Week 34 at the Henna Lounge!

I went to my last hip hop dance class yesterday and then went over to my yoga studio for the Henna Lounge. My friend Johannah joined me too! Darcy, this amazing henna artist, did my belly and hand in just 45 minutes. The artwork is so beautiful. Here are some pictures. The color looks a little different now....it's more orange, now that the paint dried and the dye is on my skin. It lasts about 2 weeks. I think it's beautiful.

For those of you who are not familiar w/Henna. Here is some more information!

Henna during pregnancy is an ancient practice and is soothing as well as calming. It is believed to help bring about an easy birth and healthy child.

Lawsonia Inermis or henna is a small bush that produces a red dye that has been used cosmetically and medicinally for over 9,000 years.

Many countries including Morocco and India have traditions of applying henna during the third trimester of pregnancy. Henna is believed to protect and bless the mother and child from any evil or malicious spirits that may be near during delivery.

The red coloring of the dye and protective images used in the patterns guard against the evil eye and are thought to protect the pair during the child's difficult passage into this world. Special attention is given to the hands and especially the feet as they are considered to be vulnerable connections to the world.

Home #2: 282 Peralta Ave in San Leandro

Some of you may know that instead of waiting for that lovely Oakland house to close, we've gone ahead and started looking for a back up. Well, we found a great back up in San Leandro in a wonderful neighborhood! It's a foreclosure, good deal, 3 bedroom 2 bath, and bigger than the Oakland house on Majestic Avenue. It has a lot of character and some parts of the house that have been remodeled (kitchen, added back room, etc.).

However, we just did inspections this week and there is some major termite damage and a couple other things that would need to be fixed. So we're at a crossroads and will most likely have to re-negotiate with the seller (the bank) to see if it's worthwhile. We are just having terrible luck! In the meantime, we haven't walked away from the Oakland place, so we still have that an option.

With either home, due to the holidays, we probably wouldn't be able to close until mid-January (1-2 weeks before the baby is due). YIKES!

Tim and I are both hopeful that something will work out and we'll just take it one step at a time. Have you ever heard of or experienced so much house buying drama?!

Here are some of the pictures from the Peralta place....we would rip up the nasty blue carpet (beautiful hardwood underneath) and probably repaint the entire house. It would make a world of difference. Please keep your fingers crossed!

Our Chicago Baby Shower

On Saturday, we had a baby shower in Evanston with family and friends. It was wonderful seeing everyone and getting to celebrate our soon to be baby with everyone. Special thanks to granny Carol, grandma Anna, step-mom Heidi, BF Karen, and sister Kathy for hosting! Here are some pics. More are on facebook!

Thanksgiving in Chicago

Tim and I flew into Chicago on Thursday with no flying problems. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Tim's side of the family: Carol, Fred, and Sister's Family (Kathy, Bill, Timmy and Caroline). Here are a couple pictures.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite American food meals...the sweet potatoes especially! Thanks Kathy for making them perfectly!

I am so thankful for having a wonderful husband, family and friends and especially for having a healthy pregnancy so far. Baby Horvat is kicking and moving around more than ever!

Did you have a nice Thanksgiving?

30 weeks!

Hi everyone,

We've hit 30 weeks and it's hard to believe! Our baby is super active these days...especially at night.

Last weekend we went to a wedding reception for Lily & Sebastian in San Francisco. Thanks to my cousin Tristi for letting me borrow the perfect black dress that fit my growing belly.

We spent a lot of time last week interviewing Doulas to be with us at the birth. We made a decision and hired a woman named Esther who is going to be great!

House stuff is still in progress, but delayed. In the meantime, we are looking for other places on the weekends. Fun times.

What are you all up to for Thanksgiving?

Happy Halloween!

This year we all got dressed up for halloween and got to show off our costumes at work. I was a pregnant nun, Tim a surgeon, and Bubba was an adorable bumble bee.



What did you all do for Halloween? Have any fun trick or treaters? We don't get any, because there are no sidewalks by our house. :-(

Speaking of our house, it looks like our close of escrow will be once again delayed! We'll know more next week.....we're still hopeful. Luckily we don't have to move out of our current place.

Tim and I are going to a "Birth Intensive" workshop this weekend. I'm sure it will be super helpful and scary all at the same time. Have a great weekend!

October Updates

Hi everyone!

As many of you know we were supposed to move into our new home on Majestic Avenue today. However, due to a delay of our close of escrow, we've had to postpone it. The situation is very complicated, but basically the seller is settling a divorce and it's created a lot of problems. We are still very optimistic that we will close on the house and that hopefully will happen over the next couple of weeks. So we had to cancel our movers and all of the utility transfers....it was a pain, but the right thing to do. Keep your fingers crossed that things will still work out!

On a positive note, Tim and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary last Monday! It was really nice to get away from our home filled with boxes and enjoy a nice dinner.

Our baby boy is moving around quite a bit these days and I'll be heading into my 26th week on Monday. Time is going by quickly. We are starting some baby preparation classes on Sunday...everything from how to be great parents to preparing for birth and infant and child first aid and cpr. Phew! We're so lucky to have resources like these. I started taking a prenatal yoga class once a week and still go to my weekly hip hop dance class!

We hope you are all doing well.