Pregnancy Brain

I've lost it, and I am not even kidding.  I never heard of pregnancy brain until I started reading different books about being pregnant, and I can assure you that I am getting more and more forgetful (read: cuckoo) by the hour.  And it kind of scares me; if I'm going this crazy at 11.5 weeks, what on earth is going to happen when we reach 25 weeks or even 35 weeks?!

Let me explain why I have diagnosed myself with pregnancy brain.

I am usually on top of my game.  I forget random things here and there but I would consider myself pretty organized and together.  My first true pregnancy brain experience was on my trip to Maryland.  I had my bags packed and my outfit for my flight laid out.  As a last minute change, I decided to wear my comfy pants on the flight instead of my jeans.  (It was 5:30 in the morning.  If the fashion police were out at that hour then they deserved to find me.)

When I got to Maryland I looked for my jeans.  I didn't see them in my bag anywhere!  I concluded that I must've left them on my dresser with my last minute outfit change.  That was Friday.

On Friday night I went out with Tamara and [reluctantly] bought a new pair of jeans.  (I say 'reluctantly' because I know that my waist will be expanding and spending money on something that won't be expanding with me is difficult.  Then again, so is wearing comfy pants all weekend when you're not in the comfort of your own home.)

I wore my new jeans on Friday night and all day Saturday, and after I showered on Sunday I pulled my sweater out of my bag and saw another pair of jeans.  My jeans...the jeans that I thought I had left on my dresser...

I just shook my head in disbelief.  To this day, I truly believe that the Pregnancy Gods were playing some kind of funny trick on me because I did NOT have my jeans when I looked for them the first four times.

Since then I've had a couple of other mishaps too:

1. The other day when I showered, I washed my hair with conditioner...twice...instead of using shampoo and then conditioner.  Once again, I just shook my head and washed the conditioner out of my hair...twice...before I got out of the shower.

2. While I was at work trying to scan two different work orders, I actually scanned the same one twice - only to find out when I sat back down at my desk that I didn't have one that I thought I had scanned...

I don't know, folks, sometimes I read articles that say the "pregnancy brain" is not real.  If that is the case, why have I lost it?  And why do I keep losing it?!  (And don't even blame it on me turning 30 this year...)

I think that the "pregnancy brain" is real, and if you have any doubts, just hang out with me for a week.  I can guarantee that you will change your mind!

Baby Mama Drama

We have been so excited about our little bambino!  I know that our family blog has quickly turned to "all things baby", and I can assure you that we will talk about other things along the way, but our new addition technically is "family" news, so you're just gonna have to get used to the change in subject matter!  (By the way, if you think this is bad, just wait until baby arrives...)

One of the most recent pregnancy developments is the addition of two new nicknames.  We no longer refer to the other as Brian or Erin, Husband or Wife, Bri or Cakester.  No, folks, we've upgraded to our new roles:

Baby's Daddy & Baby's Mama

Signing cards, emails, texts, and referring to the other in the third person just got a whole lot more drama-licious, and it has been so much fun!  We absolutely love being able to say, "Oh, let me check with my Baby's Daddy first," or, "Oh, yeah!  That's my Baby's Mama!"

Adding a bit of Baby Mama Drama into our lives is very entertaining!

It doesn't take much to amuse us...

Easter Bunnies!

This year, Brian spent his Easter day green side at the Master's Tournament in Augusta, GA and I headed east to Maryland to see some family and friends and get some much needed TLC.  It was awesome to be home!

I took Friday off, so I was able to have a little bit of extra time at my home sweet home, and while I was there I got to see my friends, Brandi and Tamara, and so much of my family: my grandparents, my sister, both sets of my aunts and uncles, and all of my cousins on my Mom's side.  It was so, so nice to see everyone.  I miss them, and the time that I have with them is certainly precious.  We spent a lovely weekend catching up, going to an Easter egg hunt at the pool, going shopping in Georgetown, dyeing Easter eggs, laughing, and talking...a lot!

Upon my return back to Cbus, I noticed that the Easter Bunny had gathered up a few of Brian's favorites and hid a sweet little basket for him to find when he got home on Monday.  It was a long week without him, but it has since been wonderful to have him home.

And, in true Hendricks Household tradition, here is our Easter 2012 photo:

We hope you all had a wonderful Easter too!

Things You Don't Know About Until You Are Expecting...

