True Confessions: I Love My Mini Van

I like love driving my mini van. Who am I?

One jean purchase away from these ladies -- that's who. But you know what -- I don't care. I'm not ashamed. I'm a mini van mom... but dammit I'm the hottest mini van mom in town.

Kick Me Baby One More Time

The kicks started out as little flutters around 21 weeks and were few and far between.

Me waiting for the baby to kick:

Now at 23 weeks the good news is that they are stronger and becoming more frequent. I feel the baby at every hour throughout the day, especially at night right before I fall asleep and just after I wake up in the morning. BUT one thing is still very clear -- the baby will not kick on command. The baby will be kicking me a few times and then others get excited ready to cop a feel. I rub my belly to help make the magic happen.

What Kind Of Mom Will I Be: A Mother's Day Recipe

It's my first official Mother's Day and I can't help but wonder about the type of mom I'll be when the baby is born.

Having grown up watching sitcoms, I'm looking to a few TV moms to come up with a suitable recipe...

Big Belly, Little Changes

Besides the baby bump, there have been many many changes throughout my pregnancy - both visible and invisible to the naked eye. Let me enlighten you.

1⃣ Newfound disdain for pantyhose -- if you see me in these know that I have no clean pants and I haven't shaved in a week+

Cheesy Broccoli Meltdown

The title sounds like a children's book but make no mistake. This is a true and horrifying story.

Allow me to set the scene.

Zach, the girls and I had just sat down to a lovely, peaceful dinner -- meatball sandwiches, pasta and BROCCOLI.

DUN. DUN. DUN.

Is It a Boy or a Girl?

My 20-week ultrasound -- thee ultrasound where we can find out the baby's sex is just a few short days away. And as you can imagine the antici.........................................................................pation is already killing us.

Goodbye Belly Ring

Besides "Do you think you're having a boy or a girl?" and "How are you feeling?" the third most-asked question thrown at me lately is "When are you taking that out?" Not the baby -- they're referring to my belly ring of course.

Questions Parents Don't Have The Answers To

The list keeps growing with each passing day -- questions Zach and I just don't have the answer to. To the naive questions like "How do you tell the difference between the eggs we eat and the eggs that hatch into chicks?" (not even sure if they're the same egg or not?) to asking about the napkin dispenser in the women's room at The Home Depot.

Movies to Binge-Watch When You're Pregnant AF

Okay, binge-watching is a big stretch. Pat yourself on the back if you can make it through just one of these films without dozing off... we know the struggle is real.

1. Look Who's Talking (1989)

Don't skip this movie! True, you've probably seen it a dozen times before but not since you found out you were expecting. Trust me, it will be a whole new hilarious and relatable experience. Side note: I really wish the baby could talk in there -- telling me he or she doesn't like mushrooms would be a lot less painful than kicking me in the stomach.

Whatcha Gonna Do With All That Breast...

...all that breast inside that shirt?

I'm a make make make make you work, make you work work make you work.

Gotta love throwback jam, "My Humps" by the Black Eyed Peas. I still know every single word to the song and will gladly belt it out when it pops up on my running playlist. But I'm not gonna lie -- I have no idea what I'm going to do with "all that breast, all that breast inside that shirt" because I am just not used to having boobs.

Enough Already With the Week by Week Pregnancy Posts

I'm pregnant -- which gives me the right to unapologetically share with you my disdain for those week by week pregnancy posts. You know the ones I mean -- picture of mom's growing belly. "Today baby is an avocado... today baby is cauliflower, today baby is..." STILL INSIDE YOUR UTERUS SO PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD JUST SHUT UP!

The Old Lady Who Passed Out in Church

Morning sickness, frequent bathroom trips, vivid dreams... those are pregnancy symptoms I'm sure everyone has heard of or dealt with first-hand. I however, had the pleasure of experiencing a more off-beat one: passing out. And with this I effectively scared the shit out of my fiance, Zach, who was with me at the time and efficiently rallied my entire family to the hospital. Oh yea, and I can cross getting a ride in an ambulance off of my bucket list (no I didn't really have that on my bucket list -- I'm not that weird).

Isn't It Ironic

Have you ever heard the saying "If you want to hear God's laugh, tell him your plans?" Well he must have chortled til tears were streaming down his face the day I decided to give up beer for the whole month of January. The plan? Cut down on calories and lose a few pounds before I began my wedding dress search. I thought 31 days was going to be pretty rough... that is until about halfway through when I found out I was pregnant and would not be able to enjoy another IPA for a whole year and then some.

Meet Marissa

Yesterday was World Down Syndrome Day and several related posts popped up on my Facebook feed as they do every year on March 21. I thought about posting about my soon-to-be step-daughter, Marissa as I had done in years past. I attempted to write about her hilarious personality... her recent accomplishments - reading and comprehending book after book and with inflection... her sweetness - like wanting to kiss the baby in my belly... but I was at a loss for words (and couldn't decide on a picture). And that's because no picture or post could possibly begin to describe the incredible girl that she is.

Can't. Stop. Crying.

Frequent bathroom breaks... short term memory... CAN'T STOP CRYING. Am I 4 or 24? Oh that's right, I'm pregnant -- and I'm starting to think the recent changes going on both physically and mentally are preparing me for what's to come in more ways than one.