barcelona: day two

I don't think I have said yet how much I loved Barcelona.  I really enjoyed our time there.  The city is easy to navigate and the people are super laid back.  Almost everyone spoke English or could understand my broken Spanish and the food was amazing.


We went back to La Boqueria for breakfast.  The Spanish aren't so big on breakfast which was extremely difficult since I am three square type of girl.  Being nine weeks pregnant did not help the situation.  I had a very small window from when I realized I was hungry to feeling like I was about to melt down.

Moving on, we scheduled a motorcycle tour for the afternoon of our second day so decided to spend the morning exploring the Sagrada Familia.  The Sagrada Familia is a church and one of Barcelona's most famous landmarks.  Construction on the church started in 1882 and it's still not complete, hence the cranes.  We went on a Saturday and there were crews working.  Gaudi designed the church and there is symbolism everywhere.

The side of the church

The crucifixion 

Stained glass

The cross above the altar

The altar form the back of the church

Looking up

Carvings cover almost the entire facade 

Newer construction and older construction

Nativity

Joseph, Mary, and Jesus

We went early and didn't have to wait in a super long line, which is my advice to anyone going.  After we finished, I got to shop.  The two main items on my shopping list were a pink blazer and a red maxi skirt.  I found both.  I also bought the best purchase of the trip, a lined utility coat at Zara.  Spain is cold.  I don't care what people say, it is.  I didn't pack jackets and I'm not sure why I decided that I needed one since it was fairly warm, but that jacket saved my life.

18 weeks

So this week finally found out that Baby Brown is in fact a baby boy.  Who would have guessed?  I was pretty sure that we were having a girl and just about everyone else I know was too.  The Brown male gene is apparently very strong.  Baby Brown will be my in-laws eighth grandchild and seventh grandson.  I also got some more good news at the sonogram.  I have not been feeling a ton of fetal movement and I was starting to get a little panicked.  I didn't want to make a big deal about it but I was literally a hot mess before the sonogram.  I thought something was wrong and that's why I wasn't feeling anything.  Good news, nothing was wrong!  Not bad news but not great news, I have an anterior placenta, which means the placenta is in front of the baby.  This is why I haven't been feeling much.  Hopefully the placenta will move and I will start to feel more but it's not necessarily a bad thing if it doesn't move.  I may have to have a C-section if it begins to block the birth canal (placenta previa) but we will cross that bridge when we get there.

How far along: 18 weeks, 6 days

Total weight gain/loss:  I have gained 8 pounds so far and I can't believe that I am honestly sharing that.
Maternity clothes:  Still a solid mix.  We are going to Lubbock with some of our favorite friends this weekend and I will be buying some bigger t-shirts.  God as my witness, my stomach will never hang out from under a T-shirt.  It ain't right.
Stretch marks: None.

Sleep: I am tired all the time.  Again.  But I can no longer nap like I was during my first trimester.

Best moment this week: Finding out that that we are having a BOY!  And that everything looks on track.
Movement: A little but I still have a hard time telling what's what.
Food cravings: Anything and everything sounds good.
Gender: BOY!
Labor signs: None.

Belly in or out: In.

Symptom of the week: Forgetfulness.  If I don't write it down, it won't get done.  I can do something and then five minutes later forget that I already did it.  My short-term memory is done.
What I miss: Chimy's.  It will be weird to be in Lubbock and not firmly planted at my favorite bar.  Don't get me wrong, we will still go but it won't be the same.
What I am looking forward to: Lubbock.  It will be nice to get out of town.
Weekly wisdom: Don't let negative people bring you down.  This is an exciting time and there are some people who just have sour attitudes.  It's easiest to ignore those people.
Milestones: Finding out the baby's gender.  We also got some 3D pictures of his face which was exciting.

It's a......

We had our sonogram and it looks like Baby Brown is a

BOY!

I was totally shocked and could have sworn we were having a girl, but we are so excited to be having a little boy.  I did begin shopping immediately and would love any suggestions for where I can find cute boy clothes.  Now I need to figure out what the nursery is going to look like.  Boy nurseries are hard.

Everything in the sonogram looked great and on track.  The sonographer estimated his weight at 9 ounces which is a little big.  We were lucky enough to get some 3D pictures of his face.  He did not really want to cooperate and kept putting his hands in front of his face, but I think he looks like Daniel. Daniel thinks I am crazy.

Baby Brown

Baby Daniel

I think they look alike but I guess we will know for sure in November.

boy or girl?

I think everyone realizes that there are a million ways that you can supposedly determine the gender of your baby.  I thought it would be fun to look up some old wives' tales and see what they said we were having and if they were right.  This is totally just for fun and I realize that there is no science behind any of this.

Old Wives' Tale #1: How You Are Carrying the Baby

So this old wives tale says that if you are carrying the baby high, it's a girl and if you are carrying it low, it's boy.

