She Knows Me Well!

A Gift For The Baby:


Deena is still here visiting me and because she can't be here for my Baby Shower next month she wanted to make sure she could give me her gift in person. Well, the short background on this gift is that Deena and I absolutely love the show "Friends". I mean, we just can't get enough of it. So in a few episodes late in the series Jennifer Aniston's character, Rachel, carries around this super cute diaper bag made by Kate Spade that I just adore. Well, I go searching for this bag a few weeks back only to learn that it's not anywhere to be found, or is it? That's right, not only did she find it, but it was ON SALE. I love it!


Here's another one that I loved and quickly grabbed ON SALE!!!!!:


Like I said, she just knows me so well (and my love affair with bags!!!).

We're At 25 Weeks!

Here are the latest pictures of my ongoing expansion. I always get amazed when I compare myself to the last set of pictures we take because I never really feel like I've grown all that much. My great friend Deena is here visiting me and she graciously took these pictures because as you all know, Curt is still at SOS. I can't wait to hear his reaction on my new look because he hasn't seen me in about 3 weeks.


Baby Girl Dougherty is a MOVER! I love it. Watching my stomach wiggle and pop is one of the best things going on right now. What's also pretty neat is that no matter what time of the day it is, where I am, or what I'm doing, as soon as I get Curt on the phone she starts squirming like crazy! He seems to think it's because my mood changes when we talk (happy!!!) and I think he's right. It's so cool. Deena came with me today to my doctor's appointment to go over the ultrasound results as well as some blood work that I had done a while back and I'm happy to say that everything came back normal and that's always good news! :) During the exam the tech checks for a heartbeat and it was kinda funny because everytime we started to hear the faint sound, "thump thump thump"...I could feel her move away! It was a little cat and mouse game there for a while but like always, she settled down and we got a nice loud, steady beat in the 140's.

We are still without a name for our baby although we do have a couple on the table. We are also debating on whether or not we will keep the name a surprise or not, I know I know---sorry!!! I have already gotten some negative feedback on that idea and we don't really have a specific reason on why we will do this, it's just something we're thinking about.

Curt will be home in a few weeks and I'm definitely happy about that, I'm missing him a lot while he's away. SOS seems to keep him pretty busy and thankfully that is making the time go quickly. Yes, it's still hot there.

Finally, Deena has been the BEST since she got here last week. She's taking care of me and keeping me company---she is an amazing friend. She even vacuumed AND cleaned our bathrooms! The highlight of our visit (so far) was a much anticipated trip to Sloane Street in London where we indulged and each bought new purses from the fabulous Louis Vuitton store. Like me, Deena loves her bags so it was awesome to take this shopping excursion with her.

I will have some more fun pictures to post next week!

Kindergarten Sponsored Baby Shower!

I'm so spoiled! My Kindergarten class was very sneaky and over the past month managed to plan and throw a SURPRISE baby shower for me! Although I knew something was up, never did I think that this was what they had up their sleeves. While I was at the bowling ally all morning with my class on a field trip, my Aide and a few homeroom parents transformed my bare room (we were getting ready for the end of the year...) into a really great Baby Shower set up! The kids were so excited. It was awesome. Due to the fact that I have been on a hormonal roller coaster for the past 6 months, I did cry just a little bit when they gave me a stuffed bear that they all kissed for the baby. So cute.
(Oh, and those beautiful cupcakes up top are just ONE of the many great things that a parent in my room has done for us on special occassions. Everything she does looks so professional! They were almost too beautiful to eat---almost! I am pregnant after all.)

Surprised at the door, and run over by 20 five-year olds:


The bear that all the kiddos kissed for the baby:


This banner has the hand prints of all the students in my class down the sides:


My awesome class and Aide:

I Love Country Music

Considering the rising cost of gas these days, it's unfortunate that I take a slightly longer route to work each day so I can listen to some music in the car. It's actually really theraputic for me to drive alone and just listen to my ipod. Anyway, I'm totally obsessed with a song these days mainly because no matter how tired or grumpy I am, it somehow manages to put me into a better mood. I'm not sure how much any of you like country music, but I LOVE IT!

