my favorite chocolate chip cookies

I have been trying out chocolate chip cookie recipes since Paul and I got married, hoping to find a good one. They always tasted good, but were so...flat. Until I discovered this recipe on Tasty Kitchen. OMG. They rock. It all comes down to the vanilla pudding I think. I made them this afternoon and decided I needed to share the recipe. I inhaled one as soon as they cooled off enough, then figured I better have another so I could use it for a picture. YUM.

The Softest Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c butter, softened
1/2 c sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
1 pkg instant vanilla pudding mix
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
chocolate chips

Stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Combine butter, sugars and pudding mix, beat until fluffy. Add vanilla and egg, beat until smooth. Add dry ingredients, mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. The dough will be stiff. Bake and 375* for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

In my oven they always bake for 10 minutes until lightly golden on top. I like them a little gooey in the middle so I don't let them get too dark. SO good! :)
Here is the link to the original recipe: The Softest Chocolate Chip Cookies

18 weeks

I have been putting off posting this week b/c I was sick at the beginning of the week, and then I didn't have a belly shot so I was waiting. Well I still don't have pic but decided I needed to at least get the survey done. Hopefully I will be able to take a pic today sometime and add it, even if it is a little late. I went to my monthly doctor appointment on Tuesday, and that went good. I was mixed up with the due date, she actually had it on her records that we moved it, but she said that until the next ultrasound (next month!) I should just figure the beginning of April instead of telling people an actual date. SO, after next month's appointment that should be set for good! Talk about confusing! :) I am looking forward to the next ultrasound because we should be able to tell if it is a boy or a girl!! We now have both of our names picked out, so we are excited to find out. Ok, here is the survey:

How far along?: About 18 weeks, give or take a few days.
How big is baby?: Between 5.1 and 5.6 inches and 5.9 and 6.7 oz according to thebump.com
Weight gain?: Actually went down a pound from the last appt., but my dr. was ok with it as long as the baby was growing.
Stretch marks?: None so far, but I started putting lotion on after I shower to maybe prevent a few!
Maternity clothes?: Still not much. Decided I don't like the low-rise ones I got from ON, at least at work when I am sitting a lot. The wide waistband bunches up under my belly and it is uncomfortable.
Sleep?: Good. I'm trying to get used to sleeping on my side, but I find myself waking up on my stomach or back a lot yet.
Best moment of the week?: Hearing the heartbeat again at my appt.
Food cravings?: Not really anything in particular this week.
Gender?: Unknown for another month!
Movement?: I think I am feeling some movement here and there, but it's not real consistent yet. Mostly I feel it at work since I am sitting for longer periods of time.
Belly button?: Looks the same yet.
What I miss?: Eating chocolate chip cookie dough...figure I better not since it has raw eggs, but man it was hard not to lick the beaters!
Labor signs?: None.
What I'm looking forward to?: Besides the ultrasound at my next appointment, I am super excited for the craft sale next weekend!!
Milestone?: Finally feeling some little flutters from our peanut! :) Hopefully feeling them more often now.

17 weeks

The other night while Paul was paying some farm bills, I was browsing around online and happened to stop at the Baby's R Us website, where I saw that they were having a sale: 20% off the Storkcraft brand of cribs. That just happened to be the brand of the crib we were thinking about getting! So, I showed Paul, and we decided to just go for it and get it ordered! So it's on it's way!! I am excited if you can't tell. :) Hopefully it's a good one. Ok, well on to the survey...

How far along?: 17w2d
How big is baby?: The size of an onion!
Weight gain?: Not gonna lie, I didn't weigh myself this week. I don't feel much bigger though.
Stretch marks?: Still nothin' that I've noticed.
Maternity Clothes?: Got the pair of low-rise jeans that I ordered from ON today, and they fit good, so I'll probably start wearing those more often. Maternity tops are still too big...I've been living in sweatshirts.
Sleep?: Good yet.
Best moment this week?: Having my mom and sister come visit on Saturday and going to the antique store.
Food Cravings?: Nothing in particular I guess. Been having chips w/ cheese and salsa after work and that always hits the spot. Probably not the healthiest...
Gender?: Unknown for another few weeks!
Movement?: Waiting patiently...
Belly button?: Looks the same to me.
What I miss?: Not too much yet.
Labor signs?: NO.
What I'm looking forward to?: My bump getting bigger...so it actually looks like a baby bump, not just extra pudge. And going shopping with some girlfriends this weekend! Hopefully finding some cute stuff!
Milestone?: Hmmm...making it one more week?

And the picture...

So the whole taking my own picture thing didn't work out so well. I was hoping to use my dslr, but turns out I'm not real good at pointing it at the right angle unless I'm looking through the viewfinder. And it kept wanting to focus on the wrong things, I'm thinking it was b/c the mirror is so narrow. So I defaulted to the p&s. I'm going to try and get my face in there next week...