We’ve encountered quite a few surprises throughout our pregnancy so far. We know that there are probably many more to come, but we’ve listed the ones we know of below in no specific order:

1. There are no words to describe the emotions that you feel when you see a positive home pregnancy test, especially if you’ve been trying for a few months. It is a combination of total excitement and total fear all mixed up together with a bit of anxiety, wonder and pure joy. You want to cry and laugh and smile all at the same time, but you just aren’t really sure how to. I, for one, had to sit down. (I think Brian did too once he realized that I wasn’t “messing” with him.)

2. When you find out that you are pregnant, you are already four weeks along. This is very confusing for us logical folk. You didn’t actually conceive until two weeks (more or less) after the first day of your last period, but the doctors will tell you that that day (the first day of your last missed period) is when the counting started. Therefore, when you have missed your next period, you are already 4 weeks along. This is all very exciting except for the fact that you end up being pregnant for 40 weeks. 40 weeks divided by 4 weeks per month equals 10 months, so you are actually pregnant for 10 months? We haven’t quite figured this one out, but we will surely let you know if we do…

3. From what we have learned, most doctors don’t schedule your first appointment until you are between 8 and 10 weeks. For those of you that are good at math, that’s another 4 to 6 weeks of unknowns AFTER you’ve found out that you are in fact expecting. The anticipation for your first appointment makes those 4 to 6 weeks go by soooo sllooowwww.

4. Pre-natal vitamins are like horse pills. That’s all I have to say about that.

5. Being pregnant takes exhaustion to a whole new level. It’s confusing to get your normal amount of sleep and not have done anything too out of the ordinary just to be exhausted at 7:30 pm the next day. I, literally, can go to bed an hour or two before my normal bedtime and still sleep through the entire night...and still be tired the next day.

6. You have never felt extreme nausea and extreme starvation at the same time until you are expecting. And you’re not sure which one to obey.

7. Your gag reflexes have a new heightened sense of awareness. I never knew brushing my own teeth would make me gag, but it does.

We are excited to experience all the other quirks and surprises we know are ahead of us throughout this pregnancy. We will continue to keep you posted!

Lots of love,

Brian, Erin, & Baby

Signs and Symptoms

We know for sure we are expecting, not only because of the reassurance and sonogram that received from our doctor (the sonogram is a dead giveaway), but also because of how I’ve been feeling.

Most days I feel pretty well. I am certainly battling nausea all day, but eating every couple of hours can usually keep the nausea at bay. I try to have breakfast, second breakfast, mid morning snack, lunch, second lunch, mid-afternoon snack, dinner, and mid-evening snack. Strangely enough, however, I tend to get very nauseous in the afternoon into the evening, which makes all meals after lunch on stand-by. I try to make sure I keep something in my stomach, even something small, but there have been a few nights where I’ve simply been laid out from nausea. The only thing that seems to take the edge off is lying down. Fortunately, because this feeling is in the afternoon/evening, I haven’t really had to be too uncomfortable at work or miss any work for that matter, and because I’m so tired, I go to bed early and can sleep away the nausea. Which brings me, oh, so perfectly to my next symptom: extreme exhaustion.

It is so weird to feel so tired with no excuse. I’ve gotten enough sleep, I’ve eaten enough food, I’ve not run thirteen miles in lieu of my normal three or so, but I am still exhausted. Come 8 pm, if I’m not in bed, I could easily go to bed, and if I’ve not gotten ready for bed, I had better do so soon because in the very near future there will be a point where I am too tired to even run through my normal bedtime routine. This has happened, folks, believe me. Now, I know that my body has transformed into a baby making ma-chine (it’s more fun if you pronounce the ‘ch’ like the ‘ch’ in ‘cheese’), but I didn’t realize it would leave me so tired. My insides must be working very hard!

Despite these couple very common pregnancy symptoms, I really can’t complain. I haven’t gotten sick at all, and as long as I prepare my days by keeping snacks within reach and going to bed a bit earlier, I’m we (I suppose I should be saying ‘we’ now, huh?!) are typically good to go! I know that many of these symptoms will most likely fade off a bit once we hit the second trimester, but they are definitely different from my normal non-pregnant self.

Believe me, I know that things could be much worse, so you won’t find me complaining about the baby we’re-a-brewing - no matter what he or she throws our way!

...Then Comes the Baby in the Baby Carriage!

(At least that's how it worked for us!)

That's right, folks: we are having a baby!  We are nearly eleven weeks along and we are due on October 25th!  We are both extremely excited for this incredible new adventure and are beaming from ear to ear!

