Mommylogues: Showering with Love

Thanks Ladies for the suggestionse on the pregnancy shoots...

i got some great ideas!!

I've definitely been blessed the last several weeks with multiple showers 

by family, friends, co-workers and our Church Families 

including the members of our church family groupings and marriage ministry.  

It's been such a wonderful experience. 

I cannot explain to you how heartwarming the experience has been.

Baby Pancakes has been blessed with all his essential baby items and more.

We can't be more thankful to all the people that made this experience wonderful for us!!

Here are a few images from the showers of love and blessings!

The Decor

The Sweets

The Good Eats

The Gifts

The Flowers

Pregnancy Portrait Inspirations!!

I still haven't decided if i will be getting professional pictures done...

i am thinking i want professional pictures when baby finally arrives.

We are trying to  be economical so we might wait until baby arrives for portraits.

But i still can't help but dream and imagine all the images i would like to take.

And i might attempt to do some of these poses while i have the energy 

and still look somewhat decent:-)

Enjoy the beautiful images!!

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I don't have an infinity pool but this image is just beautiful!

Happy Monday!!!

Friday Funnies: Cheering For the Olympians!

Am i the only one who thinks Fridays are coming by rather quick nowadays?

It's all good because tomorrow marks 9months of being pregnant.

What?! 

Wowza!!

But before then, there will be lots of cheers tonigh for your favorite athletes 

and countries as the Olympians reach for their dreams....

it should weeks and weeks of many memorable moments.

Who will you be cheering for?

I will cheering for Ghanaian, Canadian and USA athletes of course.

Lots to cheer for....

Happy Friday Funnies!!

What If...Meeting the Love of Your Life!

What if someone told you in less than 5 weeks,

you would be meeting the love of your life?

Someone that you've always loved but never actually met in person?

Someone who would come into your life and change it forever...all for good of course?

Would you be anxious, excited, happy, afraid?

Would you be ready to jump over the moon?

What would you do if you were going to meet the love of your life?

Can you tell i am beside

myself to meet my little man??

I can't believe Saturday will mark 9 months of being pregnant.

It still doesn't feel real but it's actually happening.

The time has passed by so quick but at the same time

it's been such a wonderful experience.

Life has definitely changed since finding out about

 Baby Pancakes but it has changed for the best and as we prepare for his arrival..

my heart is wide open

and ready to meet this little man that will make up our family of three. 

This little love of our lives that will add even more love to our already loving family.

I am excited and feeling blessed beyond believe....

if this is how i feel now...

i can't even wait to meet him!!!

We've been trying to get things done including:

Finalizing his name (Mr. Pancakes is delaying)

Setting up the crib/decorating the crib

Decorating his space (more on this later)

Repainting his drawer

Washing, drying and folding his clothes

Setting up his stroller/car seat

Setting up his play pens (yes little man has two)

Preparing myself psychologically for labor (if possible)

Spending time together as a couple enjoying each other's company

Sleeping in where i can....

What else can i do to prepare for little man's arrival?

HAVE AN AWESOME WEDNESDAY FRIENDS!!!

If I Could...be an Olympian!

Happy Tuesday!!!

Can't wait until Saturday...i need to sleep in just a little.

I am getting black eyes from lack of sleep...

Not the new mother glow i have been going for...

Anyway, am i the only one excited about the Olympics?!

There is something magical about an event that occurs every four years,

which encourages athletes to train and dream all their lives in order to compete!

I just think it's one of the best expressions of passion out there!

So today in IF I Could...

i wanted to ask what kind of Olympian would you be?

I would definitely be two kinds of Olympians:

GYMNAST

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Track & Field Star

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I truly believe i would be an awesome gymnast because of my height

and great track and field athlete

because i think it's just amazing to be able to run that fast and strong!!

But seriously, wishing all the Olympians much success starting 7/27/12.

Now, it's your turn to be an Olympian...

IF I Could be an Olympian...which one would it be?

Mommylogues: An Anniversary along with Mama and Baby Time!

Good Morning Friends!

There was a lot of sadness in the media this weekend...

i hope you were able to find some comfort and joy in life's simple pleasures.

I know Team Pancakes did!

We celebrated 1year and 3months of marriage, love and friendship!

We continue to feel blessed beyond measure!

Mr. Pancakes...i love you to the moon and back again and again!!!

In celebrating Team Pancakes, we continue to rejoice

 in the fact that Baby Pancakes continues to grow and develop

 and thrive and we are anxiously waiting to meet him in 5 weeks.

Again...we are beyong thrilled and excited.

I LOVE this song by Donna Lewis

and i have been singing and dancing 

with Baby Pancakes 

and i think he LOVES it because he is always moving...

Also i love the fact that everywhere i go...he is with me.

And my love for him will be the same when he is here with us...