Verdict: Girl - I am definitely carrying this child high.

 Old Wives' Tale #2: The Baby's Heartbeat

I think this may be the most common old wives tale.  If your baby's heartbeat is above 140 beats per minute, you are having a girl.  If the heartbeat if below 140 beats per minute, you are having a boy.

Verdict: Girl - The heartbeat has been in the 150s to 170s on every sonogram.

Old Wives' Tale #3: What Are You Craving?

If you crave sweet things, it's a girl.  If you crave sour foods, it's a boy.

Verdict: Girl - I have never had a sweet tooth until now.  I am loving ice cream and candy.

Old Wives' Tale #4: Chinese Gender Chart

This is another common way people try to predict your baby's gender.  It uses the mother's age at conception and month of conception to determine the baby's sex.

Verdict: Boy or Girl - The gender predictor that asks for age and month of conception say the baby is a girl but the ones that ask for actual dates say boy.

Old Wives' Tale #5: Evens or Odds

This test also looks at the mother's age at conception and the year of conception.  If both are even or odd, you are having a girl.  If one is even and the other is odd, you are having a boy.

Verdict: Boy - I am 27 and it's 2012.

Old Wives' Tale #6: Acne

If you have tons of breakouts, you can blame it on the hormones of your baby girl.  This goes along with the theory that baby girls steal their mom's beauty so if you look rough, you are having a girl.

Verdict: Girl - Hello, acne face.

Old Wives' Tale #7: Put a Ring on It

You tie your wedding ring to a string and hang it over your belly.  If the ring swings in a circle, you are having a boy.  If it swings back and forth, you are having a girl.


Verdict: Boy or Girl - It did a little of both.

Old Wives' Tale #8: Morning Sickness

This another super common question I get asked when people want to tell me what I am having.  If you have morning sickness, you are expecting a girl.  If not, you are expecting a boy.

Verdict: Boy - I have had zero morning sickness and I am very thankful.

Old Wives' Tale #9: Take a Quiz

I found this quiz which asks a bunch of questions based on old wives' tales.  It asks about a lot of things above (morning sickness, how you are carrying the baby, and so on).

Verdict: Girl - I got a score of 73% for a girl.

So it looks like Baby Brown should be a girl if we go by all of this.  The good news is that we don't have to wait long to find out.  And since we are talking babies, here are a few more pictures because who doesn't like baby pictures?  Oh right, usually people that aren't in the pictures but I'm going to share anyways.

Daniel was like a tiny country Rambo

It's like I've always known my left side was my good side

17 weeks

We find out in two days if Baby Brown is a he or a she!  I am so excited and more than ready to begin shopping.  I have bought a few books for the baby but that is really it so far.  I definitely think reality will begin to sink even more once we know the gender and finalize the name.  I am not one of those people who feels like I have to meet the baby before I choose a name.  Now we just have to decide when we want to share the baby's sex with everyone.  If my mom has her way, it will be sooner rather than later.

How far along: 17 weeks, 6 days

Total weight gain/loss:  I should get weighed at my doctor's appointment on Thursday.

Maternity clothes:  I can no longer zip my jeans but I can still make them work with a belly band.  I call that a victory.

Stretch marks: None.

Sleep: I wake up.  A lot.

Best moment this week: Finding out that my best friend is having a BOY!  We are so excited for her!

Movement: I think I've felt the baby move but I usually assume it's gas.  Attractive, right?  Subtlety has never been my forte.  

Food cravings: Green bean casserole, milk duds, ice cream, and pretty much anything along those lines.  I did order lobster rolls which should be delivered some time next week.

Gender: We should find out on Thursday.  Pray that the baby cooperates because I will have a breakdown if he/she does not.

Labor signs: None.

Belly in or out: In.

Symptom of the week: Acne.  I haven't broken out like this since I was living with my parents.  There is nothing I can do and it doesn't go away.  Why wasn't Zach's acne cream successful at anything other than turning your face maroon?

What I miss: Having energy.

What I am looking forward to: My parents coming for the Fourth and my birthday.

Weekly wisdom: I think last week's wisdom still applies to me this week.  Everyone's pregnancy is different and you shouldn't obsess about what milestones you have or haven't gotten too yet.

Milestones: This is not pregnancy related, but I only have one more class and I will be done with my bachelors in respiratory. 

barcelona: day one (part two)

After exploring the market and buying all the ingredients we needed for class, we headed back to make everything.  The classes at Hubbell and Hudson have definitely spoiled us.  They do all the prep work and all the cleaning.  That was not the way things were at this class.  We got to chop everything and plate it.  All the dishes we cooked were in season and typical of Barcelona and Cataluyna.

La Rambla

The cooking school

The set up

We started by getting everything ready for the crema catalana, which is a lot like a creme brûlée, but uses milk and heavy cream.  It needed time to set so we prepared that dish first.

