Our Christmas Gift

Luke Brian Surowiec

December 20, 2009 9:42 AM

9lbs. 12 oz. 22.75" long

The Little Hungry Patercillar on Thanksgiving

After Thanksgiving dinner Adam decided he would "read" to the family from the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar (which he changes to: The Little Hungry Patercillar).

Then he gets to Saturday where the caterpillar eats a bunch of junk food and in turn he has a tummy ache. But, instead of saying what the book says he reads it as when he ate all that food he then became constipated.

It was so funny, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

Lesson learned, don't eat too much junk food or you will get constipated!

Thankful @ 37 weeks

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I'm thankful for health and well-being. Thankful that God has graced me with a uneventful pregnancy, one that hasn't even given me so much as heartburn or a sleepless night. At 37 weeks my life may not look perfect but I'm healthy and happy and will survive the storm.
I wait patiently as we find out when this little person will grace us with their presence.

Growing

27 weeks

On the brink of the third trimester

uh, I have a big baby in there!

10 Things I Learned on Vacation

1. I love northern Michigan (ok, that's nothing new. It was just reaffirmed). The air is cleaner, the people are friendlier, and the water is so clear it looks tropical.
2. I don't need to wash my clothes after only one wear. I wore a few pair of shorts for up to 3 days and since I never got food or dirt on them they looked clean. Shirts are a different story, I tend to spill lots of food on the front of myself and therefore needed to change my shirt on a more frequent basis.
3. Taking a bath in a lake is refreshing but not really cleansing, especially when you have to walk in the sand afterwards.
4. I really like flushing toilets that are close by, not pit toilets that are a block away.
5. A 4 hour downpour accompanied by constant thunder & lightning is not fun in a tent from Target. It convinced me that my next tent needs to come from a outdoor store. (We learned the hard way that our fly has a leak in it and that the bottom of our tent leaks when consumed by water.)
6. My son is obsessed with becoming a Junior Ranger in all the National Parks, sounds good to me!
7. I need a family vacation that doesn't involve tents, cooking outdoors and smelling nasty the whole time. I pray that next year's vacation with a baby will not include these things.
8. I have a hard time saying goodbye to Lake Michigan.
9. The bays on Lake Michigan are MUCH more pleasant that the coastlines.
10. I could live without a computer.

A Home

To say that I want to move is an understatement. I need to move to keep myself sane! I know that God has a plan and He can make the impossible possible. I've been given this "gift" (or so I like to think) of finding great deals on anything I'm looking for. Recently it's been a blessing to find a few really great real estate deals just when they come on the market.
Above is a photo of a house we looked at today and love. Get this, it was just listed on 8/7 and I found it on 8/8. It's a foreclosure, but you can't tell by the looks of it, heck it even has all it's window coverings in it in great condition. It's in a beautiful neighborhood with houses worth upwards of $350k. This house is listed for $210k. Built in 2001, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 3175 sf, finished basement, and it even has a fireplace in the master bedroom. Minor repairs are needed to the exterior wood trim and some painting needs to be done (the exterior trim around the doors & windows is purple so, um yeah, it needs some help from me).
So now, as we scramble to find an unconventional way to attain a home I ask for your prayers that God will bless us with a new home and that if it's meant to be for us no one will come and snatch it away before we can make arrangements!

New Ride

I don't have a car or a bike. But, my dad works at a bike shop and he is lovingly getting me a new bike! I can't wait to see it in person, they don't even carry it in the shop yet. He just ordered it yesterday and will build it for me when it comes in. I'm very excited for my new cruiser, he said it looks much better in person. It will be especially nice for Adam who loves to ride his bike so much. It's no fun to continually wait for your walking mom when all you want to do is ride really fast.

Now Knocking

Last night was the first time that I felt the baby kicking me. It was an unmistakable feeling of a little being kicking repeatedly while I watched 'The Bachelorette'. I guess this baby doesn't like my choice in television. Too bad kid, once you're born you'll have all my attention and therefore I won't be able to watch the 2 television shows I watch now.

Here are some updates:

Currently I'm 17 weeks (just over 4 months)
(prenatal appointment is next week so no physical updates for now)

We won't be finding out the sex... so stop asking me!

My first & only ultrasound should be coming up within the next few weeks.

Adam thinks I look more beautiful with a baby in my belly. He'll make one heck of a husband one day!