Hope you enjoy the song as much as we do...

I love you always forever
Near and far closer together
Everywhere I will be with you
Everything I will do for you...

Enjoy Your Monday!!!

Senseless...

It's senseless when people take other people's lives

 because they are unhappy in their own lives.

It's senseless when innocent lives are lost.

It's senseless that guns are sold to people who use it wrongfully

and without cause.

It's senseless when our safety is compromised in public places

because of one person's decision.

It's senseless to even speculate the reasons why people kill others

It's senseless that we are made to live in fear sometimes.

There are many things that are senseless about the movie theatre shooting

in Aurora, Colorado.

The only thing that makes sense right now to me is that God exists.

He will comfort those who are in a state of mourning.

The only thing that makes sense is that my family and friends are safe.

My baby is kicking and moving!

Life is growing in abundance.

And we will be alright!

We will make sense out of what is senseless....

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Friday Funnies: Portrait of Kimye

Have you ever wondered what they would look like in the future?

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Somewhere on the Web

Kanye and Kim in the future...

Why not right?

we all change as we age.

I just wonder if they will actually stay together for that long?

I doubt it...

But the picture makes for a good laugh huh???

Happy Funny Friday!!

Enjoy your weekend!

Mommylogues: The Case of The Missing Taste Buds for Pancakes!

Yes ladies, you read that correctly...

this is the case of my missing taste buds for pancakes.

Since becoming pregnant...i have lost my love affair with pancakes.

The love affair has become nonexistent!

Which I guess is normal because they say during pregnancy...

you lose appetite for certain favorite foods. 

I didn't think my beloved pancakes would be one of them.

I have eaten maybe two pancake breakfasts since Baby Pancakes was conceived.

I have no taste for it and since being pregnant...

i won't eat a food item unless i have the taste for it.

Eating has become a head game. 

And my head hasn't craved Pancakes.

I wonder if i will feel the same after Baby Pancakes is here??

Is my taste buds lost forever?

Wouldn't that be devastating!!!

I have also noticed Mr. Pancakes is not eating a lot of pancakes...

possibly to support me but then again i used to make the bulk of our pancake breakfasts.

And does this also mean Baby Pancakes won't like pancakes?

Now THAT WOULD BE DEVASTATING?

If i was going to lose my appetite for anything during this pregnancy,

 i was hoping it would be for rice since rice turns into sugar after consumption. 

But my taste for rice never went and it's definitely NOT going anywhere.

But sadly my taste buds for Pancakes has disappeared

and i hope it returns soon after Baby Pancakes' arrival.

If not...i may be looking for a new blog-name:-)

And baby name...

So my question of the day is this,

What foods did stop craving when you were pregnant?

And what foods would you miss if you were pregnant?

I miss these babies!!

P.S:

This post was brought to you because

 i didn't have any taste for breakfast and ended up eating watermelons!!

If I Could...

It's Hump Day...and it's actually 38 days until Baby Pancakes arrives....

Amaze-balls!!

Anyway, I haven't done one of these in a while so i thought i would dream a little...

Be Anywhere Today...

I would be here in Paradise (Barbados)...

Enjoying some awesome breakfast....

With great company (Mr. Pancakes)...

And ending the day by enjoying the Sunset!!

Now, it's your turn to dream a little...

If You Could...what would you do today?

Would You Be With Someone...

...with a terminal illness?

This is the question we were debating at work the other day.

Would you date or marry someone with a terminal illness?

And it was intriguing so i thought i would put it out to my bloggy friends?

There are obviously many things to consider with this question 

so i would LOVE your feedback.

There have been many movies and novels written about this topic 

so it will be interesting to discuss here on this blog.

It definitely made for some colorful conversation at the office...

and i hope you'll join in!

Some of the responses included with of course more details:

Yes,

No, 

Mmhmm...

Heck no.

Maybe...

Why Not?

Now it's your turn...

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MommyLogues: Sophie La Girafe

I wanted to introduce you today to Sophie la Girafe...

that's Sophie the Giraffe in English by the way!

She is a teething toy that many mothers use...

my niece has one and it is the cutest thing ever!

And as you can see her name is Sophie...

am i totally off base to wonder...

is this teething toy for baby girls or boys?

As we are purchasing and receiving items for Baby Pancakes,

I may be thinking too much about boy vs. girl colors and toys, 

boy things vs. girl things but oh well that's where i am right now.

What do you think...help me figure this out please...

Question of the Day:

Is Sophie La Girafe a boy or girl toy or does it matter at all?

LongLazySunday: Week 17

Hope your LongLazySunday has been exactly that...

The message at Church today was "God is bigger than your problems"

And maybe sometimes it's our lack of faith that gets in the way!

There was a lot of running around after Church

but the best part of the day was seeing Mr. Pancake's niece

who we haven't seen in a long time. 

