30 weeks

30 weeks

Roxy Foxy HAD to join the picture this week

Baby is now the size of: A large head of cabbage, weighing in around 3 pounds

Total weight gain: 18-19 lbs

Maternity clothes: Maternity jeans and a few basic tees.

Sleep: Great....there were even a few nights when I didn't have to wake up to pee.  Victory for any pregnant lady.

Favorite meal this week: Hands down, Chipotle.  Our family's favorite spot to eat!  But my favorite dish we made was tilipia with our crispy potatoes.  Recipe below.
Cravings: With 2 days hitting 50 degrees, I was craving spring like crazy!  Cannot wait to trade winter coats and boots for hoodies and flats!
Exercise: Hit the gym 4 days, 40 min of running or elliptical.  After each run, I used the pull up machine and did squats till I fell over.  It was that aching but wonderful feeling.

Pregnancy aches & pains: None :)  Baby boy is moving so much more than last week.  Makes me so excited that he's prepping to move and groove outside of me soon.

Worst moment this week: Dropping Solis off at my MIL's for 48 hours.  That moment was really, really tough.  Solis was completely fine though.  She loves going to Grandma's.

Best moment this week: On the flip side, having 2 whole days to do whatever we wanted was glorious....not to mention the weather was mild!  Hubs and I got a lot of accomplished and being reunited with Solis made me feel complete again.

Looking forward to: My doctor's appt and talking more about my breeched boy.  And Solis and I are going on a date afterwards after our long weekend apart :)

Solis's princess snowgirl.  Aren't daddies the greatest?

Crispy Potatoes

Ingredients

potatoes-the number depends on how much your family eats

melted butter

salt, pepper, garlic powder

Directions

1. Cut your potatoes in half (if smaller) or in thirds.

2. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add in as many potatoes as you wish.  Cook until tender.

3. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with with non stick spray.

4. Place the potatoes on the cookie sheet and smash down with a fork until flat.

5. Brush each smashed potato with melted butter.

6. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

7. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes (depends on your oven).  We like ours extra crispy so we usually broil the last few minutes.

29 weeks

29 weeks....forgot to post this over the weekend!

{red heart bow}

Baby is now the size of: A butternut squash, about 2.5 lbs

Total weight gain: 18 lbs

Maternity clothes: Maternity jeans.  Really stretching out my shirts so I got a couple basic maternity tees to wear underneath my hoodies or cardigans.  These ones from Target are my favorite b/c they look like normal shirts and don't have that ruching.

Sleep: Wonderful!!  Felt so good to sleep again after my sickness.

Favorite meal this week: We tried a new pork recipe, which was pretty good despite not using the grill.  Recipe below!
Cravings: Warm weather!!
Exercise: Embarrassed to say this....just one day.  The beginning of the week, I was recovering from my illness.  I have always pushed through it in the past but didn't want to carrying this little boy.  And at the end of the week, we had so many plans.  I haven't had a lazy week like this since....can't remember.

Pregnancy aches & pains: Starting to feel really round and stretched out.  I know it comes with the territory of being 7 months pregnant but that doesn't mean I enjoy it!   

Worst moment this week: Had a baby appt and my midwife confirmed what I've been feeling-baby boy is breeched.  I know it's early but Solis was breeched from 20 weeks and NEVER flipped.  Yes, I am thankful that he is healthy.  But we are praying we can deliver him w/o a c-section and go through the whole birthing experience.  And if not, praying that God give us contentment with how he placed this baby.

Best moment this week: Feeling healthy again!!  Felt so good going to Solis's valentine activities and date night with my hubs.  Despite getting slammed with snow again, it was a normal, fun week.

Looking forward to: Temps are going to be in the 40's next week and that will start melting the snow!  And my baby appts are every 2 weeks now so that is so exciting that we're getting closer!

After that awful glucose test, Solis and I got donuts to celebrate.

Honey Garlic Pork 

Source: Six Sisters' Stuff

Ingredients

1 1/2-2 pounds boneless pork chops

1/3 cup honey
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat grill or griddle to medium heat.  

2. In a small mixing bowl, combine honey, ketchup, soy sauce, and garlic.  

3. Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper.  

4. Brush each pork chop with prepared sauce on both sides.  

5. Place pork chops on hot grill and cook for about 5 minutes on each side (or until cooked through), basting frequently.

Our Love Day

Our Love Day

ahhh Valentine's Day has come and gone just like that.  We had quite the festive week filled with heart shaped foods, flowers galore, and endless kisses.