We found out mid-February that we were expecting and had our first official appointment on March 20th.  Our doctor took multiple measurements of our little bambino which pegged us due anywhere from October 24th to October 26th, so she took the average and gave us the date of October 25th.  We found out that we were eight weeks and five days pregnant at our first appointment and it was simply incredible to see our baby moving on the screen next to us.  (Yes, he or she was already moving and you could see four little limbs forming!)

It is all just so incredible, and we have both been overjoyed with the news of our little bambino!  Our next appointment is in two weeks on April 19.  We will definitely have another photo to share, but, until then, here is our very first sonogram of our sweet baby:

Our Little Bambino - 8 weeks and 5 days old!

We're going to be parents, and we are so excited!

...Then Comes Marriage...

I moved to Columbus, OH in April of 2009.  Shortly thereafter, July, to be exact, we booked an incredible vacay to Jamaica.  It was there that Brian proposed!

You can read about our stories here and here.  (Both of our versions of the proposal are posted.)  We started our blog to keep all of our family and friends in the loop of our wedding planning, and it's amazing to be able to go "back in time" and read about all of our triumphs and tribulations of wedding planning!  Fortunately, we have continued to keep our blog live and running with all of our other adventures on our journey through life together.  We have family and friends throughout the world and we want to be sure that everyone is kept in the loop!

Because I can get a bit winded with my story telling (see the "First Comes Love" post), I will try to keep this short and sweet.

Brian and I were engaged for nearly 13 months.  We got engaged on July 25, 2009 and we were married on August 6, 2010. 

13 months of being engaged!

Our wedding day was magical.  When I think back upon it, I just remember being happy.  Standing by Brian's side, sharing our vows, our first kiss, with all of our close family and friends was literally one of the best moments I had experienced thus far!  It felt like there was love in the air, and the only way I can describe it is magical!  (Please excuse the corn.  If you know me by now, you are used to it.  If not, you had better get used to it!)

Then Comes Marriage!

We honeymooned in Mexico, and, once again, had a fantastic time!
We have been married for 1.5 years.  We have had so many wonderful experiences together already, and as we grow older and experience new things with each other it just brings us closer together.  We are so excited for what the future holds, for we know it will be nothing short of incredible!

First Comes Love...

(You know how I usually like to warn you when posts are a bit lengthy?!  Here is your warning, but I promise you this is also very entertaining!)

It was Saturday night - March 23, 2008. I was out at Dave and Buster’s in Bethesda, MD with a girlfriend from work and two of her friends. My other co-worker, Patrick, was out with one of his friends who was in town at Ned Devine’s in Herndon, VA. We decided to join parties since I lived in Reston, VA and would be headed back that way anyway. I, in my sober state, met up with Patrick and a few of his friends, in their non-sober state. It was 1:15 am on Sunday morning.

One of those said friends was Brian Hendricks.

I had heard about the infamous Brian through quick blurbs from Patrick at work. I knew that he lived in Scotland (Patrick and his wife Becky went to visit him, so I heard about the trip) and I knew that he had moved back to the states (meaning Columbus, OH, not northern VA). Other than that, I didn’t really know much about him. Brian and Patrick had been texted me all night to get me to meet up with them. (Thanks to Patrick for handing out my digits, oh, so easily, to Brian.) Brian had “extended the truth” all night with some of his texts, claiming he was "in town from Scotland", but I was quick to call him out, so he knew from the get go that I was not to be messed with.

Because it was so late in the night, and I was the only one in any state to drive, Patrick asked me if I would be willing to drive he and Brian back to Patrick’s, where Brian was staying the night. I was willing.

On our way out of the door, Patrick whispered to me nonchalantly, “My friend wants to get with you.”

This is almost where our story ended.

I rolled my eyes, thinking to myself, “Who does this Brian character think he is? He thinks can just roll into any town and get with whoever he wants to?” He was about to get a rude awakening if he was even thinking about putting the moves on me.

I dropped Patrick and Brian off and was invited in for a beer. Once again, since it was Saturday night , and since I had been out but not drinking…I was willing.

I went inside. We all headed to Patrick’s basement so as not to wake Patrick’s wife and his three month old baby, Noah, and we all cracked open a beer.

Two minutes later, Patrick went to bed claiming he was “tired”. I thought this was some sort of set up, and I was not pleased.

There were two couches in Patrick’s basement that formed an ‘L’. Brian sat down on one. I sat on the furthest away point on the other couch.  You literally could not have sat on the other couch and been further away...

...We stayed up for hours and talked and talked and laughed and talked into the wee hours of the morn.  And he didn't put any moves on me!

