This Is Our Life

Week 3

2012-02-11T19:52:00.001-06:00

First time going to church
Baby girl was hungry and not in the mood for a photo session!!!
Mommy was trying to get a good picture of me in my church outfit; however, I was so tired, I wasn’t really cooperating:)
you fell right to sleep within 1 minute of mommy trying to do tummy time with you.
You are starting to have more control with your head
You had another lactation appointment and they were pleased with your progress. We are lowering the amount of formula we feed you. Hopefully we will be off formula very soon:)
You continue to get cuter by the day:)
You love to sleep on your daddy’s shoulder!
Mommy can’t quit taking pictures of you:)
you’re a mouth breather:)
Your grasp is definitely getting better!
You have face timed with your family in Texas twice this week!!!
We got your newborn pics this week. They are soo good!! The photographer also sent this pic of Nate(and Emma) playing with Mia, the photographer’s daughter.

I can’t believe you are almost one month old!!! We love you Emma!

2 WEEKS

2012-02-05T18:22:00.001-06:00

WEEK 1

You came home from the hospital at 3 days old with a fun bilirubin blanket you had to lay on as much as possible
had 2 appointments with lactation specialists to watch you nurse – again, modesty out the window!
smiled : Mommy loves it when you smile. Daddy reminds mommy it’s probably gas. mommy refuses to believe that:)
slept most of the day and cried a lot during the night for a few days – daddy even resorted into taking you into the bathroom b/c you quit crying in there!! here is where daddy slept
got to hang out with your Gran and Grandad from Texas
did not enjoy having your diaper changed- cried through most of it!!
fingernails are already starting to get long
had your first sponge bath
daddy introduced the computer and mouse to you, hoping to get your started early:)
daddy predicting you will be a “world changer.”
Aunt Shannon reminding mommy you already are a world changer for many of those in your life

WEEK 2

got your newborn pictures taken- you were such a trooper! The photo session lasted over 3 hours and you slept through most of it!!!
you enjoyed letting us change your diaper only to realize you have peed on the changing table or are having another poopy diaper seconds after the first was changed!!
had some of your finger nails clipped. Mom was freaking out b/c your fingers are soo tiny!!!
did some tummy time on your new play mat- or at least an attempt at it. then we put you on your back:)
mommy read you stories and you seemed to be looking at the pictures and paying attention…
Moma Cindi came to stay with you and mommy for 2 nights- definitely a blessing!
Your friend Preston was born just 9 days after you!!! You went to visit him at the hospital
had your first pediatrician’s appointment. You were back to your birth weight and in the 10% for weight and 70% for height. Dr. Hurlock says you are a tall skinny baby:) This is what you did when I stripped you down to your diaper at the Dr.’s office:
What your daddy has been saying to you “ Slow your roll.” Mommy, who is not cool had to ask daddy what that meant:)
What your mommy has been saying to you “ There’s no crying in breastfeeding!!” (taken from the famous quote “There’s no crying in baseball.” Anyone know what movie reference that is?

I can’t believe you have already been here for over 2 weeks!!!

Gifts and Guests

2012-02-04T20:19:00.001-06:00

I think Cindi and Ray were the first guests to arrive at the hospital ,with my friend Jessica following shortly thereafter.

Shannon brought me this Hospital Survival Kit which was really cute. Inside were things like lotion, chapstick, hair ties, dry shampoo, fuzzy socks, m&ms, granola bars, wheat thins etc. I had never used dry shampoo before and I love it!!!

She saw the idea on Pinterest. I liked it so much I found the website that also has printables for a boy and made a bag for my friend Ashley who had a baby a couple of days ago. Here is the link if anyone is interested: http://printable.tipjunkie.com/hospital-survival-kit-with-printable-label/

My dad, Emma’s Grandad

My mom, Emma’s Gran

Kristin, the daughter of Anne one of my SLP co-workers.

Anne, my Speech Pathologist co-worker and friend.

Kristin brought Emma the cat and Anne brought the bear. They each thought their animal was better than the other:)) I voted for the bear;)

Chuck(in our life group)who just became a father again himself a couple of days ago!

Ashley and Caden- Ashley just had another baby boy, Preston, on Monday.

Moma Cindi, Emma’s grandmother

Cindi and Ray gave EMma these items. The ABCs on the right are actually a vase that had flowers and a balloon attached. Moma Cindi gives all her granddaughters precious moments on each of their birthdays. Here is Emma’s first:

Brittni, a girl in our life group

Mikki, a friend of Nathan’s family.

Mikki brought Emma this beautiful coat for her to wear next winter. Isn’t it so girly and cute with all the ruffles. I love it!

Coy, a guy in our life group

Kim, a friend of mine with her son.

Shelby, my niece, who has let us know she is ready for Emma to be bigger so she will be more fun.

Jess, my friend who walked halls with me during labor and our life group leader.

Emma’s cousins Shelby and Savannah

Emma got a really cute Pottery Barn activity mat/blanket from three of Nathan’s friends in Texas. Wish they could be here to meet Emma!

Emma also got this Teddy Bear from her Grandad(my dad).

Shannon’s MIL and FIL stopped by after the c-section and brought this precious bunny outfit with headband!!! I think I was still pretty out of it at that point and didn’t get a picture of them.

And last but not least, Emma’s daddy, but he’s really not a guest. I just love this picture and wanted an excuse to include it on this post:))

Emma’s Birth Story Part 2

2012-01-30T16:49:00.001-06:00

I was wheeled into the OR by myself. Nate had to wait out in the hallway while they prepped me for surgery. The OR room was cold and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly nervous!!! The anesthesiologist was very nice and thorough in explaining the spinal to me. It really didn’t hurt besides a slight stinging feeling. The nurses were also great with me too. Overall I was pleased with the nursing staff at St. Mary’s. They were very helpful and kind. If anything I wish there weren’t so many of them. It felt like a revolving door of nurses that cared for me during my stay.

Back to the surgery- luckily the spinal took(I’ve seen too many movies!!) and I couldn’t feel anything besides some slight tugging at times. There were moments during the surgery I was so relaxed I realized I hadn’t breathed in awhile and had to tell myself to take a breath…weird feeling!! During the first part of the surgery I was just praying that everything would go okay and Emma would come out healthy with no complications. After Emma was out and everything looked good, I was then focused back on myself, praying that the doctor and nurses took good care of me and nothing happened to me!!

Nathan filmed the birth so even though I didn’t get to see Emma coming out in real time, I did get to go back and watch it!! Nathan said at one point some of my inner body parts were just sitting out on my stomach, as the dr. had to take them out in order to get to the baby…..that’s just crazy!!!

Nathan got lots of good pictures and when she was cleaned up, he brought her close to my face. I was so happy to meet my daughter. I was sad that I wasn’t able to hold her, but luckily her daddy was:).

After that, much of the day was a blur. I remember being wheeled back into my hospital room and the baby being brought to me. Jessica helped me “attempt” to breast feed Emma. I use that term loosely b/c it was quite an ordeal to get her to latch on and stay. I hardly remember how long we did that or even how long I held her before they were taking her away again to do all the screenings etc. that needed to be done. It’s funny to think back on that day b/c I had no idea how to hold her while trying to feed her. Now, after doing it so many times, it’s almost second nature to me:). I also told Jessica, as she was helping me nurse Emma, that our friendship had reached a whole new level..haha!!!

Another thing that occurred during the entire birthing process is most of my modesty went out the window. I have no idea how many people(all women!) saw me half naked nursing Emma or pumping. Random people I hadn’t even met yet would walk into my room ..okay, not random, but nurses,techs, baby nurses, lactation specialists, and other hospital personnel responsible for paperwork. There was even some high school student at one point that was observing a nurse. The nurse asked if it was okay for her to come in my room while she checked my surgery stitches. Sure….why not!! ;)

Emma’s only complication that day was her low blood sugar level. The nurse had to take her to the NICU, which I was not happy about. Luckily she only had to stay for a few hours before the NICU Dr. decided her levels had come up enough. She was tested several more times that day just to make sure she was okay, and she was!

One thing that surprised me at the hospital was how responsible I was for letting the nurses know when I needed pain medication. I assumed they would keep up with the last time I had taken the meds and come to my room to ask me if I needed more when it was time. I was taking one pill that was every 4 hours, one that was every 8 hours and one that was every 12 hours. That’s a lot for me to keep up with!! I think one nurse did do that, but most of them just waited for me to ask for it. Unfortunately, I often wouldn’t realize I needed it until I was already in pain again!!! My first experience with this was the first night in the hospital. I woke up around 4am and needed to use the restroom. I attempted to slowly sit up in bed and quickly realized that was a mistake! To say I felt pain is an understatement. I was almost in tears from the c-section pain. I woke Nathan and he called my nurse and tech and they helped me. It was a horrible experience. I like to think if I had been medicated, the pain would not have been nearly that bad.

I also got to experience the greatness of a catheter. While it was in, it didn’t bother me at all; however, when they took it out, I had no idea the effects it would have on my body. This may be TMI, but the first time I tried to go to the restroom, I couldn’t for like 20 minutes!! It’s like my brain was telling me to use the bathroom, but my body was not reacting. It was the strangest feeling. It of course did get better, but it was days before I was back to normal.

My time in the hospital went quicker than I thought! Nathan’s family was there on Saturday. On Sunday, many of our friends came to visit Emma in the afternoon. My parents also flew in that afternoon to spend the week with us. I was so thankful to have my parents be able to stay until Friday. Mom fixed all our meals, did laundry, and both of my parents helped feed Emma the formula I had to use to supplement the nursing.

The hospital also provided a little birthday party for Emma. Piece of Cake, a bakery in Evansville, donates cakes and a coupon for the baby’s smash cake at their one year birthday party. We had cake, that was really good by the way, and soda. Emma really enjoyed her party…haha!

Before we left the hospital to go back to the real world, Emma’s weight had dropped by at least 10% of her original weight. Because of this, our pediatrician recommended we supplement the nursing with formula. I wasn’t happy about having to use formula, but we’re doing it. Hopefully it will only be for a short time! Her starting weight was 6lbs 9 oz. She is already back up to 6 lbs 4 oz, so I’m hoping the formula can stop soon!! The lactation specialists say because of Emma’s jaundice, she is very sleepy and just isn’t a very efficient eater right now. They think by next week she’ll be a completely different baby. I’m hoping so! It makes for a long eating process for Emma!!! First I try and nurse for 20 minutes on each side, then she gets , 30-60 mL of formula, then I pump for 15 minutes to help my milk come in quicker and to keep up my supply. Whew, I’m worn out just typing that..lol:))

We decided to go home on Tuesday. We could have stayed an extra day b/c of the c-section, but I was ready to be home and settled.

Emma ready to go home. Her car seat swallows her!! Look at her cute hat! We got that free from the nursery:)

St. Mary’s policy is that mom be wheeled out of the hospital with baby in hands. I had no problems with someone wheeling me out:))

We’re both so excited and blessed to have baby Emma. The adventure is just beginning!

Emma’s Birth Story Part 1

2012-01-29T14:59:00.001-06:00

Friday, January 20th was just like any other Friday. I worked all day, ran errands after school and came home to enjoy my Friday evening. I still had a couple of Emma items that needed to be assembled: her swing and rock n play sleeper. I figured I would put those together that night while I caught up on some DVR. Nathan was out of town until about 11:30pm. When he arrived home, I was already getting ready for bed and feeling pretty proud of myself that I had put her sleeper and swing together. I’m sure it took me longer than it would have Nathan, but I got it done!

Around midnight, I had turned off the lights and was laying my head on the pillow to go to sleep. All of a sudden I felt a slight weird pain in my lower abdomen. I got up to go to the restroom and the next thing I knew, my water had broken. I wasn’t exactly sure that is what was happening until I tried to stand up and water continued to flow. At that point I realized it was my water! So I sat back down and yelled for Nathan. When I told him I thought I was in labor, he was pretty excited. I was slightly in shock and that surreal feeling began to take over. I think at that point I texted Jessica, my friend who has 3 children and I knew would be a good source of wisdom about what I should do next! I didn’t know if I should go to the hospital or just stay at home until I felt some contractions. Jess immediately called me and gave me some advice. I can’t recall exactly what she said, but I decided to stay at home for awhile. Soo, I did what any woman would do who is in labor- I took a shower, shaved my legs, finished packing my bags, and wasted about another 2 1/2 hours!! It’s funny how when I went to bed at midnight I was worn out, but after I realized I was in labor and that I would soon be meeting Emma, adrenaline took over and I was wide awake! Some mild contractions did start around the time we headed to the hospital, but nothing severe. To say I over packed is probably an understatement, but hey, you never know what you might need!! Better to be over prepared than under:).

We arrived at the hospital and had to wait outside for them to let us in because the front doors were locked!! After we got settled in our room, the nurse checked me and I was still only about 1 cm dilated, which is what I had been the past 2 weeks. Around that time my friend Jessica joined us in our room. I am so thankful for her presence that early morning/day. She was a huge help and blessing during a very uncertain and scary time. She walked the hallways with me for quite a while and helped time my contractions. Around 8am, the dr. came into check me again. Sadly, since it was the weekend, my dr. was not on call. Emma was delivered by a male dr.(which is funny b/c I purposefully chose a female dr. b/c I am more comfortable with them) who was slightly amusing, talking to us in different voices…..yes, he was kind of different! He told me if I hadn’t changed by 8/9am than they would start Pitocin. I really did NOT want Pitocin after reading all the lovely side effects and things it can cause. After I was checked and had not progressed at all(still 1 cm!!), the dr. said he wasn’t even sure if Emma was head down or not!!! He ordered an ultra sound, and sure enough, baby Emma was breech(and later on we find out her legs were straight up around her head!). He told me that meant c-section and didn’t offer to try and turn her or anything. At that point, I just didn’t feel comfortable disagreeing with a dr. who was basically a stranger to me. I was in pain, very tired, and not in the mood to argue or try and be difficult. So I didn’t say anything. This was around 8:15amish. The c-section was planned for 9am. After the dr. left, I had mixed feelings. I was so excited that I knew I would be meeting my daughter very soon, but i was also disappointed that I was going to be having surgery and no doubt a more difficult and longer recovery than if I had a vaginal birth. That last hour was very weird b/c I knew I was going to be having the c-section and yet I was still in labor, having to endure pointless contractions(that were really hurting at that point). it was a very ironic and frustrating feeling.