Solis loved her heart shaped grilled cheese sandwiches.  
But I think she liked her straw even more.

{red shirt} {red bow}

Solis's card and my card to our #1 guy.  So appropriate in each situation.  
I bought my card from emilymcdowell.com

Solis made the cutest valentine for her daddy!

My husband thinks nuts > chocolate.  Crazy, I know.  So I made him some trail mix, popped it in a mason jar, and printed off this cute printable.

In the mix I included dried cranberries, peanuts, almonds, cashews, chocolate chips, and m&m's.  He (and his nut loving daughter) polished it off in one day.

I also made this uh-mazing dessert.  The crust is a combination of granola bars, brown sugar, and butter.  That alone was so so delicious.  The middle consists of cream cheese, heavy cream, and strawberries.  I got the recipe from this website and modified just slightly.  It says to keep the dessert frozen but it was so frozen we didn't enjoy it so we popped it in the fridge and it was much better.

Ingredients

1 box Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars (Oats 'n Honey), there will be 12 individual bars total

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

6 TB melted butter

2 egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup heavy whipping cream

lemon juice

4 ounces cream cheese

2 cups chopped strawberries

Directions 

1. Put the Nature Valley granola bars in a food processor and process until you achieve a course crumb.

2. In a large bowl, add the crumbs, brown sugar, flour and melted butter and mix together. 

3. Spread into an 8x8 pan that has been covered with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool. Then divide in half and set aside.

4. In a mixing bowl, combine eggs whites and sugar and mix on high. Add the heavy cream and continue mixing for another five minutes. 

5. Continue to add lemon juice (more or less depending on your liking) and softened cream cheese. Mix on low speed until incorporated.

6. Fold the fresh strawberries into the cream mixture.

7. In a buttered glass cake pan, press half of the crumb crust mixture on the bottom. Top with strawberry mix and then add the remaining crumbs to the top. 

8. Cover and freeze until hard.  Then we put in the fridge or keep it in the fridge if you want more of a frozen dessert.  Have fun making your tummy happy!

 

Another Valentine/winter activity we did was pink snow!  We were all snowed in with piles twice as big as Solis so we brought the snow inside.  An excuse to wear her cute snow boots and pink ruffle swimsuit?  I'm dying of cuteness.

 Happy Valentine's Day from Solis!  XOXO

Valentine Fun

Valentine Fun

Solis had a Valentine's party at her playgroup this week and mommy over here had to come up with a snack.  Usually at these parties, it's a smorgasbord of cupcakes and chocolate (no complaints from me!) so I wanted to make little snack bags that the kids could eat later....after their stomachs recovered from all the sugar at the party!

Since I was sick the 2 weeks prior, I totally failed this year in getting out vday cards.  So I took the easy route and just put a pink outfit on my girl and printed out one hour photo valentine cards at Walmart.

So I'm always trying to come up with new ideas for Solis to practice her abc's/numbers/colors etc.  Sometimes my plans work....other times they fail.  I'm not too proud to admit when they flop and this is one of them.  I wanted Solis to match up numbers using cards and clothespins with numbers on it.  The matching part was easy peasy for her but she couldn't open the clothespins.  That fine motor skill just isn't there yet.  So I ended up opening them for her and she slid the card in.

Trying so hard...

Happy with her finished product

28 weeks

28 weeks

heart shirt | pink bow

Baby is now the size of: An eggplant, about 15 inches long.

Total weight gain: 17 lbs

Maternity clothes: I lived in sweats all week b/c I was sick.  Big, baggy sweats.  I'm really testing my husband's love for me :)

Sleep: Ohhh don't get me started on coughing all night, hardly sleeping, can't even nap b/c I'm coughing.  Thank goodness it appears to be on its way out.

Favorite meal this week: We tried a new salmon recipe which was awesome.  Recipe below!

Cravings: Ice cream!!  Since I haven't hit the gym in a long time and had a cold, I actually had self control and stayed away from sweets. 
Exercise: Zip.  So depressing.  This is the longest illness ever, coming up on 2 weeks soon. 

Pregnancy aches & pains: None!  Maybe the cold/cough masked it.

Worst moment this week: Coughing all night and not sleeping.  My husband sleeping on the couch for a week b/c I'm coughing so much.  Again...testing his love.

Best moment this week: There's a lot to be thankful for amidst my illness.  We had a big ice storm and God spared our home from losing electricity.  Shaun had off 2 days b/c of it so that was a huge blessing to have his help with Solis.  And the way Solis cared for me was so sweet...anytime I'd cough, she'd tell me-lay down, mommy, you'll feel better.