House update:
After much consideration, praying and discussion Brian and I have decided that our friend's house in South Lyon is not the right move for us. They want a lot more money for it than we can afford. We have another option in the works so that hopefully we will be moved before this baby arrives. It's hard living with my mother but I'm trying everyday to be thankful that I have a roof over my head and another beautiful child on the way. Today I cleaned my bathroom with much vigor simply because I'm thankful I have a bathroom to clean!

What's New?

Why have I been so silent and distant with you oh blog land? Because I'm not good at keeping secrets at all, especially ones I'm VERY excited about. So, to keep myself from exploding on the internet I've ignored my blog. It was hard enough to keep my keyboard shut on Facebook!

For the past 2-1/2 years Brian and I have struggled to conceive another child. It has been a frustrating journey full of patience testing and faith building. I loved being pregnant, I loved giving birth, and being that I myself am an only child I knew I wanted Adam to have a sibling.

Well, I'm happy to report that many prayers have been answered and without the help of any medical interventions we are due to have our second baby in mid-December!!!! For all who prayed for us I can not thank you enough and I know that each of those prayers worked.

Now we need some prayers for our own home to magically appear! :) I will not have this baby while living with my parents!

This is Interesting..

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following:

There would be:
57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south
8 Africans
52 would be female
48 would be male
70 would be non-white
30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian
89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the United States.
80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth
1(yes, only 1) would have a college education
1 would own a computer

New Birth Blog

Check out this new blog about birth http://www.blogsmonroe.com/childbirth/

This woman attended my very first Bradley Method class way back in 2006, proceeded to give birth to her 10 lb. 8oz. son totally natural, then had a second child naturally and now teaches The Bradley Method herself! She just got approval to write this blog for Monroe County and I'm SO proud of her!
Congrats Jeanette!!

Ideal Bite

Look at me getting all famous & stuff on Ideal Bite

Before & After

10" of my hair donated to Locks of Love today. Time to start growing it again!

Happy Birthday!!

Happy 4th Birthday to one little boy who just won't stop growing!!

Love you! Mama

Currently Cooking

It's been a while but here's a new favorite I made for dinner tonight. From the Rachael Ray cookbook Brian gave me for Christmas.

Broken Florentine Lasagna Bake
serves 4

4 Tbls (1/2 stick) butter
4 Tbls all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
salt and pepper
ground nutmeg
1-1/2 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano
2 Tbls EVOO
1 garlic clove, cracked away from skin
1-2 pounds fresh spinach (the recipe calls for 2, I use 1 and it's fine. I don't even take the time to chop it like the recipe calls for and it's fine)
1 box no-boil lasagna noodles, broken into large pieces. (if you have a little one at home make them do this. It keeps them busy the entire time you're making dinner. awesome)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt the butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour over the melted butter, whisk to combine, and cook for about 1 minute. Slowly whisk the milk into the butter-flour mixture, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and cook for a couple of minutes to thicken. Stir in half the Parmigiano (about 3/4 cup). Set the sauce aside.

Heat the EVOO in a large (she calls for cast iron but I don't have one and it still tastes good) skillet over medium-high heat. Toss in the cracked clove of garlic and cook for a minute or two to release its aroma and flavor. Add the spinach a few handfuls at a time, wilting each batch before adding more. Season the greens with salt and pepper.

Toss the broken pasta into the greens and stir to combine. Pour the sauce in the the skillet , stirring again to incorporate them. Smooth the top down and sprinkle with the remaining 3/4 cup Parmigiano. Cover the skillet with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and finish cooking for about another 15 minutes to brown the cheese.

Enjoy!

It's all fun & games until...

you run into your cousin. Since no one got hurt this was really funny.

Disneyland

Just Beachy

San Diego Zoo

Ahh, that's better

Adam and I just arrived in San Diego last night and left that bitter Michigan winter behind. We're here for 15 days to visit my uncle, cousin, and her daughter who is Adam's age. Pictures to come soon!

The Ultimate

The ultimate colon cleanse is the best thing I've ever done. I used this product for 30 straight days and lost 10lbs.! It's really gentle and made me feel very good while doing it. And NO, I never had an accident in the middle of a public place. Afterall, I wasn't on Alli!

And there you have it, I've grossed you out for the day!