Weeks 18-20

Man did the time fly this month!!! 11:11 Events was super busy in October with a Rocky Horror Picture Show 30th Birthday party, my gender reveal party, an art showcase with Austin Fusion Magazine, and a wedding! Not to mention I have started working as a manager on duty at the amazingly gorgeous Laguna Gloria here in town! Whew! I turned around and its Halloween! I can only imagine how time will fly when my little man gets here!

THAT'S RIGHT- I SAID "LITTLE MAN" BECAUSE------> ITS A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Mark and I couldn't wait to find out if "Willow" was a boy or a girl (and trust us, neither could any of our family members)! We had an ultrasound on Oct 10th and my little sister Stephanie joined. The tech had us all look at the ceiling when she did the "check" and once she was sure, she wrote it down and put it in a sealed envelope. Stephanie then took the envelope to a baker and instructed them to dye the inside either blue or pink based on the findings. We then cut the cake at our gender reveal party in front of family and friends and found out that "Willow" is now Holden Stephens Mikulin!!!!

It was such an awesome way to share the moment with everyone. We were so lucky to have such a dear friend capture the day- check out the link to see some shots and check out her website. Erin Molloy Photography is by far one of the best in town and you should book her for your next big event!! Love her!


Since we've found out that our first born will be a little boy, we have already started working on his nursery. We decided on a "vintage sports" nursery since Mark and I both like all things old school and sports. Since we dont agree on a college football team (Im a gator, he's an aggie....I know, I know, dont judge...jk....kinda) but we DO agree on a baseball team (GOOOOO ASTROS!!!) the nursery will focus on baseball but other sports are welcome. Except soccer. We dont like soccer haha. Pics to come as it develops. But I did want to share the first decorative thing we bought for Holden's room once we found out the gender!

I got it in a 24 months so it can be on the nursery wall for now and then he can wear it when we go to Astros games in the future! And because 11 is special to us, I had to put it on the jersey. :) 

Other than the big news, we have started to feel lil man moving around in there!! I have been playing music for the belly thanks to headphone splitters and it seems that he really likes it- go figure in this family. :) I started feeling bubbles in my belly around week 18 or so but just in the last few days Mark has been able to feel him kick from outside the belly. Super cool moments for both of us. :) And he's getting stronger everyday!

So now on to belly pics and FAQs! :) 

The day after we found out!! 

Happy Halloween!!! 

How far along? 20 weeks

Maternity clothes? I really need to buy more maternity bottoms. Im trying to sport the "bump" as long as I can with normal tops though. So far its working. 
Stretch marks? I thought I saw one the other day but then realized it was a scratch from our cat. But trust me, in that .2 second moment, I definitely freaked out and decided to buy hardcore stretch mark cream- just in case. 
Sleep: Well Ive been exhausted lately due to working a lot so Ive actually been sleeping fine. I also started sleeping with a body pillow....why did I wait so long??? 
Best moment this week: Finding out we are having a boy!!! And finally feeling him move around in there! 
Miss Anything? Around this time of year, pumpkin spice ales! 
Movement: Oh yeah! Gas bubbles have turned into legit kicks! He moves around the most as Im lying down about to go to bed! :) 
Food cravings: Pumpkin spice AN-Y-THING.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Still fish but I can stomach shrimp now so thats good. Oh and frozen greek yogurt ice cream (UGH!!!!BLAH!!)
Gender: In the words of our ultrasound tech "Oh its definitely a boy!" 
Labor Signs: No.  Kinda scared when this answer starts to change though. 
Symptoms: RLP like always, but now Im realizing I can not stay on my feet for too long. My feet and back start to hurt BAD after a while.
Belly Button in or out? Still in, but not VERY in any more. Starting to look like a normal innie nowadays.
Wedding rings on or off? Always on. Always. 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Ecstatic! Mark keeps thanking me for "being awesomely pregnant" haha.  
Looking forward to: Feeling even more kicks and holidays with family! 


Welp, thats that for now. Im going to post separately to showcase everything we did for the gender reveal party and more about the nursery as that comes up. But please leave some love or suggestions on things you'd like me to post about (crafts, recipes, ect...) and Ill do my best!

Lots of love!
Susannah, Mark, and Holden

My favorite trick with a rotisserie chick.

Last night I had an epiphany. Well 2 actually. 1- I currently have the appetite of a truck driver and 2- Cooking is my therapy. So when I came home from speaking at the community college last night, I was STARVING but wanted to cook to relieve stress. So I looked in the fridge and realized that I had all the ingredients for a chicken cacciatore. I also decided last night that Im going to start documenting what I cook or make, just in case I wanna post it.

Before I say how I made the chicken cacciatore in a later post, I find it very necessary to share a trick that Ive been using lately to save some time and money. ROTISSERIE CHICKENS ARE MY NEW BEST FRIEND!

