The Night I Used my Pancakes as a Pillow

David's Birth Story

2012-10-20T06:45:00.002-04:00

I woke up at 4 am on the morning of April 26, 2012 (39 weeks pregnant) with what I thought were contractions. I laid in bed and tried timing them, but they didn’t seem consistent enough to be the real thing. I was in pretty bad pain, though, and kept getting out of bed and walking around. I knew I had my weekly doctor’s appointment that morning at 9:30, so I just figured I would ask about the pain when I got there. I got up and started getting ready around 8. The pain kept coming in waves and I told Jud that I wasn’t sure if this was labor or not. I really didn’t think it was—but at the same time, I packed my hospital bag as I got ready.

It was pouring rain as Jud and I both left the house—he was on his way to get our carseat installation inspected. Luckily I only had to drive 2 minutes away. By the time I got to the doctor’s office I was feeling very emotional. When the nurse took me back, she asked me how I was doing and I burst into tears. I explained that I had been having a lot of pain that just wouldn’t go away. She sort of laughed and said okay, let’s get you checked out. The OB came in and checked me. “Yup…3-4 cm. I’m sending you over to Labor and Delivery. You are in early labor.” I was SO surprised to hear that! I don’t know why I was so surprised. I just burst into tears and couldn’t stop crying. The doctor and nurse looked amused. haha. They told me to head on over to the hospital right away. I was in such shock that I got in my car and drove home instead. Jud got home shortly after me and I also called my mom to come over. They just sat there talking to me as I sat in the living room on a birthing ball. In-between contractions, I kept asking “Do you think I should go now?” I was really in pain, so we finally decided to go to the hospital around 11:30. My goal was a med-free labor; I was terrified by the idea of an epidural and really squeamish about the thought of a catheter.

When we got to the hospital, the OB had called ahead, so I was admitted right away. We got taken back to the room and put on a monitor to check my contractions and baby’s heartbeat. They also started an IV. The nurse told me I could unhook from the monitors every 30 minutes to go walk around. Dr. Nanna, the OB on call, came in and checked me—4 cm. I decided to walk around a bit and try to breathe through the contractions. Every 30 minutes I would go back to the monitors. This continued for several hours. The contractions were becoming more and more painful and I was starting to cry every time I had one. The nurse finally checked me again and I was 6 cm. At this point we had to talk about pain relief. It was now around 6 pm and I had been in labor for 14 hours—and it was looking like I had hours ahead of me. It was a really hard decision to make. I was losing control with my pain and getting hysterical every time I had a contraction. I finally decided to get the epidural because I knew I couldn’t go on.

It was around 6:30 pm when the anesthesiologist came in to do the epi. The worst part was the numbing needle—I definitely felt it pop into my back and I jumped because it hurt. I still think about that horrible popping. Ugh. Once the epidural was in, I had a panic attack. The feeling was weird and not really that pleasant—I felt like I couldn’t raise my body up at all. My blood pressure also dropped really low for a minute. Luckily, after the initial large dose, I was a little less numb and felt better. The doctor came in to check me again a few minutes later, and I was still 6 cm. She broke my water (I didn’t feel a thing).

Once I got used to the feeling of the epidural, it was great. At this point it was just a waiting game. I know it was several hours, but they have already started to blend together in my mind. I texted some of my friends updates, and my mom, dad, Jud, and sis all ate some pizza. I begged my mom for a couple bites. A few hours later I was 8 cm. My sister brought frozen yogurt and the nurse told me I could have some. The nurse was having me switch from side to side, and I started feeling the epi on my right side more. On my left side I could feel some faint pressure, down low. I could feel enough to know that it would have hurt like a bitch without the epi.

Around 9:30 the nurse checked me and told me I was 10 cm—ready to start pushing! I got scared again and started crying. Even though I had the epidural, I could tell when I was having contractions and they did mildly hurt, so that helped me push. It was slow going. After about an hour I was feeling hopeless, hot, tired, and sick. I threw up—almost all over my sister. I was embarrassed and cried (and now I will never eat watermelon frozen yogurt again!). I wondered if the baby would be born by midnight, and the nurse told me it would be close. Another hour of pushing, at least. Everyone tells you that once you are in labor you won’t care or be embarrassed. That wasn’t true for me. I really think my pushing was inhibited because I felt a little embarrassed and scared.

