28 weeks

The past week seemed like it lasted forever, but the weekend went by so fast. What's new, huh? We went up to Alex on Thursday after work to get a new light fixture to put up in the nursery. We found one we liked and Paul put it up Saturday morning. Friday night we put the changing table together that finally came! It looks really nice. Saturday I bummed around during the day...I had zero motivation to do anything productive for some reason....then that evening I went up to Glenwood to see some friends from college that I hadn't seen in like a year! Way too long! It was a fun time, and we definitely need to do it more often!! Miss those girls. Today we celebrated Christmas with the Steffen's (last one for the year FINALLY :) It was great to see everyone there too, since we don't see that side of the family as much. Of course, everyone is super excited for the baby to come! Poor kid isn't going to get any space when we're around my family, on either side! Lol. Big family = lots of love :) If you like it or not...hehe.

I have been feeling quite a bit of kicking and punching from the little guy this last week though. I seem to feel it more when I'm sitting at work, and at night. Like today I didn't feel a whole lot because I was up and down and not just sitting still for very long. But on the way home and stuff I felt some little jabs. I am definitely tired-out though after this weekend. I will probably be hittin' the sack a little early tonight if I can.

How far along?: 28 wks 2 days
How big is baby?: Still an eggplant according to the bump
Weight gain?: Weighed myself the other morning and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Gained another couple pounds, but not as much as I thought. Up a total of around 25 lbs so far.
Stretch marks?: I have a little one across the top scar from my bellybutton ring, but that's all so far.
Maternity clothes?: Yep
Sleep?: Good
Best moment this week?: Putting together the changing table. That's the last 'big' piece of furniture for the nursery, so now I can start worrying about the smaller things!
Food cravings?: Same
Gender?: Boy
Movement?: Lots lately, and loving every second of it!
Belly Button?: Still an innie, but getting closer to popping..
What I miss?: Nothing coming to mind tonight.
Labor signs?: NONE. But I think I might have had a Braxton Hicks contraction the other day. It was sort of a weird feeling.
What I'm looking forward to?: Finishing the nursery. I think I said that last week too but oh well.
Milestone?: 3rd Trimester! Excitement and panic setting in all at once.....

I decided to do a full body shot so I could show off my new jeans! They are from the Gap...I got them almost half-off. I really like how they fit, they look more like regular jeans, and the panel is great too. The only thing I'm not crazy about is that they are a little low, like where the panel meets the denim. So I'm always fiddling and pulling them up so my love handles don't stick out too much. It probably doesn't look as bad as I think, but that's something I've always been self-concious about. Overall I think they look pretty good though! :)

feta-stuffed mushrooms

I made these for myself last night (Paul won't touch mushrooms, and isn't a fan of feta either) after coming across them on a blog and having a super strong craving for mushrooms! I'm blaming on being pregnant... Either way, they were delish! AND low fat, which was a bonus! I spaced out and forgot to take a pic, but I will link back to the original post if you'd like to see. YUM!

Feta-Stuffed Mushrooms

8 medium-sized mushrooms
2 mushroom stems
2 Tbsp reduced-fat feta cheese
1/2 Tbsp fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper, or to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a small baking dish with nonstick spray.

Lightly rinse mushrooms and pat dry with paper towels. Pull off stems and save two. Mince the tender portion of those two mushrooms and place in a small bowl. Place mushrooms, stem-side up, in the prepared baking dish.

Add remaining ingredients to the minced stems in the bowl. Stir to mix well. Divide the mixture between the mushroom caps, using a small spoon, mounding the filling into the center of each mushroom.

Bake 13-15 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender and filling mixture is hot and sizzling. Let mushrooms cool slightly before serving.

Serves: 2 (4 stuffed mushrooms per person)
Calories: 57.5 (per serving)
WW Points: 1

Originally posted at RecipeGirl.com

27 wks

This weekend was another full one. Saturday we celebrated Christmas with Paul's family. That was a lot of fun! It's always a good time watching the girls open their gifts and get so excited! Scott and Jenell really liked the camera that we all got them...they were definitely surprised! One of Paul's gifts from his mom & dad was a box full of 'goodies' from when he was a baby...like a couple of outfits, and his old blankie, and some keepsakes...so he really liked that. I will be putting most of it into the cedar chest.

