My New Diet Plan

The other day I had a really bad charley horse in my calf before getting out of bed. It hurt for almost 3 days. I have read that these are quite common in pregnancy. I wasn't super worried; it was just literally a pain. I actually limped due to the pain I was in at times. Joel, on the other hand, did get a little worried. I think being a medical student coupled with being my protective and caring husband he got a little paranoid. At one point, he told me I should call the doctor because he was worried it may be more serious than just a leg cramp. I didn't call the doctor, because I wouldn't have even known how to begin that conversation on the phone with a nurse. "Hi, my name is Julie and I am married to a medical student...I had a charley horse and he is worried about it." Don't get me wrong, I love Joel dearly and I am not mocking him. I love that he cares and loves me so much to get a little paranoid at times. (It has increased since I am carrying his child!) Instead of calling the doctor, I read up a little about leg cramps. Like I said, I read they are fairly common in pregnancy. The articles I read told me to stretch it out, drink lots of water and get the right nutrition.

This brings me to my new diet plan. First, make sure I drink lots of water. This isn't really new and I love water, so it won't be a problem. I just have to make sure I am getting enough each day. I love Joel and his antics. Here he is showing us how I should drink water. :)Second, I have never been a very big breakfast eater. Third, I know I don't get enough potassium and calcium in my diet. I don't like the texture of bananas, so I don't eat them alone. I also grew up allergic to milk, so I never got into drinking milk for my calcium. (I am trying to remember to take a calcium supplement besides my prenatal vitamin.) For these two reasons, I decided that I am going to make fruit smoothies for breakfast. This way I can insert a lot of calcium and potassium in my diet plus eat a breakfast that I like. However, the thought of making a smoothie every morning makes me cringe. I like my sleep (which also probably explains the lack of breakfast at times). So, to take time every morning to do this was a huge turn off for me. Then the light bulb went off (actually I think Brandie gave me the idea)--why not make them ahead of time and freeze the smoothies! Bingo! My problem was solved. Before, I could do this though, I needed to find cups with lids that I could freeze the smoothies in. This proved much harder than I thought. I checked Walgreens, a dollar store and Target. None to be found. Joel and I were leaving Target a little defeated. (I had bought bananas that I needed to use...I really wanted those cups! Note: I like the flavor of bananas, just not the texture, so blended is good.) Fortunately, on our way out of Target, we walked past the food section and a light bulb went off in Joel's head. "Why not buy plastic bottles with water in them and use those bottles to store your smoothies?" Brilliant! So, I don't typically buy flavored water, actually I probably never do. But, last night Joel and I bought 5 Vitamin waters. (Bonus: they were on sale! Plus, they had some of the vitamins I was looking to add to my diet any way.) I think this idea actually may have cost us less than buying specific tumblers with lids.


Because of Joel's brilliance and my grocery shopping earlier that week, I was able to make my smoothies last night. :) I had a little taste and I am so looking forward to Monday morning. I got a variety of frozen fruits, plain and strawberry yogurt, bananas (fresh) and milk or orange juice. So, I can get a variety of different types of smoothies. Last night, I made two strawberry and banana ones. (Joel and I each had our vitamin water for drinks with dinner last night.) My plan today, is to make a berry smoothie with my other banana, blackberries, plain yogurt, and orange juice. My mother-in-law got me a sweet cookbook for a past birthday or Christmas gift entitled "smoothies and juices" that will be very handy in this endeavor! Man, I really want Monday morning to come so I can drink my breakfast smoothie!