Our nurse was great and ended up grabbing a sheet for me to pull against, over the squat bar. That was the best way to push, and I really felt like I was making progress then. I started getting a bit discouraged again though, and I thought the nurse said “Do you want to meet him??” You know…motivational-like. So I said Yes!!! She then walked away into the closet and I was like hmmmm what? Where is she going? She walks back out with a GIANT mirror—Seriously, those things are huge and on wheels. Aahhh. She had actually said “Do you want a mirror?” Oops. It ended up being a big help though. There was no hiding anything from anyone at that point, but I was numb and exhausted and just wanted the baby out. Sometime after 11, the nurse called the OB in for delivery. Even hearing her say that, I was in disbelief. I couldn’t believe he was about to be born. After 20 hours of labor and 2 hours of pushing, David Judson came out in a huge splash of fluid at 11:40 pm, 7 lb 4 oz. It was the most incredible moment of my life.

Introducing...

2012-09-15T23:31:00.000-04:00

David Judson! Born at 11:40 pm on April 26, 7 lb 4 oz, 19.5” long. My life has changed forever…I never knew you could love someone so much.

I’ll have a post devoted just to his birth story coming soon, so I won’t go into it now. At first I thought that I would give up on my blog completely…it’s been so long since I’ve updated. But since no one reads this anyway (haha), who cares if I just pick it back up after a few months? It’s great to have a record of everything, if only for myself. It’s easy to let things just slip on by, and I want to remember everything. I already wish I had been blogging all my thoughts and fears for the first 4 months of David’s life—it would be amazing to read back through. So I might as well start now. I have also learned SO much about being a mom already, and if my advice is helpful to just one new mom, then I’ll be happy!

Baby Face!

2012-03-20T16:14:00.001-04:00

I'm bad at updating this blog, I know. Time is just flying by so quickly and we have so much to do to get ready for baby!

I can't believe my due date is in about 6 weeks and he'll be full term in just 3 weeks. Where DID the time go? Some days I think I am ready, and other days I just feel overwhelmed and not ready at all!

We went in for two 3D ultrasounds; one at 28 weeks and one yesterday at 33 weeks. Its just so crazy to see his little face! At the same time, I can't really picture what he's going to look like.

28 weeks

33 weeks

I think he looks like Jud in these pictures!

I think he's going to be a pretty chill baby. He seems to like to curl up in a ball and sleep. He started pouting and frowning each time when the ultrasound tech tried to wake him up! Maybe he gets that from his momma ;)

We have lots of fun things to look forward to in the next couple weeks (some birth/baby classes, baby shower, etc.) and I will try to be better and blog about them!

What the hell is wrong with people?

2012-02-01T13:54:00.000-05:00

To start this, I should say that I think its totally normal and acceptable for someone to have a slight preference on the sex of their unborn child. I think a lot of women (but not all) say they have a slight preference for a girl because, well, we are girls. A baby girl seems more familiar and we know we can relate. Or, a woman already has a baby of one sex and would like to have one of each. I get it. Before I knew I was having a boy, I probably would have told you that if I had a preference, it would be for a girl. I just sort of assumed I'd be better at raising a girl, having been a young girl myself. The thing is....once you find out who the little baby inside of you is, you love it. No matter what. I am SO excited to be having a boy and, honestly, if the doctor were to say "Oops, its actually a girl", I would be really upset. I want my baby boy.

Here's what I don't get. Why do people think its acceptable to make comments to a pregnant woman about the sex of her baby and how it's not what they want?

I have had people make the stupidest comments to me about having a boy.* Comments range from mild--a co-worker telling me she "just looooooves little girls. but not boys"--to extreme. Like this:

I was out on Friday with some friends. Friend X just got engaged, so another friend asked her if they were planning on having children.

Friend X: Well, I'm sort of undecided about having kids because, to be honest, I'll only want the baby if its a girl. [pause] No offense Kristen.