At one point, I started getting a bit chilly.  Brian grabbed a blanket and walked over to me.  That was my queue to high tail it outta there.  Since we both already had each others digits from texting the night before, we said our goodbyes and nice to meet yous and hope to see you soons and let's keep in touches and went to our separate beds.  I want to say it was 6:30 or so in the morning... It was Easter morning.

I learned that Brian was in town for four more days after the night that we met.  Brian suggested that we try to meet up again (as friends, of course) while he was in town, but I had a little clearing up to do with Patrick before I agreed to such a thing.  Even though Brian had pretty much proven to me that he was not out to just get in my pants, I still wanted to make sure that there was nothing even remotely said similar to what Patrick had told me.

I got my answer at work on Tuesday.  Patrick apologized and said that Brian would never say such a thing.  I was still a bit leary, wondering if this was still part of the guy code that I, obviously, was not privy to.  I decided to go with my gut and trust Brian (and Patrick), and Brian and I decided to meet up again at the Harp & Fiddle in Bethesda, MD.

Once again, we talked and laughed and drank and talked.  We also pulled a fast one on Patrick for nearly ruining the entire relationship from the get go.  (Everything was done in good fun though!)  We had yet another fantastic time together, but in the back of my mind,  I couldn't help but remind myself that he was going back to Ohio, and I was staying here in northern Virginia.

We decided to keep in touch.  Over the next couple of months we talked on the phone, we emailed, and we texted back and forth.  That was until the beginning of May where Brian decided to come into town for Patrick and Becky's annual flip cup party.  (I would later find out that the main reason he came into town was to see me, but for now I believed he was there to prove his master flip cup skills!)

We set a date - our first date - on the Friday night before the party.  It was May 2, and I was very excited to see Brian.  Brian was very excited to see me and, boy, did he pull out all of the stops: he brought flowers, a t-shirt for our flip cup team, and a bottle of Dom Perignon that he had been given!  It was fun for both of us!  We shared some champagne and had a fancy dinner at McCormick & Schmick's at Reston Town Center.

And this is where our adventure really started!

We made it official the weekend of May 16th, my first weekend visit to Ohio.  It was then that I started looking for jobs in Ohio.  It would be nearly a year later that I would officially receive an offer to move, but we made sure to get together as much as possible within those 12 months.

Believe it or not, we didn't drive to see each other once.  We always worked out a way to fly so we could always spend as much time as possible together!  It was always hard to say goodbye, but we made it work and I believe it made us stronger, brought us closer, and helped us cherish those special times that we were together.

First Comes Love: 14 months of dating!

We dated for 14 months...and then we went to Jamaica!  ... :)

You've Got a Friend in Me

Even though you bark at cartoons, other animals (in person and on the tele), and walk us instead of letting us walk you, we still love you.

My Olfactory Bulb

Isn’t it funny how certain smells can jog your memory and take you instantly back to a specific moment or emotion in time?! The other day, I caught a whiff of the fresh smell of new asphalt. I love the smell of new asphalt. I have very fond memories of this smell - it reminds me of going to Kings Dominion in the summertime!  New asphalt is one of those smells that just makes me smile and takes me right back to being a carefree kid!  It will always hold a special place in my schnoz!

Surprisingly, I learned that most of our smell related memories are formed from childhood memories.  This is because as a child we are introduced to new odors.  For the record, I also have a bottle of my Grandma's perfume that she hasn't worn in forever, but every time I smell it, it reminds me of her.  And, there's a very distinct onion smell that reminds me of my other Grandma.  (I mean a very loving, endearing, heart warming onion smell - not a 'Grandma needs to put some deodorant on' smell!)  The fragrance 'Happy' by Clinique reminds me so much of high school, and there used to be a vanilla from Bath and Body Works that totally reminded me of middle school!

AND, a few months ago I bought this air freshener spray for our bathroom that was titled as some tropical scent but definitely was the exact same smell as my Strawberry Shortcake doll that I had when I was like five years old! (I still have that doll, by the way)!  Even Brian said that the scent smelled like the old school Strawberry Shortcake!  (He confiscated that scent for his car...)

My sniffer isn't the only sense of my five (sometimes six) senses that remind me of specific times throughout my life.  Even certain songs take me back to middle school, high school, and college!  Sometimes it's funny when Brian and I hear a song together.  I'll say, "This reminds me of middle school!"  He'll say, "This reminds me of college!"

It's just amazing to me how our senses can take us back to moments in time so quickly.  Even when they only last for a couple seconds, it is totally worth the time travel!