I didn’t get to take a 39 week pregnant picture. This is as close as it gets!!!! Love the hairdo?:) This is me right before surgery.

This is me signing something that probably says if they mess something up during the surgery they aren’t liable….who knows!!:) Please notice the lovely attire on my legs. I can’t remember the name of these, but something to do with compression and preventing blood clots I think. I had to wear them the rest of the day and into the night.

Soon to be parents….

I was very nervous about the c-section. The last time I had major surgery was as a baby and I certainly don’t remember that! A little after 9am, they came and got me and wheeled me into the operating room….the fun was just starting:).

here are a few pics from the c-section:) Nathan did an awesome job capturing it with the digital and video camera!

Nathan aka Emma’s daddy:)

I was pretty nervous during the procedure!

Slightly graphic picture- Emma coming out of my stomach!! Crazy huh?

See how her legs are up by her head? That is how she was inside of me.

I love this picture; although I wish I were holding her:).

to be continued….

Emma Charis Lengacher - 6 Lb. 9 Oz.

2012-01-22T15:58:00.000-06:00

She has arrived! Saturday morning at 9:35 AM, weighing 6 Lb. 9 Oz.

Emma Charis Lengacher - Emma after a sweet lady that Nate knew in Dallas, and Charis (pronounced KARE-iss) which is the transliterated word for "Grace" in New Testament Greek.

IN LABOR...

2012-01-21T01:17:00.002-06:00

Well, my water broke around midnight, soo....guess little Emma will be making her debut this weekend:))

38 weeks

2012-01-15T17:12:00.000-06:00

I had my weekly dr.’s appointment this week on Monday. I am 1-1.5 cm dilated and 75% effaced. The dr. told me this means she can come anytime in the next 4 weeks!!! That didn’t tell me much since I already figured that! I was also negative for strep B, so no antibiotics for me which is nice.

The dresser was put together this week!! It was hard work, but finally done:)). Nathan’s hard work that is!!

We also got Emma’s letters in the mail and hung them above her crib. The nursery is basically finished, just need to hang a few more things on the wall!

The E has a monkey on it and the second M has a hippo- too cute!

I also bought some cute monthly onesie stickers to use with Emma for her monthly pictures! I ordered the purple ones.

Emma’s bow holder came in the mail this week. I really like it and it’s almost full with her bows already!!!

This week has really flown by and I have felt good as far as the pregnancy. My allergies; however, have been horrible and I think I have a lovely cold.

Friday night I went to a baby shower/girls’ night for a friend who is due to have her baby a week after me! We watched 2 of the ladies’ births on dvd which was interesting!!!

I spent Saturday doing a lot of cooking. I didn’t get it all done, but hopefully throughout the week I will get it finished.

Hospital bag is as packed as it can be!

We also created a little video for Emma to show her when she’s older. We just talked about how we came up with her name, how the pregnancy went and what kind of lady we hope she grows up to be.

It’s starting to really get real…..

COUNTDOWN:

Days left of work: 9

Days until Emma is due: 14

Do you think she’s coming early? Nathan hopes so, but I think she’ll be a February baby!

37 weeks/full term!

2012-01-08T10:14:00.002-06:00

This has probably been one of the best weeks in about a month as far as how I feel pregnancy-wise. Or maybe I’m just getting used to the aches and pains? However my allergies have decided to make me feel horrible…again!! I think I’m on the verge of getting sick for the 4th time this pregnancy which is completely opposite of how I was before I got pregnant. I hadn’t been sick in over 2 years!!!
I thought for sure this past week would be a hard week since I went back to work. As far as work goes, it was. I had about 15 conferences, which always comes with stress and a lot of paperwork!! Luckily they all went smoothly and are over!!!
I didn’t do a lot of baby stuff this week, but I did order a bow holder for Emma’s room..important stuff ya know!!! Gotta love Etsy:). I see stuff on there and know I can make probably it, ,but I’m not sure if after I buy all the materials and then spend a lot of time working on it if my product will look nearly as good as theirs…..:).
This is the one I ordered, but it will be an E with a monkey on it. It will also have brown/white zebra ribbon to match the nursery bedding and the letter will be lavender. Not sure about the dot color….:).

source
Nesting is definitely going on as I’ve been pulling out my favorite recipes to make and freeze for when Emma is here. My plan is to do this cooking next weekend. Hopefully I will feel as good as I do now!! On the menu is 2 types of chili, quinoa burgers, black bean and sweet potato burgers, chickpea and hummus burgers and for dessert, 2 dough ball recipes. That is a lot of cooking…..hopefully i’ll be able to get it done…and fit it all in my freezer…lol!!!
At this point in my pregnancy, putting my wedding ring on is an accomplishment. I do try and wear it to work, but that’s about it!
The dresser has arrived!!! Of course now it still needs to be assembled!

I’ve spent this week reading a breast feeding book and a fiction book. Not sure when I’ll get to enjoy another fiction book, so I’m trying to savor it:)).
I attempted to get back on track and eat healthier this week compared to eating whatever I wanted over Christmas…and that included dessert multiple times a day:).
I made butternut squash mac n cheese with edamame, lentil burgers and ate a few ginormous salads!
Going out in public is no longer fun for me. I’m getting a lot more looks from people blatantly staring at my belly. Some are smiles but most look like “man she’s huge!” Seriously, I’m getting kind of weird looks now..lol!!! So when I think about needing to go to this place or that, I’m not longer excited about it:(. Ready for you to arrive Emma!!!!
I’m officially considered full term today which is crazy, but exciting!!! I’m guessing Emma will arrive on February 8th or 13th….we’ll see what happens!
COUNTDOWN:
Days left of work: 14
Days until Emma is due: 21

Christmas in Indiana

2012-01-03T13:12:00.001-06:00

Last Tuesday, we headed to Montgomery to celebrate Christmas with Nate’s family. We had a nice dinner with his sister’s family and parents. After that we opened presents.
The nieces
Jack got his own stocking of presents this year. In it was this toy. I give it a couple of weeks before it’s ripped to shreds!! Just that night he had already pulled off the ears and lots of stuffing!!!

It’s always fun to watch children open presents. They got these stuffed animals and blankets from my mom.

Nate with his new drills.

Savannah with her just like me American girl doll.

Shelby posing on our changing table that we got from Ray and Cindi!!

I got a juicer from the Lengachers!

Of course Jack looks away from the camera at the last minute!

That’s a little better Jack!!

Now that Christmas is over and January is here, it’s becoming even more real that Emma could possibly come THIS month!!! I think it will be February myself, but I guess we’ll just wait and see what God’s perfect timing is:)).

36 weeks and feeling productive!

2012-01-01T12:59:00.001-06:00

36 WEEKS- No new symptoms, just dealing with intermittent swelling of my feet and ankles, and back and feet pain!!:)) Oh, and continued difficulty putting my socks and shoes on…lol!!!

Nathan gave me a jewelry box for my last birthday that came with a smaller jewelry box as well. I wasn’t sure what i was going to do with it, but this past week I realized I would be having a daughter who would eventually have her own jewelry. I told Nate I could give the box to Emma. It was such a surreal moment to speak about my daughter as if she were here already. I know she’s coming but I’m still not used to referring to her by name:)

PRODUCTIVITY(aka NESTING!):

The changing table was assembled- still need to figure out how to attach the changing pad to the table:).
We had our car seat installed at an auto body shop in town that does installations for free!
I finished reading Babywise- Not sure I feel very “baby wise” yet, but hopefully the notes I took will be helpful when we bring Emma home and attempt to get her on a feeding and sleeping schedule:).

Found a baby photographer-I’m so excited for Emma’s pictures!!!
had another dr. appointment on Friday: She thinks the baby’s head is down, but she’s not certain. At the next appointment, she is hoping to know for sure. If not, we’ll do an ultrasound. I am going to be confident baby’s head is down, but maybe that is just wishful thinking!!
diaper bag received

dresser ordered- should be here by Tuesday!
breast pump bought
clothes 0-3 mos washed
rest of clothes organized in closet! I got these cute organizers that you can label by month and hang in the closet!

Emma got her first Valentine’s outfits from her aunt

We both like to sit in the glider and just hang out in the room and talk about what' it’s going to be like.

Here is the Nate’s Christmas present from me. It finally arrived in the mail:)

COUNTDOWN:

Days left of work: 19

Days until Emma is scheduled to arrive: 28 days!!

Christmas in Texas

2011-12-31T12:09:00.002-06:00

We spent Christmas in Texas this year with my family. It was good seeing them since I hadn’t seen them since June for my brother’s wedding!
The day before Christmas eve my dad told us about a good deal on a 2009 vehicle at the Chevy dealership in our hometown where dad and mom buy most of their cars. At first, I didn’t think I would like the Traverse, but I was confusing it with a different car. We ended up buying the car, so I thought I would take some pics to remember my trusty 2003 4Runner that I absolutely loved and really had virtually no significant maintenance problems the entire time I owned it. I was actually sad to say goodbye to it…..pregnancy hormones??!
   Me sad, saying goodbye to my transportation for the past 8 years.
Me excited about my new to me car. She’s white so she’ll fit in well with the family:) My mom has a white SUV, my MIL has a white SUV, my FIL has an off white truck and my SIL has an off white SUV. Guess we like white in our family:).
My favorite feature so far are the seat warmers…lol!!

On Christmas eve, mom and I got pedicures to pamper ourselves a little. Then Chris and Heather came over in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day with us.
dessert table- I had my eye on the cheesecake!

The newlyweds

Ahh, how sweet. Nice brotherly moment.

Duke worn out by all the present opening:)
My brother and me

Soon to be parents!!!

We enjoyed playing taboo with the family and later Chicken foot dominoes. Boys against girls and the boys won:((. I want a rematch!

We always take a family picture at the dinner table. I think my dad was sneezing when this picture was taken…priceless!!!
After dinner, we all sat in the living room and dad did a mini devotional on some of the names of Christ and then we discussed the birth of Jesus as well. It was a nice time to truly remember the reason for why we celebrate Christmas. It’s not about presents, santa, or even getting together with your family(although that is nice). It’s about remembering and celebrating the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Being humbled that God, in all his glory, came to earth as a little baby, so that through his sacrifice on the cross, we may have eternal life through his grace.
After that, we opened presents:
Nathan gave me a very pretty pearl and amethyst bracelet. I got him a shirt that I custom made online that says Emma’s Daddy. Unfortunately it didn’t arrive in time for Christmas. Hopefully he’ll get it before Emma arrives!!!
Heather and Chris gave us a high chair for Christmas!! I think Emma did better this Christmas with presents than any of us, which is fine by me:).      Mom gave both girls a fancy monogrammed cutting board. love it!
Mom scored big this year on photo books. Heather made one of their wedding and I made one for her of our vacation to Jamaica. Mom loves her pictures!!!

Dad showing off his new IPAD case that Chris and Heather got him.

Christmas was a lot of fun with my family. We headed home the following two days. We celebrated Christmas with Nate’s side of the family the following Tuesday, but that’s for another post:).

35 Weeks and a Texas Shower

2011-12-28T00:10:00.002-06:00

On Friday, December 16th, Nathan and I drove to Texas to celebrate Christmas with my family. We broke the trip up into two days which helped.
35 weeks

We arrived in Texas on Saturday evening. Sunday we went to church and then mom and I went to a shower being thrown for me by Ann Maxwell, my mom’s best friend. While the girls were doing the shower thing, Nate and my dad went to Waco to see the Baylor basketball girls win:). Sic’em Bears!
This cake was made by a lady in my parents’ church. She volunteered to make it. Isn’t it precious!

This pink tree was on the table and was also part of a gift for Emma. I was very excited to find that out! not sure if you can see it, but there are zoo animal ornaments on the tree as well! I was planning on buying Emma a pink tree next year and now I don’t have to!!

Julie, me and Amy- We grew up together in the same neighborhood and our families frequently spend holidays together.
Amy’s little girl, Addison. What a cutie!

Some of the gifts from the shower:
Love these hats for Emma!!

Cute washcloths and hooded towel.

Mom got me this… I think she bought it in July or August!!

As someone who sleeps with a white noise app from my iphone every night, I’m excited for Emma to have this!

DIAPER BABY!- When I first saw this from across the room, I thought it was just a baby doll. Nope, it’s a diaper baby!! I love it!!! Not sure if I’m going to take it apart it’s so cute!!! My SIL, Heather, thought it was kind of weird…lol!! the entire baby is made from diapers!!

A blanket quilted by one of my mom’s friends. It’s absolutely beautiful!!! I love that it says Emma too. I think it’s one of the first gifts I’ve gotten that has her name on it.

Cute little outfit!

My cousin Karla crocheted this beautiful blanket.