Me: Ah, the good thing is, once you are pregnant, you'll love the baby no matter what it is!

Friend X: Uhhh no I won't. I want a girl.

WELL ALRIGHTY THEN.

She then proceeded to explain her idiotic reasons for only wanting a girl--you know, because girls clothes are soooo much cuter than boys. Seriously? Anything I tried to counter with (because I was feeling a little defensive of my baby boy at this point)--I've found really cute boy stuff!--she shot down and argued with me. I gave up, but sat there the rest of the night silently fuming.

WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE? You get what you get, and you thank God you have a healthy baby.

Bottom line? If someone tells you they are having a (boy, girl), then the only acceptable response is "Congratulations! (Boys,girls) are so great!" THAT'S IT. How hard is that?

*Note, I'm sure if I were having a girl I would have people saying equally stupid comments about how boys are better and "Don't you want a boy for your husband?" There's no winning in this situation.

Updates--and Happy 2012!

2012-01-11T15:01:00.000-05:00

I'm not gonna lie...2011 ended on a kind of shitty note. Mostly just because I had a cold. Pregnant colds are the worst.

I am looking forward to 2012, though, and so far, its been pretty good! I'm starting to panic about all the things we have to do before Baby David gets here, but we are slowly crossing things off the list. Crib and bedding has been ordered! We also found a trainer to help us work with Belle to prepare her for a baby in the house.

I had a 24-week appointment yesterday. Everything was looking good! My belly is measuring right on track and baby boy has a nice strong heartbeat. I can really feel him squirming around in there now. Its such a strange sensation.

Belle starts her first training session tomorrow. The trainer mentioned it might be a steep learning curve for her at first...lots of things changing at once. Eek. I'm not sure who its going to be harder on, me or her. I guess we'll see tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T05:33:00.002-05:00

I hope you are all having a fabulous day!

(Yeah, I put a bird on top of my tree. What?)

We are having a.....

2011-12-12T11:27:00.000-05:00

BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Introducing........David Judson:

I love how he's just laying back and relaxing here.

I was SO nervous and anxious going in for my anatomy scan. My mom and Jud were with me, and they were just as excited as I was to find out if we had a baby boy or girl. The tech did a few initial measurements and then I could see his little legs kicking. After a pause she said....see that between his little legs? Ha ha. Baby continued to flop around and so I asked her if she was sure (I was mostly joking...but you never know). Right after I asked her, he flipped over and definitely showed us that he was a boy! Little David is not shy ;)

No doubt about it:

I have been an emotional wreck since I found out. I am so, so excited to be having a baby boy and, most importantly, everything looked perfect and healthy.

Nail Polish Swap!

2011-12-07T05:00:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago I participated in a nail polish swap hosted by Tara and Celia (see....I'm trying to turn this into a real blog, y'all).

I was paired up with Michelle from Stuttering Shell. She is awesome and you should check out her blog! She also recently posted some beautiful scarves she made! I'm so jealous of crafty, talented people.

Anyway, Michelle is SO sweet and sent me an awesome package of nail colors AND a little spa packet for at-home pedicures.

The colors are all fabulous! I thought the Julep polish was really interesting--I love the shape of the bottles! I think I found my new nail polish brand for awhile.

Thanks again, Michelle!

P.S. This post is like 2 days late.....sorry!!!! *face of shame* I'm not yet hooked up on the interwebz at the new place yet.

What sex is baby H??

2011-12-06T10:53:00.002-05:00

I have my anatomy scan on Friday morning!!! I seriously am SO SO SO excited to find out if baby is a boy or a girl! I haven't really bought anything yet, so I am planning on a major shopping trip Friday afternoon. Assuming baby cooperates, that is!

I don't really have a preference--I have reasons for wanting a girl and I have reasons for wanting a boy. We will be thrilled either way.

Here's what the old wives tales say:

Chinese gender chart: Girl

Ring test: Boy

Acne: Girl

Heartbeat: Girl

Morning Sickness: Boy

Cravings: Girl

Intuition: My family seems to think its a boy, for the most part. I don't really have any intuition about it though. I have no idea!

