On a Lighter Note...

I am 22 weeks (and 3 days)! My next doctor's appointment is on Friday. I am still feeling really good except for some lower back pain at times. I know exactly when it will start hurting...the second I start doing 'too much'. Apparently 'too much' is cleaning my house, but unfortunately that needs to get done over the next 18 weeks so I will have to deal and rest when I can!

I have yet to wear any maternity pants, but that is really only because I have some dress pants and a couple pairs of jeans in a size up that I wore to get me by right after having Luke. I am slowly growing out of those and will have to pull out the maternity pants soon. As for shirts, I have only made 3 purchases so far and they were all from the maternity clearance rack from Kohl's. I am trying to get by with what I have right now (lots of tanks with cardigans) so I can hopefully just purchase a spring/summer maternity wardrobe. A new coat is definitely on the horizon though...my winter one is ready to bust open!

I had a website through Baby Jelly Beans when I was pregnant with Luke (this is before I knew of the free blogging world). I had the website made into a CD right after I started keeping this blog. I pulled the CD out the other night to take a look and reminisce. I found some belly pics so I thought we would do a side-by-side comparison.

At 22 weeks with Baby Z. on the left and Luke on the right.




I appear to be bigger and carrying higher this time around, don't you think??? Hhhmmm...this has me thinking...I was on the boy bandwagon all along, but now seeing these pictures side-by-side, I am wondering because I am carrying different, if that means it's a girl?!?! Thoughts??? Only time will tell! I have to say I love seeing the results of the poll in the upper right hand corner of the blog. I am always curious to see what people think we are going to have :)

I will update the blog after my doctor's appointment on Friday if there is anything worth sharing, but I'm hoping it is just an easy weight, blood pressure, heartbeat check!

A Note from a Coach's Wife

I can completely understand being a voice for your child and wanting to protect them. I am like that now and am sure I will continue to be the same way. However, this should not be done at the expense of someone else and the reputation that they have built for themselves. Twisting stories and making false statements is unforgiving.

There are many parents who believe their child is the ‘best’ at everything. And maybe they have been that ‘star’ athlete for their whole childhood, but at some point, you and your child need to understand that they won’t excel at everything they do. Life is full of disappointments, but one disappointment is not the end of the world. So you won’t be a 3-sport athlete in high school…maybe this is your opportunity to take that sports season to condition or work at one of the other sports that you are excelling at.

As a coach's wife, I go to the games because I enjoy it (and so does Luke), but also because I like to get my face out there as the “Coach’s wife”. I don’t generally talk with any parents, other than small talk that is expected because I have a toddler running around of course. But I like them to know that their child’s coach has a family/home life too. I think parents often forget that many coaches themselves are also parents. Everything you feel and do for your child, the Coach also does. And the Coach also does this for your child too. Good coaches build great relationships with many of the members of their team and want nothing more than to see that child continue to exceed at each level and in life.

Parents don’t see the agony that many coaches face when it comes time to cut players. I know not all coaches have a problem with this, but the ones I know feel this way. I have seen firsthand for 4 years the lack of sleep and stress that a coach faces as tryouts begin and cuts are looming. The coach knows that he is breaking a child’s heart by not making them a member of the team. Not all coaches will sit down one-on-one with each participant and go over all of their strengths and weaknesses with them. Most coaches will just post the student ID number of those who made the team. These are young kids and they deserve the respect of being told why they haven’t made the team even if that results in tears in front of the coach. Well, guess what, tears and sadness are all around. The coach isn’t immune to feeling either, and when he gets home too there may also be tears and sadness.

One of the most caring, kind, and generous men I know happens to be my husband, who also happens to be a teacher and coach. I consider the kids he teaches and coaches lucky to have him as a part of their life, whether it be for a semester or a season. He has no bias towards anyone, does not play favorites, and makes choices that are fair and right for everyone involved. Thankfully, my husband has a lot of people that believe in him and know that he is a good person who has a great understanding for the game and for potential talent.

I am writing this out of frustration to the many parents who are always looking for someone else to blame. Instead, use this as a learning experience for you and your child. Life isn't full of rainbows all of the time. Be that voice for your child and teach them to be their own voice, but consider the whole picture before you click 'send' or make that phone call.

Vent over.

Instant Gratification

We all want instant gratification, adults and children alike. The difference is that as adults (well, most adults) we understand that that isn't always possible. But children, and more specifically, toddlers definitely do not get that! This is the face one might see when there is no instant gratification:



We learned pretty quickly about a year ago that we have to be careful what we say to Luke. For example, we couldn't talk about going to the waterpark too far in advance, otherwise he would want to go right.this.second. and not get that we wouldn't be leaving for 2 days.

Unfortunately, I apparently made a mistake today. When I picked Luke up after work I told him that we were going to go to the bank. This weekend we had emptied out the 2 piggy banks that he had and can I just say HOLY COW!!! Where does this kid get his money?!?! He had $191 in cash (those grandparents must be sneaking money in there) and ended up having $45 in change. So we headed to the bank to deposit the money into his account. The mistake was made when I told Luke that we were putting the money in the bank so he could buy a car when he gets bigger. He kept saying, "when I get bigger" and then talking about his muscles (he must associate getting bigger with muscles!). So we deposited the money and walked out of the bank, BUT Luke wanted his car! And at that point it was meltdown city! He kept saying, "I don't want to go home! I want car!". This lasted the entire car ride home (about 15 minutes) and another 1/2 hour or so once we got in the house. The meltdown became even worse the second I pulled into the garage - he did NOT want to go home, he wanted his car. Whether he thought I was talking about buying a matchbox car or what, I have no idea, but he was NOT happy! And the matchbox cars we already had at home, along with the millions of other trucks and such were not cutting it.

