34 Week Bump Update

A little late in posting this - almost 35 weeks now! But the photo is from last Sunday when I did turn 34 weeks.

Recipe Round Up

I go back in forth from being the mood to cook and then not. Thankfully my hubby fills in when I am not in the mood. Lucky for him my energy has spiked back up a little after the baby shower and I have enough oomph to get dinner going. I am really getting into the idea of crock pot dinners, too. So that it is done by the time we get home from work - sounds so lovely!

Anyways we had some pork chops in the freezer and I ended up making some in the stove but thought I would save these ideas for later!

Crockpot Pork Chops with Mushroom Sauce

Maple Orange-Glazed Pork Chops

Crock Pot Pork Chop Dinner

Paula's Easy Watermelon Dessert

Web Finds Wednesday

This To That - Glue Advice

Pineapple Whip Ice Cream - further proof (to my husband) that we need an ice cream maker


Marshmallow Fluff Icing - my new favorite icing! pipes beautifully and is easy to make!


Slouched Beanie Knit Pattern

Coconut Cake with a Twist

Strawberry Cake

Adding to the Pregnancy Survival Kit: The 3rd Trimester

I have been in the third trimester for a few weeks now  I am slowly beginning to catch on to a few new things that I haven't quite experience before.

Leg Cramps
Yup, waking up in the middle of the night gasping in pain with charlie horses. No fun! I can never remember what move helps - pulling your toes back or pointing them forward. One makes it worse and the other relieves the pain. But at 4AM when you're in the very grip of that excruciating pain you can't remember for the life of you which it is!

Bloody Noses
I've had them off and on - but now they are pretty frequent.

Insomnia
I have had this for a few weeks now - if I wake up near 4AM or 6AM to use the restroom I can almost never fall back to sleep. Thus resulting in very productive mornings, me arriving at work early and then getting exhausted around 8:30 or 9:00pm.

Sore Feet
And the newest addition to the treasure trove of third trimester symptoms - sore feet! Not swollen feet, thank goodness, not yet anyways. But my poor tootsies hurt! I can barely stand up barefoot on the kitchen floor to do dishes or cook very long my soles start aching so bad. Feels like I have been standing on my feet all day when in reality it's only for 30-40 minutes. I have resorted to wearing my tennis shoes if I am going to be in the kitchen - the arch support helps - but in this 95+ weather we've been having I'd much rather be keeping my tootsies cool in a pair of flip flops or no shoes at all! I've started wearing shoes with good support to the store to - long shopping trips are exhausting enough without having your feet hurt.

I've had a pretty easy going pregnancy so far - so if this is the most I have to complain about - I'll take it! :)

Without further ado - here's my updated pregnancy survival list - third trimester edition!

- Ocean Saline Nasal Spray
- Kleenexes with Lotion
- Bananas
- Peppermint foot soak
- Peppermint foot & leg mist/spray
- Shoes w/ good arch support
- More pillows! To put between your legs as you sleep on your side, to prop your feet up when they hurt AND to elevate your head a little to help keep you from getting too stuffy at night.
- Air Conditioning/Lots of Ice Water and cold drinks

Forgot to mention that I am finally getting hot. I have heard of pregnant ladies getting insanely hot but had always just finally been comfortable. Normally I am always cold so this was a nice change, but now the comfortable warmness has been replaced with burning hotness. I am sitting under the AC vent now - which I never do. I hate the cold air blowing straight on me normally - but here I sit happy as a clam with my feet soaking in my peppermint water. :) And I now sleep with no covers at all - was down to just the sheet but now I kick that off too!

33 Week Bump Update

How far along? 33 Weeks

How big is baby? 4.2-5lbs and gaining! The size of a honey dew!

Image from The Bump.com

Food cravings: Still loving my cold cereal - moving on from cheerios and on to frosted-mini wheats minis! Love buttered bagels with scrabbled egg too! And apples - I think part of me is wishing for the cooler weather of fall - the thought of crisp apples and frozen apple slushies sound sooo good! Making a roast this week also in boycott of the hot weather! Still working on our bag of charms blow-pops. Matt likes the green ones only - I like all the flavors - but especially the grape of which there are only a few of course! 