Dream: I have had very few pregnancy/baby dreams. However, the other night I had a dream that I went to my appointment and it was a BOY! However, it was Dr. Hunt from Grey's Anatomy that performed my ultrasound, sooo....take that with a grain of salt.

Look under the tab that says "bump pictures" to see my belly! I think I'm carrying low, which I believe is a boy according to legend ;)
Have any guesses? I'll be sure to let everyone know on Friday!!

Movin' out...

2011-11-03T05:00:00.001-04:00

We have lived in our apartment in downtown Annapolis for 4 years now. There are some really great things about living here. We absolutely love being downtown and able to walk to all the bars/restaurants/shops. Its great when people come over and we can just stroll downtown. We have a nice backyard for Belle. Our rent is ridiculously inexpensive.

However, there are a lot of things about our apartment that are pretty bad. 1. We had rats. And the exterminators never figured out how exactly they got in. 2. Window unit A/C. We live in Maryland and have a husky. In the spring/summer/early fall we have to run the units 24/7 and it costs us a ton of money. Our window units are old and DISGUSTING and have started spewing filth/mold. Which brings me to #2. Our landlord isn't a big fan of repairing/replacing anything (see: cheap rent). 3. The whole place is sort of cramped and needs some major fixing up...the problem is that we would be on our own doing it all, since our landlord wouldn't be interested.

The thought of bringing our sweet new baby home to a once rat-infested apartment was too much to bear, and Jud and I decided that its time to move. We actually ended up deciding to move back into the apartment complex where we lived previously--10 minutes from downtown. Pros: husky-friendly, nice walking paths, a dishwasher (aaah, amazing! we haven't had one in years), central air, a fitness center, indoor/outdoor pools, a second bathroom!, and a bit more room. Cons: No backyard for Belle, and not being downtown. Oh, and our rent will be $500/more per month. Eek.

Overall, I'm really excited. Moving is a great opportunity to get rid of all of our old crap and redecorate and get organized. We will be moving in Thanksgiving weekend--the same weekend we moved in here, 4 years ago. I think its a good sign!

Oh, and, if I do happen to get sad about not being downtown............please remind me of the rats. And the window unit mold.

Ultrasounds!

2011-11-01T12:20:00.001-04:00

I'm not sure how I feel about posting my ultrasound pics on Facebook, but, this is my blog. I can post whatever I want, right? I've been lucky enough to have 3 ultrasounds so far:

This one was from my first appointment at 7 weeks 1 day. The baby is just a little bean!

I had another ultrasound at 10 weeks 6 days. It was a bit too early to hear the heartbeat with a doppler and the doc didn't want me to freak out, so they just went ahead and did an ultrasound. I couldn't believe how much it already looks like a baby at not even 11 weeks. My mom was with me and we were just stunned to see it kicking arms and legs and bouncing around.

This last ultrasound is from my NT scan at 12 weeks. This is my favorite picture. The baby was still super active and jumping all around.

We probably won't have another ultrasound until around 18-20 weeks....BUT at that appointment we should be finding out the sex of the baby!!!

The Cat is Out of the Bag

2011-11-01T10:52:00.000-04:00

If you are my facebook friend, you probably saw me post this yesterday:

Yup! I am almost 14 weeks pregnant! We are so excited :) Baby's due date is 5/3/12.

There have been a lot of things I've wanted to blog about, but we weren't ready to let the secret out. The time has really flown by, though--I can't believe I'm already in my second trimester. Stay tuned for lots of fun posts coming up :) (Not all of them will be baby-related, I promise.)

Oprah-fy Yourself

2011-05-27T12:10:00.000-04:00

Go here: http://www.oprah.com/packages/oprahfy-yourself.html

My Oprah self is funny:

But Jud's Oprah (Joprah) is HILARIOUS:

I think he looks a little Boy George-ish. Do you really want to hurt me? Do you really want to make me cry?.....

Yup.....clearly working hard in anticipation of this 3-day weekend.

Officially Summer...

