My Hot Mini Soccer Mom Car.

Why are minivans called MINI vans? They are not mini what so ever. They are HUGE! The car we have been driving for the past 3 years is an Acura TSX(small and compact) the cars I had before then were compact also.

and recently we bought a second vehicle, the Toyota Sienna(huge and NOT compact). 

It is still growing on me and I'm liking it more and more each day. My main reason I like it is because it has so much space. I could drive around the neighborhood, pick up random kids and not have to worry about if I have enough room for them. Also whenever I pick up these random kids they will have 2 different TV's to keep them entertained one will be playing Barbie and the other will be playing power rangers. If they don't like one of those tv shows I guess we will have problems but so far the tvs have been pretty awesome! Also this thing drives SO SMOOTH! I mean I feel like we are flying instead of driving. The automatic
doors = AMAZING!! And I love that the middle row moves so easily so if I need to get to the back row I don't have to climb in the car to get there. Plus I have the option for the middle row to have captain seating or bench seating. The only thing I wish the car really had that it doesn't is a sunroof. How do you people without a sunroof survive(btw today was PERFECT sunroof weather).

 

A few reason I don't like it is because I am short which means I have short arms. Whenever I was in my small compact car if a kid talked back to me I could fling my arm around in the backseat without even looking and I would end up hitting a leg sooner or later. BUT in the minivan I cant reach anything! So I guess I'm going to end up going in the woods behind our house and finding a switch. I'll have to find 2 different lengths because if one of the kids are in the 3rd row I need to be able to reach them but if they are in the second row I don't want to use the same stick for fear that I'll end up poking them in the eye or something. Another short people problem is that the windshield is SO BIG which can make things like cleaning snow off the windshield a little difficult. Well last week it snowed a lot(well a lot for what I'm use to) and over night it rained a tiny bit so we had a layer of ice on top of the snow.

 

This is all I could reach to clean off my windshield. Then my husband had to come out and save the day. And clean the rest of the windshield off. Thankfully he was home because if not I would have just turned on the defrosters and waited until it all melted away :)

 

There is this really neat small mirror in the sunglass holder thing that it right above my rear view mirror.

 It is there so you can see your kids, I'm guessing. Does anyone else's minivan have this? Do you use this? Can you actually see the kids? I can see the kids in the middle row but if they're in the back row I can see their figure and that's about it..

 

Even though a few weeks ago I said I NEVER wanted a minivan we may be getting another one(trading this one in) in a year or two but this one will be fully loaded and I will keep it a lot longer. I am learning how to weave in and out of traffic and not be so scared. I promise I'm not driving the minivan like a race car driver or anything crazy. I am just trusting myself with it more. I am excited for our first vacation in the van it'll probably be much more spacious than our TSX was :)


*To make this post have something to do with the surrogacy journey.
Get ready for some AWESOME ultrasound pictures.. J&J thought the 3D ultrasounds looked so neat so we will be doing 2 of them. One around 23-24 weeks and another around 30 weeks!! GET EXCITED because I know I am :) I'm bummed they won't be here to see it on the screen like I will but they will get to see a live feed of it and can show it to anyone they'd like. Plus I'll mail them all the pictures and the cd that will also have pictures on it. I really wished I would have gotten one with Brett and Brynna but honestly I didn't even know about the 3D ultrasounds back then haha.

What Do You Think Surrobaby Will Be??

Today I had an OB check up, all they did was weigh me and listen to the HB but I have been so excited for this appointment BECAUSE I could finally schedule the anatomy scan. J&J will be flying in for the anatomy scan because as long as the baby cooperates we will be able to find out if its a he or a she. I cannot wait for them to finally know. I know how exciting this must be for them. We picked 3 dates that worked best just incase the OB's office couldn't give us the exact date we wanted. And thankfully we got our first pick. We will be having the anatomy scan on President's Day, February 17th! It works out best because they will both be off that day so they won't have to take off work, and Adam will also be off that day so he can keep the kids while I go to the appointment. So it worked out great.

I have started to feel the baby move. Not too much and its only at night. I still sleep on my stomach so whenever I'm laying there at night I can feel little flutters. I have also somewhat started to show.. I wish I had a better bump but most days the bump hides.. Here's my "bump" at 16 weeks(black and white shirt) and then again at 16 weeks and 1 day(grey shirt and pink pants). At night I look much bigger compared to during the day. I think the baby will be a boy because I carry boys so much better than girls. But with the way things work with me thinking its a boy it'll be a girl. We will know in 2 weeks and 4 days :) Be sure and vote on my poll what you think the surrobaby will be. I have my poll on this post below the avocado picture and above our snow pictures.

 

I have decided to start doing a questionnaire each time I do a blog post. And I will use the same questions each time to see what has changed..

How far along: 16 weeks
Total weight gain: I think 10lbs but I'm honestly not 100% sure what my starting weight was so it may only be 5lbs
Maternity clothes: Still none. BUT it's also winter so I have been living in sweats, leggings, and dresses
Stretch Marks: no new ones.. I still have all my previous ones from my kiddos
Sleep: I wake up at LEAST once a night to pee sometimes 3 times a night. Normally I wake up around midnight and 4am(whenever my husband wakes up for work). I have never woke up to pee before during a pregnancy but this one I have been waking up since I became pregnant! This is probably my biggest complaint because I hate waking up in the middle of the night.
Best moment this week: Baby related- scheduling the anatomy scan. Not baby related- IT SNOWED a ton! I'll post a few pictures of the snow day at the end of my blog post.
Miss anything: WINE! I'm not a big drinker but man lately I could go for some wine haha. Also sushi I have been craving sushi lately but I am terrified that surrobaby wont agree with sushi so I won't try it.
Movement: Very little. I have to really be paying attention and laying very still.
Food cravings: Salads.. But some days nothing.
Anything make you sick: Not anymore thankfully
Have you started to show yet: It depends what day it is and who you ask haha
Gender: We will know in about 2 weeks!!
Labor signs: none thankfully
Belly button in or out: in and it'll probably stay that way.. My belly button has never popped out.
What has your mood been: Honestly I think it's the same as normal. I don't even feel pregnant..
Looking forward to: J&J coming to visit again and finding out if surrobaby is a boy or a girl. Also going car shopping.
Any issues: I have a UTI which has sucked.. Apparently their pretty common during pregnancy though but I am still ready for it to be gone!
Baby is the size of an: Avocado



So be expecting my questionnaires from here on out haha.

What do you think surrobaby will be?
	boy
	girl
pollcode.com free polls

Here are some snow photos from yesterday we had a BLAST!

 

Here are a few photos that we went out and took today before the snow melted away completely

 

YES I KNOW I TAKE WAYYY TOO MANY PICTURES!! BUT I hope yall enjoyed them :)