The shower was a lot of fun and I enjoyed seeing people I hadn’t seen in a long time.
The week in Texas was pretty relaxing, so my back rarely hurt. My biggest problem right now is my feet…not the swelling b/c I haven’t noticed that much this week, but my feet just HURT! I have had bad feet since I was in like 4th grade, but it seems that since I’ve been pregnant, my feet are even worse!! I’m hoping it’s just the added weight and once Emma gets here my feet won’t hurt so much!!
I also think I can feel where Emma’s head is…which I have to be honest is a little weird b/c it’s such a hard place on my stomach. I also think I’m probably having some Braxton Hicks contractions, but nothing that really hurts, just some tightness. At least I think that’s what it is…who knows!!!:))
NURSERY UPDATE:
The glider is assembled and the changing table is next on the list to put together. The nursery is starting to come together!!! My next task is washing Emma’s clothes and blankets:)
COUNTDOWN:
Days of Work: 19
Days until Emma is due to arrive: 32 days!!

34 Weeks

2011-12-19T23:32:00.002-06:00

This past week was one of the hardest of my pregnancies(minus the first semester b/c that was pretty bad!). My ankles looked ridiculously swollen(at least to me they did!) and walking was a chore! Besides fat ankles and the need to constantly pee, everything was great:).
Each week gets me closer to meeting my baby girl Emma, so I know it’s all worth it!!
30 weeks

34 weeks

There is a difference, but hard to tell that much in my dress.
I got to milk the pregnancy card twice this week!!! love it:) First was at a convenient store. Nathan and I walked in and asked where the restroom was located(obviously!! Why else would we be in a convenient store..:)). The cashier told us there wasn’t a bathroom, so I walked back to the car waiting for us to head to the next gas station..lol! The cashier then asked my husband if I was pregnant and told my husband they don’t turn away pregnant women! So Nate came and got me out of the car and told me they were going to let me use the employee bathroom!!! Woohoo!
The second time was when we stayed in a motel room. When the lady behind the counter found out I was pregnant she switched our 2nd floor room to a bottom floor!! Score again..all in the same day:))
I got pics from my Evansville shower the other day.
Here was my cake- isn’t it precious!!!

The gingerbread house was Shelby’s creation!! It went perfectly with the colors of the shower!!

My friend Mandy and her daughter Kennedy. I can remember when Mandy told us she was pregnant with Kennedy!!! The day of the shower was actually her first birthday!!! She has such beautiful eyes!!

My friend Kim and her daughter Maddie. For some reason my face looks abnormally long in this picture?!?

Langston- my friend Jessica’s 5 1/2 month old. Don’t you love her Christmas tree outfit and those tights!!!

My small group girlfriends who brought the yummy food: Mandy, me, Jessica, Brittni, Emily and Ashley who is due around the same time as me!!

My speechie friends/coworkers: Carolyn, Anne, Patti, Laura, and Janine.

I had such a fun time at this shower. I was so worried people might not show up, but they did. I felt very blessed!!
COUNTDOWN:
Days of Work: 19
Days until Christmas: 6
Days until Emma arrives: 41 days

midweek pregnancy update

2011-12-15T20:39:00.001-06:00

I found these questions on another blog and thought they would be fun to answer.

How far along? 33 weeks 4 days

Total weight gain: 28 pounds…yikes!!

Maternity clothes? yes, I’m wearing them and ready to be in my old clothes!

Stretch marks? not yet, at least not that I have noticed

Sleep: I sleep very well with no modifications. I use one pillow for my head and that’s it. I get up to go to the bathroom 1-2 times per night

Best moment this week: taking a breast feeding class, at the hospital, on Wednesday night. During the class, I just had a dose of reality…ya know, one of those moments where you realize that a baby is really coming….and soon!! It’s exciting!

Miss Anything? being able to walk and not feeling like I have to pee ALL THE TIME!

Movement: lots of movement, mostly after I eat something and especially at night!

Food cravings: my obsession right now is Unsweetened Almond Breeze chocolate milk heated up with 2 stevia packets. It’s like the best hot chocolate with no sugar!! I’ve been through two cartons this week..:))

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope

Gender: It’s a girl…at least I hope so b/c we will have a lot of pink and purple stuff to return if it’s a boy!

Labor Signs: I don’t think so?!?!

Symptoms: a case of the waddles…:)) Besides that, my left calf, ankle, and foot have started swelling…not really the right now..just the left..weird!

Belly Button in or out? in

Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, but stressed out about my work!!

Looking forward to: Christmas, seeing family, time off from work and finishing the nursery!

Okay, Abbie..your turn:)

33 weeks and baby shower #2

2011-12-11T15:42:00.002-06:00

This week has been an up and down week for me. Monday through Wednesday were rough days for me. My back hurt a lot, and my walking looked more like waddling on those days!!! On Thursday my back started hurting less. Not sure why, but I’ll take it!!! I am just taking it one day at at time, not knowing how I will feel. Luckily overall, I feel good, which helps since work is crazy right now!!
I laugh looking at this week 21 picture of me. I actually thought I was really starting to show….lol!! Compared to now, this was nothing!
21WEEKS

33 WEEKS- this is why my back hurts!!!

Sorry the picture is so blurry! My husband wasn’t available to take it and my camera doesn’t take very clear pics on the timer!
I also had a baby shower yesterday in Evansville at my Sister-in-law’s house. It was a beautiful shower and I wish I had pics to share from the shower but I don’t right now. I took my memory card out of my camera to charge it the night before the shower and Miss Forgetful forgot to put it back in the next day:(. Luckily I was able to use my SIL’s camera to take pics. I just don’t have them yet. Of course that didn’t stop me from taking pics of some of my presents when I got home:)).
Jack was going crazy with all this stuff on the couch! I think he thought maybe some of it was for him!

Cute bibs, washcloths, diapers, blanket, sleeper and baby food trays

I am super excited about this gift!

My SIL gave me lots of headbands, bows….

and this precious skirt! This will be great for newborn pics.

I got a couple of sleep sacks and Cindi gave me a night light, light switch cover and rug that matches my nursery.

I got lots of little cute things as well like bibs, soap, shampoo, pacifiers, hangers, and a gift card to The Little Princess Shoppe so I can buy more bows for Emma.

My friend Mandy got me this cute bathing suit with a coverup and some springy/summery outfits that are precious!

My friend Abbie, who is due in a couple of weeks herself, got me this portable placemat and some more cute headbands.

Look at this precious dress from my friend Brittni. The bloomers/shorts are navy. they are hard to see, but the outfit is so cute!!

I’m hoping to make Emma’s food instead of buying jars. My friend Kim got me these tray to use for freezing the food. I’m excited to use them!

I also got several more things that were truly appreciated! I’ll refrain from photographing every single thing. I don’t want to bore you!
The glider came this week as well as our car seat. So exciting:).
COUNTDOWN:
24 days left of work
49 days until Emma arrives
14 days until Christmas:)

32 weeks..and 1 day:)

2011-12-05T17:00:00.001-06:00

I didn’t post yesterday, like I normally do, because I was sick:(. It started on Saturday morning. I was almost finished with my normal bowl of oatmeal and started feeling nauseous. The rest of the day went downhill from there. I threw up three times and couldn’t keep anything down all day:( I have heard some women have 3rd trimester morning sickness, so I was hoping that was not going to happen to me. I was actually hoping it was just a stomach virus that typically lasts no more than 72 hours. On Sunday I started feeling much better in the late afternoon and didn’t throw up all day long. Today I am almost back to normal, so I’m pretty sure it was just a virus!

32 WEEKS vs. 27 WEEKS

The baby is growing!!!

This past Monday, I was reminded that I am indeed pregnant and my equilibrium is not what it used to be!! I was talking to a student in the hallway at one of my schools. I was just going to bend down in a crouched position to be more on her level. I used to be able to do that….before I was pregnant. My attempt at a crouched position quickly turned into a seated position as I fell on my bottom!!! I was just slightly embarrassed!!!

We had our small group Christmas party this week. It was a lot of fun. We did a fun Christmas ice breaker and then played the Chinese gift exchange with white elephant gifts. I ended up with 3 snickers bars and a christian CD. Man, my belly looks huge in this picture!!!

As far as nursery progress, our drapes came in the mail and we hung those up. I think it definitely adds to the room . Our glider isn’t here yet, but hopefully it will be in the next week or so!

I also ordered wooden letters to hang above the crib since we FINALLY decided on a name for Baby L. Well, at least we have the first name. Middle name is still TBD:). We decided on Emma. The letters will look something like this with ribbon but saying Emma of course:

After I placed the order on Etsy.com, I got a confirmation email telling me it would take 8-10 weeks to get the letters..ugh!!! I don’t think I realized it would be that long. Oh well, at least it’s done. hopefully they will get here sooner than later:))

I had another dr.’s appointment today. She said everything is right on track and looking good.

The countdown is on:

11 more days until Christmas break!!! I am so ready!!! 29 more days of work. Only 4 more doctor’s visits!! 55 more days until Emma is due to make her entrance:).

31 weeks

2011-11-27T15:52:00.001-06:00

I had another dr.’s appointment this week. Unfortunately I had to wait about an hour to see my dr. for 5 minutes for her to tell me everything is looking good:)). I did pass my glucola screening(woohoo!), so that is a relief!!

31 WEEKS

My back also started hurting on Monday….lovely! I am also having more trouble breathing as my belly takes up more space!!! I got 2 baby shower gifts in the mail this week. One was the mobile for our crib…so excited!!! Thanks Aunt Char!! The other one is from “Auntie” Maxwell:). This package has a long story that goes with it.

My mom told me Ann(mom’s best friend) was sending me a baby gift in the mail. This was last week!! All week I excitedly waited to see what the mail would bring….but never a package from Ann. Then on Friday, Nathan got a text from a guy he went to high school with that said his girlfriend got a package in the mail at her apartment addressed to Little Lengacher! Turns out, Nathan’s old classmate’s girlfriend lives in our old apartment at Sugar Mill Creek. Isn’t that crazy!!! What a small world!! I guess Auntie Ann sent the package to our old address instead of our new one!!! Luckily we were able to get the package!!! Small world!

Gifts from Ann:

The pink bear is from Ann. The monkey is from Aunt Kathi.

Look how cute this outfit is!!!

We also did a lot of work on the nursery this weekend. We got the bedding on and the valance up. Nathan also did some touch up paint in the room. It’s starting to look like a baby’s room:)

We have long purple drapes arriving in the mail this week to complete the window dressing.

Here is the mobile from Aunt Char. I actually put this together without Nate’s help, which was a shocker to me b/c I am terrible at assembling things!

Once we have a name picked out, I’m hoping to get big wooden letters and hang those above the crib.

9 more weeks to go!!!

30 Weeks and a Baby Shower

2011-11-20T16:57:00.001-06:00

Warning! This post has copious amounts of pictures:))

This has been an eventful week full of fun time with friends and family. 30 weeks

Nothing eventful really happened this week with my pregnancy. My belly is starting to feel like a bowling ball on it. Each step I take I feel the weight of my belly:) Week 40 can’t come soon enough!!!

I’m counting kicks every night and have been slightly more tired this week. I have my next dr.’s appointment tomorrow to find out if I passed my glucola screening. I’m really hoping I did b/c I don’t want to have to do the 3 hour test!

Yesterday, I had my first baby shower in Montgomery, IN. It was a lot of fun and my MIL, Cindi, did a great job with the decorations and food.

Diaper bouquet with baby socks tied around the diapers!

Candy – the monkey theme matches my nursery bedding

Tasha brought her baby Brant to the shower. Look how cute he is!

Cindi also made Nathan and I this cute book with pictures throughout the pregnancy that I’ve posted on our blog as well as pages for guests to help us name the baby and offer words of advice. It was a very sweet and thoughtful gift.

Speaking of gifts… I got a lot of cute things. Here are a few of the highlights!

This is from my blog friend Susie.

Stroller from my brother and his wife

This outfit was really cute b/c it came with a matching headband and cute shoes that aren’t pictured.

Beautiful dress from Uncle Ross and Aunt Judy

Love this hat that Lynn made for us!! I’m sure it will be in some baby pictures:).

This swaddler is so soft and precious!

I got a lot of monkey stuff which was fine by me as monkeys are just so cute to me! These pants have a monkey on their bottom….love it!

monkey sleepers from Ray and Cindi

Cute monkey animal and blanket that match the nursery bedding from the Melsons in Arizona:).

Blanket that Moma Cindi made herself. I love it! It will definitely be in some newborn pictures as well:)

Etsy and Pinterest

2011-11-15T19:26:00.000-06:00

Again this week I have spent too much time on Etsy and Pinterest and it’s only Tuesday!! I found a lot of cute things for the baby..and I guess for me too:)

Etsy:

I think this is cool! I’ve also seen it on canvas, which looks even better!

I am definitely going to do this, just have to decide which stickers to buy! For my dad who probably has no idea what these are for, these go on the baby’s onesie. Each month you take a picture of her with the appropriate month.

These are similar to the nursery bedding. Plus monkeys are just cute!

Look how cute these bloomers are!!!

Ideas from Pinterest

Birthday Questions - every year on their birthday you ask the same questions and see how their answers change over the years! Add a pic and make a book out of it.

mother and daughter...do this every year & see how you change.// love this idea.

the clothes that baby came home in... cute!

Now if I can just remember to do all of these fun creative things!!

11 more to go

2011-11-13T19:42:00.001-06:00

I had my glucola screening this past Monday. I was worried the drink I had to consume would be awful, but it really wasn’t bad at all. It tasted like a really sweet Sunkist, and since I love Sunkist, I downed it in about 30 seconds:).