Milestones: Could feel our little one's bony little foot or elbow - could actually push back on it she was pushing it out so far against my side. Was so amazing! Loud sounds make her jump now too - it is the weirdest thing to have something inside you jump like that at sound. :)

Oh, and this: Nosebleeds, hip pain, charlie horses, tingly feet and hands and achy feet - oh my! :) I've had such a great pregnancy so far that these mild discomforts are really taking me by surprise. And goodness I am getting hot! Coming from someone who is ALWAYS cold that means a lot! Finally stocked up on the needed third trimester goodies I didn't know I needed.

 

Random Tidbits: (from the emails I get)

 Baby's now the size of a honeydew!
Things are heating up inside as well: Baby may grow up to a full inch this week alone, and his brain is developing like crazy. Pretty soon, he'll be able to coordinate breathing with sucking and swallowing. Also, his bones are hardening, and he's started to keep his eyes open when he's awake.

You are one hot mama -- literally. A 20 percent metabolic rate increase throughout pregnancy can leave you begging for a cool breeze no matter what the weather is like. Distract yourself with an exercise in blind identification. Try to distinguish between baby's feet, fists, knees, and elbows -- all doing some major pushing and nudging inside of you.

[ tip ] Wash just a few of those adorable infant outfits before baby comes and keep the tags on the rest. Baby will probably outgrow most before she gets to wear them, and you'll be able to return or exchange for a bigger size.

Reader Help Needed! Diaper Bag Poll

Ok, ladies - especially my mommy-blogger pals - which diaper bag should I get??

A. Optic Bloom Bag...

Here is an inside view of what it would look like with stuff in it....(not the same bag but interior layout will be the same)

Pros: big bag, water bottle and bottle holders, diaper section, two hooks - one for pacifer one for keys...other handy pockets.
Cons: Will it slouch over and annoy me if I am in a hurry, trying to change baby etc - no flat bottom. I have no idea - so mom, you gotta help me decide!


B. Strappy Diaper Bag

Pros: Heather bailey fabric, stands up on its own, lots of pockets, etc.
Cons: most expensive option


C. Birdie Sling

View of pockets inside...

Pros: big, lots of room, cheapest options, made from my fav fabric...
Cons: not as many pockets, might be too slouchy?

Ok, cast your vote for either A, B or C and help me decide! :)

Our Baby Shower!

We had our baby shower last weekend and it was so great! Many thanks to the family and friends who came out to celebrate this time with us - and a huge thank you to my hostesses and helpers - Krista, Laura, Mom, Jess, Dad & Cindy!

It was so much fun visiting with everyone, giving tours of the nursery and playing silly baby shower games!

Here's a few photos from the day - many more posted on Facebook and I did a special post about the shower design and decoration over on my other blog - The Birds and the Bees.

To see the full album click here!

Child Birth Prep Class Week One

We started our child birth prep classes this week!

Everything seems to be happening so fast - first the shower, then the classes starting up - I had myself worked up into a wee-bit of a panic here in the last day or so. And of course, we show up to the class a half an hour late - and me with puffy, red rimmed eyes from crying (nothing bad happened - just hormone induced panic/crazy preggo lady tears about generally not being quite ready/prepared/etc and the thought that we have almost under 50 days to get ready - OMG).

I am sure I looked like death having cried my makeup off and with the dark circles from being tired and the swollen eyes from crying. And with a pretty pissed off expression I am sure. Lovely way to make a first impression on our fellow classmates who we will be spending 2 hours with once a day until the end of August. :\ Pretty sure they all refer to me as that pissed off grouchy lady. Sigh.

Also, so far, me and the doors to the maternity wing are not BFF. In fact we pretty much hate each other. I apparently cannot read signs and just want to make in to the damn class without further delay - the doors on the other hand have a little sign on it with too many words for a puffy-eyed, pregnant lady in a hurry - and all these things on the wall - which one is the dang button for the door? Why have a "push" guard if you can't touch the door without the alarm going off. Yeah, fun.

I should have taken the darn complimentary cookie I was eyeballing by the front desk - would have at least made me feel better. Will do next time...believe me no second thoughts about the cookie next time.

