Dearest Vincenza (letter #2)

Blazer: Lauren Conrad

Tank: Liz Lange maternity via Target 

Necklace: Old Navy

Jeans: Gap Maternity

Flats: Audrey Brooke via DSW

Our Dearest Vincenza,

We have hit 23 weeks today, and people now exclaim that I "have a belly!" What they really mean is that "oh, there IS a baby in there!" (That baby is you, by the way.) Since you enjoy dancing on my bladder and high fiving the inside of my belly, I can assure everyone that you have been our tiny little dancer even before my belly grew large enough for strangers to realize you are hanging out on the inside and enjoying all of the watermelon I eat.

Since your daddy and I have stayed the same size since high school, we do not own a scale in our home. (Always remember that the number on the scale is never as important as how you feel, and you will have every reason to feel wonderful about yourself.) To make sure you are growing, I weigh us at the acupuncturist every week and then the midwives (Tammy is our favorite--we hope she helps bring you into the world!) weigh us every four weeks. On Saturday morning, the scale showed me that I gained 7 pounds total since you started your dance party in my belly. Lucky number 7, little lady. Your daddy weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces and measured at 22 inches long when he was born! I weighed one ounce more than your daddy, and I was one inch shorter. We wonder if you will be around 7 pounds like we were.

When I was in college, a car accident left me with a bad back, and it is trying to rain on the parade we are having about meeting you in August.  Your daddy is a kind man, so he is buying me another sleep pillow and a support band today. I think the jungle gym that is our bed (SO MANY CONTRAPTIONS) will prepare us for all of the contraptions that will come with you. Daddy and I picked out a lot of them this past weekend, and we hope you enjoy them. Your grandpa (my daddy) will help install the new windows for your room soon so that your daddy can fix the wiring in your room, and I can paint it!

We love you so much already, and I hope you are enjoying your stay in my belly. Make sure to get nice and healthy. Your momma can handle any discomfort that comes as a result of your good health, just remember that.

Love,
Your Momma

P.S. Daddy wants to write you a letter or two, so that will be coming soon :) He is e-mailing me right now and wants you to know that he can't wait to drive home one day just to look at you. You and I sure are lucky, little lady. 

Other letters: #1

Do not be deceived.

I wore this outfit on a much more spring-like day. Today, despite the sunshine, requires a sweatshirt and a jacket. The poor thermostats must all be suffering right now. I understand now why mercurial means what it means.

I have little with which to amuse you today; however, several things amused me today.

1. A student tried to fix the printer on our mobile computer lab cart. When the "fix" he tried based on a Google search did not work (twice), he grumbled, "This really grinds my gears." Ah, man, I am still chuckling.

2. One of my students wrote a vocabulary story about how she prohibited farting in her car once she got her license yesterday. Her younger brother said he was "going to blow," so she made him stick his butt out the window. I made them write these stories as comic strips, so the accompanying pictures made the tears that streamed down my face from laughter all the more inevitable.

3. When my sixth period was completely silent, my intern decided to pop a mini rice cake into his mouth. What he did not realize was that another rice cake had accidentally adhered itself to it, so he literally bit off more than he could chew...quietly. The look on his face as he realized that the crunching would be deafening in such a quiet room sent me into a fit of laughter, which I had to contain as quietly as possible, a nearly impossible feat for someone with a laugh as boisterous as mine.

 

Dress: Express (found it in clearance section for $20)

Vest: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

Necklace: Old Navy

Sandals: Franco Sarto via TJ Maxx (honestly, Franco Sarto makes THE best sandals.)

Edgy and Classy?

Who needs an iron when you have a hair straightener? The hair straightener did the trick to smooth out wrinkles at the bottom of this top today, and I did not need to lug the ironing board out of the laundry room. Hooray.

Custodians came in after school to replace a bulb that blew above our desks. I remarked that it smells AWFUL when those things burn out. The cologne of the one custodian lingered in the room after he left, and I swore he smelled like my brother who's worn the same cologne for over 20 years. Naturally, I followed him into the next room and asked him if he wore Eternity. He said no, but it does smell like Eternity. As my intern and I walked out of the building, I complained that the trashcan reeked of fish. I'm both impressed by and disappointed in my nose these days.