My new favorite song? Kenny Chesney's "Never Wanted Nothin' More". If you haven't heard it, you should totally check it out. The chorus is my favorite part:

"Well I'm what I am and I'm what I'm not
I'm sure happy with what I've got
I live to love and laugh a lot
And thats all I need"

Oh, and Carrie Underwood does this amazing and powerful version of "How Great Thou Art" that is just beautiful! If you haven't seen this yet, definitely check it out. I attached it below...

22 Weeks Ultrasound Photos (finally!)

Mom to the rescue (again!). So, here are the ultrasound images from my last appointment on base. So fun! I have trouble "seeing" anything in those pictures aside from the awesome profile one that we got. Speaking of ultrasound pictures, Curt and I did some research and decided that we are going to do the famous 4D ultrasound in a few weeks. There are a couple places here in the U.K. that offer this and we are hoping to make an appointment in the next couple days to go while he is home in July.

The Profile:


Nose and Lips:


Face:


So, what else is new?

Curt is enjoying himself in Alabama and he said it's great to be stateside for a little bit, but that it's pretty hot down there! He's been pretty busy this past week and the time difference doesn't make it easy for us to talk too much on the phone. However, I have 3.5 days of work left (yessss!!!) and after this week it will be okay for me to stay up at all hours of the night so we can chat when he gets back to his room at night.

I have just about completed the baby registry and I have to say, once I got started it was really hard to stop! There are so many things out there to choose from so hopefully I didn't miss anything. Oh, and I finally made my own first Baby purchase. (see previous post...) Baby Uggs! I love Uggs, no matter what people say, and I knew waaay before I was pregnant that once I had a baby of my own she too would get a pair of these fabulous boots. A-dorable.

I will close with a "great" comment that I got at school this past week from our British Cafeteria Lady. The first part was meant to be a joke...but I'm not so sure about the second part:

"Maureen, looks like you're gaining some weight these days!" (joke!)
"Also, your face looks like it's getting fatter as well!". Hmmm...

Haha, I had to laugh because she is so sweet so I know she didn't mean to hurt my feelings. Thankfully, I am embracing the changes that are happening with my body and I feel great! Bring on the pounds!!!

It Was Only A Matter Of Time...

Yes, I did it. I bought my first pair of Baby Uggs.



Oh for cryin' out loud, they're so cute!

Team Pink! My Mom to Me...

Well, as you can tell by the drastic change in the colors of my blog, I'm still pretty excited that we are having a GIRL! Oh, the possibilities. It actually makes me reminisce back to when I was younger and my sisters and I used to give my mom the hardest time when she was dressing us all up in these (what I can now truthfully say) beautiful, girly dresses and custom outfits all the way from the wool dress coats to the many pairs of shoes (keds for playtime and keds for "show").

I'm sorry Curt, but I have been "trained" by the Master.

Basically, every day I am learning that I am more and more like my Mom! I think we all kind of knew this from the start but now that I am about to become a Mother myself, I am reminded that there is no denying the similarities between us, big or small.


Here are some life lessons that my Mom has graciously (and unintentionally) passed on down to me:

1. I can NEVER have too many purses! She taught me to "feel the leather" to know the quality.
2. Some of my best work is done under pressure (and in the wee hours of the morning).
3. I have no idea what the meaning of "No" is...and have yet to successfully use the word.
4. I am willing to drive to the ends of the earth to get my hair cut and colored from someone I trust. (record to date? 7 hours...)
5. I never put my credit card back in the correct slot and have random rolls of money and receipts in every fold and crevice of my purse.
6. I have been known to lose my keys within minutes of putting them down.
7. I spend waaay too much money on clothes!
8. I strongly believe that ironing your clothes is just as important as cleaning them.
9. I couldn't picture myself in any other profession outside of Education.
10. I'd do anything for my family, anything.

I think that's a pretty decent batch of things I have inherited and I can't wait to pass them down to my little girl. So cool...