P.S. I really like the class as whole. Our instructor is a RN who is also a doula - she is quirky and entertaining. The class is broken up between mini-lectures/demos/insights from the teacher and little snippets of a dvd. Thankfully, I've exposed my hubby to plenty of birthing videos before this point - so he wasn't the one nervous guy in the room who kept nervously laughing out loud every time he saw a lady's parts or heard the instructor say something about a lady's parts. LOL. In fact, my man was pretty cool as a cucumber compared to other guys in the room who were all the fidgety, whispery and in general uncomfortable.

Web Finds Wednesday

Basic Pie Dough - Tips and Tricks


Raspberry Sweet Tea

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls

Bicycle Bucket Tutorial

Deep-Dish Sour Cream–Apple Pie with Cardamom Streusel 

How to Install A Zipper

Simple Knitted Sheep

Pipe Cleaner Ephiphany

My husband and I have those nifty, double-walled Starbucks tumblers that we use ALL the time. They have been one of our best purchases in the whole water-bottle, reusuable cup department. But, anywho...with all that use comes a build-up of grime in the hard plastic straw.

I have been mentally whinning to myself for weeks about the bad taste coming from the straw and how looking down it causes me slight distress at the sight.

On the way to church this past Sunday I was rambling to my hubby about my dirty straw dilema - and how there should be a way to clean it out. I mean, SURELY there is a product out there that can clean it? A teeny, tiny bottle brush perhaps?

Then he asks why I don't use a pipe cleaner.

A pipe cleaner? My mouth just hangs open for a second because the first thing that enters my mind and starts coming out of my mouth is how a pipe cleaner is for crafts.

Then it hits me, um yeah, the name "pipe cleaner" pretty much denotes its intended use - to clean pipes or, in this case, straws. Oh boy....considering I have been trying to figure out how to clean this straw for weeks it is pretty embarrassing - I have a boatload of pipe cleaners upstairs in my craft area...wow. Just wow. :)

But alas, I have a clean straw now - and a whole new outlook on pipe cleaners! :)

32 Week Bump Update

How far along? 32 Weeks

How big is baby? Still the size of a squash - maybe 4.5 lbs or so. Big enough to pack quite a wallop to my poor bladder and ribs. Oy!

 

Food cravings: Orange juice, salt water taffy, strawberry twizzlers, lemonade, those suckers with the gum in the middle - charms I think...nothing really crazy - just things that sound particularly good. It isn't like I am sending out my hubby in the middle of the night for these things - but they sound good. :) Fruit - like always - still loving my blueberries, watermelon and cantaloupe.

Milestones:  Had our baby shower this weekend! Celebrating with friends and family was the best ever!

Oh, and this: Hip pain is getting a little unpleasant, I think it's from missing my prenatal yoga classes - I think they helped a lot. Will have to put them off in the next couple of weeks though for our Child Birth Prep classes. I've waken up with hips hurting - almost cramping. And lots of painful, pops and cracks just walking sometimes. Also starting to have random sciatic pain - fun.

Web Finds Wednesday

Glazed Donut Muffins

Refreshing Summer Recipe: Aguas Frescas

7,000-square-foot Titanic exhibit coming to Indy later this year
Watermelon Lemonade

How to Make a Pie Crust

Sewing Tutorial: Casserole Carrier

Strawberry Freezer Jam

101 Fast Recipes for Grilling

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Baby Quasebarth Kicking & Moving at 31 Weeks

31 Week Bump Update

How far along? 31 Weeks

How big is baby? Should be around the average of 17 inches and about 4lbs. She's the size of a squash...though a different timeline thing shows a watermelon at this stage.

 

Food cravings: Cookies, apricots, peaches, cookies, sweet corn, cookies, cheerios....cookies. :)

Milestones: Random people at stores and check out lines now notice I am pregnant. I've gone so long without anyone ever saying anything that now when they do it throws me all off guard and I just stare at them for a second before I realize what is happening.

Say what?!: So, those people I mentioned at stores noticing I am pregnant. Yeah, they are a hoot. One lady told me I would have my baby September 27 - after asking when my due date was. She said to mark her words - she was right with all her babies. She also asked if it was a boy first - so if she was wrong there then how is she predicting my due date? Oy veh.  But if she's right...holy cow. 

 

I have had a lot of, "Are you having a boy?" questions - kinda throws me off. Lady at Walmart said it was because she saw some blue stuff in my cart of decorations - it was a percentage of like 90% pink and 10% light blue  - but ok. :)

Oh, and this: Random 4AM insomnia is interesting. My eyes just pop open and my mind starts going and I am ready to start the day! LOL.