She always brings the laugh!

We love that girl.

And she purchaesd the cutest shoes for Baby Pancakes....

his first Jordan's...

apparently those are the shoes to have

 because Mr. Pancakes always loved them growing up.

The rest of the evening will be spent trying dressing the scrib, installing our stroller

  and doing some painting and maybe relaxing with a movie...in that order....

hopefully we get to some of these things before i fall asleep..

i tend to fall asleep really fast as of late:-)

And why not...it's a LongLazySunday after all!

What did you do today?...

grab the button and share with....

Friday Funnies: 40 Years of Marriage

Good & Happy Friday!!!

Today's Friday Funnies is all about marriage.

Enjoy Ladies!!

Hope it makes you laugh!

A married couple in their early 60s are celebrating 

their 40th wedding anniversary in a quiet, romantic little restaurant.

Suddenly, a tiny yet beautiful fairy appeared on their table.  

She said, "For being such an exemplary married couple 

and for being loving to each other for all this time, 

i will grant you each a wish!"

The wife answered:

"Oh,i want to travel around 

the world with my darling husband."

The fairy waved her magic wand and poof!!--

two tickets for the Queen Mary II appeared in her hands.

The husband thought for a moment: 

"Well this is all very romantic 

but an opportunity like this will never come again.  

I'm sorry my love, but my wish 

to have a wife 30 years younger than me."

The wife, and the fairy, were deeply disappointed, but a wish is a wish.

So the fairy waved her magic wand and poof!...

the husband became 92 years old...

The moral of this story: 

Men who are ungrateful should remember 

MOST fairies are female!!!

Enjoy your weekend Friends...

don't forget to join me with 

your happenings for LongLazySunday!

What I Did Last Night...

Lately, Mr. Pancakes has been working extra hard

so it was nice last night to be able to veg out infront of the television

 and watch some brainless TV.  

 When you don't have cable...

you are limited to whatever the networks are offering in free full eipodes. 

 Therefore, our choice last night was America's Got Talent.

And then we discovered a new show: The Glass House on abc.com. 

 It's like Big Brother only the house is glass

and the audience interacts with the contestants by choosing their fate. 

It's brainless television at it's best!

Plus, it's always fun to see what happens when grown-ass people

are thrown into these types of situations.

By the end of four episodes, Mr. Pancakes knew the name of the contestants

and he never watches TV unless it's a sports event.

Since we don't have cable, we have been using

HDMI cable to connect the laptop to the TV and it works great. 

  We feel like we are watching TV without all the unneccessary commercials.

Thanks Sis for the tip about HDMI.

All we have to invest in now is Hulu or Netflix and

we should be good to go with more TV watching time. 

I think this is going to come in handy during late night feedings with Baby Pancakes.

Needless to say, last night was a wonderful night with my husband.

An impromptu session of reality TV...gotta love it!

Tonight i catch up on America's Got Talent...don't tell me who was eliminated!!

Question of the Day:

What did you watch on TV last night?

Summer Vacation Stories!!

What are you doing this Summer?

What are your Summer Vacation Stories?

Team Pancakes wants to know because unfortunately

this summer we will NOT be taking a vacation

 but instead taking a trip into parenthood which we are excited about. 

But probably not as exciting as traveling somewhere fun and exotic 

unless you count mom/baby groups as fun and exotic! 

I know many of you will be taking vacations this summer

and i want to indulge in your Summer vacation plans, past and present.

In thinking about my maternity leave from blogging...

which i am sure will NOT be very long...i was thinking of doing a fun new feature called:

Summer Vacation Stories

where i ask you, my fellow bloggers to share a fun vacation you took during summer. 

The summer vacation can be anytime from childhood, high school, college,

pre-marriage, post-marriage, family vacation, any vacation really

as long as it occured in the summer time!!!
I have a few interested peoples but i am looking for more...

If you are interested in keeping my blog alive and well when i begin my maternity leave...

please email me to share your stories!

Yes i want to live vicariously through you all this summer

while taking care of Baby Pancakes!

Happy Summer Vacation Planning...

Mommylogues: Patterns of Genetic Inheritance

So we are 7 weeks away from meeting Baby Pancakes.

Someone please pinch me...i can't believe we are so close...

God is amazing!

The fact that he has taken this little Pancake embryo

and grown it into an almost 4lbs human...

I can't even phantom but it's happening. 

God is sooo good!

One of the things i have been wondering about as Baby Pancakes' due date arrives is:

Who Will He Resemble?

The genetic code...how it all works is pretty terrific!!

Did you know that: DNA is shuffled randomly from one generation to the next?

It amazes me how the combination of our genes

 have come together to create this little human. 

And which parts of our features and personalities he will inherit

as a result of our genes combining...

is all mind boggling to me if you think about it.