2011-05-25T22:36:00.003-04:00

This weekend is Memorial Day. It was 80 degrees and humid today. Yes, summer is here:

Jud and I decided we were in the mood for a light, summery dinner today. Corn on the cob and a fruit salad.

Edit: Jud wanted corn. He gave me the side eye on the fruit.

As much as I sometimes dread summer coming--the crappy window units in our apartment being a major reason--I'm glad now that its here. Its so nice to be able to come home and have hours of daylight left (even with my long commute). I sat outside with a glass of wine and peeled (husked?) corn while Belle played in the yard.

Belle LOVES corn.

Don't know how to make corn on the cob? Easy:

1. Add the corn to a large pot--cover with water. Add a bit of sugar (a few dashes).
2. Bring to a boil.
3. As soon as water is boiling, cover the pot and turn the heat off.
4. Let corn cook/steam for 10 minutes.

Voila!

Edit: Jud also read this and told me that everyone already knows how to make corn on the cob. Apparently I'm the only fool who had to call my mom and ask her.

My Five (sex) Freebies

2011-05-12T11:09:00.000-04:00

Yesterday my friend Julie told me she was bored and working on her official list of celebrities that are on her sex freebie list (you can only have 5). This definitely led to a lot of debate and discussion--hey, this is a serious topic.

Here is my final list:

1. Thomas Gibson.

I love him. LOVE. Criminal Minds is my #1 favorite TV show, and I may or may not DVR every single repeat of Dharma and Greg I can find. I think he is SO handsome, and I would have sex with him immediately. Also, Jud knows this and has given us his blessing.

There's a bonus pic for ya.

2. Johnny Rzeznik, of the Goo Goo Dolls.

This may seem like a strange choice. However, when I was younger I was OBSESSED with the Goo Goo Dolls, and John Rzeznik in particular. I can't even tell you how many times I saw them in person. I owe it to my 15-year-old self to have sex with him.

3. Shamar Moore.

Need I say more?

4. Eric Dane.

Yeah...McSteamy definitely does it for me. You can tell just by looking at him that he's great in bed.

5. ~~Wolverine~~ Hugh Jackman

I think Hugh Jackman is just a sexy guy in general. (As Wolverine, he's a sex machine, clearly.) He also seems to be a very nice person in real life, which makes him even more attractive. And he's Australian. Bonus!

Oh, if you are over the age of 25, you are allowed to have a special cougar bonus--the super young hotties are all the rage in Hollywood these days.

My special cougar star goes to......

Taylor Lautner. That kid is seriously gorgeous.

Okay, I'm not gonna lie. I felt a little creepy googling pics of him. How old IS he? Hmmm IMDB says 19. Don't judge.

Make sure you hop on over to Night Notes on Napkins to see Julie's top 5!

Tell me, who are YOUR 5 freebies??

5 years ago on this date......

2011-05-11T10:06:00.000-04:00

I met Jud. (Yes, it was at a bar, and yes, it was on a Thursday. What?)

One of my favorite engagement photos--taken in the bar where we met :)

My dog is a hipster

2011-05-06T20:02:00.000-04:00

I couldn’t resist when I saw this adorable Plush IPaw’d for Dogs from thinkgeek.com. I can’t help it. I am a compulsive online-shopper, and I thought it was too cute. I DO need to keep Belle up-to-date with the latest dog toys! And I ordered Jud some bacon toothpaste, so he was happy.

The verdict? Belle wasn't so sure at first.

It was smaller than I thought it would be, definitely. However, it did have a squeaker in it, which wasn't mentioned on the site.

I think Belle will be using it as a pillow for now.

One of my favorite sites is ModCloth. I would buy SO much stuff from them if I had unlimited funds. I got excited when I got an email featuring their new dog accessories. I fell in love with this collar and ordered it immediately. Again, online-shopping problem.

When I received the collar, it did look pretty much as shown in the picture. The colors are actually a bit brighter, which I don't mind. The large size was perfect for Belle--she is about 65 lbs and does have a big husky neck. I will say I did have to stretch it out almost to its max, so you probably couldn't use this collar on an extra large dog.