Starting the crema catalana

Next we started working on the grilled onions, romesco sauce, red pepper soup and cod skins.  I got to help do all of that so I didn't get to take any pictures of the prep work.  We took the skin of the salt cod and put it in the oven to crisp.  The onions and peppers were both cooked until the skins were burned and then we removed the burnt flesh.  The onions weren't bad and I hate onions.

The romesco sauce was my favorite.  It is a red sauce that the Spanish usually eat with meat or vegetables and it is good.  I like to say it was the ranch of Catalunya.  It has peppers, almonds, hazelnuts, olive oil, and few other ingredients in it.  It's not spicy at all and was super easy to make.

I learned a lot about paella in the class.  Paella should really be brown, not yellow.  Saffron is what makes paella yellow and it is super expensive so restaurants often add yellow food coloring and not saffron to the dish.  I also learned that you should never mix multiple meats in a paella.  If you want chicken, just add chicken.  It's better not to add chicken, seafood and so on to the same dish.    

Cooking the shrimp for the paella

Next came the vegetables

And rice

Finally the stock.

Red pepper soup with salted cod skins 

Onions with romesco sauce

The finished paella

Ready to serve

Finishing up the crema catalana

And done

Overall, I enjoyed the class.  We learned about new food and tried things we wouldn't have otherwise.  The paella was definitely my favorite and I am looking for a paella pan so I can try it at home.  I will say that Hubbell and Hudson cooking class are still my favorite.

The Gothic quarter the school was in

The cathedral from our hotel roof

16 weeks

I am back in the Panhandle.  I had so much fun city living for a week in Houston, but it is nice to be home.  We are continuing the process of cleaning out our guest rooms so we can start our next remodel.  Hopefully we will begin working on the nursery next month.  I am officially OCD about cleaning.  I spent 10 minutes trying to get hair out of the drain before I realized I could unscrew the drain cover.  I was not leaving the bathroom until that was clean.  I have cleaned things I didn't even know could or should be cleaned.

How far along: 16 weeks, 6 days

Total weight gain/loss:  I should get weighed at my doctor's appointment next week.

Maternity clothes:  Mixing pre-pregnancy and maternity clothes.  I have started packing up the clothes I can no longer fit in to clear room in my closet.

Stretch marks: None.

Sleep: I bought a Snoogle which has helped my back and hips which have been super sore.

Best moment this week: Seeing my friend Ashley and meeting her boyfriend.  I love friends who you can go forever without seeing but when you see each other, it's like no time has passed.

Movement: I thought I may have felt something on Sunday, but I haven't felt anything since then.  

Food cravings: I still love side dishes and still hate large portions of meat.  I have definitely been having stronger reactions to foods that I don't like.

Gender: We should know next week but we aren't sure when we are going to share that news.

Labor signs: None.

Belly in or out: In.

Symptom of the week: Bloody noses.  I have been getting bloody noses since I got pregnant but they are becoming more regular and usually occur in the morning.  It adds some excitement to my morning routine.

What I miss: Patio time.  

What I am looking forward to: Our next doctor's appointment and my birthday.

Weekly wisdom: Everyone's pregnancy is different and you shouldn't obsess about what milestones you have or haven't gotten too yet.

Milestones: You can officially tell I am pregnant even when I wear t-shirts which is new.  

barcelona: day one

Our travel day to Barcelona was a little bumpy to say the least so I was praying that our first full day would go a little more smoothly.  I had signed us up for a cooking class (shocking, right?) where we were to learn how to make a traditional Spanish meal and tour La Boqueria.  After getting lost while looking for where we were supposed to meet for our class, things started to go a little more smoothly.

I will say that the weather was not on our side during our vacation.  We went to Paris around the same time last year and it was hot, so I figured Spain would be even hotter.  I was wrong.  I packed for summer and it was still very much early spring in Spain.  This led to a breakdown towards the end of our trip.  I was pregnant, tired and really tired of being cold.

Breakfast was bread with tomato, ham, and fruit.  I could eat the first two all day.

Our class started at La Boqueria, which is the most famous market in Barcelona.  I am in love.  I love seeing all the fresh produce, meat, and other fun goodies.  I just really love food so anywhere that pretty much celebrates all types of food is heaven in my eyes.

The market entrance on La Rambla

Meat!

Fresh vegetables

And more vegetables

All this stall sold was bananas from the Canary Islands

I never knew this many mushrooms existed

Queso

Lots and lots of chocolate

Fresh fish

You can't tell but a lot of this seafood was still moving

Lobsterfest

Colorful chiles

Shout out, Miley!

The famous jamón de bellota

More meat

These are just a few of the pictures I took.  La Boqueria was definitely my favorite place.  My advice is to go early.  Later in the afternoon it gets so full of tourists that you can't move.  Tomorrow I'll post about the actual cooking class.