16 weeks

I decided that I'm going to do weekly updates for the rest of my pregnancy, along with belly shots. I wish I would have been recording things more early on, but I guess I felt good and didn't feel a lot different, so I just kind of let it go. I do have a book that I've been writing my weight/measurement each time I've been to the doctor, so I guess that counts for something. I've been having fun reading what is all going on inside of me, and I decided that since from now on things will probably be changing more I wanted to do something to keep track of it. Hopefully this will keep me motivated to post at least once a week too. One other thing, I decided that I'm going by the due date from now on instead of what the ultrasound said, because otherwise I just confuse myself! My dr. told me that if they did decide to change the due date, it wouldn't be until I was quite a bit further along since the difference was only 10 days. So then, I was 16 weeks yesterday! Today I felt super FAT. I don't know if I was just bloated, or what. But it was horrible. Besides that, all my stomach did all afternoon was moan and groan and make noises at me. Ughhh. Feeling better now for the most part. Survey time...

How far along?: 16 weeks.
How big is baby?: The size of an Avocado! Hard to imagine that is inside my tummy.... :)
Weight gain?: So far I think around 6-9 lbs, which is probably too much. I will admit that while we were ttc, I totally slacked and gained a few pounds. I hadn't weighed myself for quite awhile (because I knew it would be something I wouldn't want to see), so I wasn't sure about my starting weight. Not trying to justify it, but I was getting pretty down on myself from how long it did take to finally happen (getting pg), and somewhat lost my motivation to do anything for awhile. Just makes that much more work for me once the baby comes I guess!! Ok, sorry for such a long answer to that one...
Stretch marks?: None YET thankfully.
Maternity clothes?: I bought one pair of pants and have been stocking up on tops from garage sales, but so far just a hair twistie around the buttons on my regular jeans has worked good. I am [not so] secretly excited to go maternity clothes shopping though. I guess I am just excited to shopping, period!
Sleep?: Good, still sleeping like a rock like normal. I have had to get up to pee in the early am more often, but usually go right back to sleep.
Best moment this week?: When my headache finally went away! Yay!
Food cravings?: CARBS. Mostly things I know I shouldn't have. Nothing really specific, it changes every day.
Gender?: Unknown.
Movement?: None yet, looking forward to feeling those flutters anytime in the next few weeks though!
Belly button?: Still very much an innie.
What I miss?: So far nothing comes to mind but I'm sure that will change as time goes on... One thing I DO NOT miss is my period. Enjoying the break from that! Ha! :)
Labor signs?: NONE, and hopefully staying that way for a looong time!
What I'm looking forward to?: Feeling our little peanut move for the first time. :)
Milestone?: Even though it was a few weeks ago, reaching 2nd trimester is pretty exciting! I decided since this is my first weekly post I can use that. :)

Ok here is the belly pic(s)...I decided to put together the 3 that I have taken. 1st is from about 9 (or 10) wks, 2nd is around 12 wks, and the last one is from 16 wks. Not a TON of change. I am definitely looking forward to when I actually look like I have a bump and not just chubby!!

 A few more things...I think I'll be taking most of my pics myself from now on b/c 1) Paul isn't home that often to take it for me, 2) I don't like that spot b/c it has bad lighting, and 3) I hate my point & shoot camera. Yes, I know the last point was not related. Anyways, I think I better get supper out of the oven before I burn it, b/c that would totally be my style these days!!

oh, october...

...You're going by so fast. Just like the last 6 months have! I really don't know what I've been doing, but I tend to keep somewhat busy enough to neglect blogging. I have been taking an online photography class that has been a lot of fun! It is through Maggie Holmes. I have definitely learned a lot and am excited to use my new skills when the baby comes! Until then I can always practice on the girls and Aaron. :) Speaking of Aaron, holy cow that kid is growing fast! He is just over 2 months, and it's amazing how much different he already looks. He's getting his own little look. He's smiling a lot now so that's pretty fun!

Not a lot new on the pregnancy front. I am almost 15 weeks along. That is according to my ultrasound date, which I'm going with in this case, but I'm still telling everyone the March 29th due date. I am starting to get a little belly showing. It's sort of at that awkward place, where if you didn't know I was pregnant I would probably just look fat. I can definitely feel that it's getting harder though. So far I've been able to keep wearing my normal jeans, just having to put a hair band around the buttons. I'm hoping I'll be able to do that for a little while longer, unless I all of a sudden just pop. I won't lie though, I am excited to have a more noticeable baby bump. :) I do have a feeling though, that I'm not going to be one of those girls whose belly goes straight out...with my luck I will be big and wide. I guess only time will tell!

Harvest is going pretty smooth for the most part since there hasn't been any rain for quite awhile. The guys are done with beans (yay!) and working on getting the corn out now. I know some of the fields are still pretty wet unfortunately, but they are managing to keep going. Hopefully if the weather continues for another week like the forecast is predicting, they will be able to get everything done! That would just leave tillage, which is a little less stressful.