This week we found a pediatrician, which is a relief to be able to check that off the list! What’s crazy is we got the same dr. that my sister in law uses for her daughters and we had no idea until after we got her!! I am so blessed to have so many “moms” in my life who were able to give me lots of advice on pediatricians in the area:).

29 weeks pregnant: I bought these cute workout shirts(I have another in teal) at Target, and so far they have made it through all of my pregnancy! They are not maternity workout shirts, but because of the way they are made, they have worked out perfectly!! And the bonus is I can wear them after I’m not pregnant:).

One of my latest obsessions is PINTEREST

I blame my co-worker Jamie on getting me hooked on pinterest. I have found so many cute organizational, design, crafty ideas, and cute baby pictures! Here are a few of my favs…

ummm…notice a theme?:)) I’m kinda baby crazy right now if it’s not obvious by the above pics!

This weekend we had our first baby class most of the day on Saturday. It included learning some breathing techniques, watching several videos on childbirth and getting a tour of the hospital. I believe the highlight for Nathan was when he found out the lunch was going to be catered by Shyler’s restaurant, his favorite!:)

28 weeks

2011-11-06T16:20:00.001-06:00

This week has flown by. I feel like I say that every week, but it really is true!!!

Monday was Halloween and my first time passing out candy to trick or treaters in the new casa. We didn’t have has many kiddos stop by as I prepared for. Guess it’s better to be over prepared than underprepared. Of course, that might not be the case for Halloween, being that a lot of the leftover candy is now in my belly!!! Why are little mini twix and snickers so darn addicting!!!

Thursday night I had dinner with a friend at the Smiling Moose, which is a deli near where I live. It was really good, as well as hanging out with a new friend.

My allergies have been crazy this week which has not been fun. I almost didn’t go to work on Friday, but I somehow talked myself into it:). Mostly b/c I want to save all my sick days for when my daughter gets here….my daughter…that is so strange to say…in a good way of course. Kind of like when you first get married and you get to call your Fiance your Husband for the first time…weird, but exciting as well:).

I always seem to have at least one amusing kid story related to my pregnancy. It usually occurs at my Friday school as well. Today was no exception. Maybe that’s why I went to work today??….just kidding!

One of my students asked me if I was going to name the baby Bob! I told him I’m having a girl. Then another boy asked if I was going to name her Shirley!! Then another boy came up to me and put his pointer finger on my belly and pushed in on my stomach(gently) and said “squish squish!” I nearly died with laughter. Yep, I’m glad I went to work on Friday:).

Preparations for the baby this week were very serious ones(kidding): I downloaded a contraction timer app which is freaky to think about, but cool that they exist!! I also started doing some research on baby photographers in the area so I can have that set up when my baby girl arrives. It’s nice having a sister in law who has lived here a long time and almost always has an answer to my questions…..like I need a good but not crazy expensive photographer. And then she emails you with multiple names!!

I made some yummy Chocolate Macaroon cookies this week. The recipe can be found here.

I give them an A. I’m sure they won’t last too many more days in the household! I also made some lentil and sweet potato soup. It was okay, but I won’t be making it again! It did feed me for 3 meals, so I’ll take that:).

I also made some Crispy Tofu bites which were pretty good. I would give them a B+. Recipe found here.

I’m officially at a weight I have never seen before on the scale. I’m okay with it, just hoping it doesn’t get ridiculous by the end of the pregnancy. It would probably help if I didn’t eat massive amounts of Halloween candy and make cookies a few days after that…lol!!! :).

Now that I’m in my 3rd trimester, I am wondering if any morning sickness will return, or if I will be even more fatigued than I already am….guess time will tell!!! The baby is about 2 1/2 lbs now, which is about the size of an eggplant!

Luckily I haven’t had any trouble falling asleep. I still get up 2-3 times a night to pee, but it’s not really that big of a deal. I haven’t needed any extra pillows or anything….at least not yet!

Jack all bundled up in his blanket! This is the blanket I try and drape over the back of the couch, but somehow it never seems to stay there b/c Jackboy pulls it down! I guess he’s trying to tell me something!!

Goodbye 2nd Trimester, Hello 3rd!

2011-10-30T13:38:00.002-05:00

I am officially 27 weeks pregnant as of today. I am also starting the beginning of my 3rd trimester, which is very hard to believe!!
It’s weird to look at this picture of my stomach b/c to me it looks really big, but I don’t think I feel that big. It’s like looking in the mirror and seeing a reflection of someone unfamiliar….I’m weird, I know!

There is not a lot to report this week. I have been tired, but that’s nothing new. We continue to have no name picked out for the baby, again nothing new!
I told Nathan the other day I think he is “nesting” b/c he(with some help from me) has been doing all kinds of home projects the past few weeks. It’s like he’s getting ready for the baby to come. It’s sweet, and our house looks great, so I’m all about his nesting continuing…haha!
I only made one new recipe this week- tofu stir fry, and while it was good, it’s not really worth talking about as I won’t be making it again, so I don’t recommend making it. I also recycled some of my favorites! I made more pumpkin socca, pumpkin butter, and quinoa bread, which is pictured below. I’m not sure I shared this on the blog before. When I initially made it, I was slightly disappointed, but each piece I ate seemed to get better. Now I’m in love with this bread, and I encourage you(if you have quinoa sitting around!) to make it!!
I got the recipe here. It’s very easy to make, and great with soup!

91 days to go….:).

Almost done with the 2nd trimester (26 week update)

2011-10-23T12:40:00.001-05:00

I think I mentioned last week I haven’t been too tired…boy was that NOT the case this week. I could have probably fallen asleep at 7pm if not earlier every single night this week. I am worn out!!!

Nothing very eventful happened this week. I had a few students touch my belly and ask if my baby was still in my stomach. It’s interesting how kids don’t have a great concept of time. I frequently try and explain to them that the baby isn’t coming until after Christmas:). I am still not certain they understand! One of my students with autism asked me when that baby was going to come out of my belly,…. and that is almost an exact quote:).

I have been finding myself trying to be more conscientious of my bump because I seem to be “bumping”(pun intended) into a lot more things lately. I just keep forgetting that my belly actually goes out THAT far..lol!!

This week I’ve also spent more time thinking about the actual act of labor…that I have to go through it. There’s no getting around it, it’s going to happen!!! It’s a little daunting…okay who am I kidding, it’s really scary! Plus I read this one blog , and the girl was pregnant. She recently went through 55 hours of labor before giving birth to her boy……55 HOURS!!! Talk about freak a pregnant lady out…I hope that’s not me!!!

In contrast to my freaking out, I had a sweet friend from Texas send me a very encouraging email that makes me realize I can do this birth thing. I mean, I have God by my side, giving me strength and wisdom. I got this:) I still hope it’s not 55 hours….:)

I made one fun recipe this week that actually turned out better than I thought it would. I would definitely make it again for the taste and how easy it was to throw together! It did not taste like tofu at all to me, but actual lasagna!

TOFU RICOTTA LASAGNA (vegan)

I didn’t use almond cheese like the recipe says b/c I have never seen almond cheese in the stores around here. When I do I will definitely be trying it! I used Diaya; although any grated cheese would work as well!

This is a picture of my second helping:).

25 weeks

2011-10-16T18:09:00.001-05:00

Only 15 weeks to go. Hard to believe it’s gone this quickly!!! This week has been my week of clumsiness!! I have had 3-4 things(that I can remember) I have done that were very clumsy!! I scratched my arm pretty bad on the shelving in the garage on Sunday. Later in the week I was trying to pour water out of my cup into the sink. I missed the sink and the water spilled all over the floor…yea, I did that! Then I went to get a towel to clean up my mess and I slid in the water and nearly did the splits!!! Nathan had to help me out of the splits b/c i couldn’t really move!!!

I work with many students who have Autism. On Friday I was working with two of my older kiddos and we were discussing small talk and how people determine what they are going to talk about with people when they see them. I told them right now I have a lot of people small talk with me about my pregnancy/baby. I then asked them to brainstorm what they might ask me related to my baby if they were to “small talk” with me. One of my students said “ Why is your belly so big?” LOL!!! I had a hard time not busting out laughing when he said that!!!

I painted my toenails tonight and it may be the last time I’m able to do that, as my stomach is definitely getting in the way!! Guess that means I’ll have to go get pedicures..:)).

Jack hates it when his daddy leaves the house! He can’t stand to not go with him, or at least watch him intently through the blinds!!

Pumpkin Eats

2011-10-12T20:39:00.000-05:00

So a couple of posts ago I mentioned I was going to be making pumpkin recipes this week. I have a few recipes to share with you that are AMAZING!! Seriously, these were way better than i thought they would be:).

On tuesday night, i made Pumpkin Chili and Pumpkin Socca. I give both A++. I will definitely be making this again, and if you like pumpkin, you should definitely make these!!! Great fall, vegan recipes that anyone would enjoy!

PUMPKIN CHILI

PUMPKIN SOCCA – I cooked it 5 minutes longer than the recipe said b/c mine was too moist!

This was my bowl x 2….and maybe 3 for the socca :)

I also made these Pumpkin Peanut Butter oatmeal Bars I subbed honey for the sugar. I give them a B. I froze most of them and they are easy to take out of the freezer and eat- no need to wait for any defrosting.

I also have plans for 3 more pumpkin recipes, but they will have to wait until next week..after all a girl can only eat so much in a week:). Don’t want to turn orange or anything:).

Baby Gifts

2011-10-11T20:28:00.001-05:00

We got some more baby gifts this week from the family. They are both so cute I had to share:).

I challenged(somewhat jokingly) my mom that Baby L. would need a Cowboy’s outfit since she now has a Colts outfit. My mother took the challenge seriously, and today in the mail I got a cute little Cowboys’ outfit.

It’s so tiny!!! Maybe baby L. will make an entrance before the Super Bowl, and MAYBE the cowboys will be there. She could wear this outfit to cheer them on. Sorry colts…it’s not looking good so far this year:(

My in-laws also bought us our bedding for our nursery. They brought it by on Saturday. I’m so excited to get the nursery all decorated:)

24 down

2011-10-09T15:06:00.001-05:00

I’m definitely starting to feel bigger as the weeks go by!! My stomach seems to be getting in the way more, as I try not to bump into things:). I seem to be having more trouble breathing too. I’m frequently taking loud breaths and sighing a lot:). I haven’t been really that tired, which is nice. This past week was also a forgetful week for me. It seems to be getting worse each week…oh no!!! :)

WEEK 24-I’ve got my children’s ministry shirt on b/c it was my Sunday to work with the preschoolers. I’m not sure if it’s going to fit next month!!! It barely fit today!!

Friday night Nate and I went to the fall festival. WE worked in our church’s booth for 3 hours. I didn’t realize how exhausted I was, or how sore my feet, back and wrists were until we left!! I was actually worried about having to go to the bathroom while I was there, but luckily I was so busy, I didn’t think about it that much. Plus I was sweating b/c that booth, with almost a dozen people in it can get a little toasty!!!

Last week I made a great macaroni and cheese recipe that I am in love with. Well, I’m in love with the sauce! The recipe can be found here, and trust me, you want to make it! Another great thing about the recipe is I have about 10 cans of butternut squash I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with! Now, with this new cheese recipe, I have a use for my 10 cans:))

Butternut Squash Mac ‘n Cheeze

It looks like actual cheese doesn’t it?

This was the first night I ate it. I also steamed some broccoli and mixed it in for another meal. so good!

This week I have plans to make waay too many pumpkin recipes. I’ve actually already made 2 this weekend! I love fall!!!

When Jack’s daddy is gone, Jack likes to sit in his comfy chair!!

23 weeks

2011-10-02T19:47:00.001-05:00

I thought I would compare my 19 week and 23 week picture to see the difference!

19 WEEKS

23 WEEKS

This week was very busy at work, so it flew by! I have been sleeping well, only getting up on average 2 times a night for a bathroom break:). No trouble sleeping really. I am so tired after the day, that I easily fall asleep!

I’ve now had three people touch my stomach to date(not including Nathan!). My friend Jess, a coworker and my SIL.

This week Nate and I have spent quite a bit of time discussing baby names. We are looking for something that has a good meaning, is not unisex(like Hayden), is easy to pronounce and spell. I mean, we are already giving our daughter a very difficult last name, so we are trying to help her out with her first name!!! We were thinking Olivia Grace for a couple of weeks, but people are already pronouncing it different ways- O-livia, and Uh-livia. I prefer the latter, but not everyone is saying it that way. Sooo, Olivia is out and we’re on the hunt for another name. ugh! I thought registering was hard work!! This name thing is serious business:)). Hopefully she will have a name by the time she’s born!!!

This week also has come with a loss of memory…like I can’t remember much of anything. In fact, I went to a restaurant last night with family, sat down for several minutes before I realized I hadn’t even look at the menu to see what I wanted to order!!! What in the world!

Yesterday, we went to my niece’s 7th birthday party at cheer zone. I can’t believe she will be 7 later this week!! She is getting so big!! Gotta love the boa!! It fits her personality perfectly!! Sassy and outgoing:).

Big sister Savannah looking very grown up, who will be 10 before we know it!

I had to put a picture of the birthday cake on here b/c it is so cute. I didn’t even realize it was the cake at first glance!!

Our First Baby Gifts

2011-09-27T18:02:00.000-05:00

On Monday in the mail I got my first baby gift from my parents- a toothbrush! How appropriate! My dad is a dentist and my mom is a hygienist, so I should have known it would be our baby girl’s first gift from my parents..lol!!! My sweet mom also added 2 maternity shirts for me, which I wasn’t expecting!!!