Today we went up to Foley for a fundraiser brunch in support of Sawyer. They had a great turn-out, so that was awesome. They served breakfast, and had a silent auction and bake sale going on too. I think it was put on by Thrivent. On the way home from the fundraiser, we stopped in St. Cloud to return the camera that I got a few weeks ago and decided I didn't like the picture quality...yes, I am picky... I didn't pick out another one yet, so hopefully I'll be able to find one that I like now. I just have to remember it's only a point and shoot and I have my dslr for better pictures. Anyhoo, we also stopped at Once Upon a Child. Pretty sure that is my new favorite store for baby clothes. We spent a grand total of $84 and got a pile of clothes, 2 pairs of little boots, and a carrier (that I have not figured out how to work yet...). So I think we got a pretty good deal, considering that a lot of the clothes were brand name. We'll definitely be stopping there whenever we go to St. Cloud from now on. :)

And the survey...

How far along?: 27 wks 2 days
How big is baby?: The size of an eggplant. About a foot long and weighing between 1.5 and 2 lbs.
Weight gain?: It doesn't feel like I've gained a lot this week, but I didn't weight myself either.
Stretch marks?: Still none.
Maternity clothes?: Yup. I can already see that some of the shirts I have might not be quite long enough in the end. Hopefully though...I don't want to buy any more unless I find something at Goodwill or something.
Sleep?: Good for the most part.
Best moment of the week?: Finding out that I passed my 3-hour glucose test!!!! I was so relieved!
Food cravings?: Not so much anything in particular.
Gender?: Baby BOY :)
Movement?: Quite a bit this past week! Last night when we got home I was laying in bed after Paul fell asleep and he was going crazy in there! I enjoy every minute of it...it's soooo amazing to be able to feel that!!
Belly button?: Still an innie, but it's getting shallower. It's starting to look sort of funny.
What I miss?: My butt not hurting when I sit for awhile.. Not so fun at work..
Labor signs?: None yet, hopefully it stays that way for awhile.
What I'm looking forward to?: Working on the nursery some more in the next few weeks.
Milestone?: Officially 6 months along, meaning only 3 (short) months left!! :)

nursery progress

Just wanted to post a few pics of how the nursery is coming along! Here are a few of us painting, and of the room once we put what we have for furniture back. Hopefully the changing table will ship soon, and I would like to get a bookshelf or something too. I will be ordering fabric for the crib bedding pretty soon, and my mom and grandma are going to help me make a skirt and bumper...and hopefully some curtains to match! I am excited to see how it comes together!

27 week post coming later today...or at least sometime this weekend! :)

One last thing... I am done with my December Daily album, just waiting for the pictures to come so I can put it all together! I haven't forgotten, just keep putting off taking pictures of it, so I figured I'll just wait until it's all done now.

26 wks

I skipped a week. Since last week was Christmas and we were at my family's, I got a little off track. Not a whole lot has changed really anyways. Just keep growing! :) We had a really great Christmas, and it was awesome to see all of my family that I don't see much anymore. Christmas Eve we had our traditional Chicken Noodle Soup at my Grandma's house, and then went back to my mom & dad's where we opened gifts with them and my sister and her husband. My parents got us a video camera so we were pretty happy with that! My mom and dad loved the gifts that us kids got them, and Katie and Josh also loved what they received. It was just great to be able to spend some time together! Christmas Day was spent at the farm with the extended family on my mom's side. The day consisted of eating all afternoon (we do munchies/appetizers instead of a big meal), talking, playing games, and of course opening gifts. Lots of fun! This weekend we don't have any Christmas celebrations, then next week we will be with Paul's immediate family, and the weekend after that is my Christmas with my dad's side. On one hand it's nice that everything is spread out so we're not driving constantly, but on the other it kinda stinks that our January is so full already! I guess it will make the month go by super-fast, which will mean that it's sooner to when the baby comes! :) It's hard to believe that there is only three more months left before my due date!! We still have SO much to do and get. On that note, we got the nursery painted this weekend since it was snowy weather and Paul was here. I will get some pictures posted once we get the room back into a little bit of order. It actually went pretty fast, we did one coat yesterday and another today. The color is called Tree Frog, and it is is a leafy green color...a little brighter than I had pictured, but we still like it! We also ordered a changer this morning too! Little things I get excited about huh? It's just fun that everything is coming together! Better get to the survey...

