4 hours of sleep every night- Hubby goes to bed around 9 pm, I get in bed around midnight, read for a while, toss and turn for a while, doze on and off during the night. Hubby's alarm goes off at 4:50 AM at which point I'm awake until he leaves at 5:20, then I reset the alarm for 6:30 and doze in bed with the dogs until the alarm goes off and I begin obsessively hitting the snooze button for as long as I possibly can. This whole pregnancy thing though has left me completely and utterly EXHAUSTED. For the first time since I moved in with Hubby I've been going to bed BEFORE him. BEFORE 9:00. I'm practically passed out on the couch by 8 p.m. and have to drag myself up to bed shortly after that. When his alarm goes off in the morning I don't even hear it and barely wake up when he kisses me good-bye for the ...

I am fascinated by the comparisons all of the books and websites make as far as the size of a baby at any given time. Currently, at 6 weeks, our baby is the size of a lentil. Last week, week 5, it grew from the size of a poppy seed to the size of a BB pellet (although I admit, not having ever played with a BB gun as a child, I have NO idea how large a BB pellet is). Also, at 6 weeks, the baby's eyes, nose and ears are starting to develop, its heart is beating 100- 160 times per minute and the intestines are developing. Here's hoping the baby gets Hubby's blue eyes although I have a feeling my brown ones are dominant (hah- I'm the dominant one for a change!) I like having tangible objects to compare the size of the baby to. The other night I read that I should expect to gain 25- 35 pounds by the time this is all over. Our dog Gabby was sitting next to me on the couch so I picked her up to try to get an idea of how much weight this really is. Let's just say...

Ok, I know there are probably people being tortured, seriously tortured, right now as I write this. Probably thousands of people, maybe hundreds of thousands. But I'd like to talk about torture on a much more trivial scale. And that is the torture caused to me every time I walk into the Harvard Square Subway Station . You see, last week somebody approved a new vendor in the station. This vendor sells hot dogs and sausages, the ones that you can smell from a block away. The ones that have you drooling late at night when you've had a few drinks and nothing to eat and all you want is a hot dog or a sausage with grilled onions from the street cart. ha And if you know me you know that one of my most favorite things to eat are hot dogs. And you ALSO know that last week is when I found out that I'm pregnant. It's like someone said "Emsky is pregnant and isn't allowed to eat hot dogs anymore- so let's torture her by making the entire subway station smell l...

So here's something that's disturbing me about pregnancy. It seems like the huge decision to have a baby only begets more decisions. One that Hubby (hmmm. I need an alias for him- Pioneer Woman has Marlboro Man , Brad and Angelina have Brangelina , Emsky has Hubs? Hubba-Bubba?) and I have been debating over the past few days is whether or not to find out the sex of the baby when the time comes. He says "yes," I say "no". He says "yes," I say "if I have to carry this baby in my BODY for more than 9 months and then go through childbirth then I say NO." He says "the Doctor will tell me and I won't tell you." As if I could stand him knowing and not me for more than 20 minutes. So here's the thing- I'm not really sure why I don't want to know. In fact, don't tell Chubby Hubby(?) that I'm not so sure about not finding out the sex. People have said to me "it's one of the few big surprises ...

In no specific order, here's a list of some of my most favorite foods: Hot Dogs Brie Cheese Goat Cheese Spicy Tuna Rolls Bologna Sandwiches Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict (with runny runny eggs) Beer And here's a list of things I'm not allowed to eat now that I'm pregnant (again, in no particular order: Hot Dogs Brie Cheese Goat Cheese Sushi Lunch Meats Refrigerated Smoked Seafood Runny eggs Alcohol I'm sure somebody thinks this is funny... Guess the joke's on me...

Well this is it, I've jumped on the Blog bandwagon... After almost a year of compulsively reading more than 100 blogs in my google-reader I just had to get my own 2 cents in. Well, and I also just found out that I'm pregnant and wanted a place to keep some notes about my journey towards motherhood... Plus it's a convenient way to keep family and friends up to date on this whole pregnancy thing without involving 10,000 phone calls and emails every day... So a blog it is... We'll see if my three years of n erd-cam p writing classes in junior highschool have paid off!