Then Nathan and I met his mom and our niece, Savannah, for dinner. We got our second baby gift, which was a cute Colts onesie and cute socks to match!!! I can’t wait for her to wear this:).

Too cute!!!

Mom, the second baby gift may need to be a Cowboys’ onesie….just saying:)…gotta be fair!!

I never thought I would enjoy opening gifts that weren’t for me..lol:).

LORD, I NEED YOU

2011-09-26T19:09:00.001-05:00

Our church band played this song in church yesterday. I loved it and wanted to share it with you. This song is a reminder that I can't go through my life on my own. I need Christ, his strength, his love, his courage, his righteousness etc. Everything I am and ever will be is b/c of Him. I am nothing without Him. The song also reminds me I don't just need Christ in my times of struggle and sorrow, but I need him EVERY hour of every day. I think it's easy to forget that at times, especially when life is going smoothly. I hope this song impacts you the way it does me.

22 weeks

2011-09-25T16:59:00.001-05:00

Today marks my 22nd week of pregnancy. This week is the first week I have started seeing the baby’s kicks in my stomach. Before I just felt it, now I’m actually seeing movement!! Pretty crazy looking!! Also entertaining:).

This week Nathan and I have spent quite a bit of time working on our registry. I think I am pretty much finished, at least for the time being. It’s funny b/c some items I have no idea how to register for, such as bottles. How many bottles am I going to need? I have no idea!! So I just picked a number. I figure if I need more when the time comes, we’ll go buy more:).

The past 2 weekends, Nathan and I have gone to the movies. This weekend I picked Moneyball. It has been getting good ratings and even Oscar buzz, so I thought we should check it out. I thought Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill did a great job in the movie. Overall we both enjoyed the movie, but I wasn’t blown away by it, like I was by Inception. These days, Nathan and I are rarely impressed with a movie we see. Maybe we’re tough critics. Maybe the crazy price of the movie makes us tough critics..lol!

Last week, Nathan picked Contagion for us to see. We both thought it was pretty good, but again, nothing great. There wasn’t enough character development to make you really care about them. Not a lot of suspense, more like a documentary.

I have been feeling well and trying to exercise as much as possible. Jack has been getting lots of walks in the evening lately. I’m sure he is loving it!

Books I am reading right now:

So far, I like Baby 411 better than What to Expect.. A lot of great information- overwhelming, but still very informative and practical stuff.

No exciting food this week, just more mini pizzas, chocolate covered bananas and dough balls….and fruits and veggies of course:).

Fall is here! I’m excited!!!!! 126 more days until D-day:)

21 Weeks

2011-09-18T15:31:00.001-05:00

I am officially 21 weeks pregnant today. Where has the time gone?!?! I guess when you’re busy time goes quicker!

21 weeks:

Someone touched my baby bump for the first time this week(besides Nathan). Luckily it was a friend and I was totally cool with it. In fact, I’m finding myself wanting people to notice that I am pregnant. I went through a stage where I just felt kind of frumpy and overweight and didn’t really look very pregnant. I’m kind of ready to start “looking” pregnant so I won’t get those curious looks from people who don’t know I’m pregnant…lol! I’ve also noticed more people looking directly at my stomach this week. Not sure if they are looking for growth or just wondering if I’m pregnant or just gaining weight!!

My cravings are similar to last week- salty foods like chips, tomato/pizza sauce, and any type of sweets!

Speaking of sweets, on my to do list today I’m planning on stocking up on some of my favorites: chocolate covered bananas, dough balls and since I have an open can of pumpkin in my fridge(hello fall!), pumpkin bread is in order:). I guess that should hold me over for at least a week…lol!!!

This week I bought my first baby clothes!! It was so much fun and I have enjoyed pulling them out of the closet and looking at them several times!! I know, I’m a dork, but I can’t help it. They are just so tiny and cute!!!

Here are a couple of the items I bought:

I made a fun recipe this week from dashingdish.com

http://www.dashingdish.com/2011/09/mini-deep-dish-pizzas/

MINI DEEP DISH PIZZAS!

I changed the recipe some to my liking and diet. I used vegan parmesan cheese and meatless pepperoni instead of the regular.

Put your tortillas in the pan.

Then fill the pan with the pizza sauce, cheese and pepperoni.

These were really good! The recipe said you can use 1-2 Tbsp of sauce in each tin. I used 2 tbsp and it was a little too much, so next time I’ll just use 1. That didn’t stop Nathan and I from eating them!!! Kids would probably like these as well since they’re tiny:).

Baby Girl

2011-09-13T17:41:00.002-05:00

Here are some of the pics we got yesterday at the ultrasound. The tech even took a picture for us of her girlie private parts to show us it is most definitely a girl. I’ll refrain from putting those on the blog:).
My dr. said I have gained 10 lbs(I thought it was more, but we’ll go with the lower number..lol!) and that’s exactly what she wanted. 10 lbs the first 20 weeks and 20 more lbs the next 20 weeks.
Her big foot- she must be taking after her momma:). I think she weighed in at 11oz.

Ahhhh:)
Here is the 4D picture- I started to cry some when I saw this one. The tech said these pics will get even better further into the pregnancy; however, I’m not planning another ultrasound unless there is a medical need.

It was funny b/c during the ultrasound, as the tech was showing us all the body parts etc., I kept looking for any signs of a “boy” and didn’t see any…..not that I would know it if I saw it!!!
It was such a surreal moment right before the technician told us the sex of the baby.

The ultrasound tech. said after she got the first good image of her, she started putting her hand in front of her face and blocking the view!
The tech told us that SHE is definitely a SHE, no doubt in her mind:)) lol!

Now that we made it through Monday and we know the baby is a she and she’s healthy, we have to start thinking about the nursery and registering for baby items…oh and a name is important too!!! :)

IT'S A.........

2011-09-12T21:15:00.000-05:00

GIRL:))) I'll post more later this week when I have time!!! I told Nathan I have to go clothes shopping now:)) We got some cool 4D pictures I'll post as well.

The Weekend

2011-09-11T19:55:00.002-05:00

This Saturday I spent most of the day maternity clothes shopping. I did find several things, so I’m feeling much better about what I’ll be wearing this fall/winter.
Today I wore maternity clothes for the first time- maternity jeans. I gotta say I’m not a huge fan, but it could be the kind I got. I was constantly pulling them up all day!!! I decided to take my 20 week picture in them so you can see how awesome they are…lol!
I even pulled up my t-shirt so you could see the lovely panel! I tried wearing the panel folded over during church, but I think that made the pants worse! Overall I like the pants, if they would stay in one place:).

On Saturday night, since there was nothing on tv, I decided to watch a movie on Netflix. Have I mentioned my love for Netflix before?:) I was so excited to see that Forks Over Knives, a food/health documentary was on instant queue, which just means I could watch it on tv or on my computer any time I wanted to. So, while eating dinner and making cranberry dough balls, I watched a great documentary. I’m not really a huge documentary fan, but for some reason the food documentaries are always so fascinating to me!

I really enjoyed this movie. I had already read The Engine 2 Diet book last year, so a lot of information in the doc. was familiar to me, but I still enjoyed it! The documentary is basically a rationale for how eating a plant based diet can decrease your chance of cancer and heart disease and increase your quality of life. I give it an A.
These dough balls might increase your quality of life too…haha just kidding, but they are mighty tasty and easy to make!! Recipe found here. The recipe calls for dried cherries, but I only had dried cranberries, so that’s what I used.

On Sunday, I went to church to work with the children in Sunday School. I volunteer once a month. I was sad to miss the service today as it was a special service due to 9/11. I’m sure it was awesome!
This afternoon I have been getting lunch ready for the week. I thought I would show you what I eat for lunch since it’s kind of different:). My new lunch staple is Tofu Salad….yes I said tofu.
The Recipe can be found here.

My lunch: tofu salad on ezekiel bread with rice cheese and avocado. Carrots with hummus, strawberries and 1 oz of dark chocolate for dessert! Yum!
My bread of choice:
And last but not least, my lunch bag with a reminder note to take OJ with me tomorrow!! My ultrasound is tomorrow after work and a friend, who is also pregnant, recommended I drink juice so the baby would be awake and moving around:).

Boy or girl…….we find out tomorrow!!! :)

19 weeks and counting

2011-09-06T18:09:00.001-05:00

I can’t believe I am almost halfway through my pregnancy. It seems to have gone pretty fast. I’m expecting the second half to go even faster with the busyness of the holidays and my crazy job!

Morning sickness is gone, but is replaced with a very keen sense of smell. In fact i woke up this morning around 5amish and smelled something that kept me up the rest of the night..err morning:)

Heartburn also likes to creep up on me every now and then. Luckily it’s not too often to have to take anything for it.

This past Sunday, I felt(I think!) the baby move for the first time during church. It was kind of a popping/bubble sort of of feeling..hard to explain!

This week babble.com says my baby is the size of a heirloom tomato and weighs about 8 1/2 ounces!!

I’ve gained about 11 lbs so far, but it definitely feels like a lot more to me..lol! I’m still wearing my regular clothes, but not for much longer!! I’m not looking forward to maternity clothes. I’ve been shopping several places and haven’t found much I’m excited about. If you see me in the same outfit frequently, it’s not b/c I just love the outfit- trust me!

Next Monday, we find out if we’re having a boy or girl. I am so excited, I can hardly wait!! The votes are leaning heavily towards a boy:)

I was planning to take pics weekly and post my baby bump progress(LOL!), but of course that didn’t happen, so here are a couple of pictures I did manage to take:

12 WEEKS : Do I look like a goofball or what!:).

19 WEEKS:

I see a difference!!

As far as my eating, I have tried to eat healthy when I am at home, but have been much more laid back when eating out. I crave a lot of salty foods right now like chips and french fries!!! A co-worker told me she thinks I’m having a boy b/c of that. We will see!!

Recipes I have tried recently and really enjoyed are:

Sorry not many pics this time. I have been a bad blogger:).

recipes:

1.Spicy tempeh chili – really good A+

http://bethsjourney.com/spicy-tempeh-chili/

2. Broccoli and rice(cauliflower) casserole-very tasty! A

http://healthyhoggin.com/2011/03/broccoli-and-rice-casserole/

3. Summer Succotash Quesadillas with Nacho Mmmm Sauce- I’ve made this twice now! A+

http://peasandthankyou.com/2011/07/24/third-times-a-mmmm/

I’ve also been chopping up bananas into big chunks, dipping them in melted dark chocolate, and then freezing them. A very yummy, healthy dessert! Soo, maybe I’m craving some sweets too….maybe it’s a girl;).

And I can’t end a post without a cute pic of my current baby:).

Every time I tell him mommy is going to have a baby, he thinks I’m saying “bath” and gets excited, and even heads to the bathroom sometimes!! :)

Eggplant Parmesan

2011-07-30T16:29:00.001-05:00

One thing I am really good at is not following recipes very well. I really want to, but for some reason, I end up messing something up:). This is ironic since I teach kids how to follow directions at my job....yep, I get paid to do it:)).
Last night I made a recipe with eggplant, a vegetable I had never cooked with until last week. I have now eaten 3 different meals with eggplant in it recently, and I must say I am liking eggplant.

So I made this amazing recipe last night and just today, as I was looking at the recipe again, I realized I totally did it wrong....well the eggplant anyways! I was supposed to slice the eggplant in discs, but instead I cut it into chunks. While I was preparing the dish, I was thinking it didn't look like I had enough eggplant to make it....well now I know why!! Duh Kelly. Needless to say, it still turned out great! I can't wait to actually make it the way the recipes says to make it next time!!

For some reason blogger uploaded my pictures the wrong way....:(. My laptop crashed on me last week, so I'm using my husband's old computer that doesn't have windows live writer on it. I am definitely appreciating that program more and more after having to deal with blogger this week!!! Soo slowwww!

Another great find within this recipe is a "cheese" sauce that is really good! It was so good I proceeded to make a double batch of it while the eggplant was baking!!! This is also what I poured over my roasted brocolli.

I definitely recommend this recipe if you like eggplant. Recipe can be found http://www.ahealthypassion.com/2011/04/05/vegan-eggplant-parmesan/

Jamaica Trip day 4 and 5

2011-07-29T10:08:00.001-05:00

On Friday, the entire family went to Mayfield Falls and Mineral Springs. Our tourism representative at the resort, Andrea, described the excursion as a relaxing spa experience. You just sit and soak in the warm mineral springs and enjoy your day. She also said it would be fine for a pregnant lady:). Umm, not so much!
It took us about an hour and a half to get there. We were then lead on a little nature walk on our way to the falls. The tour guide showed us a type of plant that when you touch it, it bends down. IT was really cool. He said the plantation owners would plant these so they would know where their slaves went when they tried to run away.

This is a cocoa tree!

This is a turmeric plant(I think)

When we arrived at the falls/springs, we had to cross this slightly scary man made bride. This was probably my first indication that this would not be a pregnancy friendly excursion!! Be warned, copious amounts of pictures to follow....:)

I look goofy in this picture, trying to pose or something:). Check out our "bridge!"

The parents

BTW, the water was not warm like we had been told. It was quite cold!!

This was our photographer on the trip. Halfway through the excursion, we stopped and rubbed some limestone on our bodies. It was kind of an exfoliant and made our skin smooth. Some even put it on their faces....:).

Our group, which in included our family and another couple.

The men(Nate, Buddy and my Dad) climbed this tall tree and jumped off. None of the ladies did this:).

This is probably Nate standing under a waterfall.

There was a lot of climbing up on rocks. Thankfully my husband and the guides helped me a lot. My arms and calves were so sore the next day!!!