Web Finds Wednesday

Homemade Samoas


Tres Leches Pancakes

Strapless Summer Top Sewing Pattern

Tiramisu

Grilled Skirt Steak w/ Herb Sauce

Free Summer Twitter Backgrounds

Quesadilla Casserole

Frosty Freeze

This is how dilly bars are done, people. DQ is pathetic in comparison to these homemade, hand-dipped lovelies!

Really wished the soft serve flavor of the week was blueberry or black raspberry though - kinda bummed it was peach when we came through town. Ah, the tastes of our childhood!

P.S. They also have the best crushed ice ever - not sure what it is about it - but sigh!

Bump Update: 30 Weeks

How far along? 30 Weeks

How big is baby?  The ultrasound tech told us she was in the 75th or 77th (don't remember now) percentile and that she is growing great! She is somewhere around 3lb 4oz. Still kicking up a storm - even gave the ultrasound tech a piece of her mind with a big wallop! :) She's started doing this odd little rubbing sensation on the inside of my belly - the weirdest feeling! Not sure if it is her foot or hand - but she isn't kicking - just rubbing. Watching the ultrasound has to be one of the coolest things ever - besides meeting your baby in person of course! Matt and I were just in awe watching her little mouth move and seeing her open her eyes and move about. So amazing!

Food cravings: Sweets...goodness the sweets. Angel food cake, cool whip, apples, blueberries - yum!

Milestones: Cleaned out the nursery closet! Now it's no longer full of holiday decorations. Took quite a bit of reorganizing and some throwing out of stuff from our office closet where everything from the nursery closet went into - but it is pretty much finished! Just have to haul out what didn't make the cut into the garage and out to Goodwill and the trash. Feels good to have that done!

Oh, and this: I am tired. So,  so tired! I get a rush of energy in the evening - around 7 or 8 but from 10am till 4pm I could just lie around. It is amazingly frustrating because I know I have so much to do - things to make for the shower, house to clean, food to make, closets to clean out. But if I dread even just making it up the stairs you know I am feeling crappy. Just a down to your bones tired. Growing a baby is apparently some hard work!

Up Too Early = Sunday Morning Oatmeal Creme Brulee

Up a tad bit early this Sunday morning. Was thinking about making this last night for dinner, but when my eyes started blinking open and my mental to-do list started kicking at 6:30AM this morning - it seemed like an even better time to try it out!

I have researched two variations of Oatmeal Creme Brulee, one with eggs and one without - it is really the creme brulee element I am interested in, being the sweet tooth that I am. So, this morning I am trying out the recipe without the eggs (gotta save my eggs for all the meringue kisses I am making as guest favors for the baby shower!).

Another appealing aspect of this first recipe I am going to try is that you cook the oatmeal first in a rice cooker instead of on the stove - any recipe where I can push a button and walk away is fabulous! To create the crunchy topping we'll take the cooked oatmeal out and transfer it to either ramkins (which I don't have - sensing a Christmas Wishlist item here...) or into a baking dish, sprinkling with the brown sugar and white sugar mixture and popping it into the preheated broiler for about a minute.

Oh, I am also leaving out the fruit - I would like to try raspberries - but alas the fruit I have in my fridge and freezer right now are apples, grapes and frozen strawberries. If I am going to use strawberries I prefer fresh - so we will just try the recipe without the fruit element this time - just for sake of convenience.

Recipe #1 (w/out eggs)


Creme Brulee Oatmeal
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
berries of choice
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Additions: I ended up adding about 2 tablespoons white sugar and 2 tablespoons brown sugar to the oatmeal after it cooked - was a little bland for my taste - but if I had added fruit I may not have had to.

P.S. I may never go back to regular oatmeal again!

Update @7:11AM - Well, it certainly smells delicious just cooking in the rice cooker! I could see have the liquid ingredients mixed together beforehand, left in the fridge of course since it's milk, having the oatmeal already measured out in the rice cooker and waking up early Sunday mornings to come downstairs mix together and turn on the cooker and walk away to get ready, etc.