A Night Out on the Town (or on DMU)

So, every winter DMU throws a big bash downtown Des Moines at the Convention Complex. It is called the winter gala. It is fun to get all dressed up and enjoy a night on the town with our significant others and friends. Especially when the night is free. (Well, I guess part of our tuition pays for this, so it better be good.) The party includes a fun band and some awesome food. The major hit of the evening on the food end of things was the huge, amazing chocolate fountain. (Although, to be honest I really enjoyed the fresh fruit better than the chocolate. Shh. Don't tell, but I am not the hugest chocolate fan to begin with and this pregnancy is making me crave fruits!) Joel really liked the Starbucks coffee that they had. There were a ton of people dancing, but Joel didn't get any pictures. I didn't really feel like dancing in a very crowded space, so I sat and talked with friends and watched other people dance. :) I think Joel was okay with this. He didn't seem to mind when he told our friends my pregnancy was a perfect excuse not to dance. However, lets be honest he "drags" me to the dance floor as often as I do. :)

Below are some pictures of us at the party. First, you have the whole group: Clint and Brandie, Joel and I, Jayme and Sarah, and Eric and Chelsea. We all kind of matched each other with the black, reds and oranges. Never realized how color coordinated we were until looking at this picture.The next picture is one of Jayme and Sarah.
Then you get Eric and Chelsea.
Then Joel and I. (I made him wear the orange shirt, because I got an orange shawl. Plus it is one of my favorite dress shirts of his, because I love the color orange.)

Finally, here is Clint and Brandie.
All in all it was a fun night. It was good to have our students back for an evening out. 2nd year has been much harder for them. so I am glad they all took a night off and relaxed with us.

Movements Inside

A week or two ago, I started feeling Blueberry move. I wasn't 100% sure that was what I actually felt. I thought it might have been my imagination, because I was really anxious for that part of pregnancy. However, I am pretty sure now that's what it was. It is so crazy and it makes me excited. It is cool thinking that there is a new life growing in me and it is busy moving and making it's presence known. The first few times I felt it there wasn't any distinct movements that I could feel. It almost just felt like the baby was doing somersaults. For those of you who don't know and always ask, I am going to give the standard answer. It really feels like little flutters or butterflies in your stomach. I never felt like that was a satisfying answer, but there is no other way to really describe it.

There are certain times of the day when I can tell when Blueberry is more active. On my way to work is one of them (8 am). Actually, as I type this I am feeling little kicks or elbows nudging me from the inside. The other times I have noticed is in the evening (supper time) and right before bed. I have heard that when you feel the baby move is more likely to be when the baby is awake after birth. I guess it indicates their sleeping pattern Is that true? If so, I haven't been woken up by the baby yet, which would be a good sign right?! Or maybe, I am able to sleep through the movements, because the baby is too small to really kick me with enough force to wake me up. :)

I am really posting this, because of what happened last night. It was exciting. I told Joel that the baby was really moving right before we were trying to fall asleep. He put his hand on the baby belly and tried to feel for Blueberry. Well, I was a bit skeptical that he would feel it this early on, but Blueberry made his/her presence known to Joel as well! Joel was so excited.

The Shower Experience

(No this story is not about a wedding or baby shower. Haha) So, I want to tell you a story. We moved at the beginning of January to a house. We are house-sitting for a couple that is in China teaching English for 18 months. It is a pretty nice house and we have quite a bit more space than our town home at Maple Grove. Plus, we are saving a lot of money, because we are only paying utilities. Well, the first morning we were there, I had to go to work. So, I proceeded to wake up and take a shower. I couldn't get the shower to work though. In order for the shower to work, you have to pull a little knob up on the faucet. The knob would not stay up. It would stay up only for the shower to drip on my head. I was quite frustrated to say the least, seeing as I need a little more water pressure to wash my hair than that. In the end, I got on my knees and washed my hair under the faucet. Not the best shower in the world. (Actually, I think I had better ones when I was in Mexico for a mission trip.) Joel was still on break from school. I felt bad, but I woke him up to tell him about this right after it happened. I told him that I can get on my hands and knees right now, but in a couple weeks that will get very uncomfortable due to the growing baby in me. Haha. Joel called me later that day and said he had the same problem, but came up with a solution. The pictures below show his solution. :) My husband is awesome!
The above picture shower. It is a lovely shade of pink. :) If you can't tell there is something a little different on the faucet. Let's look at the picture below to get a clearer picture:

That, my friends, is a soap dish that Joel used to prop the knob up and he secured it with several rubber bands. It actually works wonders. It just looks a little funky to say the least.