29 Week Check In

There is no hiding this bump now.  :)  Which is fine by me.  I can't believe next week, I will be 3/4 baked.  I told Kevin if the baby were cookies, it would be totally edible by this point, because I love my cookies still ooey gooey in the middle.  Good thing it's not a cookie... I want this little one to keep baking for a few more months so s/he is nice and healthy.

How Big Is Baby?
 

• A squash... and 3 pounds now!  Wow!!

Baby’s Development

• At 29 weeks, s/he’s not just moving a lot, s/he’s also plumping up. And as s/he continues to put pressure on my digestive system, you’re going to feel the effects: hemorrhoids (cute, eh?), heartburn, pelvic pain and frequent urination are all common at this stage in the game.

How Big Is Mommy?

•  This is from the weekend... I'll get around to adding a new one as soon as I decide I am camera ready... which... considering I jumped into some jammies the second I got home, will likely not be until tomorrow.

How Am I feeling?

• Physically:  My back is really starting to hurt.  I am finding that any position- sitting, standing or lying down- for long periods of time is getting to be painful.  I'm worried to think that I still have 11 weeks left and my belly is only going to get bigger.  Thank goodness I have a chiropractor appointment scheduled for tomorrow.
• Emotionally:  Good.  I have been getting compliments left and right and have been told numerous times that I have that "glow"... which is a huge self esteem boost.  I have also been feeling baby move often and s/he even seems to respond to touch and the sound of my voice, which makes me feel even more attached.  I'm really loving this stage.

Any new developments, milestones?  Anything new?

• Still nothing new to report, but I do have an appointment tomorrow.

 Love/Hate:

• Love: Starbucks Frappucino Happy Hour.  Today I created a green tea coconut frap and it was uh-may-zing!!
• Hate:  Back pain.  I have mild scoliosis and I think my 8 years in the Marine Corps really did a number on my back.  I know back pain is normal with pregnancy, but I was afraid that, given my history, I would be in real trouble in this department.  Luckily up until the past week or so, it hasn't been a huge issue, but it is definitely starting to kick in.  I have seen a chiropractor for years (actually worked for one for almost 2 years previously) and I'm not sure that my monthly visits will cut it anymore.  I think I might have to talk to the doctor about increasing it to every 2 weeks.  :(

Any upcoming developments, milestones?  What's next?

• I have my next OB check up tomorrow and a visit with the chiropractor.  I'm not really sure what is on the agenda for the OB appointment, but I am praying that it doesn't include another fat talk.
• Our Amazon registry is complete, which is a huge sigh of relief.  We have been having issues with both Target and Babies R Us online (which is easiest for us to manage) so those still need some work, but 1/3 is pretty good... right?  Ok yeah... I need to work a little harder on that I guess.  :)

Project Nursery: Sneak Peek

Since we have opted to not find out the gender of our baby until he or she arrives, deciding on a nursery theme/colors has been a bit of a challenge, to say the least.  It's amazing that from the very first moments, everything seems to be strictly divided in pinks/purples and blues/greens.  I searched high and low to find a nursery set that would work for either a little prince or princess and came up empty handed.  Finally, after venting to Kevin about how difficult this whole project was, he looked at me dumbfounded and just said "Why don't you do a beach theme?"...

::insert light bulb blinking and fireworks going off here::

Duh!!  Kevin loves the beach and he is a boy... I love the beach and I am a girl.  Problem solved and Project Beach Bum Nursery was born.

I was then able to focus my bedding set search on beachy/tropical patterns, but still couldn't find anything I liked, let alone loved.  Finally, I thought "the heck with these bedding sets... I don't really need most of the items included anyway" and wandered through JoAnn fabrics, hoping to find some inspiration.  I came across this print...

 And the rest just snowballed from there.  


Kevin really took the beach theme and ran with it.  He found a really pretty aqua blue paint to pain the top half of the room, then found a sand colored paint, with sand texture to paint the bottom half.  The pictures don't do it justice... it's really a beach bum's paradise.

I found a cute sign at The Christmas Tree Shops that sums up our room perfectly...

We wanted to somehow incorporate our love of country music also, so we decided to snipe some quotes from some of our favorite beachy/country songs...

  



 












The almost finished room (minus the crib and recliner)...

 
Kevin found a cute sea turtle pillow (named Toby the Turtle) that he picked up.  Lucy immediately laid claim to this new find.

 Our crib finally came in last week, so Kevin and Lucy worked very hard to put it together...