Here is my complaint. I don't know if you can tell in the picture, but the bow is actually hard plastic, as is the little slider it is placed on. The odd thing is that the bow is not directly attached to the plastic slider. It is just sort of looped on with piece of thread. I was very surprised about that. It seemed very cheap, and it was dangling on rather precariously. I knew that bow would be gone in about a week. Not to worry--I used my hot glue gun to stick that sucker on permanently.

I think I might hop on over to ModCloth to write a review, actually.

What's that, you say? This post was just an excuse to show off pics of my dog?

She also likes to snuggle in Crate & Barrel's finest.

Sweet Valley Confidential: A Review

2011-04-07T15:19:00.000-04:00

When I found out that Francine Pascal was publishing a new Sweet Valley book, I got really excited. I absolutely LOVED the Sweet Valley High books when I was a kid; I read every single one. I downloaded the book to my kindle the day it came out. What were Jessica and Elizabeth up to these days??

The book is AWFUL. Truly awful. The writing is horrible, the story is weak, and there are a staggering number of inaccuracies. Francine Pascal (and your team of ghost writers), you should be ashamed of yourself.

Let me sum it up for you. Elizabeth is a bitter, foul-mouthed slut, and Jessica is an airhead (no surprise there) who talks, like, this, like, so, you totally, like, know, right, like, so, like? It was maddening. She was always the flaky twin, but she never spoke like that before.

Elizabeth and Jessica belong in the 80s. Lets face it. It was sort of creepy reading about them listening to Beyonce and playing on Facebook. And, yes, I'm a big girl now and the twins are supposed to be the same age as me but, I'm sorry, I NEVER want to hear about Elizabeth Wakefield's orgasms (especially the ones she "cries during." Freak). Essentially, Pascal "aged" the characters by throwing in foul words, sex, and a few pop culture references. Even Alice Wakefield drops the F bomb on poor Ned. In the middle of grandmother's birthday dinner.

The inaccuracies are ridiculous. Who remembers Suzanne Devlin? Recap: Comes to Sweet Valley, is a horrible evil bitch, accuses Mr. Collins of sexual harassment and pretty much ruins his life. She is hated by all. She comes back at Christmas a changed girl because she has MS. Blah, blah, she has champagne and crashes the Fiat (WTF is a Fiat, anyway?). But hooray! In the hospital they find out that she doesn't have MS after all. Happiness all around! Read about it here:

In Sweet Valley Confidential, we are told that Suzanne died in that Christmas crash. Oh.

The Epilogue at the end was an annoying "update" on some of the other characters. Basically, all of the beautiful and rich kids are now beautiful and rich adults. The others are bitter hags (I'm looking at you, Enid).

Alright. Let's get serious here and talk about the actual story.

By halfway through Chapter 1, I knew what had happened. What would possibly rip Jessica and Elizabeth, and their matching gold lavaliers, apart? Why is Lizzie so full of hate? Ah. Jessica must have slept with her boyfriend. Is it? No, it can't be. Yup. Good old Todd Wilkins.

Todd is a weak slimeball, and switching twins is disgusting. Oh, but its okay, because they have found true love. Not that we see their love based on anything other than sex. The Elizabeth/Todd/Jessica triangle is the main plot of the book, but its pretty weak and even boring at times. Lizzie's mad, sleeps around to make herself feel better, and ultimately forgives Jessica and Todd and *sniffle* bravely attends their wedding. No surprise there.

As a side plot, Steven Wakefield is (!) gay. This is just annoying because we know he wasn't gay before, and the book even references Tricia Martin, who was the love of his life until she died from leukemia (see below).

That picture of her always disturbed me. But I digress.

Making Steven gay is just a blatant attempt to shock fans. Its lame. Jessica is the one to stumble upon Steven on the beach, rubbing another man's arms. Her reaction? "If he's gay, and he must be, like he should come out." Sigh.

Oh, and I hope you're not worried about Elizabeth. Turns out she was madly in love with Bruce Patman! She never even liked Todd! She just thought she did! Hooray! All is right in Sweet, Sweet Valley.