Looking forward to: Our busy week if God gives me the strength to go back into the world again.  I have a baby checkup, which every expectant mother loves!  All of Solis's activities after a 2 week hiatus.  OH and a little thing called Valentine's Day!!

  {Instagram} shot of my 2 girls.  Solis loves reading to Naysa!

Walnut-Crusted Salmon

Source: Taste of Home

 

Ingredients
1 lb salmon
4 tsp Dijon mustard
4 tsp honey
2 slices whole wheat bread, torn into pieces
3 TB finely chopped walnuts
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp dried thyme

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400°.  Place salmon in 13x9 pan coated with cooking spray. 
2. Mix mustard and honey; brush over salmon. 
3. Place bread in a food processor; pulse until coarse crumbs form.  Transfer to a small bowl.
4. Stir in walnuts, oil and thyme; press onto salmon.
5. Bake 12-15 minutes or topping is lightly browned and fish just begins to flake easily with a fork.

 

Happy February!

Happy February!

Yea, January is done!  One month closer to spring and warmer weather!  And the start of February means another holiday coming.  A holiday that I love b/c it's all about love and cute girly things.  I did an activity with Solis last week with candy hearts.  I was in the dollar store one day looking at this bag thinking, what can I do with this?  (Besides eat them of course.)  So I came up with this idea, although I'm sure 50 thousand other moms came up with it too :)

I cut out 6 circles the same colors as the conversation hearts and taped them inside a jumbo muffin pan.

Then Solis went to work sorting the colors.

She had a lot of fun doing this activity and it kept her busy for awhile!  All week, she would ask to do her hearts.  By the end of the week, she could care less about sorting colors.  Instead she transfered the hearts with a spoon and just made piles.  

Hey, whatever kept her happy.

Since I wasn't blogging last year, I thought I'd share a few little things I did for Valentine's Day.  

Solis was a teeny tiny 19 month old!

XOXO banner from {Little Pumpkin Papers}

For Solis's playgroup, I made these labels and put 

Hershey kisses and bubbles inside the bags.

Solis I made this valentine for daddy.  

Again, my obsession with baby feet....just too cute.

A little surprise treat in the hubby's lunch.

      I made Shaun red velvet cookies.  They were a huge hit!

Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies 

from two peas & their pod

Ingredients

1 box red velvet cake mix

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar, for rolling the cookies
Heart shaped cookie cutter, optional

Directions

 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix and flour. Whisk until clumps disappear. Add eggs, oil, and vanilla.  Mix until smooth. 

3. Take about 1 tablespoon of cookie dough and form into a ball. Roll the ball in powdered sugar until fully coated. Place cookie dough balls on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges are set and cookies begin to crack.

4. Let cookies sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes. If desired, cut cookies into heart shapes, using a heart shaped cookie cutter. Transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack and cool completely. Eat the cookie scraps:)

Happy love month!!  XOXO

27 weeks

27 weeks

(pink bow) 

Baby is now the size of: A head of cauliflower, roughly 2 lbs.

Total weight gain: 16 lbs

Maternity clothes: Jeans for sure.

Sleep: Sleep was crap this week b/c I was sick.

Favorite meal this week: I lived on soup most the week.  So boring.  But I was feeling a little better over the weekend and Shaun took me to Chocolatefest.  Not a meal to most people but to me it was.  It was 90 minutes of all you can eat chocolate.  I was in heaven!!  But then I had a bellyache the rest of the day and couldn't even enjoy the food at a Superbowl party. 

Cravings: Not feeling like a lard anymore!  I know I'm not too big yet but being an athlete most my life, it's hard to feel this way.  Sounds so selfish, I know.  I'm always praying for a better attitude towards this.
Exercise: Only 1 day of running at 45 minutes and then I got sick.

Sickness: Pregnancy related aches and pains were none this week!

Worst moment this week: Being sick with a terrible sore throat (and now cold).  I don't get sick that often anymore but this pregnancy seems to be making my immune system weak.  Shaun had to take off work a few days and take care of Solis.  I miss giving my baby girl (and the hubby) kisses all over.

Best moment this week: Last Monday I ran 45 minutes straight without any pregnancy pains or having to pee.  I was on such a running high.  It felt like the good old days.  With each passing mile, I was thanking God that I was still going.  And Solis's best moment of the week was meeting Abby Cadabby!

Looking forward to: Getting better.  My sore throat turned into a cold-my first in years-and I can't wait to be feel healthy and be a happy mommy/wife again!

(pink tutu dress)