Update @7:51AM - (Delayed by doing dishes, putting up meringues I had drying overnight in the oven, cleaning the rice cooker, etc) Oatmeal is really good! I don't think my broiler got hot enough because the sugar just melted on top of the oatmeal - didn't crispen. The oven was asking me too many questions when I hit the broil button - Hi or Lo? Set Temp or Auto Set???

It "auto-set" at 350 but I think this needs to be hotter. I left it in for longer than a minute too because I could see it was melting and not necessarily burning on top. :( Still tastes good nonetheless!. (Possible mini-kitchen torch on my Christmas wish list??) :)

Warning: It did make quite a mess out of my rice cooker. I have a large rice cooker, but somehow the oatmeal managed to boil up over through the steam spout. :( AND it did burn/scald and make a little weird skin on the bottom of the pan - but I did just have to hit the button and walk away so not sure which is worse. Standing over a saucepan making oatmeal or cleaning up a messy rice cooker?

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To try next time - when I am not rationing out my eggs for other things or if I happen to have egg beaters in the house...

Recipe #2 (w/eggs)

Oatmeal Creme Brulee
2-1/4 cups Steel Cut Oatmeal
1/2 cup chopped Fruit of your choice (Sliced and Chopped Apples are Great)
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
3-1/3 cups non fat milk
1/2 cup egg substitute (such as Egg Beaters)
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/3 cup firmly-packed light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 8-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place oats, chopped fruit and sugar in the prepared baking dish. Stir until well combined. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together milk, egg substitute, and vanilla extract. Pour over oatmeal mixture. Stir to make sure the oatmeal mixture is well-coated. Bake 40 to 45 minutes. Be careful not to over-bake. You want the center to still be moist, like a thick soup. Remove from the oven. Turn oven temperature up to broil. Sprinkle with the brown sugar in a thin layer, making sure the sugar coats the entire surface of the oatmeal. Return to the oven and broil 2 to 3 minutes, until the top is browned and crusty. Serve warm. For the Individual Ramekin Oatmeal Recipe Click HERE.

Still A Girl! :)

Got another little sneak peek of our little one at our ultrasound! It was amazing to see the difference between our last ultrasound at 20 weeks and now - almost 30 weeks. There isn't much room left in there! No wonder I am constantly feeling kick and jabs! :)

And yup, still most definitely a girl!

Everyone makes me nervous when they ask the whole, "What are you doing to do if it comes out a boy?" question - after seeing our room or seeing the clothes, etc.

Craft Room Makeover

Making our spare bedroom into a nursery and our office into an office/spare bedroom has had us shifting around a few things in our home here recently. I am officially happy with how the office and guest bedroom turned out. I thought at first it would be too cramped - but having the bedroom suite and the library and desk together makes the room look so much more put together and cozy!

What we were lacking though was a real craft area for my sewing, knitting, crocheting, cutting, painting, etc needs. Somewhere besides under the bed and in closets where I could stash my growing fabric collection, thread, ribbon, batting, yarn, needles, etc - in plain sight so I could see what I have and find what I need easily but done more tastifully than my rubbermaid bins.

So our white shelf that we scored for free last year ended up coming out of the office and into the landing/loft area and now happily houses all sorts of crafty tidbits, another free standing shelf holds even more, and I thought I would not need these two plastic bin/shelves that came in from the garage and used to reside in our closets when we lived in the apartment - but my crafty stash needed further containing so here they stay. And what's a craft area without a table? Not a craft area! So here steps in my blue card table...blah.

CRAFT AREA BEFORE:

But what really ties it all together I think - is my Tablevogue cover. Have you heard of these yet? If you haven't - you've gotta check them out! They take your ordinary tables from drab to fab. And I am not talking about just any old table cloth here. Because I've tried that - and nothing fits a card table well - you always have that edge that is too long - and one way too short -arg! Tablevogue, being the geniuses that they are, have created custom fitted - and fancily box-pleated - covers to fit over your standard card table and utility table. Fabulous!

I'll be using for my upcoming baby shower - and any other future parties AND it will get used everyday in my craft area! No need to fold up my unsightly card table any more - I can put it to use everyday AND make it look cute!

Ok, ok, enough dawdling - here's my craft area AFTER!

YAY!

P.S. I'll post more here soon from the other rooms - nursery and guest bedroom - but most importantly - the nursery!! It is coming together so fast now - can't wait till it's finished and there's a beautiful little baby sleeping in there! :)