How far along?: 26 wks 1 day
How big is baby?: The size of an eggplant. Little over a foot long, and weighing between 1.5-2 lbs.
Weight gain?: In the last 2 wks I gained around 5 lbs, so 22 lbs total. I've decided to accept it, since there's not much else I can do!
Stretch marks?: None!
Maternity Clothes?: All pants except sweatpants, and most tops besides t-shirts and sweatshirts.
Sleep?: Not bad, wake up on average 2-3 times to go to the bathroom. Better now that my cold/sinus infection is clearing up.
Best moment of the week?: Christmas, hearing baby's heartbeat at my last appt. again, and Paul has been able to feel some more of his kicks lately. Also painting the nursery!
Worst moment of the week?: Failing my glucose test :( So I have to go in this Monday to do the 3-hour test. Not looking forward to it, but I'm hoping the results come back normal. I was pretty disappointed I failed the first one, but I can't change it.
Food cravings?: Still the comfort foods...pasta, bread, french fries...I forced myself to have a salad for lunch today. And sweet stuff. Hard to avoid the cookies around Christmastime!
Gender?: BOY!
Movement?: Oh yeah. Pretty often, and they are sometimes stronger than others.
Belly button?: Still in, but I noticed yesterday in the mirror that you can see both scars from when I had my belly-button pierced. So it's apparently widening!
What I miss?: Being able to bend over comfortably...
Labor signs?: Nope.
What I'm looking forward to?: Hopefully registering soon and getting the nursery put together!
Milestone?: Under 100 days 'til my due date!!! 97 to be exact, according to thebump.com. So hard to believe, but so exciting!

This is the outfit I wore out for New Year's Eve. I have been wanting to try a belt around the waist like that for awhile, and I think it looked pretty cute! What you can't see are skinny jeans with tall black boots over top. This is about the most 'dressed-up' I've gotten for a loooong time. And actually felt like I looked cute and not like a boat... Still wish I had a better place to take pictures, the light in here is so bad and I have to set the ISO so high that the pictures look really grainy. And out of focus. :) Anyways, back next week, gotta go get ready to leave again!

merry christmas!

It is Christmas Eve and we are going to be going down to my mom & dad's in a little bit. We're spending most of the weekend down there. I can't tell you how excited I am for Grandma's Chicken Noodle soup tonight!!! Then we're going to have our Christmas with my mom, dad, sis, bro-in-law and us. Tomorrow is the whole extended family on my mom's side out at the farm. It will be a fun-filled weekend! :) Glad to report that I am feeling better, although now that I type that I'm not sure if I mentioned I was sick... Earlier this week I got the cold that Paul had last week, so that was fun. Not. I am not 100% yet, still full of snot, but at least I can breath for the most part and my head doesn't feel like a balloon anymore. Anyways, I will probably be late on my weekly post again this week. Today is actually the 25 week mark, but I have a bunch of things I need to get done and ready to go before Paul gets home so we can head out. And by the time I look decent enough to take a pic I won't have time to do the post. I will maybe see if Paul will take a pic for me before we leave. Well I better get a move on! Have a Merry Christmas!! :)

24 wks

I'm a little late on posting this time. The picture is from Friday, but I didn't have time to get online because we went out for supper that night. Saturday we were at Paul's mom & dad's for the Staples family Christmas. We had a lot of fun! It's always great to see the girls and Aaron, and they had a great time opening gifts. We also celebrated Allie's 3rd birthday since everyone was together. This year we all played a dice game that was a lot of fun too, so hopefully we'll keep that tradition going! Our Christmas cards finally came in the mail yesterday, so today I got them all addressed and ready to be sent out tomorrow morning. I wasn't going to do a card this year, but changed my mind at the last minute. I think they turned out pretty good for putting them together and ordering them all in an hour and a half! :) I am still taking pics for my December Daily album and try to keep up on the journaling, but I haven't put anything together in the album yet. Since I don't print my pictures at home it's hard, so I'll probably just wait and order them all at the end of the month and then put the album together. I am looking forward to having it complete, even if it isn't real exciting. I know we'll look back in a few years and enjoy it. Anyways, on to this week's survey!

How far along?: 24 wks 2 days
How big is baby?: Still the size of a papaya, almost a foot long and just over a pound I believe.
Weight gain?: I'm sure more than I would like. I am not a fan of my scale so I don't use it. I don't feel like I've gained too  much since last week though.
Stretch marks?: Nope not yet.
Maternity clothes?: Yep.
Sleep?: Good most nights, getting sick of sleeping on my side.
Best moment of the week?: Probably making cookies last Sunday with my mom & sister. Nothing really new with the belly this week.
Food cravings?: Still the carbs. And just food in general.
Gender?: Baby boy!
Movement?: Feeling lots of kicks and punches. Seems like whenever I stop to watch my tummy or feel them though he stops! :)
Belly button?: Same as last time.
What I miss?: Nothing comes to mind.
Labor signs?: Nada.
What I'm looking forward to?: Those stronger kicks so Paul can feel them more often.
Milestone?: Reaching Viability week! Yay!