This outfit, of course, impresses me.  Most impressive of all? I managed to pick it out this morning instead of last night.

The Look:

Jacket: via thredUP

Pants: Motherhood Maternity

Top: LOFT

Flats: Sole Society

Necklace: J.Crew Factory

Headband: Target

Talking in Your Sleep

When I thought of a title for this post, I started singing this song. Oh, hair bands, your music was as great as your frizzy, voluminous, Marge Simpson hair. Guys, I like this week. I would give it a fist bump if it had hands. 

The other day, Jeff and I had a conversation that went like this:

Jeff: Did you wake up while I was watching Mrs. Doubtfire?

Me: No, you were watching Mrs. Doubtfire!?

Jeff:  Yes, when your favorite part came on and he says "it was a run by fruiting!" you laughed and said, "it never gets old."
One, I did not know I talk in my sleep. Two, my love of Mrs. Doubtfire extends beyond my waking hours. Three, I was telling the truth; that line NEVER gets old. It makes me laugh every time, even in my sleep.

Vincenza has been a somersaulting maniac the past week, and I cannot stop laughing at her antics. She definitely grew over the past week because the kicks are much more forceful and not simply flutters. In fact, she gives an entirely new meaning to "the wave." At this point, people waffle between utter confusion that I am five and a half months along and that I finally "popped." As long as she rocks and rolls on the inside, keeps growing as she should, and comes out happy, I do not care how big or small I look to anyone. Just keep growing and wiggling, little lady. We will have a dance party when you make it to the outside.

The windows for her room finally arrived, so Jeff and my dad can install them when it's nice outside. Maybe this weekend for Jeff's birthday? He will also finish the dogs' den this week, so we can get rid of their crates, move the guest bed to the dogs' current room, and really start working on Vincenza's room.

Yes, I am 22 weeks today, but no bumpdate, just an "I love life and everything about it" post. Also, my dogs are hysterical. See picture one for evidence.

This picture is really about what Roxy is wearing.

The Look:

Dress: Old Navy (not maternity)

Cardigan: Old Navy

Necklace: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

Boots: Ralph Lauren via DSW

Dresses and More Dresses

I would like to thank spring for swooping in to save the day. No need to fight with tights anymore when I want to wear dresses and skirts, and do we not all think that makes spring so glorious that we can overlook allergies? I think so.  I would also like to thank Old Navy for bringing its consistent A game this year with the cute dresses and skirts at affordable prices.

This chambray received little play time in the past, but it has officially become a frontrunner in my maternity wardrobe. Hey, guess where I bought it? Oh, that's right: OLD NAVY. They should pay me for these unsolicited advertisements.

The Look:

Dress: Old Navy (exact in solid colors)

Chambray: Old Navy

Boots: Franco Sarto

Necklace: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's (couldn't find it online, but it's in stores)

Blame it on the Brain.

These pants came in the mail, and I finally wore them. In other words, I finally blogged them. I felt that taking a picture of them while I was in the dressing room of the same store at which I bought them online was fitting. (See what I did there? Dressing room = fitting? AHA.) Anyway, the belly band on these pants officially ranks as the most comfortable and the softest belly band of any of the million and one maternity pants I have tried. I ordered my pre-pregnancy size (a 0, which is a weird number because it makes me feel as if I do not exist), and they fit well, minus a bit of give in the front, a presumably intentional design decision since I will need to fit in them at several different weights. After all, I don't want to end up large, in charge, and pantsless.

Of course, pregnancy appears to serve as an excuse for just about everything. Oh, you spilled water all over the front of yourself? It's the hormones. Oh, you cannot find your way back to the receptionist's station after having been in the office ten times before? It's the hormones. Oh, you snarled at someone unknowingly? It's the hormones. Oh, every time you get on the road, the drive turns into a round from Need for Speed? It's the hormones. Oh, you fell asleep in a pile of gluten-free Cheeto goodness? It's the hormones. I still find myself perplexed by this social phenomenon, but I will not complain because my brain has quite honestly turned into a large (or perhaps small) slice of Swiss cheese.