I make ugly pizza

2011-04-05T11:59:00.001-04:00

Pizza is my weakness. I fully admit this, and I'm not ashamed. What I am ashamed of is the number of frozen pizzas consumed in our household. (That being said, Digiorno Italian Three-Cheese Crispy Flatbread Pizza is to die for.)

Jud and I decided to make our own pizza from scratch (ish). By ish, I mean we bought frozen dough. But other than that we had to do all the work!

Saturday I put the dough in the refrigerator to defrost for pizza on Sunday. The instructions on the dough were:

1. Roll out to desired shape (to fit 12" pizza pan)
2. Let rest
3. Roll out again
4. Prick with fork
5. Baste with oil or butter
6. Put in oven for 10 minutes
7. Remove, add your desired toppings
8. Put back in oven for 10 minutes

So we attempt to roll out the dough. This is HARD!! We just couldn't get it to stay in a nice circle--it kept shrinking back. So annoying. So we got it as good as we could, then let it....rest. Could there be any less specific instructions? How long should we let it rest for? I decided it just needed a 5 minute rest, but I don't think Jud trusted my decision.

After its rest, the dough was all misshapen and sort of in an oval shape. Seriously, it was impossible to shape it. I ended up using a cold beer can from the fridge--I think the cold helps it keep its shape. I pricked it a ton of times with the fork, and then basted it with this pizza oil from Crate & Barrel:

It is amazing and spicy and delicious. So, after basting, we put the dough in the oven, on the baking sheet, for 10 mins. And we got this:

Alright...its not pretty. And there are a ton of bubbles, I don't know why. I poked it with a fork!! Anyway. The instructions don't say to let it cool before adding stuff, but....really? We let it cool while we grated cheese. I bought fresh mozzarella, asiago, and habanero (Cabot Hot Habanero cheese, amazing).

Obviously, the best part of making pizza is eating half of the cheese before you put it on. So, we happily piled on sauce, oregano, basil, and cheese (plus like 4 pieces of sausage that Jud wanted to put on just one piece) and put our pizza in the oven. Ten minutes later....

Our pizza is HIDEOUS!!!!!!!! Seriously. That is one ugly pie. I think it all has to do with the crust. I need to do some research before we attempt this again.

It was delicious though :-)

Any tips on making a pretty pizza?

Wedding Pictures!

2011-03-31T13:10:00.081-04:00

I have about 700 wedding pictures....I only selected some of my favorites to show here (click to enlarge them)!

The dress!

For the record, I LOVED my shoes. It took me months to find the perfect pair.

Putting on the dress was pretty funny. It was a little intimidating.

Once everyone was ready, we took some photos outside on my parents front lawn.

Me with my mom.

While the girls were getting ready, the guys were having fun posing around the neighborhood that Jud and I live in.

We took some more traditional stair photos at my parents house...

while the boys played on the playground! I absolutely love this pic.

Once we got to the church, I got to see my flowers. I was so happy with my bouquet...I kind of wish I had preserved it now.

The girls' bouquet

Walking up the aisle! We spend many hours at this church, going through RCIA so Jud could become Catholic, and then going through our pre-cana classes.

The photographers then took a few photos outside of the church.

Once we got to the Westin, it was time for.....yup, more pictures!

One of my favorites.

Our amazing bridal party

The first dance! The dancing lessons did pay off, although I was hyperventilating with terror (and Jud is laughing at me, as you can see).

I have to include a picture of our band leader. Our band was absolutely amazing--I truly can't describe it. Everyone was on the dance floor. This picture sort of shows you why.

Our tables

Our cake! 4-tiers of different flavors....my favorite was chocolate with raspberry cream.

Our wedding favors.

I'm baaaaack

2011-03-30T12:40:00.000-04:00

I am going to start blogging again.

NO REALLY. I swear.

I feel that it is best to go in chronological order for the important events (wedding, honeymoon). Where did I leave off? Aah yes. The dancing lessons. *shudder. I’ll just leave that alone for now.