At the end of our trip, the tour guides showed us a plant that you can use as soup. Here is Nathan washing his hands with it. It was pretty cool how it worked!

This stray dog was scratching himself along the side the the springs! It was funny!

I actually have probably 50 more pictures from this trip, but I can't find them right now, so maybe I'll post them at a later date:).

After the falls, we came back and ate lunch and then headed home. For dinner that night, we ate at Bordeaux's, which was another very fancy restaurant. They actually had the best dessert of any of the restaurants the entire week- Bananas Flambee. I believe all of us ordered this!!

Saturday was a more low key day. Mom and I went to a jewelry making class and then Nathan and I played in a blackjack tournament. Nathan almost won- I did not:). It was still fun playing!!! Buddy took 2nd place in a ping pong tournament as well:). I believe I probably had a nap that afternoon as well:)).

I think Dad and Chris went kayaking.

The cool thing about the resort was if you wanted to be at the pool, there were several to choose from, but if you wanted the beach, it was right there beside the pool!!!

That night we ate dinner at Bordeaux's again, and all had bananas flambee again!!!

almost done......

I Love Instragram

2011-07-28T18:40:00.000-05:00

If you have an iphone and don't have Instagram, then you need to download it ASAP. It's so much fun!! It's a free app that allows you to add filtered effects or tilt-shift your photos. It looks really cool. Here are some of my latest instagrams......poor Jack:).

Nate with baby Langston-ahh, won't he make a good daddy!

My beautiful 9 year old niece Savannah. She is growing up so fast!!! It's crazy how she and I are discussing the apps we both have...lol!! Times are changing that's for sure!

Jack being all cute:).

Jack annoyed with mom for making him take yet ANOTHER picture!

annndddd, Jack again:)

Veggie Burger

2011-07-27T18:30:00.001-05:00

Last week I also made a new to me veggie burger from one of my favorite blogs- ohsheglows.com This burger is also vegan and tasted really good! It made about 10 burgers, so you can imagine what I have been eating all week:).
The only problem with the burgers is they didn't stay together very well. If you do make these, you need to press them firmly together before you bake them. This seemed to help them some.

My dinner: I sauteed some mushrooms for my burger as well. Popchips, carrots and hummus were also eaten.

Recipe can be found here.

Zucchini Quinoa Lasagna

2011-07-25T18:17:00.001-05:00

During the first trimester of my pregnancy, which was most of the summer, I was in no mood to cook new recipes. I lived mostly on sandwiches and soup...lots of soup:). Just recently I've started to want to cook again, which means I'm getting back to my old self...well, my old self with a baby growing inside of me..so I guess not completely back to normal...lol!!

On Saturday night, I made a new recipe that was wonderful! I will definitely be making it again!! Nate he told me he liked it and went back for seconds. That doesn't happen often with my cooking...lol!!

This recipe is vegan, but you can easily non-veganize it if you don't care about that sort of thing.

This was so good, I can't wait to make it again!! I got the recipe here.

BTW, I am 13 weeks pregnant now which means goodbye first trimester!!! It also means I'm about to say goodbye to my summer vacation:( 2 more weeks until I have to go back to work.

Jamaica Trip day 3 and 4

2011-07-24T18:16:00.001-05:00

On Wednesday, my parents did some snorkeling in the morning before we were even awake!!

We enjoyed breakfast around 9:30/10am most mornings:)
For lunch, we went in search of the Jerky Man, who is this guy that drives his food cart around the resort giving out free jerked chicken.

There was also a guy chopping coconuts for people to drink. I thought that was pretty cool since coconut water in the states is actually pretty expensive. Here they were just giving it away for free!!

In the afternoon, the ladies(mom, Heather and me) went on a shopping excursion. We stopped at a few shops and then the crazy flea market. It was ridiculously overwhelming for me. As soon as you walk in, the people practically swarm you begging you to come into their shop and look at their products. It was crazy! I did get a cute bracelet and some jewelry for my nieces, but MAN was I happy to leave that place. I can't stand for people to basically beg me to buy something. And if I didn't buy something, then I became the enemy. Definitely not a fan.

That night we ate dinner at the Hibachi grill. I think it was called Himitsu or something like that:). I had read some reviews online about the resort we stayed at and someone recommended this guy to cook your dinner! It just so happened we got him! I think his name was Markus?

This was his Michael Jackson impersonation. He sang for us throughout the evening!

On Thursday, my dad, Chris, Heather and Nathan went on an excursion to Mystic Mountain(ziplining and bobsledding) and Dunn's Falls. Mom and I stayed at the resort and hung out. There might have been some shuffleboard involved in our day...I know crazy fun right? I was kind of sad about missing this excursion. I was looking forward to seeing Dunn's falls....but it was not recommended for pregnant ladies:((.

The Honeymooners climbing the Falls.

This is my dad standing under a waterfall acting silly. Dad's camera got messed up the day before so the pics are slightly cloudy. This is his underwater camera that somehow had a leak and got some water in it:(.

Everyone had to hold hands on their climb. My fam. said they didn't particularly enjoy that part.

I think this was part of the bobsled adventure.

Everyone thought the ziplining was the most fun! Here is Nate hamming it up for the camera.

That evening we ate at one of the fancy schmancy restaurants called Blue Mountain.

Honeymooners!

The dinner was nice, but EXTREMELY long! I think it took us over 2 hours to eat.
In the evenings at the resort they usually had 2 movies playing outside on a screen as well as live music and/or dancing at their theater. We went to one event at the theater and caught parts of movies, but for the most part, we were tired in the evenings!!! We're getting old!

to be continued....

Jamaica Mon- DAY 1 and 2

2011-07-13T21:06:00.001-05:00

After my brother’s wedding, we spent the following day recovering and getting packed to travel to Dallas for our flight on Monday morning to Jamaica. My brother and SIL invited my parents and us on their honeymoon, which was very nice.

On Monday we took 2 flights to reach our destination. As you see, Buddy was still recouping from the wedding festivities!

We stayed at Secrets resorts in Montego Bay. Here is a view from our room.

Pics from our hotel room before we junked it up too much..lol!

We arrived Monday afternoon. After checking into our rooms(which took waaay too long!) and unpacking, we headed out to one of like 7 of the restaurants- Portofino, which was Italian.

The newlyweds

These are dad’s pics- he doesn’t like posed pictures as you can see by the great expression on my face:). And the Pina Colada in front of my plate was virgin and the only drink I had the entire trip:)…too much sugar!!

After dinner, we walked around and checked out the grounds. Some people had their own private pools which was pretty cool.

The next day we spent the day at the pool and beach.

my dad

My mom, reading the library book I lent her for the week:).

Lunch at a restaurant by the pool

We also planned our excursions for the week. Because I was pregnant, I didn’t get to go on the first excursion and probably shouldn’t have gone on the second excursion….but we’ll get to that!

TUESDAY NIGHT- We went out to eat at El Patio, a Mexican restaurant. One of the cool things about Secrets is the variety of restaurants they have. I believe there were 7 or 8 different places to dine in the evening, and we rarely waited for a table.

For some reason, the only picture I have from this dinner is my dad’s un-posed picture of me slurping my soup down…thanks dad:).

to be continued……

My Brother’s Wedding 6-25-11

2011-07-12T15:49:00.001-05:00

Nathan and I drove to Texas on Wednesday before my brother’s wedding. On Thursday I got my teeth cleaned(perk of having a hygienist for a mom) and mom and I got our nails done. On Friday, the craziness started! Mom and I drove to Longview(location of wedding) to help with decorating the church and rehearsal dinner location while the boys played golf.

Most of my help with decorating involved cutting stems of roses, pinning the roses and taping the petals so they wouldn’t open until the following day. I got an education on flowers for sure! After decorating it was time for the rehearsal.

Groomsmen:

Groom aka my brother:)- He actually cried during the rehearsal when his bride walked down the aisle. It was so sweet!

After the rehearsal, we headed to the dinner to eat!

Nate, Buddy, Brice, and Corbett

The wedding colors were black and white

Mom and me

Nevaeh- one of the flower girls

My little brother all grown up:)

WEDDING DAY:

The family

Mom, me and Ann(mom’s best friend)

Lighting the unity candle

A funny story goes along with this picture. All the groomsmen decided to pull out tissues and pass them down the line to Chris while he waited for Heather to walk down the aisle. Since he cried the night before, they thought it would be funny…and it was! The congregation cracked up!

Waiting for his bride….

My sister-in-law

Heather, I am so happy to have you in our family. You are one of the sweetest, kindest people I know.

Groom’s cake- BU is for my brother’s(and my) alma mater.

Candy bar, which was a big hit!! I thought it was a really cute idea!

The wedding and reception were a lot of fun. I was exhausted by the end of the night for sure:). I got to see a lot of Frankston people I hadn’t seen in years. Congrats Heather and Buddy!!!!

WHAT’S IN MY OVEN?

2011-07-05T21:20:00.001-05:00

So you probably think this is going to be another food post, but it’s not!!!!

On April 17th, my world changed. I was sitting in church with Nate on my right and Joe(a guy in our small group) and his baby girl, Kennedy, to my left. I received the below text from Nathan.

I have been wanting to have a child but Nate had been more interested in adoption, so when I got this text I about fell out of my seat.

Just to clear up the last text, when I said let’s do it today, I meant have the discussion!! :)

About 6 weeks, later…..

When I took the pregnancy test and saw two lines, I started to cry! I didn’t expect I would cry, but I seriously started bawling. Then I called Nathan, who was in California, and he didn’t answer, so I texted him to call me ASAP. When I told him I was pregnant, I started crying again!! Can pregnancy hormones kick in that early? lol!

wEEK 7: My baby is the size of a blueberry!!

I’ve definitely been nauseous this week, but no throwing up so far. Pre-pregnancy, I usually ate dessert after lunch and dinner. What can I say, I like my sweets! Being pregnant has squashed my desire for sweets. I lean more towards crackers/chips and dip(salsa, nutritional yeast and hummus mixed together)….and BREAD! I have had a sandwich or some type of wrap for most of my meals this week. I’ve also been eating a lot of grapefruit which is unusual for me b/c I rarely buy grapefruit.

WEEK 8: My baby is the size of a raspberry!

I started this week by almost throwing up in the shower. Luckily, I hadn’t eaten that day yet, so there was nothing to throw up(TMI?)! I hope this is not what morning sickness is going to be like on a daily basis!:(

I am definitely thankful that I get to go through my first trimester over the summer. i have been pretty lethargic and nauseous so much that all I have wanted to do is nap! Let’s just say I am not making a dent in my summer to do list this year! Glad I don’t have to go to work! I’m not sure how I would have made it!

I’ve started watching the Baby Story on TLC this week. I’m not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing…..some of the births seem much easier than others….and some are down right scary!!!

WEEK9: My baby is now the size of a grape!

We travelled to Texas this week. Being in the car for 12 hours wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. We went to Texas for my brother’s wedding, which will be another post…hopefully sometime this week! When we arrived in Texas, I had my mom’s birthday and a father’s day gift for my parents. Along with their “grandparent” themed gift was a card I made, with Jack as the star of course.

Front Cover:

Inside:

WEEK 10: My baby is the size of a cherry.

I spent most of this week in Jamaica eating way more food than I needed, but hey, when you’re at an all-inclusive resort, it’s hard to hold back:)) I had some nauseousness, but not too bad.

WEEK 11: My baby is the size of a fig.

I went to my first OBGYN appointment today. The secretary told me to have a full bladder, so what does prepared Kelly do, but drink about 2 glasses of water(well more like chugged in the hospital parking lot) to make sure my belly was full. Well, that wasn’t such a great idea b/c my 1:30pm ultrasound turned into a 2pm ultrasound. I was about to die, I had to go to the bathroom so bad. The sweet ultrasound tech(or whatever they are called) let me go ahead and pee in a cup. After I had gone to the bathroom, we did the ultrasound again and she told me that my bladder was full enough AFTER I went to the bathroom for the ultrasound….what?!?! So I drank all that water for nothing. I’m sure all you mothers are laughing at me right now…but I have learned my lesson:).

My baby! We got to hear the heartbeat which was crazy, exciting and surreal!

Okay, this post has become long, and I’m sure there will be plenty more baby posts in the future…lol:)

Baby L. is due on January 29, 2012:)

FRESH MARKET BIRTHDAY

2011-06-16T15:34:00.001-05:00

Today’s my birthday. What better way to spend my day then going to TheFresh Market…lol!

That sounds pathetic, I know, but I have been looking forward to the opening of this store for a LONG time, so I was excited!! I wanted to go yesterday when it opened, but I wasn’t feeling up to it, so I decided to go today. Can I just say OVERWHELMING! It was ridiculously busy. If you are claustrophobic, you may want to wait a couple of weeks to check out the store, because it was practically shopping cart bumper to bumper:).

I was excited to see a salad bar that looked tasty! This was my lunch today. After eating it, I have to say, I will definitely be making this a frequent occurrence! There was a great corn and black bean salad and some sort of tofu and edamame salad that was out of this world. Oh, and there were chickpeas! A sign of a good salad bar-chickpeas…JUST KIDDING! So good!

I didn’t buy much at the store b/c frankly, I didn’t need many things, I was just curious and had to see inside the store! I’ve driven past it for months willing it to open. It seemed to take forever, so I was excited to check it out today.

A few of my purchases:

There are little packets of nut butter I’m going to take with me on vacation next week. I will probably eat them on apples or in oatmeal.