Not only do they save time on cooking chicken but you can also make your own chicken stock out of them. Plus the stock is completely sodium free! Ive been doing this every time I buy one of these chickens and its so easy!

Buy 1 full rotisserie chicken from Whole Foods

(Note- this is easier straight from the store when its warm)

Separate meat in one container. I always separate the breast in tact because they are good for future meals. Place the bones, skin, ect in a medium sized pan. 

Fill pan with water until everything is covered and heat on medium. Simmer for 30 minutes. 

Place a colander in a bowl in sink. 

Dump all contents of the pan into the colander. 

Whats left in the bowl? Homemade chicken stock! Let chill then store in fridge or freeze for future use! 

BAM! 

Hope this is useful for other lil homemakers!

Weeks 16 and 17

Saw this. No, we wont do this to our pumpkin but thought it was cute!

The weather is not the only things a-changing in the Mikulin household. Although, can I please take a second to express my undying love for cold weather???? Sweaters, scarfs, and boots make my heart grow so big! I dont know if I could live where it gets down to sub-zero temps all the time, but Texas winters make me so happy! But along with the change of the season, Lil Miss Suzy Homemaker over here is a-changing too. It seems as if I woke up one morning, looked down, and all of a sudden- BAM- bump! Im finally looking less like Ive overdone it on the doughnuts and more like I belong in the Mommy-To-Be club. I was even told "Aw you look so pregnant" the other day. Which Im guessing was meant to be a compliment. :) Either way, Im definitely not wearing tents and mumus, Im quite proud of my bump and showing it off! (Read: Im holding out on buying maternity tops). Although I have transitioned into the elasticy waisted pants, which are super comfortable. 

We've also started going to our Centering classes at our birthing center. For those who I havent told, we are going to give birth in a free-standing birthing center with certified nurse midwives. After watching Ricky Lake's documentary, The Business of Being Born, as well as the documentary Pregnant In America, our minds were completely changed. I 100000% suggest them to anyone pregnant or attempting to become pregnant. Their are both on Netflix btw. Education is POWER! Anyway- we are going au natural for this adventure. Our centering classes are essentially our monthly check up but with all of the other March couples. We go in to the center, meet and talk as each mama has her individual check up with the midwife, then we all go to the yoga studio for our monthly class and to have an open discussion. Its so much better because its so stress-free and educational! Love it!

This last week we also started with our first big baby purchases! The crib and the changing table!!!!! After a lot of research, we found the perfect sale of these safe, all wood, crib and table. Mark kept saying how well it was made (gotta love my engineer husband). Even though we dont know the sex yet (so soon!) we found this white set knowing it will go well regardless. Once we find out the gender (Oct 14th- Gender Reveal Party! Post to come!) we will make more sex-specific choices. But these are what we purchased. (Side note- a huge thank you to my Dad for helping us!) Both available at Kids R Us.

Delta Venetian Convertible Crib

Delta Martine Sleigh Changing Table 

So like I said, Willow (its going to be weird to call this baby something else....I think he/she has a nickname already) is starting to make him/herself known these days! Here I am at 17 weeks along with those oh-so-fun FAQs. :)

How far along? 17 weeks

Maternity clothes? Purchased one pair of maternity jeans and maternity slacks. Other than that, just buying things a "few" sizes bigger than I usually wear. 
Stretch marks? No. But that reminds me to buy stretch mark cream today. Just in case. 
Sleep: Im falling asleep fine (because Im usually exhausted) but I wake up in the middle of the night a lot and then its hard to fall back to sleep. Good practice for things to come I suppose.
Best moment this week: Our first centering appointment and meeting the other March mamas! Oh and buying the crib and changing table!!!!!!! 
Miss Anything? After working an AWESOME event this last weekend, I realized how nice it would be to have a nice cold beer or glass of wine after a long night. Oh and goats cheese. Weird I know. 
Movement: Not sure. I thought maybe I felt something the other day, but then attributed it to gas. Really excited about this one! 
Food cravings: Have I mentioned how much I love sweets lately? Its so not me. But its true!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Fish. Seeing it, smelling it, anything- ugh!
Gender: Ultrasound on the 10th, but we wont find out until our Gender Reveal Party on the 14th!!! SO SOON! 
Labor Signs: No. 
Symptoms: Still some Round Ligament Pain but more than anything else- headaches!
Belly Button in or out? Still very in.
Wedding rings on or off? Always on. 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy for the most part but we found out this weekend that once I start crying it is extremely hard for me to stop. Kinda scary since I can usually calm myself down but it was just one moment. The first and hopefully the last.
Looking forward to: Our Gender Reveal Party on the 14th!!!!!!!!!! And to really feel some movements. :) 

Well thats all for now folks. Thanks for reading! I will most definitely be posting as soon as we find out what the sex is after our party! AUGHIMSOEXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!

Lots'o'love!

Susannah, Mark, and (for the last time) "Willow"!