Before I talk about the actual wedding, I must say that our rehearsal dinner was PERFECT. After all the….drama…involving the rehearsal dinner, I was so happy that it turned out wonderful. We had it at Harry Browne’s. We thought HBs would be a great place to check out, since we met there. Mom, Jud, and I went to check it out, and we were very pleasantly surprised to find out that it was even better than we could have imagined! The room they offered was beautiful, with its own entrance and patio—it was a special, SECRET room that we had never seen in all our years of drinking at the bar. The menu seemed great.

After our wedding rehearsal on September 2 (what a confusing whirlwind that was, btw), we headed to the dinner. We had the perfect guests—me and Jud, our bridal party, my parents and grandparents—and it was a blast!! The food was amazing, and the servers let us keep drinking wine way past the time our event was over.

One last note: I am really happy with my decision to do the rehearsal and dinner two nights before the wedding, instead of the night before. It was much more relaxed. The day before the wedding was INSANE. I literally ran out of time.

Aaaand a pic....because I really loved my dress :-)

I'm a Dancing Fool. Or Maybe Just a Fool...

2010-08-17T10:51:00.000-04:00

Awhile ago I decided that Jud and I should take dancing lessons before the wedding. I am NOT a dancer--I can barely walk without tripping over my own feet. Jud has been doing musical theatre for many years, so I figured he would be fine...but I didn't want to embarrass him during the nerve-wracking first dance.

Of course, I procrastinated until the very last minute. Luckily I found a place that specializes in wedding dances--they guaranteed improvement after just one lesson. Good thing, because we could only squeeze in two before the wedding. Our first lesson was last Sunday.

As soon as we pulled up to the studio, I felt panicked and wanted to run. Once we got inside and I put my shoes on I felt better. How could I dance badly in such beautiful shoes?

After our instructor heard our song, she recommended a "rhumba" for us. Slow, romantic, and easy to learn (supposedly). After about five minutes, Jud is gleefully gliding across the dance floor, and I am close to tears. I SUCK at dancing. I can see somebody else doing the moves, and they look easy, but my limbs will not cooperate. They go in any direction except the ones they are supposed to.

Our instructor was SO nice and helpful, and really understanding. I loved her. However, with her tiny little ballerina body and soft Eastern European accent, I couldn't help but feel even worse next to her. Like a baboon.

Oh well. As Jud says....at least my wedding dress will cover up my feet, so no one will really know if they are dancing under there.

Engagement Pictures

2010-08-13T08:00:00.001-04:00

Just a few of my favorites....

Wedding Meltdown

2010-08-12T08:00:00.002-04:00

I'm not a big fan of posting tons of wedding countdowns and statuses on Facebook. Occasionally I do...I just don't want to annoy the 300 online "friends" that aren't coming to the wedding with constant wedding chat. So instead I will torment this lonely little blog.

I have 23 days left. I thought I was on top of things; I thought I was a super-cool, laid-back bride. Not anymore. As soon as "the countdown" started getting in the 30s, I started panicking. It probably doesn't help to be confronted by this when I log on to TheKnot:

TO-DOS ON LIST: 83 | COMPLETED TO-DOS: 107

Wow. So I have less than one month left but 83 things left to do. To top it off, once I realized that my wedding was less than four weeks away, my emotions just went crazy. And they appear to be staying that way. I cry about three times a day. My heart starts pounding whenever I think about it, and I feel nauseous all the time.

Ummmm......yay weddings?

Its not that I'm not happy and in love and excited--I AM! I'm just extremely nervous and slightly sad. A wedding is generally considered one of a person's few monumental "life experiences." And while I am certainly ready, I also feel sad that one of my great life experiences is going to be over in a few short weeks.

Luckily, after the wedding, I will have time to recover from my sadness and get my nerves back under control.....on a tropical beach.

Couch Surfer

2010-08-11T12:05:00.001-04:00

Belle has recently decided that she is scared of the vacuum. Probably because I keep threatening to brush her with it...but I digress. Last time I was vacuuming the living room, she jumped up on top of our couch drink holder/tray/what DO you call it?? Well, I just thought it was hilarious. Of course she jumped down as soon as I went to grab my camera...so when Jud got home, we tried to get her to do a re-enactment.

It took a couple of tries:

And then.....

Victory!!