These protein bars are a treat, meaning I won’t be buying these on a regular basis b/c they are too expensive. But with 20 grams of protein, THAT is a protein bar!! They will go on vacation with me too!

Fries and chips to feed my sweet potato addiction.

Overall, my impression of the store is it has an awesome salad bar, and an olive and antipasta bar if you like that kind of thing. I missed the sushi, or I would have bought some of that:(. I’m sure I missed a lot of things, but there are a lot of speciality sweets/chocolate, an abundance of produce (although I expected more organic produce than I saw), and lots of fun freeze dried fruit which I love. I was disappointed in the yogurt section, expecting there to be more than cow’s milk yogurt, but that is all I saw. The prices were not cheap, but I will definitely be going back, if for no other reason than the salad bar:)).

Fun grocery shopping experience = Happy Birthday to me….lol!!! I must be getting old!!!

GIRL’S NIGHT

2011-06-13T18:33:00.000-05:00

Last Friday, the girls from my church small group had a fun girls’ night/baby shower for Jessica, who is 36 weeks pregnant.

We started our evening with pedicures at Nail Expo. Ashley told us about this new polish that cracks! I had never heard of that before so I thought it would be fun to try it out. I was hoping to use black and pink, but the pink didn’t show through, so I went with white. IF nothing else, black and white are my brother’s wedding colors, so my toes should coordinate perfectly with the wedding..lol!

Mandy and Brittni

Jess and Ashley

The 36 week pregnant lady and me

My crazy toes with the cracked polish! I think it looks kind of cool. It would be really fun for Halloween:)).

After the pedicures, we headed to Panera Bread for dinner.

When my black square pager vibrated, telling me food was ready, I went up to get it. I set the pager on the counter to pick up my food. As I did this, the cook, right behind the counter, asked me to put it in the basket. So I reached to pick up the pager, that was still vibrating, and it slipped from my grasp, sliding across the counter and over the side….woops!! When I say the look on the cook’s face, I knew something bad had happened. I asked him if it fell in food and he said yes. I apologized profusely, but I’m not sure he cared. Then I heard the cook yell to the cashier to take the Chicken Noodle Soup sign down….woops! I guess the pager had fallen in the pot of soup. Hope no one else wanted that soup. I felt so bad and was embarrassed. I learned my lesson. The pager goes in the basket, not on the counter!!! geesh!!

Here is the outfit I got for Jessica’s baby girl. I thought it was cute. There was a headband to match it as well. Very sassy…lol!!

We had a great time hanging out. So much so that we closed the restaurant down, and even sat outside for an hour or so afterwards talking. I’m ready for our next Girl’s night:).

FOOD PROCESSING

2011-06-11T21:11:00.000-05:00

Tuesday night I had some fun with the food processor. Since I already had it out to make some cheezy dip, I decided to make some pea dip(yes, you heard right!) and dessert.

KICKIN’ NACHO “CHEEZE” DIP

I know, sounds gross, but it actually tastes good. I would never have thought to put peanut butter and peas together, but hey, you never know unless you try!!

PEA DIP recipe from edibleperspective.com Recipe found here.

Definitely a lot of green vegetables in this dip!

I have been eyeing this recipe for a couple of days and knew I had to make it. I love making dough balls and these are no exception. They are soo good!!

NO BAKE COCONUT AND CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH BITES

I keep these stored in the freezer.

Jack getting some air time with dad.

Recipemania

2011-06-09T19:02:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite blogs is peasandthankyou.com Sarah, the author of the blog is a very witty mom whose writing is very easy and enjoyable to read. She also makes a lot of yummy recipes.

This particular recipe is for Pinto Bean and Sweet Potato Stew. I think I made this back in April, but am just now getting around to putting it on the blog. The recipe can be found here.

I just had to show this onion…scary right?

This turned out really tasty and didn’t last long at our house!

Of course , anything with sweet potato can’t be that bad!!

I made these so long ago I can’t even remember if I blogged about them or not?!? These are Falafel Burgers. Try saying that three times fast!!:)). I got the recipe from my favorite blog ohsheglows.com Recipe found here. This recipe made like 15 burgers!!! They are about 200 calories each. I ended up freezing over half of them and am still enjoying them on occasion when I feel like a veggie burger:). These are definitely good, but not the best veggie burger I’ve ever had. I think the best thing about them is they made so many that the time I put into making them was worth it b/c they produced so many meals!!

A dressing that I have eaten on several salads is from lovesveggiesandyoga.com Recipe can be found here. I usually half the recipe to decrease the oil and calories.

Green salad dressing:)). It’s green b/c Hemp oil is green.

Love my salads….

I have been enjoying polenta on occasion. I have never had it before this year. Buying it like this is so easy. I basically just slice and bake it, and then try and not eat all of it:).

Dinner : polenta, quinoa(you’re surprised right), and sauteed(in coconut oil) mushrooms, squash, peppers and onions.

I had my church small group over to our house a few weeks ago while Nathan was in LA. I’m always afraid if I make a healthy dessert it won’t be liked. So, I decided to make a healthy dessert and an unhealthy dessert for those that don’t like healthified sweets aka my backup dessert.

I’ve actually made these cookies again, I liked them so much! Recipe found here. They are called Nikki’s Healthy Cookies.

Unhealthy cookies: REcipe found here.

triple threat chocolate fudge p.b. cookies.

I rarely branch out with my breakfast. I usually eat oatmeal every day. I love it that much. The other day I decided to try a Blueberry Banana Oat Cake from lovesveggiesandyoga.com . Recipe found here. The recipe calls for brown sugar, but I omitted it and it was still very sweet.

This was so good!! I will definitely be making it again b/c it was very easy to make and nutritious!

Again, I’m not sure if I have put this on the blog or not. Tofu Tacos- these actually turned out good. REcipe found here. I realize this looks gross, but it did taste good!

spinach, tofu, nutritional yeast and maybe mushrooms? I can’t tell what else is in there…lol!

Jack says he is very happy to have his mommy home during the day to play with him:).

3 THINGS TUESDAY

2011-06-07T18:19:00.001-05:00

I haven’t blogged in forever. Partly b/c I enjoy reading other blogs more than blogging and also b/c not a lot has been going on, so I don’t feel like I have much to blog about. Here are a few random pics I found on my computer to share:)

1.In May, one of my schools, Holy Spirit, held Staff Olympics. It just happened to be held on a Friday, which is the day I am at that school. I got talked into competing, and boy am I glad I gave into peer pressure..lol! My team, which consisted of the kinder, first, and second grade teachers won the entire Olympics!!! Here was the medal we won. I am so proud:). I’m sure it will be the only Olympic medal I ever win!

2. In the process of moving and having a garage sale in May I came across one of my favorite pictures of me as a child. I just loved this outfit so much!! The picture is discolored, which saddens me. I may try and scan it and see if I can fix some of the discolorations. Now if this picture doesn’t scream child of the 70s, I’m not sure what will- hello orange carpet!!

I think I was around 3 years old in this pic. I’m just happy to have hair! My mom said people confused me for a boy for awhile since I didn’t have a lot of hair….I probably shouldn’t be admitting that!!

The other day I looked out my bedroom window and saw this! I was in shock b/c the last time I looked there was nothing except the little girl, which was left by the last owners!

I was in disbelief! How had I missed all of this shooting up?!?! For a split second I thought Nathan had gone to Lowes and bought these plants and planted them as a surprise for me.

Actually they are just perennials…lucky us! And we thought the previous owners of our house didn’t do any landscaping!!!

Happy Tuesday!! Go Mavs!!!!

A SQUASHED WEEK

2011-05-18T21:47:00.001-05:00

While Nathan is away in LA this week, I have been busy cooking up a storm in the kitchen, which is truly a passion of mine. Of course I’ve also been sitting in front of the computer working on paperwork for about 20 conferences…ugh!! Once tomorrow is over, the rest of this year should be smooth sailing!

I bought a spaghetti squash last week and decided to bake it. Spaghetti squash is seriously so easy to cook. You can cut it in half and bake it that way, but I find it easier to just put the squash in a dish and bake it whole for an hour at 400 degrees. Once it’s done, it’s soft and much easier to cut open!! I also put some water in the bottom of the dish.

The topping for the squash was kind of impromptu. I looked in the pantry and fridge and came up with a yummy combo.

1 container of mushrooms

1/2 yellow bell pepper(leftover from previous meal)

1/2 yellow onion(leftover!)

tomato sauce (leftover from last week)

1 can of diced tomatoes, drained

about 1 Tbsp coconut oil for the pan. I used coconut oil b/c I love it and b/c i was planning on cooking my food on medium high. I read that if you are cooking higher than medium heat, olive oil can be toxic. I have no idea if this is true, but it just gives me another reason to use coconut oil..lol!

When the squash was finished, I cut it in half and scooped the seeds and nasty stringy stuff out:).

Then, enough squash for 3 meals, which is another reason I love spaghetti squash- leftovers!

Lately everything must be topped with nutritional yeast…I might have a problem;).

This was seriously so good. I wasn’t going to post about my spaghetti squash b/c I’ve mentioned it on the blog before, but it was so good, it deserved a second shout out:).

I have a love/hate relationship with Butternut squash. It is SOO tasty and yet a bear to cut up, like ridiculously hard. It can be cooked the same way as spaghetti squash; however, if you want to cut it into cubes, set aside about 30 minutes of your life to be consumed with this baby! That’s why I only make it like twice a year….b/c it’s a beating! I may attempt to pay someone to cut it up next time I buy one. You think I’m joking, but I’m not!

After I cut this up, my fingers were peeling, like I literally was slathering lotion on my hands for the next day or so to get rid of the dryness…weird! I may have to wear gloves next time!

ROASTED SQUASH WITH CARMELIZED ONIONS AND CRAISINS

I got this ridiculous recipe here.

I subbed raisins for craisins and coconut oil for olive(you’re suprised right?).

This is not a super healthy recipe b/c it includes a lot of oil and maple syrup; however, you could probably decrease the amount used and it still turn out well. This is decadent…like so good!! In fact, the onions were almost as good as the squash.

Which is a good thing since it took 90 minutes to bake in the oven…seriously? Another example of how I don’t read recipes all the way through and when I got to the part about 90 minutes I was pretty disappointed that it wouldn’t be apart of my dinner tonight….instead it was dessert;)

I can see this being a good meal for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately Nathan is not in town, so I guess I’ll have to eat this all by myself:)..lol! Have I mentioned I love leftovers?

Santa Monica Pier

2011-05-15T17:18:00.001-05:00

Check out this 360 degree photo Nate took today at Santa Monica Pier, pretty neat. You can click on the photo and drag it left or right to see the rest of it. That is Bubba Gump's restaurant and you can see the ferris wheel towards the back.

It’s Friday….

2011-05-13T21:49:00.001-05:00

Only one more Friday left of this school year. It’s hard to believe my 10th year of working in the school system is almost completed!

Today my team at school won first place in the “Olympics,” I did 2 loads of laundry, made some socca, picked up some free DVDs at the library, attempted to watch Eat, Pray, Love, and ate a delicious dinner….of beans…:). Yes, I said beans.

The desire for beans, more specifically, 3 Bean Vegetarian Chili, started earlier this week. One of those days when the temp was in the 80s…yea, I know, weird, right? Luckily, we keep our house pretty cold, so chili in a cold house was quite nice..lol:)

THREE BEAN VEGETARIAN CHILI by afoodiestaysfit.com

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
2 cans kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained & rinse
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 red or green bell pepper, chopped (I used 2 medium sweet peppers)
1 jalepeno, finely diced (I omitted)
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 large (or 4 average) garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon sucanat (or brown sugar)

Throw it all into a crockpot and cook over low for at least 4 hours.

At first I wasn’t sure if I was in love with it, but, seriously, the longer it sat and mixed together, the better it tasted. Leftovers were very good. In fact I’ve been enjoying this for the past 3 meals..haha! Nathan even liked it:).

I made this chili on Wednesday night. Soo, tonight I wanted some “cornbread” with my chili, so I decided to make some socca , which is really just bean flour made into bread. Very few ingredients needed, which is all the better for me:).

1 cup garbanzo bean flour, 1.5 cups water, 1 tsp salt, mix it all together. Heat 2 Tbsp oil(I prefer coconut oil) in a pan at 400 degrees, then bake the flour for 35 minutes.

Sort of looks like a flat cornbread…but it tastes so much better:).

My bean dinner that I didn’t want to end:). LOL!

Other eats from this week that I thoroughly enjoyed and plan on repeating :

Vanilla Avocado Banana Smoothie: It’s hard to tell in this picture, but the smoothie was slightly green.

Banana Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

These cookies were made primarily b/c I was looking for a recipe that required a ripe banana..or waaay overripe banana;).

Really tasty! Love my silpat!

Coconut Ginger Quinoa

You knew there had to be a quinoa recipe in there somewhere, since it’s obviously one of my favorite things to eat!. I have actually already made this twice in less than a week, it is that good:). Also, I needed to finish up the coconut milk:).

To end the post, I have no pics of Jack(I’m a slacker mom), but I do have a couple of cute pics of my nieces displaying their “sisterly love.”

Poor Aunt Kelly just wanted a sweet cute pic of the girls smiling and standing by each other, maybe hugging each other….. This is what I got instead:). LOL!

June 25th

2011-04-25T17:13:00.000-05:00

Six years ago this coming June 25th, Nathan and I got married. Thirty-four years ago this June 25th, ,my parents got married. This June 25th, 2011, my brother and his fiance, Heather, are getting married. How fun is that…we will all have the same anniversary…which just means one thing- a reason to vacation in June to celebrate…lol!!!

Here are some of their engagement pics….