I am a firm believer that we are all products of genetics and our environment.

Nature vs. Nurture...more like Nature & Nurture!

Lately, i have taken note of how kids resemble their parents,

 not only in their features but their mannerisms...

have you ever seen parents and their kids together?

This weekend, i noticed how many similarities my mom

and i shared including features but our personalities...

we are both task oriented and inquisitive to a fault! 

Additionally, she spoke about her experiences when she was pregnant

and how she shares similarities. 

The genetics game is that deep y'all!

I found this neat table if you are ever wondering the origins of Character Traits:

Environmental:

Specific Language (entirely)

Specific Religion (entirely)

Specific culture (entirely)

Sensitivity to environment-based stresses like radiation (mostly environmental)

Interactional:

Height

Weight

Intelligence

Personality

Certain multifactorial diseases like heart disease

Genetics:

Blood group (entirely)

Eye color (entirely)

Hair Color (entirely)

Certain genetic diseases, such as Huntingdon's (entirely)

Baldness (mostly genetic)

(all information from: The Pregnancy Body Book--Dr. Sarah Brewer)

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The above chart is pretty interesting and has me wondering about Baby Pancakes

and what he is going to inherit from our genes?

I know nature will play into the type of little man he becomes.

But i thought it would be fun to think about his features

and personality in relation to our own...

First of all, i hope he is a healthy little guy.

And then i hope Mr. Pancakes' dominate height gene and my dominate height gene

(if i have one, i am 5'2) come together to help him grow tall.

I hope he has a nice physical build (Mr. Pancakes' has an athletic build).

I hope he gets his father's dimples and smile. 

 But then i have a pretty nice smile too.

I hope he gets my ears because it's nicely shaped.

I hope he inherits both of our intelligence and compassion for people. 

I hope he inherits my spirit for adventure and his father's no-fear attitude.

I hope he develops a God-loving heart and willingness to learn about God!

I hope above all his genetic code and make-up is infused with love, laughter and kindness!!!

I know he will inherit his daddy's baldness and that's great:-)

But then again...what ever patterns of genes inheritance Baby Pancakes inherits...

he will be loved and loved and loved and loved...all over all the time!!

33 Weeks!

Monday Kissing Mania...

Good Morning Ladies...

This weekend was a lot of fun...

my Mom is still in town for a few days...

So i am still indulging...

But today this morning,

i wanted to share some reasons why there should be a kissing mania in your house...

there are loads of benefits to kissing!

Friday was apparently National Kissing Day...in the United Kingdom...

i had no idea but i think it's a pretty nifty little holiday!

First, research has actually shown that kissing is GOOD FOR YOUR TEETH!

Smooching stimulates saliva production,

 which can actually wash harmful bacteria off the teeth.

I had no idea.  (via: Glamour.com)

Second, Kissing BURNS CALORIES!

Locking lips can burn anywhere from 2 to 6 calories per minute.

You're also putting a whole slew of facial muscles to work when you pucker up,

and just a few minutes of extra attention to those muscles can make a big difference

when it comes to the appearance of frown lines or less-than-perky cheeks. (via: Self.com)

Third, Kissing BOOSTS IMMUNITY!!

There's no denying the fact that when you lock lips, there are bound to be some germs, uh, exchanged. One specific bug can be particularly hazardous to pregnant women,

but researchers believe kissing is a way to introduce the virus

to a woman in small doses before she conceives, triggering her body to build up a resistance to it before she could ever pass it on to a child, according to Popular Science.

However, if your partner in crime is visibly ill, it's still a good idea

to hold off on that kiss, as it's still an easy way to catch mono, strep throat and herpes,

among other things.

Fourth, Kissing EASES STRESS.

A small 2009 study measured levels of the bonding hormone oxytocin and the stress hormone cortisol in pairs of kissing college students, the AP reported. Both men and women experienced a decline in cortisol, a sign of relaxation, that was much greater than when they just held hands.

Fifth, COULD EASE ALLERGY SYMPTOMS

If those sniffles are due to seasonal allergies and not something contagious, it may be a good idea to go through with the smooch, after all. A small Japanese study found that couples who kissed for 30 minutes had lower levels of allergen-specific Ige, the proteins that trigger pesky symptoms like sneezing and sniffling.

So there you have...five reasons why you should drop whatever you are doing...

and kiss the one you love! Or at least when you get home or when they get home!!!

Question of the Day:

Have you found any of these benefits of kissing?

LongLazySunday: Week 16

LongLazySunday was definitely here in the Team Pancakes' household...

My Mom is in town and she's made all my favourite foods...

I am in heaven right now...

More like a food coma heaven but it's all good....

i need to indulge myself...

This is the time right?

Thanks Mom..i LOVE you!

What have you been up to today?

Grab the button and share....