And... ta-daa!!  The finished product (minus the mattress... of course)

It's still a work in progress and we certainly have some details to wrap up, but so far, I am very pleased with how everything is coming together.  :)  It's becoming very very real now.

Happy Birthday, Lucy!!!

Warning: This post may contain puppy picture overload.  Consider yourself warned...

It's hard to believe that our sweet little puppy monster is a year old today!

Just for kicks... here are a few of my favorite photos from Lucy's first year...

Since I had the day off and Kevin worked the early shift, we were able to celebrate our puppy's birthday like all good puppy parents should...

With a few drinks...
 

a car ride... (what dog doesn't love a car ride?)

a trip to the good dog park where Lucy made some new canine friends...
 

a dip in the lake... (yes, unfortunately, it really IS that dirty)


followed by a puppy ice cream sandwich from Heid's...


Later Lucy got a special treat after her dinner... 




a slice of Pup-pie birthday cake!

 I don't know who is luckier... Lucy for having Kevin and I to spoil her... or us for having such a fun, funny, sweet and lovable puppy to share our lives with.  Either way, we are one happy family.

Happy birthday, Lucy!!

In human news, Kevin and I enjoyed a yummy grilled chicken dinner.  We used a Teryaki marinade.  Kevin had his with Sirachi sauce and rice with veggies and I served mine over a delicious salad.  Yum!!  I LOVE having nights off with Kevin... it's so nice to be able to cook together and enjoy dinner together for a change!

OOTD

I haven't done one of these in a little while and, to be honest, it can be kind of tough to look and feel cute when your belly is beginning to balloon.  Since the hubs told me I looked "cute pregnant" today (whatever that means), I thought I would share...

• The skirt is from Old Navy Maternity collection  (super comfy, by the way)
• Tank top is Merona from Target
• Hot Pink Belly Band from an eBay seller

And, as usual, Lucy posing for the camera.  :)

28 Week Check In

I am definitely showing now and we are in full baby preparation mode.  The crib is up, the stroller and car seat are here... now it's just the finishing touches and wait wait wait for our little one's arrival.

How Big Is Baby?
 

• An eggplant, growing big and healthy!

Baby’s Development

• At 28 weeks, baby is breathing (it’s amniotic fluid, not air, but it still counts) and even showing brain activity.  There are some studies that show baby may even be able to dream at this stage.

How Big Is Mommy?

•  Lucy just loves showing off for the weekly baby bump picture.  She is a total ham.

How Am I feeling?

• Physically:  The backaches are beginning and can be difficult to get relief from.  I have a Chiropractor appointment next week and I can't wait.  Other than that, feeling great!
• Emotionally:  Wonderful!  The crib is up, the stroller and car seat are here and we are just moving right along.  Also, the weather is finally improving (70 degrees today!!) which does wonders for my state of mind.

Any new developments, milestones?  Anything new?

• Not much new this week.  Baby is growing, mommy is growing... we are just chugging along.  Next appointment is next Thursday.

 Love/Hate:

• Love:  I am on an Uncrustable sandwich kick.  You know... the little kid peanut butter and jelly sammies without the crust.  They are sooo yummy and the perfect snack at 4am.  :)
• Hate:  Still not loving the peeing every hour thing.  I swear last night, I went to the bathroom, did my business, stood up and instantly just sat back down because I had to pee...  then when I was done with round two, I got back into bed and as soon as I laid down, I had to pee... AGAIN!  It's pretty ridiculous.

Any upcoming developments, milestones?  What's next?

• We really need to get our registry finalized and set up a trip to visit Kevin's family.  It's tough because we only have every 6th weekend off together, but we know we want to make it down there to celebrate with them before baby arrives.
• Next appointment is next Thursday... so not much new in that department yet.  Ill be sure to keep everyone updated. 

And I'll close with a super cute picture of my little Lucy girl snuggling with baby.  About 5 seconds after I snapped this shot, she was sound asleep.  She's going to be such an awesome Big Sister/Puppy.  :)

Happy May!!

I can't believe today is May 1st... where did the time go?

This time last year, we had just settled into our new (first!) home and I was giddy with excitement thinking "I'm getting married this month"... Now this year, I am filled with a different kind of excitement because I am less than 3 months from my due date.  Next weekend will be the last Mother's Day I celebrate without a little one (God willing).  The 28th will be our first wedding anniversary (and last anniversary we celebrate just the two of us).  Amazing how much can change in a year.