Congratulations Heather and Buddy! Heather, I am so excited to have you become part of our family:).

Heather and Chris have graciously asked my parents, Nathan and I to join them on their honeymoon! I was slightly surprised b/c I’ve never been invited on someone’s honeymoon, but hey, who says no to a vacation?:)

Guess where we’re going?!??! Jamaica mon! This is the resort where we will be staying.

And of course….what am I worrying about….who is going to take care of my garden while I’m gone?!?!!:)) lol!

GLOWING SALADS

2011-04-22T18:45:00.000-05:00

Friday, April 8th was a crazy day for me. After working all day, I saw a private speech client, went to the grocery store, did some laundry, went to the gym and then decided to make this…..

SWEET POTATO and LENTIL salad by ohsheglows.com

Ingredients: Recipe found at above link.

The salad turned out well; however, I wish I had cooked the lentils longer. They were a little harder than I would have preferred. Next time, to speed up the recipe, I will probably just use canned lentils.

Really, how can you go wrong when sweet potato is involved?:)

My friend Jamie, printed this recipe for me. She got it off ohsheglows.com as well!! I have had this recipe for a few weeks now and finally got around to making it last Monday. Thanks Jamie!

EASY AVOCADO-LIME BLACK BEAN SALAD

It was really tasty, though I thought it was a little heavy on the shallots. Nathan told me not to change anything the next time I make it…haha! I guess that means he really liked it!!

FYI, Nathan said it is his 2nd favorite thing I have made. HIs favorite is Red Quinoa and black bean vegetable salad which coincidentally is also from ohsheglows.com …hence my title- Glowing Salads:) It is probably one of my favorite recipes too:).

Who said salads have to be boring?

“Fancy” Cooking and Dress’in up!

2011-04-20T16:37:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I got really adventurous and made a “fancy” recipe, or at least it seemed that way as I was making it. I will tell you up front Nathan thought it was just okay, but I REALLY liked it.
CAULIFLOWER AND PARSNIP SOUP by choosingraw.com
Recipe and much better pictures(lol) can be found here.
First I roasted a head of cauliflower, shallots, 1 clove of garlic minced and 4 parsnips in 400 degrees for about 35-40 minutes. I put all veggies initially in a ziploc freezer bag with 1 Tbsp of olive oil and did a little shak’in:). Then roasted them.

If you haven’t ventured into trying parsnips, you should!

Then I poured the veggies into a huge pot with 4 cups vegetable broth and 1/2 cup almond milk.

I used an immersion blender to blend the veggies and make the soup smooth. Here is where I was feeling kind of fancy with my blender….haha! It was actually kind of entertaining to blend…..:)).
Final product: Yum!!! There is also a cashew cream you can make for the soup. You can find it at the above link as well.

Here is where more fancy cooking occurred as I can’t just eat soup for dinner..how boring! I need something else:).
I made Walnut Cheese and Apple Wraps, by choosingraw.com(FYI, Nathan actually liked these…at least better than the soup!).
1 cup walnuts
3 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp apple cider vinegar(I didn’t have this, so I just used rice vinegar)
1/2 tsp paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2-1 cup water
1) Place all ingredients except the salt/pepper and water in a food processor. Pulse until roughly ground, then add water slowly while it’s still pulsing until you get the consistency you like.

Final product: I made this dip twice in one week, it was that good! Actually, I just thought it was okay at first, but then it grew on me and before I knew it, I was making a second batch!!

Fancy dining with Nathan and Kelly:))
Romaine lettuce, with walnut dip and apple slices on top:)…..and soup!

On April 7th, Nathan and I went to the Right To Life Banquet held in E-ville. Guest speaker was Tim Tebow’s mom, Pam Tebow. This meant more to Nathan than me:)).
I thought this was a cute centerpieces, an actual cake, which was our dessert!

The closest picture I could get of Mrs. Tebow. BTW, she was an EXCELLENT speaker. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to her speak. She seems like a very sweet, kind hearted sincere lady.
She told many stories, but her main reason for being there was b/c when she was pregnant with Tim, the doctors told her to abort her baby b/c if she didn’t, she would probably die. She chose to trust God, the creator of life. And for those who don’t know who Tim is, he won the Heisman trophy a couple of years ago. He was the guy who wrote scripture references on the black stuff football players put under their eyes. Pretty cool:).

Another couple we know, Brandon and Jessica, also spoke at the banquet. They are the couple who were in our small group last year, who had twins. God chose to take Rebecca to be with Him in heaven just a few months after she was born. Joanna, the other twin, recently celebrated her 1st birthday. Ironically, when Jess was pregnant, the doctors told them to abort Joanna so that Rebecca would have a better chance to survive. Both babies were born alive, which was a miracle itself, and were in the NICU for a long time. As Rebecca got worse, Joanna started to thrive. Jess and Brandon chose to trust God and not abort Joanna. And what a blessing I am sure Joanna is to their family today.
We got all dressed up for the event. I actually wore a dress, which RARELY happens!!! I am so glad we were able to go this year.

Jack’s excitement of the week was getting a bath….it’s the little things for Jack:). Doesn’t he look cute in his towel:).

Friday Excitement

2011-04-18T17:42:00.000-05:00

This past Friday I took a sick day b/c I wasn’t feeling well. I think it was just really bad allergies, so I took some Mucinex D and lots of garlic pills! Towards the end of the day I started to feel somewhat better…good enough to cook anyways:).

I started off by making the BEST dip i’ve made in a long time. Seriously, it was that good! I’ve made a few different “cheezy” dips before, but this is by far the best! i got this recipe from edibleperspective.com blog. Love this blog! The recipe can be found here.

Kickin’ Nacho Cheeze Sauce

3/4c raw cashews
1/4c nutritional yeast
1/3c water
1/4c salsa
1t chili powder
3/4t cumin
1/2t garlic powder
1/4t smoked paprika
1/4t salt

Add water to the blender first, then the rest of the ingredients.
Blend until smooth, adding more water if necessary. I probably added another 1/4 cup of water. It will thicken a bit.

Soo good! This can be eaten with chips, apple slices, bell peppers, any veggie really, or as sauce on a taco or burrito!! The only bad thing is that it doesn’t make enough! Only about 1.5 cups, which is just not enough in my opinion!! I recommend doubling the recipe…lol!

I also made another recipe from the link above called Tempeh Taco Filling

look at all the great spices!

1T chili powder (I don’t like spicy, so I think I only used 3/4 tsp)
1t cumin
1/2t smoked paprika
1/2t coriander
1/2t garlic powder
1/4t salt

I also pulled out my fav. tortillas I had kind of forgotten. I used to buy these all the time and then for some reason quit. I’m bringing them back:).

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in the skillet, then crumble the tempeh, cook for 5 minutes on medium, then add the seasonings, 1 cup black beans drained and a can of diced tomatoes drained. Cook for 5 more minutes and then eat in a tortilla or on top of a salad, or whatever you like!

Add some greens. Every meal needs a little green, right?:)…or at least one!!

This is actually a picture from day 2 of eating this meal. I used the cheezey sauce on top. It was really good!!

These are some cute towels I got in the mail this week from my mom. Easter is less than one week away!!!

Busy Saturday

2011-04-16T19:49:00.001-05:00

Today turned out to be a pretty busy day for Nathan and me. Nathan went to a church meeting early this morning, then we both did a little sprucing up around the church, though I have to admit, most of the cleaning had been done by the time we arrived. I’m not exactly sure what the church called it, but it was a service day where church members volunteered to clean up the church some.

One of my friends, Jessica, and I discussed gardening. She is way on top of things and already has her seeds started indoor and is probably close to transplanting them to her outside garden box. I told her I have garden envy b/c she is waaay ahead of me:). She encouraged me to start my seeds this weekend. I keep putting it off b/c I really have no idea what I’m doing and I’m afraid I will mess it up. So after we talked I left to run my errands and get to my planting!

First I headed to Elberts, my home away from home..just kidding! Then I went to Petsmart to check on another Jack project…man that dog is costly!!:) But I still love him!!

Then to Home Depot to bite the bullet and buy some soil. When I got home, the “fence guy” from Lowes arrived and spent at least an hour talking to us about fencing for our backyard and all the options.

Then while in the middle of planting my seeds, we decided to go back to Home Depot to get materials for the Jack project that needs to be done…..

An hour later, we left with materials and (ahem) a topsy turvy strawberry plant. Has anyone tried this before???

I planted two kinds of peppers and sweet onions. I’m kind of in love with peppers, so I’m really hoping they grow well:).

I also have zucchini, carrots and squash, but these go straight into the ground, so they won’t be planted quite yet. I have no idea if what I bought will be good, but this is my first year gardening, so I will just do my best and if they aren’t good, I’ll try something else next year!!

Nathan and I(ahem..mostly Nathan b/c I am terrible with building things!) are going to build a box like this to plant my veggies! I am so excited and nervous all at the same time!! This may be an Easter weekend project…or the following weekend:). WE still have the Jack project to complete…

So here is my set up…..baking pans…I’m classy like that:).

Soil I’m using….I have no idea if this is good or not…it’s just what I found at Home Depot and it said organic, so I got it;).

If anyone has any gardening tips for this novice, I welcome any and all help. I am sure my friend Jessica is tired of me texting her and asking her all kinds of questions…sometimes the same questions multiple times:)).

It almost looks like I have brownies in there…lol!!

Is anyone else planting a garden this year??

March Madness

2011-04-02T20:05:00.001-05:00

No, I’m not talking about basketball; although the girls basketball team from my alma mater made it to the elite 8! They were so close to final 4.:( If they had won, my parents would be coming to visit me this weekend, and also watching the game on Sunday in Indy:(.

The title is really b/c I couldn’t think of an interesting title and I do like alliteration:). I guess the madness of March, in my life anyways, is just that the month flew by! I can’t believe it’s April!!

I have been wanting to try this yogurt made with coconut milk, and when I saw it at Elberts, I got excited:). I know, I’m weird:).

I mixed it with blueberries and strawberries for a tasty snack.

The Target in E-ville has turned into a sort of SuperTarget. I thought I needed to check it out and see if I would be frequenting the store for groceries. I wasn’t overly impressed, but they did have a lot of unique items that Wal-mart definitely does not have:).

I love hummus, and when I found these different types of Hummus, I had to try them.

I am loving this hummus:).

This hummus is really good too!

I wasn’t shopping for vinegar, but most of you know I love vinegar. Maybe that makes me weird, but that’s okay:). I use balsamic vinegar on most of my salads. When I saw this, it just sounded really tasty!

I love vitatops. I usually favor the chocolaty ones, but when I saw these, I thought it would be a good opportunity to try some new flavors.

I LOVE this flavor and will definitely be buying these again. These are a nice little dessert for me in the evenings. They could also be good for breakfast.

These were really good too:).

This is actually not a new product, but I hadn’t eaten it in awhile, and the other day I pulled it out and can’t believe I haven’t been eating it more often!!! Love coconut butter!

This is a new protein powder for me. Now that spring is here, I am enjoying more smoothies, and was excited to find a protein powder(on sale!) that I like.

I also found my favorite K-cup at Bed Bath and Beyond in March! I made sure to stock up this year since Limited Edition really means limited!!

I also became addicted to an iphone game over spring break- WORDS WITH FRIENDS! It’s like scrabble, but better, in my opinion! If anyone is playing and wants to play with me, let me know!!!

I made Nate an egg sandwich the other day and thought I would share the “college” way to make eggs!! LOL! I learned how to make these eggs in college by my roomie. I had never seen eggs microwaved before! I sprayed some cooking spray in a bowl and then microwaved the eggs in 1 minute increments. It depends on your microwave. It took 2 minutes to get my egg “sandwich ready.”

It makes it a lot easier to make an egg sandwich when your egg is perfectly formed for your sandwich! It’s also a LOT faster!! By using the cooking spray in the bowl, it makes the egg slide out easily and makes cleanup a cinch!

I made this fun recipe twice last week!

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

I got this recipe from lovesveggiesandyoga.com blog. This was so good that as soon as I ate it, I made another batch to enjoy the following day!!!

2 Tbsp Chia Seeds
1/2 c Milk (I used almond milk)
2 Tbsp Agave and/or Stevia to taste (I just used liquid stevia to decrease the calories content)
1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Mix all ingredients with a whisk. Then let it sit for 20 minutes.

This stir again and let it sit for 20 more minutes. Then put it in the fridge or the freezer. I used the freezer so it would be ready sooner!! It was so good! When I took it out, I was only going to “taste” it, but I just kept eating it and before long, it was all gone! Soo, I made more:).

Another new recipe I tried in March was socca! This is basically a bread made from garbanza bean flour. doesn’t sound so appealing, right? Well, I must say Nathan wasn’t crazy about it, but I loved it!! I had to refrain from eating the entire pan of bread in one night! Here is a video tutorial that I used to make it.

Ingredients:

1 cup garbanza bean flour

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup water

2 Tbsp coconut oil

Mix the first 3 ingredients together with a whisk. Then melt the coconut oil in the pan in a 400 degree oven for a couple of minutes. Then take the pan out and pour the mixture in the pan. Bake for about 35 minutes. Soo good!!!

Woops, I burnt it slightly, but it still tasted wonderful.

Nathan got a toy helicopter in Florida during vacation. Jack is not a huge fan !!

He acts like he doesn’t like it, but we secretly think he does:).

Oh, the things that entertain us:).

One time Jack tried to pick it up like it was his toy or something!!

To end this very long post, I wanted to share one of the songs I’m loving right now that our church sang a couple of weeks ago!

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=DGWY7LNX