All was better though once we had pancakes and eggs for supper!

The Truth Revealed

1. Wally and I share the same first 5 digits of our social security numbers.
TRUE! I have always thought this was strange. I think it would make more sense to me if we were born in the same year, but obviously we weren't. Other people my age don't have the same first 5 digits as me either though. I guess it's just another reason why Wally and I were meant to be - ha!

2. I love squirrels.
ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! I actually am terrified of them - a strange phobia, I know. I can NOT watch the scene in Christmas Vacation where the squirrel is in the Christmas tree - so scary! On America's Funniest Home Videos they always seem to have squirrel videos and I have to close my eyes. I have been known to have nightmares about squirrels attacking me. The worst dream I ever had was that one was in my dorm room in college. And of course I went to a college where the squirrels were EVERYWHERE! (I better not have a bad dream tonight now!) I would like to not pass this ridiculous phobia on to my children, but we will see!

3. I have never been pulled over for speeding.
False! I have been pulled over for speeding, but just once! It was actually driving from my apartment in Woodridge to LP for Carly's high school graduation in 2007. The worst part of it was that I was going to the Cubs game that weekend and the officer took my license so I had to go to the DMV to get an ID card, you know, so I could drink and get into the bars - important stuff back then, right?!?!

4. Two of my favorite smells are pickles and peanut butter.
No way! They are actually two smells I can't stand. And wouldn't you know Luke loves both of those foods so I have to deal with it! Wally has always wished that I would crave pickles and peanut butter while I was/am pregnant, but so far it hasn't been the case.

5. I get a pedicure once a month.
Wouldn't that be nice? Too bad it's not true! And you are right Carly, I am too cheap :)

From the Mouth of Luke on a Saturday

While getting Barney from in his bed...
"I dove you Barney."

While sitting on the toilet...
Me: "Luke do you have to poop?"
Luke farts and then laughs hysterically.
Luke: "I fart Mommy!
Me: while trying not to laugh hysterically as well, "What do you say?"
Luke: "Scuse me."

While at Barnes & Noble...
Luke: "Dook, it's Pinkalicious."
Me: "You know Pinkalicious???"
Luke: "At Punky's house."
So funny! I will have to ask about this one on Monday.

While driving going from store to store with me...
Luke: "Mommy, go to Target?"
Me: "Of course Luke."
That's my boy!

While in my arms walking from the car into Target...
"Watch out Mommy! Dots of cars. Watch out!"

While watching bullriding on tv (Luke and Wally love to watch this!)...
"Whoa, that bull is cazy!"

While laying in bed reading books...
"I seep in big boy bed. Nala too. No crib. It's for baby."
So glad to have an easy-going child :)

A Fun Monday

Last Monday was President's Day which meant both Wally and I had off, but it was also the day of our 20-week ultrasound!

We dropped Luke off at daycare around 9:45 and drove over to the hospital where we waited and waited and finally got in around 11 AM for our 10:30 AM appointment. We had a wonderful ultrasound tech! She was so kind and really walked us through everything we were seeing! And I am so excited to say that we are having a...beautiful, healthy baby! She kept saying over and over that we have a beautiful baby and everything looks great. She has been doing this for over 25 years and said it is very rare to have parents come in that don't want to find out the sex so she was actually really excited for us!

I am measuring exactly where I should be. The due date per the ultrasound was 7/7/11, which is only 2 days earlier than my estimated due date of 7/9/11. Luke was born on the exact date that we were told at the 20-week ultrasound - 5 days earlier than our estimated due date so we will see what happens this time around!

After the wonderful news from the ultrasound, we picked Luke up and got some lunch at Panera. Then it was time for some shopping. We went to Buy Buy Baby to browse and see if we could find any decorations for Luke's new room, which we did! Then it was off to Super Wal-Mart for a bit more shopping and groceries. We bought the movie Finding Nemo so we capped off our great weekend watching that (or some of it I should say).

It was a great final weekend before Wally starts baseball and the Zukowski household gets a little crazier for me and a little lonelier without Daddy around as much. We are so looking forward to the summer and having Wally around when the new baby comes :)

I posted a poll on the right-hand side of the blog. Now that we have passed the 20-week mark let's hear what you think - boy or girl?!?!

And now for some pictures!

I labeled this one for you :)


And big brother Luke checking out his future partner-in-crime!

Key Lime Cove

Saturday morning started off with some donuts - a chocolate one with sprinkles for Luke, which is a rare breakfast for him so he must have known something good was coming!

At 11 AM we took off for Key Lime Cove in Gurnee. In case you don't know, it is an indoor waterpark right by Six Flags. I was a little nervous about how Luke would do since he can be hit or miss with water/pools sometimes, BUT I should not have worried - HE ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!! I mean seriously loved it!!! He had to have gone down the 3 different slides at least 500 times! Up the stairs, down the slide, up the stairs, down the slide! Then he "played" every arcade game there was!

Here are some pics and video from our little 'vacation'!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Sunday afternoon we had to say goodbye to Key Lime Cove and took a drive to Morris to meet my parents who so kindly watched Nala for us while we were gone. We enjoyed a late lunch at R Place. I have never eaten there but always heard good things and it was good! Luke really enjoyed the puppets and Mickey Mouse antiques they had there.

Sunday night we just relaxed and went back and forth as to whether we should put Luke in his big boy bed yet...we did! As I mentioned before, there will be a separate post to come on how that is going!