The weather here in Syracuse is still ridiculous... some days in the 30's, some in the 60's... it's about 50 right now and hazy/rainy/overcast.  Bleh.  That will have to change soon.

In other news, despite the wintry weather, I have begun my spring cleaning and I am desperate to have a garage sale.  Desperate.  We have been slowly accumulating tons and tons of crap that I just could not bear to part with "because we can sell it at our garage sale"... we finally had to move all of the crap from the nursery to a different room, which I so adoringly renamed the crap room... and the amount of crap has completely overtaken the entire room.  No joke.  I should take a picture.  Now the crap room is completely full to the brim of... crap... and we need to get this show on the road.  It's tough because this is not a venture I prefer to undertake alone... however... I discovered yesterday that Kevin and I will most likely have only one weekend off together before the baby arrives... yep... that's right... ONE (gotta love the hospital's rotating schedules).  And, as much as I am longing to have a garage sale... it's not really how I want to spend our last weekend alone.  So now I'm stuck.  Do I just suck it up and do this garage sale alone... or do I wait until after the baby arrives (when we will have no doubt accumulated even more crap and will be sleep deprived and caring for a newborn while holding a garage sale).... any words of wisdom are welcome.

Happy May to all!!!

Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Stromboli

My husband and I are both huge fans of homemade Stromboli.  I normally use my mother's recipe and fill it with the traditional Genoa Salami, Regular or Capicola Ham and Provolone Cheese.  Baked to a perfect golden brown, sliced and dipped in marinara sauce... it is one of our favorite snacks or meals.

Kevin, as you may or may not know, has a bit of an obsession with all things hot sauce/buffalo wing flavor related.  In particular, Frank's Red Hot.  He puts Frank's on eggs, pizza, french fries, burgers, potatoes, heck even steaks sometimes.  I'm convinced he is going to develop a stomach ulcer or just blow out his gut one of these days from his excessive use of hot sauce... but there is no stopping him.

Tonight, I decided... if I can't beat him, may as well join him, right?  Someone sent me a link to a delicious looking stromboli stuffed with buffalo chicken.  I knew this would have Kevin going gaga, so I thought I would treat him.

Here is the base for the recipe I used...  http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/buffalo-chicken-stromboli/0123bbba-466f-4e23-8faa-1dc439a34432/?WT.dcsvid=NzkwMTYwMDQ2NQS2&rvrin=5B68C20E-99B0-44AD-8C40-BC0B5007B74C&WT.mc_id=Newsletter_PB_PB_2012_04_17&nicreatID2=Newsletter_PB_PB_2012_04_17

It's from Pillsbury.com which has lots of very simple,quick and easy type recipes.

Here is my version:

• 1 Box of Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix (blue box)  Mix the dough as directed on the back of the box.
• 1 pound of chicken (I use boneless skinless chicken breasts, but leftover chicken of any kind would work great too... this would be a perfect way to get rid of leftovers!!)
• 1-2 cups of Frank's Red Hot hot sauce
• 1 package of shredded cheddar cheese
• Ranch dressing for dipping

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. If not using leftover chicken, boil the chicken until cooked through.  (I know I know... boiling chicken just sounds terrible, but trust me... there is no need to bake it, boiling is best here)
3. While the chicken is boiling, roll out the dough into an oval shape.  You can do one large or cut the dough in half and do two small mini strombolis
4. Shred or chop the cooked chicken very fine (I use my handy dandy slap chop for this) and stir in the hot sauce.  The chicken should be well coated, but you don't want excess liquid so add as much or as little as you need.  
5. Sprinkle a layer of cheddar cheese onto the dough, leaving 1-2 inch border around the outside with no cheese.  Pour the hot sauce/chicken mixture on top of the cheese, spreading evenly and keeping the 1-2 inch border bare.  Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.
6. Fold the outside ends in until they meet in the middle, slightly overlap then pinch closed to seal.  Then fold the top and bottom ends in, doing the same.
7. Roll the stromboli onto a baking sheet (I always use parchment paper... makes it easier to roll and easier to clean up after).  
8. Brush the top of the stromboli with olive oil and slice 3-4 small slits in the top of the dough (to allow air to escape and prevent from forming a huge bubble).
9. Bake at 350 for about 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.

We sliced and dipped ours in ranch dressing, but if you are a huge fan of buffalo ranch flavor, you can mix a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix (the powder stuff) in with the chicken and Frank's Red Hot for a Buffalo Ranch Stromboli.  Enjoy!!