I reread something that I typed and find about three errors in it, which probably frustrates me more than any other brain blip. An English teacher who has lost her command of the English language? UGH.  I recently e-mailed a parent and continually referred to the son by his older brother's name. (In my defense, I taught all three of the sons.) I felt rather sheepish when the father e-mailed asking me which son I really meant. At least the e-mail was a really positive one? GET IT TOGETHER, BRAIN. Prevail over the hormones, dangit.

I can, however, still put together a coordinated outfit, so I take comfort in that materialistic whim.

The Look:

Cardigan: Forever 21 for $8.90 (check out their insane color selection here.)

Top: Old Navy maternity (floral not online, but it's this style.)

Pants: LOFT maternity (exact, 40% off sale this weekend!)

Shoes: J.Crew Factory 

Necklace and earrings: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's  (couldn't find it online)

TIP: LOFT online says that you must return all maternity items via mail, which forces you to pay $8 return shipping. Some stores, however, DO take maternity returns, so ask your local LOFT before you pay that money or decide against buying stuff online.

 

Dear Daughter (Food Edition)

Dear Vincenza,

Your momma is 21 weeks along right now. According to Parents magazine, you are the length of a carrot, which is interesting because your daddy loves carrots. Sometimes, I call him Bugs Bunny, a character we will teach you all about when you come out to meet us. He likes to nibble off part of the carrot and feed it to our crazy dogs, Roxy and Squirt. I like carrots only when I get to dip them in hummus or ranch dressing. They also taste quite delicious when they are steamed with some butter. You better like vegetables because your daddy and I love vegetables. I just sent him out for some kohlrabi because your grandpa said Wegman's has really delicious kohlrabi right now.

If you are anything like your momma, mom mom, and big cousin, Jules, then you will devour watermelon, and you will probably want it with some salt on it because that is how the women on the Wojcik side like their watermelon. You might also be a big tea drinker like momma and mom mom. Please remember that the only good tea is sweet tea, and your mom mom makes the best batches of it. Daddy and both of your grandpas love coffee, but your mom mom and I think it smells terrible, so terrible. Your great mom mom, however, drank hot coffee even when the thermometer read 100 degrees outside. When your daddy first met your great grandparents, he was sweet enough to drink some coffee with your great mom mom during the sweltering summer heat. He sweat the entire time, but he made me love him so much more because I realized, once again, what a wonderful man your daddy is.

We hope you like to eat meat because momma loooooves Chipotle barbacoa bowls, and one of your daddy's favorite meals is steak and potatoes. Your daddy likes to fish and cook what he catches, but I think the freshwater fish taste a little funny. I try to eat salmon or shrimp once a week so that I can get those omega-3's and grow that big brain of yours! Sorry I cannot eat gluten for your right now, but your Italian daddy will show you the wonders of bread when you are old enough to eat it. Hopefully, you do not inherit any of my food allergies because I want you to enjoy eating every food. Let's pray that you take after daddy in that department.

Love,
Momma


Dear, Readers,
Please enjoy the periodic installments of "Dear, Vincenza" that will include snippets from my life and my wishes for this little lady of mine. Also, if you came around these parts yesterday, you might have cast your vote for which Stitch Fix item I should keep. I ultimately decided on the top versus the necklace because the print makes me SO happy. Based on the plethora of compliments it elicited today, I think I made a good choice. I have zero regrets. It gives me an opportunity to wear one of my cutest pairs of flats, these little red numbers. What a perfect little pairing that turned out to be. I imagine it will look lovely with some white jeans/shorts as well. I could not wait to wear it, and this hurried outfit combination this morning came together way better than I anticipated. 

 

The Look:

Cardigan: Old Navy

Top: Stitch Fix

Pants: Indigo Blue via Motherhood Maternity

Flats: Sole Society

Belt: Francesca's